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"Crazy World"
Several big-budget screen musicals lost millions in the early
1980s, leaving behind a litany of titles that still cause heads to shake in
Hollywood. Some were just hopeless ideas, but two were stage hits demolished by
acclaimed directors who had no idea how to film a musical.
- Can't Stop the Music (1980) featured
the Village People, a posse of non-singing celebrities, a disco score and a
production that overstepped the line between camp and idiocy.
- The charmless Grease 2 (1982) became the
latest in an unbroken line of disastrous musical sequels. (Would Hollywood
never learn?)
- Legendary director John Huston decided to try his
hand at musicals, turning the international stage smash Annie (1982)
into a clumsy spectacle
- Sir Richard Attenborough's adaptation of A Chorus
Line (1985) drained every ounce of inspiration from one of the most dynamic
Broadway musicals of its time.
Pink Floyd - The Wall (1982) was a hit with a limited audience,
but this series of rock songs was more a precursor of music videos than a musical. In
an eerie re-enactment of the early 1930s, the film musical was proclaimed
dead by most industry executives -- just as musicals started kicking their way out of
the grave to become a top-grossing genre by the 1990s.
The Muppets: "The Rainbow
Connection"
Jim Henson 's Muppets had been entertaining Americans on television since
the 1950s, winning their greatest acclaim on Sesame Street and The Muppet
Show (1976-81). By 1980, the Muppets could claim an audience of 235 million viewers
in over 100 countries. Henson took things a step further and brought the Muppets to the
big screen, with the most successful new screen couple since Mickey Rooney and Judy
Garland. That the couple in question was a frog and a pig only added to their
appeal.
The Muppet Movie (1979) featured the loveable frog Kermit
and the irrepressible Miss Piggy as the romantic leads. It was an international success
and the song "Rainbow Connection" became a standard. The Great Muppet Caper
(1981) and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) did
well, appealing to both kids and adults. Henson focused on non-musical fantasy films until
his untimely death in 1990. His son Brian directed a new series of successful musicals
including The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) and The Muppet Treasure Island
(1996).
Victor/Victoria: "Try To Hang On To
Hope"
Victor/Victoria (1982) was the
best new screen musical since Gigi. It told the story of "a woman pretending
to be a man pretending to be a woman" in 1930s Paris. That the film dealt with the
touchy issue of sexual identity made its success all the more remarkable. Director
Blake Edwards (best remembered for his Pink
Panther films) provided a witty screenplay and memorable visual
gags. Even without songs, the film would have been a first-rate comedy.
But wonderful songs made the film all the grander.
Henry Mancini provided the score, and
Julie Andrews (Edwards' wife) provided the
star power, giving one of the funniest performances of her career. From the uproarious
"Le Jazz Hot" to the introspective "Crazy World," she was in top
form. When Music Man's Robert Preston joined
Andrews for "You and Me" or took center screen for an uproarious drag finale,
it was pure magic. It was also the last great live-action musical film of the 20th
Century.
Ashman & Menken: "The Meek Shall Inherit"
The new golden age of animated musicals began when Little
Shop of Horrors opened in a small Off-Broadway theatre in 1982.
Composer Alan Menken and lyricist/librettist
Howard Ashman turned Roger Corman's campy
horror film into a wickedly funny, family-friendly stage musical. When they adapted it
for the screen in 1986 (directed by veteran Muppeteer Frank Oz), the results were even
more entertaining, capturing the humorous sense of fantasy that most stage and screen
musicals seemed to have lost. Ashman and Menken moved on to separate unsuccessful
stage projects, but Little Shop did not go unnoticed.
At the Disney studio, the new regime of Disney CEO Michael
Eisner, Vice Chairman Roy Disney and Studio Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg was rebuilding
their animation team. The Great Mouse Detective (1986) and Oliver
& Company (1988) looked great but suffered from so-so scores. Remembering
the success of Little Shop, Disney and Katzenberg called on Ashman and Menken to
create the score for an animated feature.
The Little Mermaid (1989) was the
finest animated musical in decades. The classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale was
given a Disney twist with singing sea creatures, a spunky title heroine and an evil
humanoid octopus witch. Ashman and Menken's score opted for a traditional Broadway sound,
using seasoned stage performers to sing
the soundtrack. The ballad "Part of Your World" was worthy of any stage hit,
and "Under the Sea" was the wildest showstopper in a generation.
Disney's Little Mermaid became the surprise hit of the year, grossing over
100 million dollars. It received Oscars for Best Song ("Under the Sea") and
Best Original Score, won Grammys for its best-selling soundtrack CD, and inspired a
successful animated TV series. Ashman and Menken were given the go ahead for more
projects. Their efforts would make animated musicals one of the most profitable genres
in the decade ahead.
Next: Film 1990s
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