5. The Book of Mormon
Matt Stone and Trey Parker have teased this one long enough! This would be their third musical, and it is suggested that this project become their second animated musical. While it's true they're adept at directing live people, Animation is their niche and Disney's asking to be taken down a peg. This is the perfect opportunity to spoof the traditional,
hand-drawn musical that we were so used to seeing as kids... only with a frog that gets more attention than it deserves. All those who doubt, listen to "You And Me (But Mostly Me)" and keep in mind those old animated musicals as you take in what could be a sweeping animated sequence of belittlement and self esteem.
4.Ragtime
E.L. Doctrow's sweeping epic was turned into a 1981 drama, but the better adaptation of the book's story is arguably in its musical format. The Terrance McNally/Stephen Flaherty/Lynn Ahrens spectacle was closed down after a limited run in 1998, simply because it was too expensive to keep a show with a period setting and a working Model T mock up in production. The heightened emotion and period detail required to tell this story of immigrants, minorities, and even the White majority dealing with their impending cohesion at the turn of the 20th century is prime Oscar bait, as it is fertile ground for visual storytelling.