While movies are loved by all, why simply tell a story through words when you can tell it through song. The first movie musical to grace the big screen was The Jazz Singer in 1927. Since then, movie musicals have continued to be produced and beloved by the public. Many producers will create movie adaptations of already popular musicals as an easy way to create profits. However, results from movie musicals tend to be polarizing, either being a huge success or a miserable fail. From the success of Wicked to the horror of Cats we want to look at what makes a movie musical a success versus what makes a movie musical fail.
One of the most notable movie musical flops of all time was Cats. Having a rotten tomato score of 19% and a net loss of nearly 114 million, it is safe to say that this adaptation didn’t hit the mark. Before we can decipher why Cats did so poorly as a movie, we must contrast it to what made the stage production such a hit. Most people who claim to enjoy this musical will say that the reason is due to the dancing. The experimental, anthropomorphic dancing is far more entertaining than the sporadic plot and unassuming songs. The very factor that made the musical such a success is why the movie so tragically failed. A musical-neutral person generally cares more about the plot and will use that as the driving factor of whether a movie is “good”. With dancing being only a secondary consideration, it is impossible to create a movie that has the same impact as the live stage productions.Further, even if proper appreciation was given to the dancing, it’s hard to fully appreciate the movement when the dancers are CGI’d as a human-cat mutation. This off-putting look is a big reason that many didn’t enjoy the Cats experience. The failure of this movie doesn’t fall entirely on the creatives as this musical was odd from the beginning. The directors fail to consider how the general public would understand their vision. Overall the visuals were odd and the plot was confusing. Without putting enough focus on the dancing, the impact that this show has is lost, making it one of the worst movie musical adaptations.
While Cats may have been an extreme example, there have been many other musical flops of less extreme nature since then. Some examples could include Dear Evan Hansen and Mean Girls. Both of these musicals are beloved on stage and have captivating songs with interesting plots. However, like Cats, it was unclear who their target audience was supposed to be. Their adaptations appeared to be catering to the general non-musical public, providing modernised songs and quick pace storytelling. In the case of Mean Girls, the songs and dance numbers reassembled TikTok videos as opposed to broadway stage numbers. In the case of Dear Evan Hansen, they were too preoccupied about making a statement on mental health that they simply grazed over some other key story plots lessening the impact. Overall, the problem lies with the fact that some productions only have impact when they are live on stage.
However, movie musicals are far from a dying genre. This past November, Universal released Wicked which quickly became one of their most successful movies. One of the main factors that makes Wicked so popular is due to how true to the original source materials it was. While they took some liberties with the script, also taking inspiration from the novel, the majority of it was straight from the stage. Each actor/actress took their own creative liberties but assured that they were still performing in musical theatre style. Each song was sung the way you’d expect musical theatre to be sung. Each number took the time to choreograph and perfect their dance routines making it a musical and not a concert. Finally, what really stood out was the visuals. What the audience really wants when they are watching a musical adaptation is for a realistic version of their musicals. Through modern technology, the set designers were able to bring Oz to life. From Shiz University to the Emerald City, each scene was marvelous with the intricacy of the set. This really made the musical come to life and made the musical a success.
Movie musicals may be seen as niche, however whether you like to admit it or not, stories are fun to watch through song. Producers mustn’t be too worried about making a movie musical adaption too mainstream as most musicals already have a big following. What producers need to understand is that there is a market for musical theatre so long as they keep it as musical theatre. They must know what makes their musical so popular and assure that that factor is at the forefront of their production. What people really want isn’t for a whole new take on a beloved musical but for their favorite musicals to be more accessible.
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