Every week at SiftPop.com, we challenge our writers to come up with their favorite answer to a movie-related prompt tied to a recent release. This week, with the release of the musical sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, we’re discussing some of our favorite movie musical sequences! Let us know your favorites @SiftPop!
When Ken (Ryan Gosling) takes over Barbie’s (Margot Robbie) dream house and turns it into his mojo dojo casa house, he becomes so overwhelmed with his feelings that he finally lets them out in the only way he knows how. “I’m Just Ken” is one of those songs you don’t expect to work, but which manages to say so much. Ken feels he’s not good enough, a feeling he usually doesn’t get. Luckily for him, the song is also a rallying cry for him to feel like he’s Kenough. As fantastic as this song is, Gosling’s performance is what sells it. I’ve known he has a great voice since his MMC days, but he takes it to a whole new level here. His performance at the Oscars might be the best performance in the show’s history. In a movie oozing with charisma, a profound message, and heart, “I’m Just Ken” was the perfect addition to an already stellar soundtrack for Barbie. (Mike Hilty)
Coco sits near the top of my Pixar rankings because it is the most viscerally emotional story the studio has told, outside of the gut-wrenching few minutes we all love to cry through from Up. Coco also elicits the tears several times, and the most emotional moments are whenever the lullaby version of “Remember Me” is performed. The first performance is a double gut punch as Miguel learns the great-great grandpa he idolized for years, Ernesto Cruz is an imposter and a murder, and we also learn they are not related. Miguel’s true great-great grandfather is the man Cruz murdered, Hector, and we learn that through a flashback to a sweet performance of the song for his daughter Coco in what became the last time they saw each other. I’m crying already. But wait, there’s more! With Hector fading away due to the ever-aging Mama Coco forgetting memories of her long-departed father, Miguel says to hell with his family’s rules on music, and performs “Remember Me” with a desperate and crying tone in a plea for her to remember. When Coco begins singing along and the entire family’s eyes light up, it breaks you every time in the best way. Sometimes you need a good cry, and “Remember Me” always delivers. Do yourself a favor if you haven’t and check out the Spanish version “Recuerdame,” and pop up the translated lyrics. It is somehow even more beautiful. (Jason Mack)
When you’re in a movie adaptation of a musical and you manage to steal the movie from both Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando, you’ve done something quite spectacular. That’s exactly what Stubby Kaye’s Nicely does in Guys and Dolls with “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” It’s an absolute showstopper as the number not works only his fellow gamblers, but sends members of a Christian mission into an absolute fervor. It’s one of those examples where casting the original stage actor in the adaptation absolutely pays off. He controls the stage and gets everyone sucked into the performance, with some great crowd choreography to boot. This is an all-time number for a reason, and it still rocks 70 years later. (Jake Bourgeois)
Moulin Rouge! is one of my favourite movies of all time. I could have chosen three different scenes from this movie and still have a good faith argument as to why they are the best. The reason I went with “The Elephant Love Medley” sequence is simple — it is one of the most playful musical scenes that’s ever been put into film. Satine finally starts to see how much Christian loves her, and she is beginning to feel it too. To that, we have a medley of great songs, and the scene ends with them literally riding a wave across the sky whilst even the moon is smiling in the corner of the screen. To me, that sequence has always symbolized how to utilize the cinematic form to make a musical stand out and how you can craft every frame and every detail and make it suit your narrative/scene. Something that can’t be done in any live performance/stage production. That is why I love this movie, and this is one of the highlights. Also see — “Roxanne, Your Song”… Realistically, just watch the entire film; it never makes me feel all the feelings, as the youths say now. (Luke Burian)
When it comes to movie musicals, no one does it quite like the Muppets. The Muppet Christmas Carol has no shortage of great musical moments (I love me some “Scrooge”), but nothing gets me in the Christmas mood quite like “It Feels Like Christmas.” Led by the Ghost of Christmas Present (Jerry Nelson), it’s the beginning of the true turning point for Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine). He’s so jovial, it’s infectious. And the song? It can’t help but put you in your happy place. He’s even got Scrooge dancing by the end of it. Oh, and the rogue bell to the face gets me every time. (Jake Bourgeois)
What do you think of when someone mentions musical sequences? Probably the large number of musicals that have graced the silver screen. But not me. After 20 years of watching Shrek 2 more times than a human being might want to admit, I imagine Fairy Godmother rocking a glittering and tight red dress to deliver one of the most unexpected and show-stopping performances in cinematic history. Jennifer Saunders absolutely came to play with her cover of Bonnie Tyler’s ‘80s power ballad, “Holding Out for a Hero.” Is she the subject of this rendition? In her own mind, for sure. But directors Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon made the brilliant call to montage the true hero, (Handsome) Shrek, as the rides his noble steed through Far Far Away with the confectionery juggernaut of Mongo to save the day and get his wife back. Saunders is pitch-perfect and the rousing tempo and energy of the song makes for a great action sequence, with Mongo breaking into the castle, Puss in Boots soloing a crew of villainous knights, and Donkey barrels through the street and halls to save the day. There are few musical moments as epic, heroic, and exciting as this one. (Shane Conto)
Although it may not be the most well-known song from Singin’ in the Rain, “Make ‘Em Laugh” is not only one of the best musical sequences of all time, but perhaps the best example of physical comedy put to screen as well. Sure, the song itself is charmingly inspirational about acting (although it is, according to co-director Stanley Donen, “100% plagiarized” from The Pirate’s “Be a Clown”), but what really sets the sequence apart is not the lyrics or music, but Donald O’Connor’s performance. Throughout the nearly four-minute sequence, O’Connor is singing, doing choreography, contorting his face, and manically jumping and rolling all around the set, mixing in countless pratfalls, and concluding with two (and a half) backflips off the walls. In fact, this choreography and performance were so intense that it left O’Connor bedridden for several days! His performance as Cosmo Brown is great throughout the film, but this sequence more than any other proves that O’Connor isn’t just a triple threat — he’s on another level above that and absolutely deserves to be in the conversation of the most underrated actors of his era and the most talented physical comedians of all time. (Jake Hjort)
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit sees Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg) recruited by her former nun compatriots to help save a failing Catholic school — which she does by whipping the students in her class into a true and proper choir (having Lauryn Hill and Jennifer Love Hewitt in your corner doesn’t hurt). It plays out like a sports movie, and when they perform “Oh Happy Day” in front of the student body for the first time, it’s their true “We became a team today” moment. They go from being unsure to absolutely belting the song. And the high note at the end? Impeccable. It even got a smile out of the stern Mother Superior (RIP Maggie Smith). It’s one of those clips I have to go back and rewatch a few times a year. It’s pure joy. (Jake Bourgeois)
Tick, Tick… Boom! is an underrated gem of a musical biopic, and the performance of “Therapy” is the moment that cemented it as a classic and showed Lin Manuel Miranda has true directing talent. The literal fourth wall break at the diner in “Sunday,” and the overhead shot of musical notes in the pool lanes during “Swimming” are standout visual moments, but Therapy cleverly intertwines past and present, and comedy and drama. The movie stars Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson, the creator of Rent who tragically died just before it debuted. But the focus is on the story of his failed musical, the struggles to get it off the ground, and the strain that put on his personal life. It is told through the lens of the stage show Tick, Tick… Boom! Larson wrote and performed with songs both humorously and dramatically highlighting every pitfall. Miranda brilliantly intertwines the over-the-top sarcastic retelling of fights between Larson and his girlfriend with scenes of a massive fight between the characters. Garfield and Vanessa Hudgens are electric with their comedic mannerisms and choreography, and Garfield and Alexandra Shipp are equally adept at selling the drama. To top it all off, Larson was a lyrical genius who wrote incredibly catchy songs. This one is hilarious and heartfelt, and even without the movie’s visuals, I have streamed it hundreds of times. Garfield was robbed of the Best Actor Oscar, and “Therapy” is one of many reasons why. (Jason Mack)
There are few more iconic moments in film history than “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” As Dorothy (Judy Garland) is pining for a better life on her dusty farm in Kansas, hopefulness, sadness, and joy are all put together into one of the most legendary songs ever created. Garland’s voice complements the song so well that you can’t be helped but be moved by what she’s asking. Why can’t she go somewhere over the rainbow? She feels stuck in her town, and as much as she loves her family and friends, she knows she’s destined for more extraordinary things. Fortunately, she got a little more than she bargained for when a tornado sweeps her to Oz. This song is the greatest song ever written for a film, and its not even close. (Mike Hilty)