Has there ever been a film in which you want the villain to win? Did you ever want to see the Wicked Witch of the West get her hands on those ruby slippers and shove Dorothy inside the crystal ball so she would be forced to watch the witch tap dance for eternity? Did you want the Baroness in "The Sound of Music" to throw Maria back to the convent and marry Captain Von Trapp? Well, put yourself through nearly two hours of torture with this second film version of the 1903 Victor Herbert operetta and see if you can escape it without hoping that Barnaby wins, forcing Annette Funnicello's Mary to marry him, then teach her some acting lessons before realizing his mistake and sending her back to Tommy Sands.
Decently made in 1934 by MGM, this color version of the operetta is about as fun as a dental visit. Overly sweet and gooey, this is as nauseatingly irritating as Disney films could get. Even in their later musicals, there was an adult element that older audiences could enjoy, and by modern standards, I don't even think pre-teens could get into this film without praying for a dental emergency to take them away from it. From the moment that Mother Goose comes out with her introduction, you want to see her plucked, stuffed and cooked, and with one of the most obnoxious production numbers to open a musical, if your kids don't look at you and say, "What is this crap?", they deserve all the sweets they can handle to try and get through the rest of it.
While there are some magical moments ("The Forest of No Return", "March of the Wooden Soldiers"), they are few and far between and surrounded in molasses and honey that can make the most innocent of movie viewers cringe. Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon are a poor imitation of Laurel and Hardy, their comic relief dated vaudeville schtick, even by 1960's standards, especially with the banal "Slowly He Sank To The Bottom of the Sea". Ed Wynn does provide some amusement as the toymaker, but it is Ray Bolger's mustache twirling "Snidely Whiplash" style villain that seems to be having the most fun. Bolger shows off his dancing talents which were still energetic more than 20 years after "The Wizard of Oz", giving spark to "Castle in Spain". A young Ann Jillian is a vibrant force as Bo Peep, but I much prefer her in sultry roles like Mae West.
"Babes in Toyland" does not seem like the type of show that can be revived, and even by 1960's standards, it seems that 50+ year old songs like "I Can't Do The Sum" and "Go To Sleep" were best left in the old trunks of old songs that express one era but are better left unexpressed in others. Sometimes the overly cuteness of Disney films just seemed out of step with the turbulent 1960's even if they were also delivering a lot of magic to children of that era like me with classics like "Mary Poppins" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks".
Decently made in 1934 by MGM, this color version of the operetta is about as fun as a dental visit. Overly sweet and gooey, this is as nauseatingly irritating as Disney films could get. Even in their later musicals, there was an adult element that older audiences could enjoy, and by modern standards, I don't even think pre-teens could get into this film without praying for a dental emergency to take them away from it. From the moment that Mother Goose comes out with her introduction, you want to see her plucked, stuffed and cooked, and with one of the most obnoxious production numbers to open a musical, if your kids don't look at you and say, "What is this crap?", they deserve all the sweets they can handle to try and get through the rest of it.
While there are some magical moments ("The Forest of No Return", "March of the Wooden Soldiers"), they are few and far between and surrounded in molasses and honey that can make the most innocent of movie viewers cringe. Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon are a poor imitation of Laurel and Hardy, their comic relief dated vaudeville schtick, even by 1960's standards, especially with the banal "Slowly He Sank To The Bottom of the Sea". Ed Wynn does provide some amusement as the toymaker, but it is Ray Bolger's mustache twirling "Snidely Whiplash" style villain that seems to be having the most fun. Bolger shows off his dancing talents which were still energetic more than 20 years after "The Wizard of Oz", giving spark to "Castle in Spain". A young Ann Jillian is a vibrant force as Bo Peep, but I much prefer her in sultry roles like Mae West.
"Babes in Toyland" does not seem like the type of show that can be revived, and even by 1960's standards, it seems that 50+ year old songs like "I Can't Do The Sum" and "Go To Sleep" were best left in the old trunks of old songs that express one era but are better left unexpressed in others. Sometimes the overly cuteness of Disney films just seemed out of step with the turbulent 1960's even if they were also delivering a lot of magic to children of that era like me with classics like "Mary Poppins" and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks".