Babes in Toyland (1961)

Regisseur:

Jack Donohue

Drehbuchautoren:

Lowell S. Hawley (writer)
Ward Kimball (writer)

Premierendatum:

14. Dezember 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Familienfilm | Musical | Fantasy

Werbezeile:

The happiest, most delightful musical comedy of your lifetime!

Plot:

Tom the Piper's Son is about to marry Mary Quite Contrary. On the eve of their wedding, evil miser Barnaby...

Plot Keywords:

Shrinking | Miniaturization | Remake | Sword Fight | Toy Soldier

Filmpreise:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

Don't rent it!

Besetzung

Ray Bolger	...	Barnaby
Tommy Sands	...	Tom Piper
Annette Funicello	...	Mary Contrary
Ed Wynn	...	Toymaker
Tommy Kirk	...	Grumio
Kevin Corcoran	...	Boy Blue
Henry Calvin	...	Gonzorgo
Gene Sheldon	...	Roderigo
Mary McCarty	...	Mother Goose
Ann Jillian	...	Bo Peep
Brian Corcoran	...	Willie Winkie
Marilee Arnold	...	Twin
Melanie Arnold	...	Twin
Jerry Glenn	...	Simple Simon
John Perri	...	Jack-be-Nimble

Alternativ:

Aufruhr im Spielzeugland (Deutschland) (TV title) [de]

Länge:

106 Min

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe (Technicolor)

Seitenverhältnis:

1.75 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Altersfreigabe:

Australia:G | USA:Unrated

Firma:

Walt Disney Productions

Dies und das:

To promote the movie, the wrap party was scripted and aired on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961), which had recently debuted on NBC. (This was simply the old "Disneyland" series, but with a new name and on a new network, and this time in color.) The wrap-party episode was hosted by Annette Funicello and Disney himself who explained clips from the movie while introducing the cast. Also featured was a soft shoe dance by Ray Bolger and a bongo drums solo by 'Tommy Sands' . Ann Jillian performed the song "A Flock of Sheep Named Henry" with Henry Calvin, and Ed Wynn was presented with his Mouscar statuette for 60 years in show business by Tommy Kirk.

Dialogzitate:

[first lines]
Sylvester: Hello, everybody. My name is Sylvester, Sylvester J. Goose. My friends call me Syl, or sometimes silly.
[chuckles]
Sylvester: At this time, it is with unmitigated pleasure...
Mother Goose: [behind curtain] Sylvester, talk faster.
Sylvester: "Talk faster"? You're lucky to find a goose who can talk at all! As I was saying, it is my pleasure to present your hostess for this occasion, weighing one hundred and eighty nine pounds...
Mother Goose: Sylvester!
Sylvester: Hmph! I present the one and only Mother Goose.
[Mother Goose enters]
Mother Goose: Thank you, Sylvester.
[...]

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Ausschnittsweise enthalten in "Disneyland: Back Stage Party (#8.12)" (1961)

Soundtrack:

We Won't Be Happy Till We Get It

Don't rent it!

This was a very poor remake of the classic "Babes in Toyland". I thought it would be a nice colorful adaptation (without digital color enhancement) of the 1934 "March of the Wooden Soldiers", but the only similarities are the songs when Little Bo Peep loses her sheep and when the soldiers come marching out, but that is it. Barnaby is hardly a frightening character (Ray Bolger gives nothing short of a comedic performance of this villain, but that is notably his style - you would not expect anything different from this extraordinary talented man.)

There is far too much singing in this movie and it is very difficult to follow what the plot is (you have to listen closely to the words in the songs). It borders on a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, but they are by far a million times better and much more enjoyable as the musical numbers flow with ease.

If anything, it is nice to see Annette Funicello and Tommy Kirk as they have graduated from the Mickey Mouse Club and doing the transition into adulthood. Annette's voice has finally matured from the childlike voice she had during her "Mickey" days.

Thankfully, for DVD, I was able to fast-forward through all of the musical numbers because they grew tiresome quickly (after a few seconds)! Do yourself a favor and save the $4.00 it would cost to rent it, that is if you can find it anywhere. Now I know why it has been discontinued by so many video/DVD stores at this point.