The film stars an ensemble cast led by Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Ferrell, Gary Beach, Roger Bart, and Jon Lovitz.

[2] In 1959, following the flop of the Broadway theatrical musical Funny Boy (based on William Shakespeare's Hamlet) ("Opening Night"), the show's washed-up producer Max Bialystock hires the neurotic Leo Bloom as his accountant.

To acquire Franz's rights to the musical, they perform Hitler's favorite song and swear the sacred "Siegfried Oath" to him ("Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop").

Terrified the IRS will learn of their crimes, a dispute breaks out between Leo and Max, but stops when Roger and Carmen come into the office to congratulate them.

Arrested for his tax fraud, Max is imprisoned while Leo elopes with Ulla to Rio de Janeiro ("Betrayed").

Ernie Sabella who co-starred alongside Lane and Broderick in The Lion King makes an uncredited cameo appearance as a singing drunk in a deleted scene.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite the rich source material, The Producers has a stale, stagy feel more suited to the theater than the big screen."

[5] A positive review from Betty Jo Tucker of Reel Talk said: "Outrageous musical numbers evoke most of the laughs in this movie funfest.

Finally, congratulations to director Susan Stroman, for making this Broadway gem into a film that old-time movie musical fans like me can cheer about.

"[6] Nathan Rabin wrote: "Between the rough start and an ending that lingers too long, there's a solid hour or so of terrific entertainment that serves as both a giddy tribute to Broadway musicals and a parody thereof.

Thirty-seven years after Brooks declared war on taste and propriety, The Producers has lost its power to shock or offend, but it's retained its ability to amuse.

Stephanie Zacharek observed: "The Producers is essentially a filmed version of a stage play, in which none of the characters' expressions or line readings have been scaled down to make sense on-screen.

Every gesture is played out as if the actors were 20 feet away in real life, which means that, by the time the performers are magnified on the big screen, they're practically sitting in your lap.

On February 28, 2016, a 5-minute short film serving as a sequel to The Producers, entitled Trumped, was released on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprising their roles as Leopold "Leo" Bloom and Max Bialystock.