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• Top 10 movie musicals

It’s a familiar scene: A man and a woman are passionately conversing and suddenly, inexplicably, they burst into song. Some people think it’s a stupid concept. Others think it’s brilliant. Either way, musicals are still being made and celebrated, and on July 18, Mamma Mia! will be added to that list of cheerful songfests. To honor its release, here’s a list of the 10 best movie musicals. And no, The Nightmare Before Christmas doesn’t even make my top 100.

10. Grease

I don’t have much respect for a movie where the nice girl can only get the guy by wearing tight black leather and smoking. Despite that, I do like it. The music is catchy (“Summer Lovin’” is one of my favorites), and Frenchy’s pink hair is awesome.

9. Easter Parade

Fred Astaire’s best dance partner might have been Ginger Rogers, but no one could sing like Judy Garland. In this, my favorite Fred Astaire movie, his egocentric dance partner decides to go solo, leaving him to find a replacement. She turns out to be Judy Garland, and of course the two fall in love.

8. Singin’ in the Rain

About the move from silents to talkies, this classic stars Gene Kelly as the silent film star who falls in love with the girl hired to dub his acting partner’s voice. Parts of the movie are strange, like the random montage of pretty girls, but the scene where Kelly sings “Singin’ in the Rain” is classic, and Donald O’Connor is great as the sidekick.

7. The Sound of Music

So what if people call it “The Sound of Mucus?” It’s still one of the best musicals ever. It’s made better by Julie Andrews’ great voice. Who can forget that sweeping shot of her dancing on the hills? And everybody likes a movie where people escape from Nazis.

6. The Wizard of Oz

Fun fact: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” almost didn’t make it into the movie. Thank goodness someone at MGM had some sense because that song makes the movie. The amazing colors of Oz, particularly Munchkinland, doesn’t hurt, either.

5. My Fair Lady

I don’t know if a movie counts as a musical when the hero talk-sings through the entire thing, but it’s great despite Rex Harrison’s Oscar-winning “vocals.” Audrey Hepburn is one of my faves, and the costumes are gorgeous. I never could understand why she went back to him, though.

4. Meet Me in St. Louis

Apparently, I like Judy Garland. This time, Judy plays Esther, the second oldest daughter of the large Smith clan. The older girls find love, and the younger girls find mischief while their father considers moving the family away from the city they love. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was written for this film.

3. Victor/Victoria

All the songs are sung on stage instead of having people randomly sing them, so it’s not a musical in the traditional sense. Still, Julie Andrews gives a terrific performance as a starving singer who makes it rich by dressing as a man pretending to be a woman. Things get even more complicated when she falls in love with a mobster.

2. Beauty and the Beast

The best Disney movie ever, with the most independent Disney heroine, is made great by the songs of Howard Ashman. His lyrics transformed this from just another Disney film to something on the level of a Broadway show. His influence can also be seen in The Little Mermaid. Sadly, he died of AIDS before he could finish work on Aladdin.

1. Chicago

The movie that revived the movie musical, Chicago is different from any other musical. The people burst into song, but when they do, they go to a stage-like place that makes the audience feel like they’re watching a Broadway show. John C. Reilly was fantastic as poor sap Amos, and his rendition of “Mr. Cellophane” is sung with more heart than any other song in the movie.