Not every Disney/Pixar movie is appropriate for middle school or high school students; some are

just “too young.” However, those listed below are enduring classics, with many sing-along

moments, strong characters – WITH character – and generally reinforcing positive qualities from

manners to acceptance to working together with others toward a desired outcome.

[It’s also good to let even the older students be “kids” once in a while!]

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• • Original Release: 1992 1991 2006 1950 2010

Rating: G G G G PG

• Source: Walt Disney Video

Time: 1:30:00 1:32:00 1:56:00 1:16:00 1:35:00

• Original Release: 1940 1999 2003 1993 1995

Rating: G G G PG G

• Source: Walt Disney Video

Time: 2:05:00 1:14:00 1:40:00 1:16:00 1:21:00

• Original Release: 2013 2007

Rating: G G

Time: 1:35:00 1:51:00

While not Disney/Pixar, this movie also embodies strong, positive characteristics:

• Original Release: 2004

Rating: G

Time: 1:40:00

Not every musical which has graced the silver screen is appropriate for middle school/high

school students. Some have content which is far too “adult” [All That Jazz, Chicago, Rent, etc.].

However, presenting musical theatre to music classes (of any kind) is ultimately appropriate;

questions raised after viewing can include: “(how) does the music carry the story line? what

would the movie be like with no music?” The shows listed below are a sampling of those which

should be considered appropriate for students to view, and to learn music from:

• Original Release: 1951 Original Release: 1954

Rating: NR Rating: G

Time: 1:54:00 Time: 1:48:00

Joshua Logan directs this lavish version of the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe Broadway success with Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, and Franco Nero in the lead roles originally portrayed on Broadway by Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, and Robert Goulet. The musical, based on T.H. White's The Once and Future King, chronicles the legend of King Arthur [Richard Harris] and his tortured love affair with his queen Guenevere [Vanessa Redgrave]. Arthur first encounters Guenevere, on the day of their wedding, in the enchanted forest surrounding Camelot. After the wedding, Arthur's bliss at his marriage to the lovely Guenevere prompts him to establish the Knights of the Round Table, a lofty order of chivalry in which all the member knights are bound by a desire the help the oppressed, keeping faith with trust and honor. Such is the fame of the Knights of the Round Table that a young French knight, Lancelot Du Lac [Franco Nero], seeks to join the order. Lancelot quickly becomes the most celebrated of all the knights, and Guenevere, aloof at first, falls in love with him.

• Original Release: 1967

Rating: NR

Time: 3:00:00

Cats is the longest-running show in Broadway history. It has been performed at Theatrikos (by Theatrikids), and the cast included some NPA students.

• Original Release: 1998

Rating: NR

Time: 2:01:00

Overview Norman Jewison's adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical is set in the Ukranian ghetto village of Anatevka the film was actually lensed in Yugoslavia. Israeli actor Topol repeats his London stage role as Tevye the milkman, whose equilibrium is constantly being challenged by his poverty, the prejudicial attitudes of non-Jews, and the romantic entanglements of his five daughters. Whenever the weight of the world becomes too much for him, Tevye carries on lengthy conversations with God, who does not answer but is at least more willing to listen than the milkman's remonstrative wife Golde. After arranging a marriage between his oldest daughter Tzeitel and wealthy butcher Lazar Wolf, Tevye is forced to do some quick rearranging when the girl falls in love with poor tailor Motel Kamzoil. Fancying himself more broad-minded than his gentile oppressors, Tevye cannot accept the notion that his other daughter Chava would want to marry Fyedka, a non-Jew. And after shouting the praises of "tradition," Tevye must change his tune-and his entire life-when he and his neighbors are forced out of Anatevka by the Czar's minions.

• Original Release: 1971 – a tie-in to WWII world history

Rating: G

Time: 2:59:00

The King and I, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's 1951 Broadway musical hit, was based on Margaret Landon's book Anna and the King of Siam.

• Original Release: 1956

Rating: NR

Time: 2:13:00

• Original Release: 2012 Original Release: 1962 Original Release: 1964

Rating: NR Rating: G Rating: G

• Time: 2:18:00 Time: 2:31:00 Time: 2:52:00

• Original Release: 1955 Original Release: 2004 Original Release: 1952

Rating: G Rating: PG-13 (high school) Rating: NR

Time: 2:25:00 Time: 2:21:00 Time: 1:43:00

also ties into U.S./World History: WWII

• Original Release: 1965 Original Release: 2001

Rating: G Rating: NR

Time: 2:55:00 Time: 2:15:00

Romeo and Juliet is updated to the tenements of New York City in this Oscar-winning musical landmark. Adapted by Ernest Lehman from the Broadway production, the movie opens with an overhead shot of Manhattan, an effect that director Robert Wise would repeat over the Alps in The Sound of Music four years later. We are introduced to two rival street gangs: The Jets, second-generation American teens, and the Sharks, Puerto Rican immigrants. When the war between the Jets and Sharks reaches a fever pitch, Jets leader Riff decides to challenge the Sharks to one last "winner take all" rumble. He decides to meet Sharks leader Bernardo for a war council at a gymnasium dance; to bolster his argument, Riff wants his old pal Tony , the cofounder of the Jets, to come along. But Tony has set his sights on vistas beyond the neighborhood and has fallen in love with Bernardo's sister Maria, a love that, as in Romeo and Juliet, will eventually end in tragedy. In contrast to the usual slash-and-burn policy of Hollywood musical adaptations, all the songs written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim for the original Broadway production of West Side Story were retained for the film version, although some alterations were made to appease the Hollywood censors especially in the lyrics of "Gee, Officer Krupke", and the original order of two songs was reversed for stronger dramatic impact. The movie more than retains the original choreography of Jerome Robbins, which is recreated is some of the most startling and balletic dance sequences ever recorded on film. West Side Story won an almost-record 10 Oscars, including Best Picture. Natalie Wood's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon, who also dubbed Audrey Hepburn in My

Fair Lady; the film's New York tenement locations were later razed to make room for Lincoln Center.

• Original Release: 1961

Rating: NR

Time: 2:33:00

•

• Original Release: 1939

Rating: G

Time: 1:41:00

Two further categories, which I’ve blended here. The first is movies about music and/or musicians; the

second is ballet and opera.

Was Mozart really mad? This epic film directed by Milos Forman tries to answer that question, while recreating the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's adult life, told through the eyes of his competitor, Antonio Salieri. Tom Hulce makes a suitably bawdy Mozart, while F. Murray Abraham won an Academy award for his portrayal of Salieri.Amadeus also won Best Picture for 1984, thanks in part to Saul Zaentz's lavish production. The sets and costumes in this film are richly detailed, giving a glimpse into the courtly world of 1781 Europe. This DVD celebrates the music of both Mozart and Salieri, and also strongly highlights the scoring of Sir Neville Marriner. Language and subtitle options are available in English and French.

• Original Release: 1984

Rating: PG

• Source: Warner Home Video

• Time: 2:40:00

NPA Strings have performed some of their works. Barrage: The World on Stage compiles some of the unusual band's most memorable concert performances. Barrage, an 11-person group, is nothing if not unique. The players themselves perform experimental dance routines while they jam. In one concert, fans might experience Funkadelic grooves, big band songs, Celtic tunes, and even East Indian-influenced sounds. The stand-out group has packed venues around the globe. In this showcase of highlights, they keep listeners guessing.

• Release Date: 11/9/2010

• Original Release: 1999

• Source: Mel Bay Records

• Time: 60:00

violist Pinchas Zukerman, bassist Zubin Mehta, violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Jacqueline Du Pré and pianist Daniel Barenboim; this is a lengthy documentary performance of Schubert’s quintet, called “The Trout” Release date: 8/16/2005 Rating: NR Time: 3:01:00

The Magic Flute Kathleen Battle, Francisco Araiza, and Kurt Moll star in this production of one of Mozart's best-loved operas, staged by the Metropolitan Opera of New York with sets designed by David Hockney. In Mozart's witty and whimsical story, the wise but wily Sarastro (Kurt Moll) kidnaps the beautiful but naive Pamina (Kathleen Battle), whose mother is the Queen of the Night (Lucianna Serra). Understandably upset, the Queen commands Prince Tamino (Francisco Araiza) to rescue her daughter, but while Tamino soon falls in love with Pamina, he also comes to believe that the Queen who commands him is the real villain, not Sarastro. This production of Die Zauberflote is presented in its entirety, including the dialogue sequences that are often excised from recordings of the opera.

• Original Release: 1991

Rating: NR

Language: English

Time: 2:49:00

Emile Ardolino's cinematic adaptation of the classic Christmas ballet The Nutcracker comes to DVD with English and French soundtracks rendered in Dolby Digital Surround and a Spanish soundtrack recorded in Dolby Digital Mono. Subtitles are accessible in all three of these languages as well. Supplemental materials include production notes and a theatrical trailer. Fans of this perennial favorite will want to give this disc a look, while those interested in one of Macaulay Culkin's stranger film appearances will also be intrigued.

• Original Release: 1993

Rating: G

Time: 1:33:00