Babes in Toyland
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.55 You Save: $9.40 (63%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.86 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Babes in Toyland
Movie Review: A good movie for children
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this movie for my nieces. They have throughly enjoyed watching it. The movie is short on substance but the songs are what they enjoyed.Movie Review: Toyland Uber Alles
Summary: 3 Stars
If this 1961 Disney musical reminds you a bit of 1939's WIZARD OF OZ, that's hardly surprising. You got your fairy tale villages (well, Mother Goose,actually, but who's counting?): you've got spooky forests with trees that come alive and scare innocent children : and you've got Ray Bolger (this time as a bad guy, but still dancing up a storm when given a chance). There's even an Ed Wynn connection, sort of, since the lovable comedian, seen in here in a fairly small role, reportedly once rejected the title role in the '39 classic because it was "way too small." I guess, 22 years on, he had learned his lesson.
Apparently, both this version of BABES IN TOYLAND and the earlier Laurel and Hardy adaptation, took considerable liberties with the Victor Herbert stage play--to the point where you could say they were only loosely adapted on same. Since the source work is not really considered a classic itself, such revisions probably shouldn't matter much. Hollywood-izing (or "Disney-izing") classic fairy tales or children's literature is one thing, submitting a turn-of-the-century operetta to the the same treatment should not upset purists too much.
It is interesting to note, however, that by 1961, the thrust of the storyline had switched from a scheming uncle trying to rob children of their inheritance, to a Snidely Whiplash type villain out to force the beautiful, innocent young Mary (who despite her name and her cockle-shell full garden is anything but "contrary"--in general anyway , although she lets her contempt for the villain, Barnaby, show) into marriage so that he rob her of HER inheritance (and presumably other things as well). Of course to do so, he must dispatch her handsome young fiance, Tom Piper, which proves to be no easy task, after all, especially when the sole help this arch-villain can enlist are a couple of bumbling refugees from the old ZORRO TV series.
The fact that the Disney folks were thinking that older-teen style mushiness played better than little kid adventure may have been indicative of a change in the cinematic Zeitgeist--we're on the verge of the swingin' 60s after all--or maybe it just had to do with the fact that Annette was a hot Disney property at the time and they needed a plotline that would focus on her and NOT on the cute little kids (all supposed to be her younger siblings, it would appear). In fact the screen emphasis on Annette and beau Tom Piper (Tommy Sands) is so great that aside from Ann Jillian (billed here as "Ann Jilliann") as Bo Peep, it's not even clear who the other kids are supposed to be. Perennial Disney favorite, Kevin Corcoran, is listed as Boy Blue in the credits. Who knew? He doesn't even get to blow his horn.
So it's a kids' movie in which the actual kid actors get short shrift and little screen time. Well, of course, Judy Garland was already an adolescent herself by the time she played Dorothy. Annette is a bit older than that: I believe she's about 20 here, and while she in no way possesses the vocal power and acting chops of a young Garland, she certainly projects the girl-next-door charm that had become her trademark by this time. Tommy Sands actually does have the smooth good looks and even smoother vocal style of a potential musical star, but he was born a bit too late for that genre's heyday. This was to be his sole musical, unfortunately for him: and his regular job as a teenage idol endured about as long as his real-life marriage to Nancy Sinatra. All in all, kind of a shame.
I was fascinated to learn (from a previous reviewer) that Disney himself had wanted to make a quality musical and was actually quite unsatisfied with this film. He did manage to achieve that goal just four years later with MARY POPPINS. As for BABES IN TOYLAND itself, it ain't half bad. The musical numbers, many of which really were from the Victor Herbert operetta, are entertaining. The choreography is pretty good (although the dance numbers could have been SHOT better). The stop motion animation is pretty effective in the toy soldier battle scenes. And the cast is quite good (and let me throw in a mention for Tommy Kirk as well, another appealing Disney regular of the era, who would soon be blackballed by the company for proving to be relatively uncloseted in his personal life).
Kids, who aren't too jaded by contemporary special-effects-laden fare, should enjoy the film. The dialog and some of the lyrics are just sophisticated enough to give the adults something to savor as well (yes, they did that back then too: they just didn't have to ANNOUNCE it by giving all the wisecracks to a hip comedian like Robin Williams or Eddie Murphy). All in all, not bad.
Movie Review: Marching Wooden Soldiers
Summary: 3 Stars
DVD REVIEW
This DVD release at the time of my review of this film adds nothing to the VHS. No Widescreen, no re-mastering, and no extras. I will keep my VHS copy for now. Now on to the original film itself:
FILM REVIEW
In this 1961 film, the first true live-action musical from the Walt Disney Studio, Tommy Sands is paired up with America's girl next door who got her start with Walt Disney, Annette Funicello. Also the famous Ray Bolger and Ed Wynn are featured, and Ann Jillian was a child actor in this movie. There is more great talent from the Disney in-house stable of stars, Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran, who played brothers in both "Old Yeller" and "Swiss Family Robinson".
The story is simple enough, we are in Mother Goose land and the villain shrinks our heroes to toy size. They must enlist help from the toys in the Toymaker's shop to fight back. The effects were eye-popping at the time, and to see a toy army coming to life and fight the bad guys is a great treat for kids. The movie has some real fun stop motion style animation, where the toys are made to look like they are alive (30 years before computer animation did it for "Toy Story"). The Christmas parade at Disneyland has featured replicas of the marching soldiers from this film for over 40 years. The beautiful wooden toys that are seen in the film were all designed by veteran animator Ward Kimball. (animators X. Atencio and Bill Justice joined Ward on the stop-animation to bring the custom made toys to life).
The movie was promoted in advance on the Walt Disney television show, in a 1961 episode that also promoted "The Parent Trap", (the episode is called "The Title Makers"). The film was promoted again that year in an episode called "Backstage Party", which celebrated the completion of the film and gave the viewers a tour of the Disney Studio. The sets specially built for the film at the studio were so unique, they found a temporary home at Disneyland after the films release in '61 up to 1963, and people could actually see them up close inside the Opera House on Main Street.
The best part of this film is the music, which is the true star of any musical. The musical score features 11 songs from the in-house team of George Bruns (music) and Mel Leven (lyrics), and their score was nominated for an Academy Award.
But even with the music, great stars, incredible sets, special effects, nice costumes, the script and dialogue left a lot to be desired so the film was deemed dull for adults. Uncle Walt hated the end product, but gamely tried to promote it as best he could and use it as an exercise for the studio to learn from, as he really wanted to make a good musical. Just 4 years later he released the studios biggest live-action film ever, a musical to beat all musicals, "Mary Poppins". The lesson had worked.
Watch Babes in Toyland with light expectations, see it for the toys, Annette and the gang, and enjoy the wonderful music.
Movie Review: Entertaining; a Little Light on Plot
Summary: 3 Stars
Walt Disney decided to capitalize on his stable of stars by creating his first full-length live musical movie. Disney stars Annette Funicello ("The Mickey Mouse Club," "The Shaggy Dog"), Ed Wynn ("Mary Poppins," "That Darn Cat (1965)"), Tommy Kirk ("Old Yeller," "The Monkey's Uncle"), Henry Calvin ("Zorro," "Toby Tyler"), Gene Sheldon ("Zorro," "Toby Tyler") and Kevin Corcoran ("Old Yeller" and "Toby Tyler") all made appearances in this movie.
The plot of this movie is relatively simple, and all the scenes were filmed on sets. Mary Contrary (Funicello) is going to wed Tom Piper (Tommy Sands, "The Longest Day," "Ensign Pulver"). Unbeknownst to Mary, she will inherit a great deal of money when she gets married. However, evil Barnaby, played by Ray Bolger ("The Wizard of Oz"), is aware of the inheritance. Barnaby decides to enlist the aid of Gonzorgo (Calvin) and Roderigo (Sheldon) to do away with Tom. Of course, in a Disney movie made for children people disappear, and that is what happens to Tom.
After a song and dance number, Tom and Mary realize that the children have gone off to the Forest of No Return to find Bo Peep's lost sheep. Tom and Mary head off to find the children, only to learn that the forest is full of wonders both scary and delightful, including the Toymaker (Wynn) and his assistant Grumio (Kirk). The ending is delightful stop-motion fun that is the best part of the movie.
The Good: The entertainment is mostly family friendly. The trees in the Forest of No Return are a little scary, and Barnaby is a schmuck, but with mom and dad close by even the littlest ones should be able to watch this film. The Toymaker's shop (mansion?) is cute, and the special effects at the end are nice for 1961.
The Bad: Where's the widescreen? This movie's aspect ratio is 1.75:1, which means that this full screen version has cut a lot out. The plot is simple. It feels like an episode of "The Mickey Mouse Club" stretched to an hour and forty-five minutes.
There's a lot to like about this movie. The stars are cheery and will remind some of us of when we were in love with Annette in the early 1960's. Walt Disney was still at the helm and his movies had an innocent image about them. However, if you are looking for a better version of the story, I recommend "March of the Wooden Soldiers," featuring Laurel and Hardy. That movie can be scary for little children, but it is better.
Good Luck!
Movie Review: Promising debut for Disney, but it's no MGM...
Summary: 3 Stars
Please do not stone me with toys, but I have to confess, I found this film rather tedious, at least through the first half.Comparisons to "The Wizard of Oz" are right on the money, down to the "living" trees, and our first glimpse of Toyland (looking suspiciously similar to The Emerald City). And Annette (still credited here with her single-name Mouseketeer moniker despite having grown out of her Mouse Ears), does a very good impression of Judy Garland from "Oz". In fact, Disney seems to have gone out of their way to make Annette look like Judy (hair, clothes, song selection, you name it).
Now, Ray Bolger is just excellent as the "Oil Can Harry," classic old movie black-hat villain. However, his bumbling mercenaries, although funny, are pretty much just a ripoff of Laurel & Hardy. And Tommy Sands? The kid runs around the movie wearing a hairdoo that looks like a cat is pearched atop his noggin. He also suffers from some bad dubbing in some of his songs. He doesn't do much to strike the viewer as a big hero, either.
Still, things do pick up. Once the characters manage to find their way out of the forest, so does the script. Once in Toyland, we meet Ed Wynn, who is the perfect Toymaker. The Toymaker's inventive assistant offers up wonderful toy-making gadgets, and the villain causes villainous villainry.
One facet of the film that sets it apart from other studios is the simple use of animation. When being bonked on the head, a character see stars literally swirling around, and the toy army is nicely animated in stop motion.
The idea is great, and the characters are just fine, but the production is spotty throughout the first half, perhaps even too long, making the film more tedious than full of the usual Disney wonder and charm.
As for letting the kids watch, you'll have no worries there. The film is so sappishly innocent, that even a simple kiss between two sweethearts is forbidden (even Mickey got to get in a smootch now and then!). However, little kids may be scared by the trees, and by Ray Bolger when he attacks Toyland and battles the toy army.