Recently, my best 4-year-old pal Tess discovered an affinity for classic Hollywood musicals, and a new hobby in performing songs from them on FaceTime for her family and friends (in costume, naturally). So I thought I'd share her favorite movie musicals in case you have a kid with an appreciation for song and dance. Bonus: All of these are very long movies, and fingers crossed they'll occupy your child for the better part of two hours. Plus you can call it a "lesson in classic film" rather than "screen time."
While some of these films may have mature themes ("Guys and Dolls" is about a gambler in the Prohibition era, while "West Side Story" tackles urban gang violence), what kids will soak up are the catchy tunes and visual eye candy. You can't go wrong with the absolute delight that is "Singin' in the Rain" (1952, $3.99 on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube though you may as well just purchase it for $9.99), with the dazzling tap dance skills of Gene Kelly, the physical comedy of Donald O'Connor and the effervescent Debbie Reynolds, all set in the world of Hollywood's transition from silent to sound filmmaking. Good morning to you!
Another winner is the three-hour behemoth "The Sound of Music" (1965, available on Disney+ or a $3.99 rental on Amazon/YouTube), starring Mary Poppins herself, Julie Andrews, and a whole lot of von Trapp children. Plus, a good lesson that Nazis are bad! Ducks and geese and chicks better scurry to check "Oklahoma!" (1955), the iconic first musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, which clocks in at 2 hours, 25 minutes and is available for $3.99 rental on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube. Be prepared to hear a lot about a surrey with the fringe on top.
For kids who are a bit older, or as musical-obsessed as Tess (and myself), "Music Man" (1962), "Guys and Dolls" (1955, Sinatra! Brando!), and "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971), as well as my personal childhood favorite, "West Side Story" (1961), are all available for $2.99 rentals on Amazon/iTunes/YouTube.
I would be remiss not to mention Bollywood in discussing movie musicals, and just discovered that Netflix has a wealth of Bollywood movies available. For the uninitiated, Bollywood musicals produced in India are epic affairs that offer everything one might want in a movie: visual spectacle, melodrama, laughter, tears, emotion, songs, dance, weddings, color! Check out "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!" (1994) for a family-friendly Bollywood musical on Netflix, or the epic sports movie "Lagaan" (2001), where the musical numbers are replaced with a nail-biting cricket showdown.
And if all else fails, Apple TV+ now has new seasons of the classic crowd-pleasing Muppet kids show "Fraggle Rock" available to stream.
