If I'm going to be technically honest, it's not a great movie. If I'm going to be nostalgically honest, I like it and don't stop watching it.
The story's about a girl that is named Thumbelina (who is no bigger than your thumb), her love for the fairy prince Cornelius, and the three villains that want to marry her. Almost the same as the original story, just adding the prince being a major character, songs, side plots with the villains, setting it in Paris, and animal side characters, one of which gets a main role (Jacquimo the swallow).
While I like this movie a lot, there are a lot of problems with the movie. One is that it came out around the time Disney was making such beloved classics such as Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Lion King which came out the same year as this movie. If it waited a few more years later, it might have had a better chance. In fact the story resembles The Little Mermaid in many ways (same author, voice actress Jodi Benson, and unique hair). And the music is a hit and miss. Half of the songs are irritating, one of which won a Razzie (Marry the Mole) and another sung by Gilbert Gotfried. But the biggest issue has got to be that Thumbelina had every chance to get home since Jacquimo could fly, but he doesn't even try to take her home, tell any of the jitterbugs to grab her by the arms and fly her to the top of a flower, or even fly above and tell her what direction to go while he searches for her prince. He just leaves her to look on her own. In the original story it made sense, because there are no friends to help her, and she doesn't meet the swallow until the end. Also, she couldn't figure out where she was, so she legitimately gave up. This Thumbelina has friends to get her home but nobody helps her, nor does she think to ask them to fly her home, except with one of the villains, but as that's not one of her allies that doesn't quite count.
However, for all its flaws, I still love it. The animation is beautiful, and it's easy to see the hard work on the character designs, fairy wings, fairy magic, and backgrounds. It almost is like Disney animation and yet not quite; it's its own thing. The way it's animated makes you feel like you're the same height as the main characters. In my opinion, some of the best animation can be seen in the song "Let Me Be Your Wings." Speaking of which, I consider that to be the best song in the entire movie. Yes it's a knock off of "A Whole New World" and the romance may be rushed, but the lyrics are well done, the music is beautiful, and of course the duet is wonderful. Jodi Benson singing is a saving grace for even the bad songs. Also, I think the voices are spot on, including Carol Channing as Field Mouse. Something about her voice actually does sound a bit like a dry, cynical, greedy mouse. And as bad as "Marry the Mole" was, I give her credit for trying to make the song work, and that it didn't stop the plot. It's not a good song, I don't like it, but I don't think it's the worst either. And for anybody who loves the original story better, this movie encouraged me to read the story. It's not my favorite Anderson story, but it's a lovely little adventure.
What amazes me about this movie is that it got harsher criticism than A Troll in Central Park when it first came out. While A Troll in Central Park also has amazing animation, that movie was pandering and nothing but filler. This movie has an actual plot; an not very well done plot, but at least tried to be something decent. I don't care if it's a "Disney knock-off"; I think it's not terrible. This was probably a hard story for Don Bluth to adapt to a feature length film, but I'm not sure if even Disney would tackle it. I don't stop enjoying the movie, but at the same time I understand the flaws.
The story's about a girl that is named Thumbelina (who is no bigger than your thumb), her love for the fairy prince Cornelius, and the three villains that want to marry her. Almost the same as the original story, just adding the prince being a major character, songs, side plots with the villains, setting it in Paris, and animal side characters, one of which gets a main role (Jacquimo the swallow).
While I like this movie a lot, there are a lot of problems with the movie. One is that it came out around the time Disney was making such beloved classics such as Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Lion King which came out the same year as this movie. If it waited a few more years later, it might have had a better chance. In fact the story resembles The Little Mermaid in many ways (same author, voice actress Jodi Benson, and unique hair). And the music is a hit and miss. Half of the songs are irritating, one of which won a Razzie (Marry the Mole) and another sung by Gilbert Gotfried. But the biggest issue has got to be that Thumbelina had every chance to get home since Jacquimo could fly, but he doesn't even try to take her home, tell any of the jitterbugs to grab her by the arms and fly her to the top of a flower, or even fly above and tell her what direction to go while he searches for her prince. He just leaves her to look on her own. In the original story it made sense, because there are no friends to help her, and she doesn't meet the swallow until the end. Also, she couldn't figure out where she was, so she legitimately gave up. This Thumbelina has friends to get her home but nobody helps her, nor does she think to ask them to fly her home, except with one of the villains, but as that's not one of her allies that doesn't quite count.
However, for all its flaws, I still love it. The animation is beautiful, and it's easy to see the hard work on the character designs, fairy wings, fairy magic, and backgrounds. It almost is like Disney animation and yet not quite; it's its own thing. The way it's animated makes you feel like you're the same height as the main characters. In my opinion, some of the best animation can be seen in the song "Let Me Be Your Wings." Speaking of which, I consider that to be the best song in the entire movie. Yes it's a knock off of "A Whole New World" and the romance may be rushed, but the lyrics are well done, the music is beautiful, and of course the duet is wonderful. Jodi Benson singing is a saving grace for even the bad songs. Also, I think the voices are spot on, including Carol Channing as Field Mouse. Something about her voice actually does sound a bit like a dry, cynical, greedy mouse. And as bad as "Marry the Mole" was, I give her credit for trying to make the song work, and that it didn't stop the plot. It's not a good song, I don't like it, but I don't think it's the worst either. And for anybody who loves the original story better, this movie encouraged me to read the story. It's not my favorite Anderson story, but it's a lovely little adventure.
What amazes me about this movie is that it got harsher criticism than A Troll in Central Park when it first came out. While A Troll in Central Park also has amazing animation, that movie was pandering and nothing but filler. This movie has an actual plot; an not very well done plot, but at least tried to be something decent. I don't care if it's a "Disney knock-off"; I think it's not terrible. This was probably a hard story for Don Bluth to adapt to a feature length film, but I'm not sure if even Disney would tackle it. I don't stop enjoying the movie, but at the same time I understand the flaws.