The music and some of the performances are great (especially Ray Bolger) but plotwise it's not great (not even the best version of Babes in Toyland).
Nowhere near as wondrously entertaining as I'd remembered it from my childhood. Annette just doesn't show emotions on her face, like ever.
By far the best part of this movie is the villains transposed from the "Zorro" television program, and led by "The Wizard of Oz" great Ray Bolger.
Well that surpassed all my expectations!
I thought: "A Christmas musical film? Uh oh." I've stated before that musicals are not my favourite, I usually struggle to get into them due to their discombobulated nature. However, to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Babes in Toyland'.
The ending does fall flat minutely, but everything up until that point is a true joy. The opening scenes are terrific. Are they utterly random? Yes. Does it really make any sense? Heck no. Was I smiling? I sure was! "We Won't Be Happy Till We Get It" is a great opener to Barnaby & Co.
Barnaby is portrayed very well by Ray Bolger, with his side-kicks acted by the fun duo of Henry Calvin (Gonzorgo) and Gene Sheldon (Roderigo) - two who I liked in 'The Sign of Zorro'. Tommy Sands (Tom), Annette Funicello (Mary) and Ed Wynn (Toymaker) are also good.
As noted, the conclusion is what knocks my rating down ever so slightly. It isn't even a bad way to wrap things up, it just isn't as entertaining as what occurs beforehand. The other stuff is grand though, the film knows it's somewhat bonkers and commits to it positively.
I'm not a big fan of musicals so I'm probably not the best person to ask about the genre, but all I can say is that I really enjoyed this.
Shout by Tim KretschmannBlockedParent2020-12-29T02:43:11Z
I remembered like this as a child. Well, that was yesterday. Yesterday's gone. Beautiful costumes and stagy sets add up to a rather meager Disney musical. Who would have thought their next live action musical would be their best (Mary Poppins)? This was a box office failure when it first came out. As an adult, I'm no longer surprised. Just doesn't work for me anymore.