Fans of movie musicals like me have cause to cheer up. I know it’s a long time between our song-and-dance film fixes, but there’s more than December’s Dreamgirls looming on the cinematic horizon. Check out this list of titles: Idlewild, Hairspray, Guys & Dolls, Carousel, Mamma Mia!, Sweeney Todd, If You Could See Me Now, Enchanted, Sunset Boulevard, The Boy from Oz and The Full Monty.

Dreamgirls, swinging into multiplexes on Christmas Day,  should be a real holiday treat. It stars Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson. Although this is Hudson's first movie, I can't wait to see her perform again. Her rich, beautiful voice wowed me on American Idol, and I was very disappointed when she was voted off that show.    

I’m happy to report that multi-talented Hugh Jackman hopes to star in six of the upcoming Hollywood musicals mentioned above. He recently announced plans for the remake of Carousel, having already sung the role of Billy Bigelow at a 2002 Carnegie Hall tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein. And he’s signed on with Disney for a Guys and Dolls remake plus an original musical, If You Could See Me Now. Also being considered by Jackman are The Boy from Oz (in which he would reprise his Tony-winning role), Sunset Boulevard and The Full Monty.   

Jackman’s interest in musicals is no surprise to anyone who watched him host the Tony Awards or who’s seen him as Curly in the London production of Oklahoma!  But many eyebrows were raised when Johnny Depp’s name was mentioned in connection with the film version of Sweeney Todd. Depp’s attraction to the role of the demon barber of Fleet Street probably comes from its bizarre nature, but his friend Tim Burton is scheduled to direct, so that would also be appealing to him.   

The movie adaptation of Broadway’s Hairspray boasts a wonderful cast including John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes, Billy Crystal, Zac Efron and Brittany Snow. I look forward to seeing Travolta in a musical again, even though he’ll be playing Edna Turnblad, a character far removed from his teenage sensation in Grease.

Another highly successful Broadway musical scheduled to receive the Hollywood treatment is Mamma Mia! Since I missed the stage version, I’m excited about the opportunity to see what all the fuss is about by watching it on the big screen.   

Enchanted, a Disney musical, will combine animation and live action to tell the story of a peasant girl in a fairy tale world who falls in love with her Prince Charming and is then banished into the New York City of the real world. Who banishes her? The Evil Queen, played by Susan Sarandon. (Don’t worry about Sarandon in a musical. She was great in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.)  

After being completed two years ago, Idlewild is finally set for release on August 25. Gangsters, a speakeasy, a piano player and 1930s Southern Americana feature prominently in this Outkast musical starring Andre Benjamin and Ben Vereen. 

For detailed information about upcoming movie musicals, I encourage ReelTalkers to visit a terrific site that monitors progress of all the films listed in this article, and more. Just click on this link: www.moviemusicals.net.