Clear those movie aisles, crank up those ABBA tunes and let the "Mamma Mia!" party begin.

Sweeping into North American theatres on July 18, director Phyllida Lloyd's film adaptation of the buoyant stage musical has it all: a romantic Greek island, a serendipitous love story and loads of sun-drenched fun.

Toss in Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth singing ABBA tunes in spandex jumpsuits and this night at the movies becomes a wild ride.

"We set out to have fun on this film no matter what. I think audiences can see that in the final product," says Lloyd, who spoke to CTV.ca from London, England.

Indeed.

From Streep and the female islanders strutting to "Dancing Queen" to Julie Walters belting out "Take A Chance On Me," and a hilarious final performance by the film's stars, "Mamma Mia!" serves up clap-filled, sing-along fun that defies audiences to sit still.

Lloyd's bubbly film debut, however, wasn't a cake walk.

"There was some trepidation when I first signed on. 'Mamma Mia!' worked so well on stage but not every successful stage musical has worked on the big screen," says Lloyd.

In 1999 the English director, best known for her lavish opera and theatrical productions, joined producer Judy Craymer and writer Catherine Johnson -- the creative team behind "Mamma Mia!"

This simple romantic tale hung on some ABBA songs and a girl determined to find her father before she weds became a huge hit in Toronto, London's West End and Broadway.

Since its 1999 debut the stage phenom has grossed US$2 billion and has been seen by more than 30 million people in 160 cities around the world. It also won 2002's Tony Award for Best Musical and became the 18th longest running musical of all time in 2007.

"Audiences love this story - its romance, its hopefulness and, of course, the music," says Lloyd. "We were all very conscious of that. We didn't want to disappoint anyone."

Streep, no stranger to singing on film, confessed she was "intimidated" with the project.

"I was afraid I would let everybody down," Streep said recently on the "Mamma Mia!" press tour. "But if you made a mistake that's why God invented take two."

Co-stars Brosnan, Firth and Stellan Skarsgård (the possible fathers of Streep's child in "Mamma Mia!") were also daunted to sing before ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus.

"Singing in front of Bjorn and Benny really made the boys nervous," says Lloyd. "But they did their jobs very well. We weren't looking for operatic gymnastics here. The idea was to make it feel more like the characters were really speaking to one another in and out of song."

The real 'Mamma Mia!' magic

Unlike the theatrical production, Greece's shimmering seas and sensuous island beauty becomes almost a new character to the "Mamma Mia!" story, says Lloyd.

"In the play Greece is like this myth. We never really get a true sense of the island. But the movie allowed us to bring something new into the mix by shooting on this unbelievably sexy location," says Lloyd.

As fetching as the scenery and songs are, however, Streep steals the show when she sings "The Winner Takes It All" to ex-love Sam Carmichael (Brosnan). About to give her daughter "Sophie" away, Streep belts it out before a candlelit path climbing towards a mountaintop church.

"Meryl lets it rip," says Lloyd. "That was definitely my favourite moment."

The film's final ensemble performance comes in a close No. 2. Donna (Streep), the film's feisty single mom, walks up to the camera, sticks her face into the lens and asks: "Do ya wanna see more?'"

"It was my little homage to the play where that actually does happen," says Lloyd. Donna poses the same question to the film audience. The response Streep and her co-stars give is one of the funniest film moments audiences will ever see.

"It was all done very tongue-in-cheek. After we shot the film I thought, 'Oh my God! What if Meryl asks the question and audiences yell back 'No!'"

Not likely. Released in Europe on July 4, "Mamma Mia!" came out singing earning US$24 million on just 1,368 screens. Opening in North America on the same weekend as "The Dark Knight," "Mamma Mia!" should only see more "Money, Money, Money" honey.