If there was ever proof that the "it doesn't matter cause the kid's won't notice" philosophy has any reason to exist, Thumbelina just might be it. I distinctly remember liking this movie, if not exactly loving it, when it was first released. But oh, how time changes things.
Not everything about Thumbelina is entirely terrible. Jodi Benson still has a lovely voice and the "I want" song and love ballad, though moderately bland, remain largely unoffensive to the ear. Even Charo's performance had me cracking a smile. But beyond that...
Characterwise, everyone is a nutcase, with the exception of the Mother, who gets the least screen time of anyone. Thumbelina is frankly dumb as a post, lacking anything that resembles a mind of her own. The other villains and protagonists alike garner no prizes in the brain category, but they make up for it with either general maliciousness or extra-large doe eyes. Jacquiamo does have the distinction of being the animated world's Jar-Jar Binks with his overblown french faerieness.
Visually, the film isn't much of a stunner either. The leads, while not precisely ugly, have the absolute most ridiculous hairstyles I have seen outside of an indie space flick. The computer scenes, like the opening sequence and the frog boat are so jarringly CGI that the simply jerk you out of the experience of the movie to goggle at the disjunct.
Don Bluth is well loved for his distinct visual style that at one point appeared to rival the Disney Empire. Part of what I love about films like All Dogs Go To Heaven is that they are so entirely unlike Disney fare, unlike most anything else out there at all. Thumbelina represents a different Bluth, one who began to doubt that he could overtake the big bad corporation, and scrambled together a bad imitation. It just doesn't take to his style, plus no one can ever out-Disney Disney.
Not everything about Thumbelina is entirely terrible. Jodi Benson still has a lovely voice and the "I want" song and love ballad, though moderately bland, remain largely unoffensive to the ear. Even Charo's performance had me cracking a smile. But beyond that...
Characterwise, everyone is a nutcase, with the exception of the Mother, who gets the least screen time of anyone. Thumbelina is frankly dumb as a post, lacking anything that resembles a mind of her own. The other villains and protagonists alike garner no prizes in the brain category, but they make up for it with either general maliciousness or extra-large doe eyes. Jacquiamo does have the distinction of being the animated world's Jar-Jar Binks with his overblown french faerieness.
Visually, the film isn't much of a stunner either. The leads, while not precisely ugly, have the absolute most ridiculous hairstyles I have seen outside of an indie space flick. The computer scenes, like the opening sequence and the frog boat are so jarringly CGI that the simply jerk you out of the experience of the movie to goggle at the disjunct.
Don Bluth is well loved for his distinct visual style that at one point appeared to rival the Disney Empire. Part of what I love about films like All Dogs Go To Heaven is that they are so entirely unlike Disney fare, unlike most anything else out there at all. Thumbelina represents a different Bluth, one who began to doubt that he could overtake the big bad corporation, and scrambled together a bad imitation. It just doesn't take to his style, plus no one can ever out-Disney Disney.