The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music has built a real following in Australia on Disney Plus, and in the US on Disney Plus among viewers who do not usually seek out animation. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 3,656 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Watch it in order — the character development is cumulative. Start it on Disney Plus whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

The Sound of Music arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The look of The Sound of Music gets people in the door, but the writing is what keeps them there. In the years before World War II, a tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children and brings a new love of life and music into the home. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer bring voice work that does more than the format usually asks for. The Sound of Music came out in 1965. The visual gags in The Sound of Music reward close attention without ever depending on it. The hit rate here is high enough that skipping ahead never feels like an option.

Genuinely enjoyable for a wide range of viewers, The Sound of Music treats animation as a delivery mechanism, not a limitation. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Julie Andrews's voice work is a big part of what makes it distinctive. If you have been sleeping on it because of the format, the format is not the thing here.