Bon Voyage!
by James Neilson
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Deborah Walley, Fred MacMurray, Jane Wyman, Jessie Royce Landis, Michael CallanDirector: James Neilson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 132 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-03
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Bon Voyage!
Movie Review: Bon Voyage
Summary: 4 Stars
THE STORY: This Walt Disney live action movie stars Fred MacMurray as Harry Willard, Jane Wyman as his wife Deborah, Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran as their sons Elliott and Scooter, Deborah Walley as their 18 year old daughter, and her love interest "Nick" is played Michael Callan. Beautiful French scenery, some drama, comedy and romance. Deborah Willard has been planning a trip to Europe by boat for 22 year, and now her husband Harry and 3 kids are finally going. Harry is a very loyal husband, a good father and owns a plumbing contracting business. They take a ship to France, and one the jourey their older children meet some romantic counterparts. They visit Paris and Monte Carlo, and Deborah is preyed upon by a local man until Fred finally punches him out shooting him halfway across the casino after getting unexpectedly drunk. Mr. Willard gets lost in the Paris Subways when his son drags him there for a tour. Elliott is hilarious as he tries different disguises and tricks in order to pick up local girls. A scene that raised eyebrows was when a French call girl attempted to pick up Mr. Willard, and later his unwitting son, (not your typical Disney). Harry has to come to his son's rescue when a local hustler attempts to blackmail the family on false charges that his son Elliott has taken advantage of their young daughter. In the end the parents everyone finally gets what they want form their dream vacation.
BEHIND THE SCENES & TRIVIA: Directed by James Nielson. filmed both on location in Europe and at the Disney Studio. At the studio, a recreation of the Paris sewer where Harry takes a tour and gets lost was filmed. The hotel suites were also created there on the soundstages and interiors of the cruise ship. The outdoor footage on the cruise ship was shot on a real ship, the "S.S. United States" while it was actually en transit to Europe.. But the casino was a real one, the Palm Beach Casino on the French Riviera and the casino staff got to sit in as themselves. Exteriors of the hotels were shot at Salon Kleber. Walt Disney went to Paris to check on the filming of the movie.
The opening credit sequence is very entertaining, and was put together by Disney animators Bill Justice and X. Atencio. The titles are faux postcards of Europe, interspersed with footage from actual sites like Paris and Monte Carlo. The jaunty title song is by the Sherman Brothers, after Walt vetoed their slow pretty waltz they offered and requested a more upbeat song like "California Here I Come", but for Europe. This was their fourth film
The film was not well received by critics at the time, but it did well enough with the public. They felt it was too slow and long for starters and there was not enough to keep smaller children interested. It is a little long and goes back and forth in the storyline a few times, clocking in at 2 hours and 10 minutes. It was nominated for two Academy Awards ?, one for Best Sound for studio sound veteran Robert Cook, and one for Best Costume Design for Bill Thomas. I think those were for the dresses worn by Jane Wyman in the movie. Emile Curry probably should have gotten a nod for his lavish design of the hotel suites, he was in charge of set design on nearly every Disney movie while Walt was alive. The screenplay was by Bill Walsh, based upon the book of the same title by Marrijane & Joseph Hayes. The film premiered in theatres on May 17, 1962. Almost 8 years later it was shown on the "Wonderful World Of Disney" television show in 3 parts over 3 consecutive Sunday nights, starting on January 11, 1970 and did not air on the show again. It was first released to VHS in 1987, and to DVD in 2007.
It does not appear that Disney re-mastered the film for this DVD, but it was well preserved and has good color for the period, and does not have noticeable scratches or sound problems. However, when we blew it up on a high quality projection system we could see some strange background cross-hatching now and then. It is in full screen mode, but Disney Studios made quite a few films that way during the 1960's. The sound is mono, as originally recorded. There are no extras on the DVD, but I can think of a few from the Disney vault that would have been nice without costing new production dollars. Disney made a series of featurettes on travel called "People and Places" in the 1950's. It would have been nice to see one of these travelogues, and maybe a short cartoon. The film trailer should have been included, and they could have put some trailers in for other films from the period, it would only help them sell more DVD's.
Overall, if you are a big Disney fan like me, who appreciates their huge library of lesser known family films I recommend it. But I also recommend that Disney put a bit more effort into their DVD releases for the price.
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