Best musical movie questions of all time

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The Sound of Music picture

Question: Gretel was 5 years old and the mother died seven years ago. Who is Gretel's mom?

Answer: In the film, the Mother Abess explains to Maria that the Captain Von Trapp's wife died "several years" ago. This is commonly misheard by viewers as "seven years." In reality, the actual mother of the Von Trapp children was Agathe Whitehead, who died of scarlet fever in 1922, just four years before Maria came to the Von Trapp home, initially as a tutor (not a governess) in 1926.

Michael Albert

Answer: However when Captain Von Trapp gets the children to step forward and introduce themselves to Maria he states that their mother died 7 years ago.

Not in the 1965 film, perhaps in another version. In the 1965 film the only thing he says about his late wife when he first meets Maria is "you'll be the 12th governess...since their mother died." When he has the children introduce themselves, he only advises Maria to pay attention to their signals and names. Later after he leaves and the children say how old they are, Marta says "I'll be 7 on Tuesday."

Bishop73

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Answer: Molly gets adopted by Warbucks and becomes Annie's sister and the other orphans get adopted by other families while a reformed Miss Hannigan becomes a schoolteacher.

Answer: They are no longer at the orphanage since Miss Hannigan reformed and became a schoolteacher. So they are all adopted with Annie by "Daddy" Warbucks.

Answer: They're still staying at the orphanage, but it seems Mr. Warbucks is helping to fund them and Miss Hannigan has had a change of heart, so it's not so grim.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Annie and Molly both get adopted by Oliver Warbucks and become sisters ages 10 and 6 and live with the male family dog, Sandy and Oliver marries Grace Farrell and Grace becomes Annie and Molly's mom.

Answer: 10 year old Annie and six year old Molly and another orphan named Chloe get adopted by Oliver Warbucks and have the male family dog, Sandy and Oliver marries Grace Farrell and Grace becomes the girls' new mom.

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The Phantom of the Opera picture

Question: What does the Phantom eat and what does he spend his salary on? Presumably he can't just go to the shops etc with his mask on. If he doesn't leave the opera house where does he learn his skills like driving a carriage, who does he practice sword fighting with? Wouldn't his health suffer if he spends decades living in this damp cold rat infested place wading through lakes all the time? He even complains about it being cold himself at one point. Surely if it snowing outside his lair can't be warm but he's not wearing much.

Answer: First, it is established in the movie that he is dependant on Madame Giry and it is presumed she does his shopping for him. As for learning skills, it is established he is a genius and one can assume he is very well read. Additionally, for single handed skills, like driving a carriage, he can possibly go out at night to learn them. As for his living conditions, the human body adapts well to continuous conditions, it is how the people in Siberia can tolerate lower temperatures better than those who live close to the equator. Lastly, one can easily assume he has other (warmer) clothes that he wears off camera.

OneHappyHusky

There is a character simply known as 'the Persian' He has known the Phantom his whole life and would have taught him horse driving. In the book, the Phantom has a life before the opera house where he would have learned fencing and torture. Also, the phantom knows all the secret passages. When it's cold he leaves his lair and lives someplace warmer.

You're totally right but also, in addition to your mention of The Persian, in the book it is he that is the Phantom's only "friend" or whatever but in the movie there is no Persian exactly but the two Characters Madam Giry and The Persian from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston L. Are both combined as one, to be know as Madame Giry in the 2004 flim.

debbi.ee

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Beauty and the Beast picture

Question: Does Chip really have as many siblings as there are cups in the kitchen? Seems a bit too many, and also they aren't seen as real children at the end of the movie.

Answer: The servants in the castle are transformed into enchanted objects because of the spell, but there are still plenty of other objects in the castle which were not originally people.

wizard_of_gore

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Mamma Mia! picture

Question: When is the movie supposed to have taken place? There is reference to Donna having dated and presumably conceived in the 1960s. That would place Sophie's wedding, at age 20, no later than 1990. But isn't that a little early for Sky to be putting the Villa Donna on the internet?

Answer: Sophie finds Donna's diary from 1979, being the year Sophie was conceived meaning she was born in 1980 (as the diary entries are from July/August). So the movie is set in 2000.

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Tangled picture

Question: Is it possible the king and queen could recognize Rapunzel as their long lost daughter, despite her short brown hair, when they knew she was born with long golden hair? If so, then how?

Answer: It's entirely possible. Rapunzel has a similar face appearance to her mother's, and you could also count the family bond of simply knowing. She also has green eyes, which are uncommon, so the parents probably knew that she was unlikely an impostor.

virtual-toast

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The Wizard of Oz picture

Question: It is implied strongly in this movie that water makes witches melt, and this is spoofed in other media. I've only ever seen this referenced to wicked witches. Does water make good witches, such as Glinda, melt too?

Answer: In all likelihood, probably not. Water is often depicted and represents purity, and cleansing. It flows smoothly, is beautiful, clear, and responsible for life on Earth. Everything the Wicked Witch is not. Where as the good Witch is pure and of a true heart. So it makes sense that something so evil and impure as the evil witch would be effected by the purest substance there is, yet not harm the good witch because she is good.

Quantom X

Answer: In the original book, water caused the wicked witches to melt away because they were so old and shriveled that all the fluid in their bodies had long since dried away. Meanwhile, the film Oz: The Great and Powerful instead implies that the Wicked Witch of the West is weak against water due to being a fire-elemental witch, which could also be the case for this incarnation, meaning it wouldn't apply to other witches like Glinda (whose element in both films appears to be ice) or even the Wicked Witch of the East (whose powers are never shown in this film, but were electricity-based in Oz the Great and Powerful).

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Grease picture

Question: I can't understand why Sonny hauled Sandy off the dance floor during the dance finale. Sure Sonny was a bit of a jerk, but he idolized Danny and would never disrespect him. Also there was nothing to suggest that he and Cha-Cha were friends. I never truly understood.

Gavin Jackson

Answer: Watched that scene again now and I just think it was poor writing (in what's still a classic film regardless). How none of the judges noticed that Cha Cha took another girl's (Sandy's) place even after she'd already been "tapped out" is another huge plot hole. Plus a lot of people in America were watching the dance on TV and it's not mentioned by anyone after this scene. 35 years later and that scene still bugs me (haha).

Answer: I agree it plays a bit strange, but I always chalked it up to Sonny wanting Danny to win the dance competition and Sandy, although not bad, admits she's not on Danny's level, while Cha-cha is "the best dancer at St. Bernadette."

Also, he was drinking and upset so not thinking.

Answer: He's fall-down drunk, that's why. He's drinking during the entire dance.

Krista

Answer: When he's pulling Sandy away he is also yelling to Danny "Go! Go! Go!" So I was also wondering like if Cha-Cha told him to do that and they just failed to add that into the scene.

Answer: It was because they were going to moon the cameras, they didn't want to embarrass Sandy since she would've been offended if it happened when she and Danny were dancing.

Chosen answer: It's so Cha-Cha can go with Danny. You can see Cha-Cha giving Danny the eye. So Sonny took Sandy away for Cha-Cha's benefit.

Answer: Because in real life Olivia was late for work, as a result Annette had to take Olivia's place because she was her understudy.

Answer: It's a terrible moment in the story because it exposes Danny as being thoughtless. After already burning Sandy once (at the pep rally) you'd think he'd be mindful of not doing it again. This time, though, he humiliates her in front of the entire school, as well as on television. Unsure how Sandy's sitting with him in the next scene at the drive-in only slightly miffed. Imagine how this plays as a story to their children: "Hey, kids, did I ever tell you about how your dad embarrassed me in front of everybody?" I guess it's meant to be partly motivation for Sandy to change her image and outlook in order to keep Danny, but it's a terrible message (even back then). She's nothing but thoughtful and considerate, and Danny repeatedly treats her badly, but she decides she needs to reinvent herself. (Danny's makeover doesn't count given it lasts about three minutes.) It would've been better had Danny and Sandy came second because of Sandy's dancing, and that could've played on her mind.

Answer: He is so upset about Marty liking Ed Byrnes, he just drinks all night.

Answer: I think it was because Sonny was drunk and wanted Sandy to talk to Marty for him since she dumped him for Vince Fontaine at the beginning of the dance.

Answer: Well my theory is maybe since Sonny wants a girl, Cha-Cha promised him a date with a girl if he agreed to her plan.

More Grease questions

Chosen answer: Rafiki is a bit of a msytic or a shaman; a quasi-magical character. He was able to smell Simba on the wind that we followed from one to the other.

Phixius

Answer: Rafiki just knows because he's wise.

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Hair picture

Question: Did the actors do their own singing?

Answer: Yes.

Tobin OReilly

Answer: Yes.

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The Greatest Showman picture

Question: Why was Zendaya considered as one of the "freaks" (like they called them), even though she looked normal?

Answer: I'm pretty sure because she was a person of colour.

Answer: Her brother said people of the time didn't want to see colored people on the stage. It's clear throughout the entire movie that she faces undue discrimination from the public just for not being white.

Answer: There were other people in the circus who were just normal but had amazing abilities.

She was half black and half white.

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Aladdin picture

Question: What does Aladdin mean when he says: "Look at that Abu, it's not everyday you see a horse with two rear ends."?

Answer: Aladdin is referring to the person riding the horse as being a "horse's ass" in the way he is acting, thus the horse the person was riding on has two rear ends, his own and the rider.

Mark English

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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang picture

Question: Who was the dwarf in the castle scene when the children arrive at the castle in the child catcher cage?

Answer: Dennis Waterman.

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Labyrinth picture

Question: This has always confused me. In the scene with the guards, which one always lies and the other always speaks the truth, Sarah asks which door leads to the castle gate then she figures out the riddle and chooses a door. However, the door she chooses, the supposedly correct choice, doesn't lead her to the entrance instead it's a trap. So did she choose the wrong door, or just the wrong direction for the hands to take her?

Answer: To add to that, the other door was supposed to lead her to certain death, and technically the oubliette wasn't exactly certain death.

Answer: She did choose the right door...if she had chosen up, she would have very likely come out at the castle, but she chose down.

If you pay attention down was also the correct answer. The Goblin king was angry when he discovered she was down there "She never should have made it this far" or something similar upon finding this out. Had she chosen up she would have ended up back at the beginning.

Answer: Sarah did indeed select the right door and did ask a sensible, albeit confusing question. The reason she fell into the oubliette (and the helping hands) is because as she walked through the door she said "I think I'm getting smarter. This is a piece of cake" - saying "piece of cake" within the Labyrinth to say how easy something is brings bad luck upon those who say it. Sarah said it to Jareth and he upped the stakes (reducing her time). Hoggle said it later (in Goblin City) and then they got surrounded by Goblins.

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The Prince of Egypt picture

Question: During the song "When you Believe" a little girl says a bunch of stuff in Hebrew. What is she saying, and what is the translation for it?

Answer: "Ashira ladonai ki gaoh gaah, Ashira ladonai ki gaoh gaah, Michamocha baelim adonai, Mikamocha nedarba kodesh, Nachitah v'chas d'cha am zu gaalta, Nachitah v'chas d'cha am zu gaalta, Ashira, ashira, ashira..." "I will sing to the lord, for He has triumphed gloriously, I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, Who is like you, O Lord, among the Celestial? Who is like you, majestic in Holiness? In your love You lead the people You redeemed, I will sing, I will sing, I will sing..."

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Robin Hood picture

Question: Why doesn't Prince John like having his hand shaken?

Answer: Robin Hood, while disguised as a stork, wouldn't stop shaking Prince John's hand and it was starting to annoy him. Prince John was also robbed by Robin Hood earlier in the movie so he wanted to make sure that the jewels in his rings weren't stolen again.

Answer: Being the prince, he would consider everyone else beneath him and unworthy of touching him.

raywest

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Answer: I believe her hair is also symbolic of white and black integration.

Chosen answer: It's common for filmmakers to subtly alter a character's appearance throughout the film to reflect how the character changes. In this case, as Tracy comes out of her shell, her personality becomes brighter, stronger, and more pronounced, and that is shown by her increasingly lighter hair.

raywest

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Chicago picture

Question: What happened to the original poster with Roxy and Velma holding guns behind their backs? In all the more recent ones the guns are gone. Why?

Answer: I have both the DVD and the soundtrack. On the DVD cover they have the guns, however on the soundtrack cover, their arms look like they have been cut out of the picture along with the guns. Possibly somebody thought that it was a bad influence, since many young people enjoy the movie as well.

leyesalot82789

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Chosen answer: "It doesn't have to be a snowman."

Phixius

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Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory picture

Question: How did Willy Wonka know that Charlie and Grandpa Joe had stolen Fizzy Lifting Drinks? The entire time they were in the room they were completely alone and security cameras obviously didn't come into existence at the time.

Answer: Closed circuit security was invented in 1942 and came into common use in the late 60s and early 70s. Beyond that, Wonka could have had Oompa Loompas monitoring the group or simply noticed that they were gone and guessed.

Greg Dwyer

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