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Dean Jones once again goes through his Disney paces, giving a typically engaging performance as Johnny Baxter, an accountant who inherits a run-down lodge in Colorado. He hears that the place pulls in $14,000 a month, and that's enough for him to say sayonara to his current job and pull stakes & head for Colorado. He eventually gets the bright idea to turn the lodge into a ski resort. There are, of course, obstacles along the road to success, but he's determined to realize this dream.

These live-action Disney comedies of the 1960s and 1970s were certainly formula-bound, but this one works pretty well, thanks to a generous amount of genuine laughs, and some truly impressive stunts on the snowy slopes. Much of the running time is devoted to skiing and snowmobiling mishaps, and the hilarious highlight is when Johnny makes his first attempt at skiing. (He's reasoned that he should have some knowledge of the sport if he's going to be running a ski lodge.) The whole thing may be silly, but it's *agreeably* silly, complete with a suitably smarmy, and fun, performance by Keenan Wynn as the greedy, villainous banker Martin Ridgeway.

The cast features a number of familiar faces: Nancy Olson (the female lead in "The Absent-Minded Professor" 11 years previous) as Johnny's wife, Kathleen Cody ("Hot Summer Week") and Johnny Whitaker ('Family Affair') as his kids, a priceless Harry Morgan, pre-'M*A*S*H', as grizzled old fart Jesse McCord, Michael McGreevey (from two of the Dexter Riley Disney comedies) as amiable Wally Perkins, George Lindsey of 'The Andy Griffith Show' as local character "Double L Dingman", Mary Wickes ("Sister Act" 1 and 2) as Ridgeway's secretary, and Dick Van Patten of 'Eight is Enough' fame as Johnny's boss in the opening scenes.

Overall, an upbeat and goofy comedy that is good for a family audience, with the kind of protagonists for whom it is easy to root.

Seven out of 10.

This is absolutely one of the funniest movies I've ever seen without subjecting the viewer to low class potty humor or vulgarity. Most people won't find it as funny as today's vulgar and crass humor or the insipid "dumb and dumber" type of humor. However, if you are looking for something for the entire family that is clean and at the same time hilarious, this is it! My family never tires of watching this movie for a good laugh. They certainly don't make good, clean movies like they used to which is a great pity! I wish I could buy a collection of Dean Jones' movies at one time. I love his ability to seem foolish and yet come out the hero without superficial trappings that seem to be required of most heroes today. He is an "everyman" hero and one that obviously has integrity where other lack it.

I have a well-worn, copied from tv version of this movie that I watch again and again. The cast is wonderful and the ski and snow-mobile scenes leave me laughing till I cry. Harry Morgan gives (in my opinion) one of his best performances and Dean Jones is in fine form with other Disney regulars making this an exceptional family movie. Could we please see a release in the near future?? Families need movies like these!

Brief synopsis: Baxter (Dean Jones) inherits a hotel in Silver Hill, Colorado and quits his New York job to take up proprietorship. Although he discovers the hotel is no longer profitable as such, he sees the potential of converting it to a ski resort. Of course, as you can guess, all sorts of humorous mishaps befall the poor man and his family before he can realise this dream.

This movie was filmed on location in beautiful Crested Butte, Colorado, thinly disguised as Silver Hill. Fantastic scenery here. Crested Butte has changed a lot since this movie was made, but you can see some of the landmarks still.

For many years we had only reel 2 of this movie and never could seem to find a VHS copy. To my great elation, I came across a DVD version a few weeks ago, along with a couple more of my old favourites 'Gus' & 'Big Red'. It was wonderful. They just don't make movies like this any more. I would love to see Disney do more movies like this; but I suppose they are not profitable.

Now, this movie is by no means a masterpiece, but it's so much fun to watch. I like stuff like the tree made of rubber that Dean Jones gets caught on; And the double-tipped skis he (or his stunt double) wears when skiing backwards. That kid's goofy snowmobile was a riot.

Even my teenage kids liked this movie. And I didn't have to worry about objectionable material like I do more recent movies (even from Disney). I figure if it makes me and my kids laugh it's worth it.

I recommend you check this out if you have kids and like to watch movies with them. My rating was a 7 on this one.

I was nine years old when Disney's Snowball Express first came out. I can still remember seeing it in the theaters and having an absolute wonderful time with it. I've seen it several times over the years since and while I no longer consider it one of my favorites, I still have a good time with it. Regardless of how old I've become or how much my taste in movies has changed, Snowball Express never fails to provide some level of entertainment or make me laugh out loud at a couple of the funnier moments. It's just good, simple, clean fun.

One thing that makes many of these Disney live action films good to me is the presence of Dean Jones. He is an Everyman. He has such an easy-going, amiable air about him that it's easy to put yourself in his shoes. His reaction to situations and events occurring around him rings true (given a certain level of exaggeration necessary for comedy). It's this believability that makes him relatable and perfect for a role like the one in Snowball Express.