While watching a short documentary on Disney's association with L. Frank Baum's world of Oz, I heard that while experimenting with the possibility of doing a live-action musical film featuring its characters in the late 1950s, this film was what he ultimately made instead.
Upon seeing the clips from Babes in Toyland that they had included in it, as a long-time Disney fan I thought "Hey, why have I never heard of this before.
So, I quickly went out and bought the movie and within just minutes of sitting down to watch it, I saw exactly why I'd never heard of it before.
Throughout the entire film, you get the feeling that the major concern of everyone involved in the production was how it looked because it appears that they spent more time on that than anything else, but there are even times where that isn't very good.
It's springtime in Mother Goose Village and sweethearts Tom Piper and Mary Contrary (Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello) have named their wedding day. However, unbeknownst to Mary, she will inherit a fortune upon getting married (from whom we are never told) that the miserly Barnaby (Ray Bolger) wants for himself. So, he instructs his two bumbling henchmen (Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon) to kill Tom. However, the two decide that they want a little extra money, so after kidnapping him, they sell him to some gypsies that eventually return him to his beloved.
However, all is not yet well as Mary's five children...wait no, they can't be her children, she's too young...brothers and sisters...wait no, she wouldn't be left to take care of them by herself... foster children...wait no, how does a 25-something-year-old woman get those...ah, forget it! Anyway, five children go wandering into The Forest of No Return and Tom and Mary go to try and retrieve them. However, some menacing-looking singing trees who work for a neighbouring toymaker, played by Ed Wynn (why?) send them off to his workshop where they agree to help him make toys because he has only one assistant (again, why?)
So, as you can tell from that summary, there are some major plot holes, but that is not the film's only shortcoming.
Many of the characters are so underdeveloped that as you watch, you find yourself very uninvested in what is happening to them. Mary only takes a stand once in the climax of the film. The rest of her screen time is spent either crying, being confused or singing dull romantic duets with her lover. Speaking of Tom, he does get a delightfully goofy number in which he re-enters the town dressed in gypsy drag, but other than that, we see nothing of his personality, other than the fact that he's suave and handsome. As for the kids, the fact that they are what they are is all we know about them.
Barnaby is always fun to watch as he twirls his cape and tap dances his way through his scenes, but the problem is that by doing so, he does not present himself as much of a threat when he's supposed to be the main villain of the piece. His two henchmen get a giggle here and there, but not too often. The Toymaker should be really enjoyable, considering who plays him, but he comes across as extremely unlikeable, because he always insists on doing everything himself, making a huge mess in the process.
Although, as previously stated there is a lot of creativity to be seen in this movie. The various storybook-like houses featured herein look really imaginative, as do the costumes and several of the effects look very convincing. However, there are exceptions to that statement, as there are times where the visual elements look like they could have been worked on a little more and other effects look really fake. For example there is a scene where one of the henchmen magically disappears underneath a puddle but the movements of the stop-motion toy soldiers used in the climax look extremely choppy.
As for the music, Babes in Toyland's numbers range from extremely catchy (Castle In Spain, I Can't Do the Sum) to totally bland and/or forgettable (Just a Toy, Toyland.) On a final note, the choreography looks as though it were lazily thought out, what with the dancers repeatedly jumping from left to right and vice versa.
All that said, I feel profuse pity for this film as it had capable actors, great visuals, a previously wildly successful operetta to adapt itself from...all the ingredients that could have made it a masterpiece. Sadly though, in the end my final verdict is "watch only if you're a hardcore Disney fan like me."
Upon seeing the clips from Babes in Toyland that they had included in it, as a long-time Disney fan I thought "Hey, why have I never heard of this before.
So, I quickly went out and bought the movie and within just minutes of sitting down to watch it, I saw exactly why I'd never heard of it before.
Throughout the entire film, you get the feeling that the major concern of everyone involved in the production was how it looked because it appears that they spent more time on that than anything else, but there are even times where that isn't very good.
It's springtime in Mother Goose Village and sweethearts Tom Piper and Mary Contrary (Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello) have named their wedding day. However, unbeknownst to Mary, she will inherit a fortune upon getting married (from whom we are never told) that the miserly Barnaby (Ray Bolger) wants for himself. So, he instructs his two bumbling henchmen (Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon) to kill Tom. However, the two decide that they want a little extra money, so after kidnapping him, they sell him to some gypsies that eventually return him to his beloved.
However, all is not yet well as Mary's five children...wait no, they can't be her children, she's too young...brothers and sisters...wait no, she wouldn't be left to take care of them by herself... foster children...wait no, how does a 25-something-year-old woman get those...ah, forget it! Anyway, five children go wandering into The Forest of No Return and Tom and Mary go to try and retrieve them. However, some menacing-looking singing trees who work for a neighbouring toymaker, played by Ed Wynn (why?) send them off to his workshop where they agree to help him make toys because he has only one assistant (again, why?)
So, as you can tell from that summary, there are some major plot holes, but that is not the film's only shortcoming.
Many of the characters are so underdeveloped that as you watch, you find yourself very uninvested in what is happening to them. Mary only takes a stand once in the climax of the film. The rest of her screen time is spent either crying, being confused or singing dull romantic duets with her lover. Speaking of Tom, he does get a delightfully goofy number in which he re-enters the town dressed in gypsy drag, but other than that, we see nothing of his personality, other than the fact that he's suave and handsome. As for the kids, the fact that they are what they are is all we know about them.
Barnaby is always fun to watch as he twirls his cape and tap dances his way through his scenes, but the problem is that by doing so, he does not present himself as much of a threat when he's supposed to be the main villain of the piece. His two henchmen get a giggle here and there, but not too often. The Toymaker should be really enjoyable, considering who plays him, but he comes across as extremely unlikeable, because he always insists on doing everything himself, making a huge mess in the process.
Although, as previously stated there is a lot of creativity to be seen in this movie. The various storybook-like houses featured herein look really imaginative, as do the costumes and several of the effects look very convincing. However, there are exceptions to that statement, as there are times where the visual elements look like they could have been worked on a little more and other effects look really fake. For example there is a scene where one of the henchmen magically disappears underneath a puddle but the movements of the stop-motion toy soldiers used in the climax look extremely choppy.
As for the music, Babes in Toyland's numbers range from extremely catchy (Castle In Spain, I Can't Do the Sum) to totally bland and/or forgettable (Just a Toy, Toyland.) On a final note, the choreography looks as though it were lazily thought out, what with the dancers repeatedly jumping from left to right and vice versa.
All that said, I feel profuse pity for this film as it had capable actors, great visuals, a previously wildly successful operetta to adapt itself from...all the ingredients that could have made it a masterpiece. Sadly though, in the end my final verdict is "watch only if you're a hardcore Disney fan like me."