Only two musicals have a near-perfect score on Metacritic

“If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” It’s a phrase that all of us have probably used before, or at least something of the spirit behind it, when talking about films of a certain genre. You might think, if you’re not a horror movie fan, that if you’ve only seen one movie, you know how they all work. And if you’ve seen just one feel-good romantic comedy, you might think you don’t need to watch it again because of how familiar the tropes are. But few genres are arguably treated this way, and so unfairly, as film musicals. Where many audiences might suspend their disbelief watching a superhero movie or the like, they struggle to get over the image of people bursting into song to express their emotions. But the truth is that each type has its own distinct inputs and faults. Not all musicals are perfect, or nearly perfect, but many can not only influence audiences of all ages, but can also work across mediums.

You could also say that film buffs who are also critics are the most tolerant and harshest viewers of musicals. When someone criticizes the concept of a musical on social media, critics often jump in to defend the genre against any haters. But conversely, these same critics saw many of the supposed classics of the genre, making newer musicals like “La La Land” or “The Greatest Showman” more difficult to sell because of feeling like they were pointing to the best or most memorable ones. films. As such, it should come as no surprise that when you visit Metacritic to see the highest-rated movie musicals of all time, two things are true: First, there is no movie musical He has 100 perfect on site; Second, the two musicals closer to 100 are both elder statesmen of the genre.

Let’s talk about both of these musicals. One of them, glimpsed above, is Among the greatest films“Singing in the Rain.” The other, as noted earlier in this article, is not a live-action film, but rather the 1940 animated “Pinocchio.”

When you think about it for even a second or two, it should come as no surprise that it’s on Metacritic page Of the top five movie musicals seven Titles taken from Walt Disney Animation Studios. (If there’s anything we can object to, it’s that 1940’s Fantasia is among these five animated films. It’s an excellent film, but it’s not a musical in the traditional sense, considering that no one sings Virtually in its entirety.) Long before Disney hired Alan Menken and Howard Ashman to write the songs for “Little Mermaid,” the studio was emphatic about pairing songs with the fairy tales its animators were adapting. The movie “Pinocchio” in 1940. Which is arguably the best animated film Disney has ever produceduses not only songs in his telling of Carlo Collodi’s story about a young wooden boy who goes on an intense journey to become a true boy to his maker and father, Geppetto. The film also opens with “When You Wish Upon a Star,” a song so iconic that it’s literally the studio’s anthem.

(Fun Fact 1: “When You Wish on a Star,” unsurprisingly won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Fun Fact 2: “When You Wish on a Star” was the first Disney song ever produced nominated For this category, this means that “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” was ignored in 1937.)

Now, to be fair, none of the other songs in “Pinocchio” come close to topping “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which is as effective at drawing out the dreams and hopes of the film’s characters and as a haunting refrain as it is in the original. Performed by Cliff Edwards (who portrayed Jiminy Cricket). The film as a whole has a great approach to storytelling. Yes, you probably remember how Pinocchio had to face villains like the greedy Stromboli or the terrifying whale Monstro. But the 90-minute films spends the first half-hour inside Geppetto’s workshop, where we meet the kindly old woodcarver, his cat Figaro, his fish Cleo, and eventually the anthropomorphic Pinocchio himself. Once the film leaves the workshop and Pinocchio meets all sorts of characters, we hear songs like “Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor’s Life For Me)” and “I’ve Got No Strings,” which are upbeat and upbeat numbers. . In fact, “When You Wish on a Star” only serves as a song. The other four songs (and repeats) are fast-paced tunes that are very catchy even today.

Plus, if you’re curious, there are 17 reviews of the film captured on Metacritic page. Don’t forget, on Metacritic, not only does the site collect fewer reviews than its competitors, but it also tabulates reviews by star rating or number (or assigns one based on review length). So, even though this movie has a 99 rating on the website, a few of the reviews have (gasp!) even less than 90 out of 100. One of those reviews points out that “Pinocchio” isn’t even “up to “Top” of the movies. Disney classics, but listen, we all make one mistake every now and then. Even critics aren’t perfect.

For this writer’s money, there is no better movie than “Singin’ in the Rain.” We’re not just talking about musicals here, but about movies in general. certainly He is The best musical ever made, but it also deserves to be considered the greatest movie ever made. Since 1952, the film is technically a period piece in its own right, set in the late 1920s during a time when Hollywood was making the difficult transition from silent films to talkies. The film’s hero is the gruff and charming Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), a former businessman who is happy to show off his singing and dancing skills once the sound reaches Los Angeles, especially since he realizes that the kinds of pictures he takes (mysterious adventure tales of grit and romance) are no longer artistically interesting. Creative as ever. (The first line of this article is a direct quote from the movie That Lights a Spark Under Don.) Although Don is ready for the sound era, obnoxious blonde star Lena Lamont (Jan Hagen) is not, thanks in large part to her. The sound and behavior of nails on a chalkboard. Meanwhile, Don falls in love with Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), a dancer who aspires to stardom. (If some of this is a general story Reminds you of Damien Chazelle’s movie “Babylon” This is no coincidence, especially considering how this movie adapted this film in its final moments.)

“Singin’ in the Rain” is one of the greatest cinematic pleasures of all time, the kind of movie that fills you with positivity and feel-good without feeling forced or inauthentic. The film walks a tightrope between honoring the film industry’s past and mercilessly mocking Hollywood. Kelly and his co-star Donald O’Connor (as Don’s best friend Cosmo) are both extremely delightful, dancing alone or together; The title sequence, which comes as Don realizes the depth of his love for Cathy, is also one of the most iconic in film history. Hence, it is not at all surprising that the film received a 99 a result on Metacritic, also based on 17 reviews. Like “Pinocchio,” the film received a few reviews with ratings under 100, but only three, including an era-specific write-up from Bosley Crowther of The New York Times. (Since Bosley has been around for so many years, we’ll forgive him for suggesting that the film’s screenplay is hacked, which is certainly a great thing.)

That these two disparate films, not only because they were presented in different media but because of the distinct stories they tell, can rank so high on the list of musicals on Metacritic should serve as a reminder: just because you’ve seen one of them doesn’t. Doesn’t mean you’ve seen them all. It’s just the opposite. Yes, in a musical, you will see someone start singing and/or dancing to express their emotions, but the background to those actions is often completely different. All you need to enjoy these films, to truly appreciate them, is to completely suspend your disbelief.