Before George Pal became famous for his sci-fi films of the 50s (such as "War of the Worlds" and "When Worlds Collide"), he established himself as a stop-motion animator. Using very small budgets and a lot of patience, he made some charming little films using wooden dolls. "Tulips Shall Grow" is one of these--and it's also a propaganda piece meant to bolster the war effort.
The film begins in happy Holland. Happy people doing happy stuff amid the happy tulips. However, soon the 'Screwballs' (made of screws and balls, actually) invade--an obvious allusion to the Nazis. Thing look bad for the happy people, tulips and windmills. However, because the Screwballs are idiots, eventually they destroyed themselves and left this merry land to the locals. It features VERY splashy sets and dolls and it's quite cute--perhaps too much for some. But very well made and worth seeing. My only reservation has nothing to do with the original film but the condition of the print I saw. It was very orange and lacked the original color. It obviously was in color but not any more.
The film begins in happy Holland. Happy people doing happy stuff amid the happy tulips. However, soon the 'Screwballs' (made of screws and balls, actually) invade--an obvious allusion to the Nazis. Thing look bad for the happy people, tulips and windmills. However, because the Screwballs are idiots, eventually they destroyed themselves and left this merry land to the locals. It features VERY splashy sets and dolls and it's quite cute--perhaps too much for some. But very well made and worth seeing. My only reservation has nothing to do with the original film but the condition of the print I saw. It was very orange and lacked the original color. It obviously was in color but not any more.