Musicals have been a timeless and widely beloved avenue of storytelling long before film was broadcast on the silver screen, with the art of song and dance having a deep and ingrained history throughout humanity. However, nowadays, musicals seemingly get a negative reputation from casual filmgoers, with many modern examples evenhiding the fact that they’re musicalsin an attempt to trick audiences. While the genre is largely a mixed bag when it comes to its popularity in film, the very concept of a musical number has proven to be highly prolific outside of musical movies.
Whether it be a silly comedic moment amplified by the usage of a song or a character singing an already-existing classic to emphasize the moment, many films go out of their way to lean into the world of musicals for just one scene. Many of the same attributes that make musicals such a blast to watch, such as great choreography and passionate singing, can play into making these individual sequences major standouts in the film. Even as recently asBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, non-musical films are finding ways to introduce song and dance into their narratives.These are the best and most wildly creative musical numbers in non-musical movies, bursts of energy that greatly enrich the plot.
10Bohemian Rhapsody
‘Wayne’s World’ (1992)
There is an undeniable bond and joy that come from driving down at high speeds and singing along to a powerful song while on the road, an experience perfectly encapsulated inWayne’s World. The moment takes place when Garth and Wayne are driving across the city at nighttime in the legendary Mirthmobile, singing along to the classic Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody” as they pick up more people and explore the town.
This singular moment hasan undeniable legacy even beyondWayne’s Worlditself, often being cited asa major reason why Queen regained popularityin the United States during the ’90s and beyond. While it may not have the choreography or dance moves of a standard musical number, the sequence has all the charm and joy of singing along with friends and getting deeply into the song that’s playing. The sequence is considered one of the best gags inWayne’s World, an exceptional testament considering the number of great moments in the film.
Wayne’s World
9Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
‘10 Things I Hate About You’ (1999)
Singing a song to express one’s love for another person is one of the most iconic ways that musicals show the motivations of characters in a love story; thus, it makes sense that a non-musical rom-com would use the same approach. In this highly memorable sequence from10 Things I Hate About You,Heath Ledger’s Patrick breaks into the speakers of the high school football field to sing the Frankie Valli classic, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” His ploy even involves getting the entire school marching band to play along to his singing as he dances around and dodges security guards.
There are a lot of moving parts that make thisone of the most enjoyable and memorable moments of an already iconic romantic comedy, from Ledger’s impeccable singing to the marching band rendition of the song toJulia Stiles’s reaction of embarrassment and befuddlement. It serves to make the connection and romance between the characters that much more charming and lovable, cementing10 Things I Hate About Youas one ofthe defining rom-coms of the ’90s.
10 Things I Hate About You
8The Catalina Wine Mixer
‘Step Brothers’ (2008)
While many comedy films use the advent of a musical number as a high-effort punchline, sometimes, it can be transformed into something not only funny but also poignant and beautiful. During the ending climax ofStep Brothers, Brennan (Will Ferrell) gets up on stage to finally get over his fear of stage fright and keep Dale (John C. Reilly) from embarrassing himself at the long-awaited Catalina Wine Mixer. What follows is a beautiful and somber rendition of “Por Tí Volaré,” a Spanish-translated version of a beautiful Italian opera song.
The sequence balanceshilarious, over-the-top humor with a genuinely well-sung rendition of a beautiful opera song, complete with touching yet hilarious visual companionship. It’s a major highlight ofStep Brothersthat ties everything the film has built toward into a single moment of absurdity and grace. The sequence ends with a wild, over-the-top drum solo from Reilly that caps off the moment perfectly,cementingStep Brothersas a comedy classic.
Step Brothers
7Everything is Awesome
‘The Lego Movie’ (2014)
While there is a lot of mileage to gain from using an already existing song for a musical number, there can also be a great benefit to havingan original song that coincides with the film’s themes and overall message. The hilariously satirical “Everything is Awesome” fromThe Lego Moviefits this approach, as the song plays near the start when the audience gets a good look at the daily life of Emmet in Bricksburg. Seemingly as if it’s the only song that anyone listens to in the town, they end up singing along to the song for hours on end until the work day is over.
Multiple satirical angles help make “Everything is Awesome” sucha memorable and hilarious song, being a direct parody of pop song earworms while also being an earworm itself. ConsideringThe Lego Movie’s themes of individuality and creativity versus conformity, it’s easy to see the song as a mandated distraction from the negative aspects of life in Bricksburg, such as the notoriously overpriced coffee. The song was so popular that it earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, even whenThe Lego Movieitself infamously got snubbed for Best Animated Feature.
The Lego Movie
6I’m Just Ken
‘Barbie’ (2023)
“I’m Just Ken” is proof that a musical number can be so exceptional and well-crafted that it can create an entire discussion separate from its movie. As one of the standout moments fromBarbie,“I’m Just Ken” acts as a hilarious, self-reflective ballad fromRyan Gosling’s Ken, as he sings away his struggles and hardships about not being appreciated enough by Barbie. As if the song itself wasn’t hilarious enough, the addition of high-effort choreography and dance sequences only further added to the comedy and memorability of the musical number.
“I’m Just Ken” features just about everything one would want from a comedy musical number, including the high production value, hilarious originality and self-awareness of the lyrics, and great commitment to the inherent comedy. It explains why the song became such a massive hit, and while it may not have won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, it certainly made forone of the most memorable original musical numbers in recent memory.
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5Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ (2005)
Seen by many as the quintessential example of how to havea fun dance number in a non-musical film, the double feature musical number at the end ofThe 40-Year-Old Virginacts as the perfect goodbye to the raunchy comedy. The musical number comes after Andy (Steve Carell) finally loses his virginity, with every character in coming together in a high-imagination musical number complete with colorful outfits and celebratory dance moves.
The sequence’s insight of being an imagination-driven expression of joy and excitementallows it to go all out in terms of comedic potential and expression, ignoring the rules of reality and making the best musical number possible. The usage of “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” also feels like the perfect fit to encapsulate the joy and release of finally achieving sexual gratification in the context of the film, no matter how raunchy or obscene it may seem on paper.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
4Naatu Naatu
‘RRR’ (2022)
While musical numbers in action films may seem to be a jarring clash of tones in standard Hollywood blockbusters, the usage of intricate dance numbers is much more common when it comes to Bollywood productions. While few Indian films have made the massive jump to worldwide acclaim and recognition, the strengths and grace ofRRRsimply couldn’t be ignored by local audiences, thanks greatly in part to the near-perfect musical number, “Naatu Naatu.” The sequence takes place as a way for the lead characters to show off a hook step dance and out-dance all the elite, high-class attendees of a party they go to.
The flashy and electrifying sequence quickly becameone of the most memorable and talked about aspects of the film, helping launch it into the global discussion as an example of just how exceptional Indian filmmaking can be.“Naatu Naatu” won the Oscar for Best Original Song, making history and becoming the first and only song from an Indian film to win the award. While its win is still relatively recent, it’s already cemented a powerful legacy as one of the best wins that the award category has ever had.
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3Twist and Shout
‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ (1986)
Many films have used the legendary discography of The Beatles to elevate the story and sequences, both as musical numbers and as effective needle drops, and no singular moment holds such a cultural impact asFerris Bueller’s Day Off. The sequence sees the titular Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) as a part of the Chicago parade, where he leads an impromptu dance performance of the iconic Beatles song “Twist and Shout.”
Such a simple and mild-mannered concept is transformed into a beautiful display of style, love, and overwhelming passion,a love letter to the city of Chicago. Although the song is only lip-synced by Broderick, it fits so in line with the character of Ferris Bueller that it doesn’t detract from the strength of the scene or the strength of the song. Combined with the usage of the song inRodney Dangerfield’sBack to School, the scene proved to be so effective thatTwist and Shoutfound itselfback on the Billboard Top 100following the release of the film.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
2Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
‘Life of Brian’ (1979)
Especially in the realm of comedy films, there are few ways to better end a film than to use a catchy, memorable tune to leave the audience in good spirits. When it comes to original songs that combine comedy and good vibes to segway into the credits, the quintessential example comes from pinnacles of British comedyMonty Python in their second feature film,Life of Brian. The song takes place when Brian is at the end of his journey, being crucified and slowly meeting the end of his life; yet, another man being crucified simply can’t help but be optimistic, singing about how one always has to look on the bright side of life.
All the black comedy and classic British humor present throughoutLife of Brianis fully encapsulated within this singular musical number, bringing together the best attributes of the film for one final memorable gag. It certainly helps that the song itself is just as catchy as it is hilarious, with the array of whistles making it impossible not to join along in the song’s ironic optimism for life and death.Few songs can bring about a cheery attitudeeven in the worst and most painful of situations, charming audiences for generations.
Life of Brian
1Johnny B Goode
‘Back to the Future’ (1985)
Finding a great way to implement a musical number into the high-stakes climax of the film is hard. However,Back to the Future’s use ofJohnny B Goodehas becomeone of the most iconic musical numbers in film history. The iconic moment comes right after Marty succeeds in getting his parents back together and, after having just performed a classic dance song, ends up playing the classic Rock & Roll song 3 years before it would be released as a single. On top of featuring all the excitement of victory, the song also features several great comedic moments, such as inspiring the real-lifeChuck Berryand Marty going over the top with the guitar solo.
Back to the Futureisan iconic piece of ’80s movie historywith many memorable moments and standout sequences, so it speaks wonders to the strength of this musical number that it still stands out as a highlight of the film. It uses the song to its utmost abilities asa love letter, not just to the period but to rock and roll as an art formwhile also acting as a cathartic climax of the film. As the years go by andBack to the Futurefurthers its outstanding legacy, this standout sequence stands alongside it as the best use of a musical number in a movie that isn’t a musical.
