Babes in Toyland

Director: Jack Donohue Jack Donohue

Overview

"This second film adaptation of the Victor Herbert operetta Babes in Toyland was producer Walt Disney's Christmas offering for 1961. The 1903 Herbert original had very little in the way of a plot, so screenwriters Joe Rinaldi, Lowell S. Hawley, and Ward Kimball lifted elements from the 1934 filmization of Toyland, which starred Laurel and Hardy. Annette Funicello plays Mary Contrary, about to wed Tom Piper (Tommy Kirk) in the heart of Mother Goose Village. The villainous Barnaby (played by the far-from-menacing Ray Bolger), who covets Mary for himself, orders his bumbling henchmen Gonzorgo (Henry Calvin) and Roderigo (Gene Sheldon) to do away with Tom (Calvin and Sheldon are Disney's ""answer"" to Laurel and Hardy, and they're quite funny). Hoping to turn a profit, Gonzorgo and Roderigo sell Tom to a band of gypsies, enabling Tom to make a surprise return-in old-lady drag!--to rescue Mary from Barnaby's clutches. Later, Mary's younger siblings (including Disney ""regular"" Moochie Corcoran) wander into the Forest of No Return, compelling Tom and Mary to go after them. Everyone winds up in Toyland, where they help the Toymaker (Ed Wynn) and his invention-happy assistant Grumio (Tommy Kirk) meet their quota for Santa Claus. It must needs be that Barnaby also shows up in Toyland; stealing Grumio's latest invention, a ""shrink gun"", Barnaby threatens to miniaturize Tom into nothingness unless Mary accepts his proposal of marriage. The teeny-tiny Tom saves the day by activating an army of toy soldiers to thwart Barnaby once and for all. Though lavishly and meticulously produced, Babes in Toyland lacks the essential appeal of the minimalist Laurel and Hardy version. Still, the Disney remake has a great deal going for it, including captivating stagings of such Victor Herbert compositions as ""I Can't Do That Sum"", ""Just a Toy"", ""Floretta"", ""Castle in Spain"", ""We Won't be Happy Til We Get It"", ""Lemonade"", ""Just a Whisper Away"", ""Toyland"", and ""March of the Toys"". Keep an eye peeled for 11-year-old Ann Jillian, making her screen debut as Bo Peep."

Product Details

Release Date:	09/03/2002
UPC:	0786936185478
Original Release:	1961
Rating:	G
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	5,318

Special Features

Closed Caption;Dolby Digital Surround Sound; Fullscreen (1.33:1)

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ray Bolger	Barnaby
Tommy Sands	Tom Piper
Annette Funicello	Mary Contrary
Ed Wynn	Toymaker
Henry Calvin	Gonzorgo
Tommy Kirk	Grumio
Ann Jillian	Bo Peep
Kevin Corcoran	Boy Blue,Willie Winkie
Gene Sheldon	Roderigo
Mary McCarty	Mother Goose
Marilee Arnold	Twins,Twins
Jerry Glenn	Simple Simon
John Perri	Jack-Be-Nimble
David Pinson	Bobby Shaftoe
Bryan Russell	The Little Boy
James Martin	Jack
Lana Dowding	Jill
Marilee & Melanie Arnold	Twins
George Bruns	Composer

Technical Credits

Joe Rinaldi

Lowell Hawley

Ward Kimball

Jack Donohue	Director
Walt Disney	Producer
Joe Rinaldi	Screenwriter
Lowell Hawley	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Ward Kimball	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Young children tend to enjoy Babes in Toyland immensely, but older viewers find it rather tough going. Certainly, there are assets for everyone, starting with the sterling Victor Herbert score, which -- even in the "contemporized" version heard here -- is full of melodies that soar gracefully and land with just the right lilt upon the ear. Toyland also has some delightful costumes, and the look of the fairy tale characters is a treat. Though the sets are a bit too artificial, they're undeniably colorful and eye catching. And the climactic "March of the Toy Soldiers" sequence is quite fun to watch. And visually, director Jack Donohue has found some imaginative ways to capture the environs on film. But the picture never comes together the way it should. The story is really nothing but a sketch, there's no real menace to the villain, the tone is fudged constantly, the pieces don't hang together and -- most damagingly of all -- no one but the very young really cares about the characters or what happens to them. Of the cast, Ed Wynn is a lot of fun, but Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands are flat and dull as the young leads. Tommy Kirk has some good moments, which is more than can be said for Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon, given the unenviable task of competing with the memory of Laurel and Hardy in these roles in a much better earlier version. Ray Bolger tries very hard, but making this villain a comic character is the wrong decision, and ultimately even Bolger's skill can't keep the character from becoming tiresome. In the end, the biggest problem with Toyland seems to be that its creators didn't really believe in it -- and so all their hard work to make it magical instead just makes it mechanical.