Anyone seen Mamma Mia!? Which is better, the stage musical or the film?

The release of the Les Mis trailer this morning is only the latest in a long list of film adaptations of musicals. Looking back on the last 10 years, which shows made the best and worst transitions from stage to screen? Well at least it could only get better from here.

Lloyd Webber fans will be gathering in the comments, but this was one musical that did not translate to film. The grandiose spectacle of Phantom became ridiculous and kitsch on film, to the point where not even Gerard Butler’s brooding could save it (and certainly not his singing). The thing about Phantom was it took itself too seriously.

On stage you can be forgiving, because the scale of the show permits it to be a little outlandish, but on film it just comes across as bizarre: see Emmy Rossum riding a horse through the tunnels in the title song. Why oh why? Never mind Lloyd Webber, this was the real disaster.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Original Broadway Cast, most of whom were reunited for the film, but stage talent doesn’t always translate well to film. I’ll happily watch Idina Menzel wail all over the West End but am I so willing to listen to it in a cinema, or in my living room? Not so much.

The film was too indulgent and the musical numbers were awkward. Most of the time it was like being hit in the head with a baseball bat of bohemia. Live, it’s powerful, but on film it’s overblown.

Rent is definitely one show that belongs on the stage, and not on DVD. Now it starts to get a lot more impressive. What Dreamgirls had going for it, which a lot of stage-to-screen adaptations don’t seem to find so important, was that the cast was packed with real life singers.

And not only that – we all knew Jennifer Hudson could sing, but this girl could act too. Her standout performance stole the show, and backed up by Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and Anika Noni Rose, she was in excellent company. What works best in musicals like Dreamgirls is the mix of songs sung ‘on stage’ and songs sung ‘in character.

’ This combination works even better on film than it does on stage – it heightens the gap between The Dreams performing “Dreamgirls” for the audience, and Jennifer Hudson belting out “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” in a moment of uncontrollable emotion. Now how could anyone dislike Hairspray? On a scale of totally serious to Mamma Mia, Hairspray was definitely up there for its cheese factor, but somehow it made it work.

Maybe because unlike Phantom or Rent, Hairspray knew it was ridiculous and embraced this in every aspect – the costumes, the staging, even the acting. It may not be art house cinema, but this was two hours of total enjoyment, and you were singing the songs for days afterwards. Hairspray translated perfectly from the stage because it made fun of itself in a completely endearing way.

And after seeing John Travolta’s delightful performance in pink sequins, what else is there to say? Mamma Mia definitely scored off the charts on cheesiness. But lets be honest, the stage musical is totally ridiculous and you have to be in a fairly particular mood to enjoy women dancing around to ABBA’s hits.

In terms of a successful and faithful adaptation this certainly works. I actually preferred Mamma Mia on film to the stage. At least this way it’s Meryl Streep I get to see cavorting about, although we probably could have done without Pierce Brosnan’s speak-singing.

To be honest, most of the singing was pretty average, but it didn’t really matter because the actors were hilarious (how about Julie Walters singing “Take a Chance On Me”?) If you want even a minute of seriousness, Mamma Mia is not the film (or musical) for you. But if you can embrace the silly, this was harmless, and sometimes hilarious, fun. There haven’t been as many movie musicals in the last couple years but don’t worry – 2012 will see the release of Les Mis and Rock of Ages, with adaptations of Jersey Boys and Into the Woods underway.

You can see that I prefer movie adaptations of comedic, rather than dramatic musicals. Something about the serious themes seems more jarring when people on film are bursting into song, while on stage it seems more organic. Les Mis is certainly no comedy, but is my absolute favourite show, so I’m excited to see where they take it.

Which musicals would make it onto your list? Can musicals be made into good films even when they aren’t comedic?