El pequeño gigante

I remember seeing this the first time when I was attending public school in Queens in the early 1960s. It was shown as a treat to the students at an extended G.O. assembly. I had not seen it when it came out in 1958 (I was only four) but I recall seeing Disney's PETER PAN about that time, so I cannot understand missing this film.

It was a fun film. The trick animation (which won an Oscar) was particularly good in the sequence when the toys came to life. It was probably influential with similar scenes in BABES IN TOYLAND in 1960. However, BABES IN TOYLAND had the benefit of the Disney studio, not to mention a wonderful Victor Herbert score. The score of tom thumb was not very memorable, except for the song that I quoted above, which had some of the silliest lyrics I can recall.

The film was actually more interesting than I would have known as a child. Besides George Pal's style in the film and the trick animation, it was one of the last musical films that had a major role for Jessie Matthews as tom's mother. In the U.S. Ms Matthews is not too well recalled, but she was the leading female musical comedy star in England in the 1930s. Her husband here is Sir Bernard Miles, who is better remembered as the villain in Hitchcock's remake of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. The star was Russ Tamblyn, finally in a starring role - a step beyond his performances in THE LAST HUNT and SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, and heading for his best performance in WEST SIDE STORY. The second lead, Alan Young, had already made ANDROCLES AND THE LION and AARON SLICK FROM PUNKIN CREEK, and (as he was here working with George Pal) would have his dramatically best role (or roles) in Pal's future masterwork THE TIME MACHINE. Young would also soon gain television immortality as "Wilbur Post" the friend of the talking horse MR. ED.

This film was one of the pairings of Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers in a comedy. As Tony and Ivan they are the greedy thieves who use tom to rob the town treasury, only to turn on each other in a fight that enables tom to trip them up. Terry-Thomas has a sharpened nose in his makeup, which is accentuated by his sharp crowned hat. Sellers in particular had interesting make-up in this film, fattened up to look particularly threatening in a greasy sort of way, and wearing a small derby hat. He has the best line in the film. When tom (still unaware of what crooks he is with) is inside the town treasury Tony/Terry-Thomas tells him to pass over a bag of gold. Which one, asks tom. "THE BIGGEST ONE!", shouts Ivan/Peter.

A timeless fantasy featuring the adventures of the world's smallest and best boy. There's some fun songs, decent acting and terrific special effects (for the time and era). This should delight most kids and is pleasant enough for most adults to enjoy as well. As the bumbling villains Ivan and Tony, Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers steal much of the show.

If you have children and want to entertain them and yourself with a film, TOM THUMB is acceptable entertainment. Producer/director George Pal creates a quaint, vivid fairy tale world with bright colors, picturesque scenery and Tyrolean costumes. The stop motion animated singing and talking toys who befriend the titular tiny boy (Russ Tamblyn), are beautifully realized and smoothly co-exist with the live action Tamblyn. The songs are pleasant and hummable. Particularly memorable is "The Yawning Song," drowsily warbled by the voice of Stan Freberg as a sleepy toy. Russ Tamblyn is appealing in the title role and Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers as, respectively, the conniving Ivan and his eager confederate Tony practically steal the film with their comic shenanigans. Sellers is particularly impressive, giving the standard dim-witted accomplice part a creepily animalistic shading.

But although TOM THUMB is enjoyable, it doesn't rank with such outstanding family films like THE WIZARD OF OZ and Walt Disney's PINOCCHIO. What mainly prevents TOM THUMB from achieving greatness is Ladislas Fodor's slight scenario. In the best family films, the protagonists have important goals. For instance in THE WIZARD OF OZ Dorothy has to find a way back from Oz and in PINOCCHIO the titular puppet must learn to distinguish between right and wrong in order to become a real boy. In contrast, Tom Thumb's mission- to prove his parents (Bernard Miles, Jessie Matthews) did not steal the town's treasury by exposing the real thieves, Ivan and Tony-seems inconsequential. Compared to the scheme of, say, the Wicked Witch of the West to obtain Dorothy's ruby slippers in order to obtain supremacy in Oz, Ivan and Tony's plan is very pedestrian. The fate of the parents if they're not cleared- a public whipping- is certainly bad but much milder than say the fate of Pinocchio, Geppetto, and their pets if they can't escape from Monstro the whale- eternal imprisonment.

Then there is the romantic subplot between a local musician Woody (Alan Young) and the immortal Fairy Queen (June Thorburn). Woody wants to kiss the Fairy Queen so she can become a mortal as well as his wife, but the Fairy Queen warns him he should prove himself responsible before he can marry her. Pal handles the scenario in such a fluffy manner, however, that there is little conflict or feeling in this subplot. And while the animated segments are delightful, they hardly contribute to the plot.

But considering the glut of dreadful films trying to pass off as family entertainment, one should be grateful that TOM THUMB succeeds in its modest goal of entertaining viewers. Although the film is not extraordinary, it does emanate a storybook charm without succumbing to cloyingness. And Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers are a memorable pair- a kind of malevolent Laurel and Hardy.

A long time ago in a forest far away, woodcutter Bernard Miles (as Jonathan) is granted three wishes by beautiful forest queen June Thorburn (as Queenie), for sparing a giant tree from his axe. Alas, Mr. Miles squanders his wishes by growing a giant symbolic sausage on his nose, but wife Jessie Matthews (as Anne) receives a consolation prize when tiny Russ Tamblyn (as Tom Thumb) arrives on his birthday, fully grown. The childless couple always wanted a son. After getting lost at the local fair with family friend Alan Young (as Woody), Mr. Tamblyn is rescued by villainous Terry-Thomas (as Ivan) and mugging sidekick Peter Sellers (as Antony). The black-dressed men use Tamblyn to steal some gold coins, which gets his parents arrested...

This marvelous adaptation of the "Brothers Grimm" story is, to coin a familiar phrase, "fun for children of all ages." The film won special effects wizard Tom Howard a second "Academy Award", making him two for two. Gymnastic dancer Tamblyn performs a perfect ten as the un-capitalized "tom thumb"; the versatile young actor had just been receiving "Oscar" consideration for his dramatic roles. Also superb is the dastardly pairing of Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers, who savor every second of their screen time. Taking the director's chair for his first feature, "Puppetoon" master George Pal reaches a career high. The soundtrack isn't riddled with hits, but it nonetheless captures the charm. A romantic subplot is the only thing not filled to the brim with magic.

******** tom thumb (11/27/58) George Pal ~ Russ Tamblyn, Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Alan Young

Made 52 years ago and still enchanting, this MGM musical and puppetoon version of TOM THUMB is still a valid solid family delight. Told in a very European storybook manner, rather like the illustrations from a Little Golden Book, TOM THUMB unfolds into a spectacular special effects laden thrill... and no CGI all marvelous sets and over-sized art direction with amazing stop frame animation and puppet movements. It actually became more interesting for the astonishing and clever ideas edited together to make the story work. In 2009 this version might at first seem a bit too juvenile for today's kids but the simple ideas presented as a pantomime with sheer brilliance of on screen mastery and some hilarious acting by Terry Thomas Peter Sellers and Russ Tamblyn made me in middle age realize that once the lights go down and a genuinely well made film begins, it works for any person of any age. The two 8 year olds with me who are saturated with Harry Potter and Star Wars simply loved TOM THUMB and like kids of any year gone, laughed along with the beauty and wit on screen. It must have had a big budget because what I saw in scene after scene was a beautifully constructed lavish fantasy with completely convincing special effects.. made of cardboard and film. TOM THUMB still works !! What a delight. This version did not have a gollywog dance wither so it might have been the shorter version still clocking in at about 92 minutes. I saw the Gollywog but he was lying down by the time he appeared. I saw a new 35mm print in a cinema in Sydney on Jan 13, 2009. The color was rich and a bit dark and the grain obvious, but it was so clever and funny I forgot any film laboratory hardness.