How is it Musical?
The musical genre in television and film combines singing and dancing to tell a story. The characters dance and sing to show their emotions and feelings and to develop the plot. The visual and auditory elements present in a musical create an emotional impact that makes the story meaningful and memorable.
The target audience depends on what the musical is about, but they are mostly targeted towards females and theater fanatics.
Content:
Most musicals include an opening number that provides context and sometimes introduces the main characters. The song is usually catchy and sets the tone for the story's development. An example is the opening scene of the movie musical
La La Land,
Another Day of Sun, where a lot of people get out of their cars and break out in song wearing a variety of vibrant colors and doing a choreographed dance.
Next, is usually the main character singing a solo song expressing their dreams and desires. This song reveals what their motivations are and introduces the start of their journey to achieve their goals. This can be seen in the song "
A Million Dreams" in the movie musical
The Greatest Showman. In addition, these numbers can sometimes be fantasy sequels, meaning that they transport the character to a world in their imagination to show their dreams and fantasies, however, this is not always the case.
Moreover, there is usually a love ballad included in movie musicals. This pivotal moment is when two characters confess their romantic feelings for each other, changing their dynamic. In the movie musical
Aladdin, the love song that unites the main character with his love interest is
A Whole New World, which is a duet between them.
Furthermore, in movie musicals where there is a clear villain present, there is a villain song. The songs usually have a darker tone and reveal the villain's motivations and how they plan to hinder the main character in their journey, developing character. An examplenis the song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in the movie musical The Little Mermaid.
Additionally, movie musicals sometimes include reprise songs, which are a different version of a song that appeared previously in the movie with altered lyrics and context from the original. This highlights the development of the plot and the character. For example in the movie musical
Beauty and the Beast, the song
Belle(Reprise) is an altered version of the song
Belle that is sung earlier in the movie.
Then, there is the 11 o'clock number, which is sung near the end of the movie to show a realization or transformation for the main character. The song "
Revolting Children" in the movie musical
Matilda exemplifies this concept.
Lastly, there is the finale, which is the last musical number in the movie. It provides closure by bringing the main characters together and reprising some songs that were featured throughout the movie. The song that provides resolution to the movie musical
Rent is the
Finale B.
Those are the most common genre conventions in content for movie musicals, but there are many more like dance numbers where all the characters do a huge coordinated dance in uncommon places like on top of lunch tables or in the middle of the streets. Dance numbers might include tap dancing since it is something very typical in Broadway musicals which is the feel movie musicals try to encapture. More elements are breaking the fourth wall, which is directly communicating with the audience, or parallel songs which are two songs happening at the same time that have a connection to each other.
Production Techniques:
Movie musicals have varied production techniques since every piece will have a different style depending on the story being told. The one thing that stays consistent in all movie musicals is that all the songs are catchy and work with the visuals to move through the storyline and develop the characters. Each song is meant to evoke a certain feeling depending on what is happening at that moment.
Movie musicals do not have a set structure, some have music throughout the entire film and others only include them in specific parts of the plot, once again it all depends on what story is being told.
One very common prominent technique used in movie musicals is dancing. Dances are incorporated during the songs to either evoke feelings or create a spectacle. They are usually intricately choreographed dancer that turns out to be impressive because all the characters dance in sync.
The costuming and make-up are usually extravagant and over the top to match the exciting feel of musicals. It is also very common for every character to have various costume changes since their character development is commonly shown through their outfits and the colors they wear. Additionally, color is a very important component in musicals since characters or concepts are typically strongly associated with certain colors.
Another trend in movie musicals is the recreation and reinvention of Broadway musicals. Movie musicals like
Chicago,
In the Heights,
West Side Story, and many others are based on the Broadway version of those stories. Most of the time they include the same songs or altered versions of the original songs from the musicals.
The production techniques in movie musicals mostly depend on the type of story being told and the stylistic choices made by the producers, but they are clearly characterized by the musicality in them and how they come together with the visuals to tell a story.
Marketing:
Musicals tend to appeal to a very specific audience because not everyone enjoys watching a movie that has more songs than lines. Because of this, many movie musical productions like Mean Girls and Wonka were advertised without mentioning the musical aspect of the movie to be able to reach a wider audience. People that watched it without knowing it was a musical were surpised when the characters broke into songs throughout the entire production.
Some people argue this marketing technique is deceiving since it hides one of the most important aspects of the story and some people might get upset that the movie is not what they signed up for. Others think that it takes away from the art of movie musicals since it underappreciates the musical component of them and falsely advertises the movie.
Samples:
The Greatest Showman
This movie musical embodies this genre as it is full of songs and choreographed dances that come together to tell a story. It includes an opening number, which is a big circus spectacle and it introduces the main character, but it turns out to be his imagination. Then the story transitions to the "I want" song where he reveals he wants to create a world where he and the girl he loves can be happy together. The main plot line is about him starting a circus and slowly gaining fame, eventually, he gets to a point where he forgets the reason he started doing everything and lets his ego and greed take over. Moreover, there is a love song between two secondary characters and their forbidden love for each other, which is a subplot in the movie. Furthermore, the main character realizes that money and fame will not bring him happiness but being surrounded by the people he loves will, that is when the 11' O clock number comes in, to show his character development and how he decides to fix things. Finally, there is the finale where all the characters come together and celebrate by singing and dancing in sync. The songs, dance, and stylistic choices help to develop the plot and with costumes are used to show character development.
Aladdin
The opening number for this movie sets the tone for the rest of the movie and provides some background and the second song is the one that introduces the main character Aladdin, which also has a reprise that reveals he is more than a "streetrat." Then his love interest Jasmine is introduced and she breaks into song to express how she feels repressed because her father does not listen to her and does not respect her wish to marry for love instead of status. Moreover, Aladdin meets the Genie and he introduces himself with one of the most iconic songs of the movie with a sequence of choreographed dances and a multitude of special effects. Aladdin turns into a prince with the help of the Genie so he can marry princess Jasmine and another huge musical number is used when he enters the palace. Furthermore, Aladdin and Jasmine sing a love ballad as a duet to show the development of their relationship. Near the end of the movie the villain, Jafar, almost takes over the kingdom but is tricked by the Genie. Aladdin and Jasmine end up together and the Sultan agrees to let Jasmine marry the man she loves. The dancing and singing in this production are key since they develop the whole story, in addition, the costuming, makeup, and special effects are extravagant since the movie is set in a fantastical world.
More Samples:
Sources:
https://nofilmschool.com/golden-age-of-hollywood
https://raindance.org/making-film-musicals/#:~:text=The%20production%20value%20of%20musicals,from%20Singin'%20In%20The%20Rain.
https://thesouthernnews.org/2024/01/31/movie-musicals-arent-being-marketed-as-musicals/
