Musicals are built on beauty and chaos because they don’t wait for a perfect moment. They create one. A character might be mid-breakdown, mid-celebration, or just walking down the street, and suddenly the world bends to their story and bursts into melody. It’s not just storytelling, but storytelling turned inside out, where emotions are too big for words alone. The songs decorate the plot, drive the character arcs, and make a movie unforgettable.

But let’s be honest. Most musicals have their dips. A transitional ballad here, a comic relief number there, and a song that feels more like a detour than a narrative device. But some rare musicals stand out because every single track is 10/10.

With Wicked: For Good flying into theaters real soon and promising to close one of the most beloved musical adaptations of the decade, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the elite bunch. Here are 8 perfect musicals where every song is a 10/10.

8

‘Mary Poppins’ (1964)

In Edwardian London, the Banks family is in disarray. Mr. Banks is a rigid banker, Mrs. Banks is a distracted suffragette, and their two children, Jane and Michael, are in desperate need of attention and care. Enter Mary Poppins, a mysterious and magical nanny who arrives via umbrella to restore order, not through discipline, but through wonder. With her friend Bert, she takes the children on whimsical adventures, including jumping into chalk paintings, floating on laughter, and dancing on rooftops.

There’s a reason Mary Poppins swept five Oscars and became a generational touchstone, and it’s that the music is truly enchanting. “A Spoonful of Sugar” is as catchy as it is clever, while “Feed the Birds” delivers an unexpected gut punch. “Chim Chim Cher-ee” won Best Original Song, and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” is still a shorthand for whimsy. The Sherman Brothers crafted a score that is musically rich and narratively essential, making sure each song drives the story forward.

7

‘The Greatest Showman’ (2017)

20th Century Fox

Loosely inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman follows the rise of a visionary who turns a ragtag group of outcasts into a dazzling spectacle. After losing his job, Barnum dreams up a circus that celebrates trapeze artists, bearded ladies, and performers that society has cast aside. As the show gains fame, Barnum’s ambition grows, leading him to court high society and the opera world. But in chasing stardom, he risks losing the very people who made his dream possible.

The Greatest Showman is a story of belonging, reinvention, and the cost of chasing a bigger applause. Every track in the movie is a banger. “This Is Me” became an anthem of self-acceptance, earning a Golden Globe and an Oscar nod. “Rewrite the Stars” is a swoon-worthy duet with real aerial choreography, while “The Greatest Show” and “Come Alive” explode with energy. The album topped the charts worldwide, and the movie, despite its 56% Rotten Tomatoes score and mixed reviews, became a sleeper hit through word-of-mouth and streaming.

6

‘Singin’ in the Rain’ (1952)

Loew’s Inc.

Set during Hollywood’s transition from films to talkies, Singin’ in the Rain centers on Don Lockwood, a matinee idol whose career is threatened when sound revolutionizes the industry. To save his latest movie, Don and his best friend Cosmo Brown team up with aspiring actress Kathy Selden to dub over his shrill-voiced co-star Lina Lamont. All of it leads to a backstage comedy full of romance and showbiz satire.

The plot is light but clever, serving as a love letter to the golden age of Hollywood and the chaos that came with technological change. But what’s interesting is that there is not a single skip in this Technicolor masterpiece. “Good Morning” is a trio that still feels fresh, “Make ’Em Laugh” is a slapstick clinic by Donald O’Connor, and of course, the title number, which finds Gene Kelly dancing through a downpour, is one of the most iconic scenes in movie history. To add, Kelly’s athleticism, Debbie Reynolds’ charm, and O’Connor’s comedic timing make every song land.

5

‘La La Land’ (2016)

Black Label Media

In a dreamy, pastel-hued Los Angeles, La La Land tells the story of two artists chasing their ambitions. Mia is an aspiring actress stuck in a cycle of failed auditions, and Sebastian is a jazz pianist determined to open his own club. Their paths cross in traffic, at parties, and eventually in love, as they push each other to pursue their passions. But as success inches closer, their relationship suffers from the weight of compromise and timing.

Damien Chazelle’s modern musical is both a tribute to old Hollywood and a bittersweet meditation on what it means to choose between love and dreams. It’s an emotional story, and the soundtrack echoes just that. “City of Stars” won the Oscar, but it’s the full suite, comprising “Another Day of Sun,” “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” “A Lovely Night” that makes the movie feel like a mixtape of hope and heartbreak. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling aren’t Broadway belters, but their raw performances led the movie to earn six Academy Awards.

4

‘Chicago’ (2002)

Miramax Films

Adapted from the 1975 Broadway musical of the same name, Chicago follows the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife with dreams of vaudeville fame, who murders her lover and lands in jail. There she meets Velma Kelly, a nightclub star also accused of murder. Both women vie for the attention of slick lawyer Billy Flynn, who spins their crimes into media gold, turning the courtroom into a stage and burying the truth under sequins and smoke.

Directed by Rob Marshall, the movie transforms the Bob Fosse stage musical into a razzle-dazzle spectacle of ambition, manipulation, and fame. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger bring sharp contrast, while Richard Gere’s Flynn oozes charm. The musical sequences are cleverly staged as fantasy performances, with “Cell Block Tango” turning confessions into choreography and “Razzle Dazzle” being the cynical showstopper. Chicago won six Oscars and revived interest in movie musicals in the 2000s.

3

‘The Sound of Music’ (1965)

20th Century Fox

The Sound of Music is set against the looming backdrop of World War II, and it tells the story of Maria, a young nun-in-training, who is sent to be the governess for the seven children of Captain Georg von Trapp, a widowed naval officer. Her warmth and love of music slowly thaw the captain’s stern heart and bring joy back into the household. But as Maria and the captain fall in love, the family must confront the rise of Nazism in Austria and flee to safety.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s score is simply perfect. “Do-Re-Mi,” “My Favorite Things,” “Edelweiss,” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” aren’t just catchy songs. They are emotionally resonant and rich with messages about love, resilience, and the healing power of music. Julie Andrews’ voice is crystalline, and her performance as Maria is endlessly warm. The movie won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and remains one of the highest-grossing musicals of all time.

2

‘West Side Story’ (1961)

United Artists 

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and set in the streets of 1950s New York, West Side Story follows two rival gangs, The Jets, a white American gang, and the Sharks, a Puerto Rican group, as they are locked in a bitter turf war. Between all the chaos, Tony, a former Jet, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Shark leader Bernardo. Their romance sparks hope but also escalates the violence around them, leading to a series of devastating turns that challenge the possibility of peace.

Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, West Side Story reimagines a world where love and violence dance side by side. From the opening finger snaps of the “Prologue” to the aching final notes of “Somewhere,” it delivers a soundtrack that is both musically daring and emotionally explosive. Leonard Bernstein’s score, Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics, and Rita Moreno’s fiery performance in “America,” all drove it to take home 10 Academy Awards and turned it into a towering achievement in the history of musicals.

1

‘Wicked’ (2024)

Universal Pictures

Wicked: dives into the untold story of Elphaba, the misunderstood young woman who would become the Wicked Witch of the West. Set in the magical land of Oz before Dorothy’s arrival, it follows Elphaba’s early days at Shiz University, where she meets the bubbly and ambitious Glinda. Though polar opposites, the two form a complicated friendship that’s tested by power and prejudice. As Elphaba begins to question the Wizard’s regime and her own place in the world, she is forced to make a tough choice.

Wicked: Part One honors Stephen Schwartz’s legendary score, setting the stage for a sweeping two-part saga of identity, rebellion, and sisterhood. “Defying Gravity” is an undeniable showstopper because Cynthia Erivo’s performance reportedly brought audiences to their feet. “Popular” is a comedic gem, “I’m Not That Girl” aches with heartbreak, and “What Is This Feeling?” captures the duo’s early friction with bite. Ariana Grande’s Glinda is a revelation, too. Moreover, the production design and faithfulness to the source material ensured Wicked was a massive commercial success.

Die My Love is the latest Lynne Ramsay movie that focuses on motherhood, marriage, and the mental health concerns surrounding both. The entire theme has been part of movies for years, and these films approach everything from postpartum depression to the excessive expectations that society throws onto mothers.

The best movies about motherhood often have fantastic actresses starring as these mothers facing societal and mental problems, sometimes breaking down in the midst of their struggles, and fighting to regain their autonomy. With Die My Love receiving positive reviews, here are the most disturbing films focusing on motherhood.

Die My Love (2025)

The most recent movie about a woman breaking down thanks to the weight of marriage and motherhood is Jennifer Lawrence’s Die My Love. Directed by Ramsay, who has made other movies about the struggles of motherhood, this film sees Grace and Jackson move to his old country home, where they soon have their first child.

The entire film is about a young mother who develops postpartum depression and finds little help in the community where they moved. This shows the breakdown of their family, as both Grace and Jackson start to struggle in their roles as partners and parents, but it is Grace who has the most significant breakdown of the two.

Critics praised the film as a depiction of an “oft-ignored experience,” while audiences were less favorable thanks to its tendency to bounce around and keep everyone watching off balance. However, that is its brilliance, and Lawrence is earning award recognition for her performance.

Grace (2009)

Grace is a horror movie set in the world of motherhood, and it is another metaphor for both postpartum depression and the idea that a child will “eat away” at their mother from the moment they are born. The parallel here is that the concept of a baby and a vampire are equal when it comes to draining the mothers.

The movie opens with a disturbing moment as a woman is in a car accident that kills her husband and her unborn baby. However, she asks to carry it to term anyway, and then the baby is born alive. However, when the baby begins needing to feed on blood, the entire film takes a horrific turn.

This was clearly a cult indie horror movie, with Jordan Ladd delivering an excellent performance as the mother. The story is a nice little mix of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, with a bit of Dracula thrown into the mix.

Mother! (2017)

Die My Love was not the first time that Jennifer Lawrence had starred in a movie about mothers and their place in the world. She was in a much more bizarre film about the topic when she starred in Darren Aronofsky’s mother! in 2017. That film received a wildly polarized reception from critics and the audience.

Javier Bardem stars as “Him,” a poet whose pregnant wife, “Mother,” is his muse. However, one day a group of people arrive at their house. When “Him” invites them in, they stay and refuse to leave. “Him” doesn’t seem to mind, but “Mother” begins to lose herself when these people want to control her pregnancy.

While this is a complicated film, Lawrence has said it is an allegory about how society “rapes and torments Mother Earth,” and she represented that Mother in this film, while Him represents God.

A Mouthful Of Air (2021)

Released in 2021, A Mouthful of Air is a psychological drama with Amanda Seyfried starring as a young mother named Julie. The film opens with a traumatic scene as Julie survives a suicide attempt on the night of her son’s first birthday. As she recovers, she tries to show gratitude, but her anxiety is ongoing.

A second pregnancy makes her decide she has to face her own childhood trauma if she and her children are to survive. The movie was a box office flop, but most of that had to do with it being released in the middle of a pandemic and people not wanting dark subject matter when the real world was so bleak.

However, A Mouthful of Air was a solid look at trauma and motherhood with a devastating lead performance by Seyfried. The actress chooses honesty rather than histrionics, and it is this performance that shows the real effects of depression and anxiety on a young mother.

We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)

Lynne Ramsay, the director of Die My Love, had a very different look at motherhood in her 2011 film, We Need to Talk About Kevin. Instead of exploring a mother’s trauma after having a child, this deals with a mother whose child is already a teenager – and then does the unthinkable.

Tilda Swinton is the mother in this movie who has to deal with the fallout when her son, Kevin (Ezra Miller), goes to school one day and kills several students, after also killing his dad and sister. She has no idea what led to this and doesn’t know how to react, yet the entire community blames her for the tragedy.

The movie includes flashbacks of Eva and her husband starting a family with Kevin as their young child, and then shows possible reasons she might have to blame herself for his later actions. It is a horrifying movie about a mother’s love and never understanding why he did what he did. It is a tough, yet rewarding watch.

Us (2019)

Us is a Jordan Peele horror movie that shows a mysterious underground society that hides doppelgängers of everyone in the city above. However, one day, these doppelgängers come to the surface and begin killing their opposites, seeking to take over their lives.

The star is Lupita Nyong’o, who plays a mother who will do anything to protect her family and kids when their doubles come for them. However, there is a horrifying twist at the end of Us that shows nothing is as it seems. This is a story about motherhood, but who the real villain is remains the question.

While not as successful as his previous movie, Get Out, Us still received critical acclaim, with a 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and critics calling it a great story about oppression and the American family.

Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022)

Huesera: The Bone Woman is likely the most obscure, disturbing movie about motherhood, but it is one that anyone interested in the genre should seek out. This is a Mexican-Peruvian supernatural horror movie about a pregnant woman who finds herself threatened by the occult.

It sounds similar to what Rosemary’s Baby offered, but this is more of a body horror movie, with the woman having terrifying nightmares that all tie into her upcoming pregnancy. The soon-to-be mother has to make a choice, and in the end, she wants nothing to do with her child.

Critics praised the film, awarding it a 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating, calling it “bone-chilling body horror” and a twisted take on what to expect during pregnancy. It relies primarily on disturbing images and themes that motherhood can sometimes feel like a curse.

Hereditary (2018)

Hereditary is another movie that has a mother dealing with traumatic experiences after her kids are already starting to get older. This trauma is twofold, as the mother here is Toni Collette’s Annie, a woman whose daughter dies in a tragic auto accident, causing her to blame and push away her son, destroying her family in the process.

Ari Aster creates a story here about trauma and how one terrible accident can drive any mother over the edge. Of course, he also brings the occult into it and takes a little bit away from the actual family drama, since this group was always pulling the strings that drove Annie over the edge.

Critics awarded Hereditary a high 90% Rotten Tomatoes rating, praising the slow-burning horror and the depiction of one death destroying the entire family, leaving only the mother to try to understand her fate when it is all too late.

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Roman Polanski’s masterpiece is his 1968 horror movie, Rosemary’s Baby. Mia Farrow stars as Rosemary, a woman who moves into a new apartment with her husband and finds the residents in the building to be a little too interested in her life. When she ends up pregnant, she realizes her life is in danger.

It is no spoiler to reveal that she is pregnant with the Anti-Christ, and that her pregnancy was after a demon sexually assaulted her following a deal her husband made with the cult in the building. This is easily a parable about a woman who loses her own bodily autonomy and finds that she has no say in her fate.

By the end of Rosemary’s Baby, when the mother looks at her baby and asks what is wrong with its eyes, she realizes too late that she might have delivered the being that would destroy the world. When she decides to settle down with her baby anyway, it shows her resigned to her fate as a mother.

The Babadook (2014)

The Babadook is a horror movie that relies on its audience to read between the lines, which is not always easy for mainstream audiences who prefer to have things spelled out for them. Directed by Jennifer Kent, the main story is about a woman and her son and the fear that a creature known as the Babadook is terrorizing both of them.

However, the film suggests the idea that the Babadook is not real, but only a metaphor open for interpretation. It is easy to watch the movie and see that the Babadook represents the grief of a mother who doesn’t know how to control it. This small family lost their husband/father years ago, and both are dealing with his loss in different ways.

The most prominent theme here is how a mother can help a child understand grief and overcome trauma healthily, and if she is ignoring her pain, there is no way she can teach her child to remain strong. When it comes to movies about motherhood, this shows how challenging that role can be in the end.