Mamma Mia!

An idyllic Greek island, a bride-to-be, one eccentric mother, three potential fathers, and the timeless music of ABBA. The theatrical musical Mamma Mia! has been seen by over 30 million people in eight different language versions - and the creators of the original musical decided to bring their creation to the screen as a full-length film starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan.

Young Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) lives with her somewhat unhinged mother Donna (Meryl Streep) on the Greek island of Kalokairi, where they run a modest family hotel. Sophie is about to get married, and from her mother's old diaries she discovers that Donna was involved with three different men around the time of Sophie's conception. Sophie invites all three to the wedding - and they arrive: a carefree businessman Sam (Pierce Brosnan), a uptight banker Harry (Colin Firth), and an adventurous rogue Bill (Stellan Skarsgård). The ceremony is just twenty-four hours away, Donna has no idea about the arrival of these reminders of her youthful indiscretions, and the bride must figure out who the real father is.

The story unfolds through ABBA songs performed by the film's stars. The idea for a musical built on ABBA's songs came from producer Judy Craymer - it took her over a decade to secure permission to use them. The condition was that the musical would have nothing to do with the band and would simply use their songs. Getting permission to make the film proved easier, especially once Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA became its co-producers. Co-producer Tom Hanks summed it up this way: "Just like me, you'll feel like getting up and singing after ten minutes. It's very contagious."