The romantic comedy musical Mamma Mia! made the jump to the big screen in 2008, and aside from all the classic ABBA songs and its star-studded cast, it stood out for its locations – and here are all the places in Greece where it was filmed. Mamma Mia! is a jukebox musical written by Catherine Johnson and based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The show had its premiere in London in 1999 and has since been adapted and played in over 50 countries.
Mamma Mia! got its first cinematic adaptation in 2008, with a script by Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The story follows Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a young bride-to-be who decides to invite three men to her upcoming wedding, each one with the possibility of being her father: Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth), and Bill (Stellan Skarsgård). Their arrival turns out to be a big shake-up for Sophie’s mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), who thought she would never see them again and are now all together, staying at her villa. Mamma Mia! was a big box office hit and was very well-received by the audience, though critics weren’t too welcoming, criticizing the plot and the casting of inexperienced singers, but praised the musical numbers and overall production.
Although Johnson is from England and all ABBA members are Swedish, Mamma Mia! is set on the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi, to give it a more idyllic feel. The production team behind the film stayed as true to that as possible and traveled to Greece to film many outdoor scenes, though most of the film was shot at Pinewood Studios in the U.K as that’s where Donna’s villa was built. To give it the desired look (and for it to look realistic, of course), real trees were used for the set and taken care of so they could keep growing. Another location outside Greece was Lloyd’s building in London, used in the scene where Sam lives his office to go to Greece. Still, many scenes were filmed in different parts of Greece instead of using CGI, like the sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again did. Here are all the locations in Greece where Mamma Mia! was filmed.
Skopelos
Kalokairi got its looks from the Skopelos island, located in the western Aegean Sea. Skopelos was the main location for the film, as many outdoor scenes were filmed on different parts of the island, especially at the beaches. Most scenes used the Kastani beach as setting, where a beach bar and jetty were built along the beach and removed after production wrapped (the “Lay All Your Love On Me” and “Does Your Mother Know” numbers, for example, were filmed there). Sophie’s wedding procession was filmed at the Agios Ioannis Chapel near the village of Glossa (though the interior was filmed at Pinewood Studios), and a cliff on the Glysteri beach (located on the island’s east coast) was used for the cliff jumping scene with Sophie, Sam, Bill, and Harry (during the “Our Last Summer” number).
Glysteri was used a lot throughout the film, though often mixed with views from other places. As mentioned above, the villa was entirely filmed at Pinewood Studios, but its view is that of the Glysteri beach, and this was also the place where Sophie reads her mother’s diary to her friends at the beginning of the film (during the “Honey Honey” number).
Skiathos
Next is the Skiathos island, located in the northwest Aegean Sea. Different parts of the island were used as background in various musical numbers, and some happen too fast or don’t have something that makes them stand out, so they pretty much blend with the rest – the area around St. Nikolaos Bell Tower, for example, was used in “I Have A Dream” when Sophie is mailing the letters, but that scene was a composite. However, a notable scene filmed in Skiathos, specifically at the Old Port, is when Sam and Harry arrive at Greece and meet for the first time (during “Honey Honey”). Skiathos makes an appearance various times throughout the film, but again, it’s difficult to pinpoint certain settings as many musical numbers mixed different places, but at least Skiathos was the one that welcomed Bill, Harry, and Sam when they were trying to get to Kalokairi (a.k.a. Skopelos).
Damouchari, Pelion Region
Damouchari is a subdivision in the Mouresi village, located in Magnesia, Thessaly, in the northeastern part of the Pelion peninsula. Damouchari mainly served as the temporary home of the crew of Mamma Mia! but they also filmed a lot of footage there, which was mixed with those shot on Skopelos and Skiathos. Still, and just like the other locations, one important scene was shot there: the arrival of Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Waters). Some of Damouchari’s beaches also served as setting for a couple of scenes, with most of them shot at Blue Beach. Other scenes filmed in the Mouresi village are the dancers at the villa going through olive groves, as well as the climax of the big “Dancing Queen” number with Donna, Tanya, Rosie, and all the dancers from the villa. Although it’s not uncommon for films to use different settings (both real-life locations and fake ones built at soundstages), Mamma Mia! made a good combination of amazing Greek scenarios and equally great sets built exclusively for the film, resulting in cohesive scenes thanks to the magic of edition and other tricks.