Le pays des jouets

It was sixty years since Victor Herbert and Glen MacDonough's magical musical for kids premiered on Broadway when this version came out and now it's nearly 50 years since the film was in theaters. It doesn't rank up with the one that Laurel&Hardy did in the Thirties. For one thing the Victor Herbert score was cut, but not added to. Secondly Stan and Ollie were the center of things even though they are supporting characters. That in itself made their March Of The Wooden Soldiers memorable.

Still this version that Disney did featured several of his stable of young stars like Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands as the young lovers of Toyland who want to wed. But evil Barnaby reprised in this version by Ray Bolger is going to put a stop to that. He's got designs on Annette's virtue and more important on the inheritance he knows she will get upon her wedding day. Bolger is having a great old time hamming it up as Barnaby.

Stan and Ollie are saluted by Disney with Gene Sheldon and Henry Calvin, fresh from the Zorro series. They're funny, but are clearly relegated to supporting players as Bolger's inept stooges. As Stan Laurel was still alive when Babes In Toyland was in the theaters, I've often wondered what he thought of Sheldon and Calvin.

Tommy Kirk who was barely out of his teens got a real treat to work with one of the great funny men of all time. Babes In Toyland is a great example for those of us to see the zany humor in the character of Ed Wynn as the Toymaker with Kirk as his assistant. The two of them work very well together.

Even Tommy Sands gets into the humor of things when he dons an outrageous gypsy drag persona to foil one of Bolger's schemes. A scheme that goes awry when Calvin and Sheldon don't precisely obey orders. You just can't get good help, even in Toyland.

I even think Victor Herbert would have approved of the way his numbers were done though he probably would not like the Disney interpolations that were made. He was a stickler for such things in his life.

Viewing March Of The Wooden Soldiers back to back with Babes In Toyland doesn't make this version look inferior by any means.

You know, this is one of those grossly underrated, wonderful treasures of a movie. It's rather simple, with the fanciest effects being the movement of the toy soldiers, which was ahead of its time, but it's a true case of simple is beautiful. It's a fantastic movie for those who just wish to sit back, and laugh with the family, and have an adventure in fantasy land. The play is still being put on around the world, and this, to me, is just the best captured version. There's really something for everyone - Ray Bolger ( who looked really spectacular, very handsome in his role as Barnaby), Annette (who is always charming for being the sweetheart we all know), Tommy Sands as the daring hero, and the team of Henrey Calvin and Gene Sheldon, along with the forever amusing Ed Wynn. This movie turns out more of a comedy, and the adventures that encompass Mary and Tom Piper, when crossed by Barnaby, double crossed by Gonzorgo and Rodrigo are hilarious. This is primarily a Christmas movie, but it's set so you can watch it anytime of the year - and so you should! I still cannot get over Ray bolger as a villian....he does a lovely job, and looks terrific, but if you only know him as the scarecrow, you'll especially need to see this! He makes the statement relavent that he is very, very, very versatile, and one of our greatest entertainment treasures.

It's a 1960s Disney Musical, I should not have to say more than this about the movie.

It's great for kids, unfortunately.

I remember seeing it, and liking it as a kid - and got it for my 3 yr old daughter.

My wife hates me for it. Not that the movie is that horrible - but my daughter is in love with Tommy Sands and wants to watch this movie every night.

My wife even took my daughter to the library and checked out kids movies - she was excited until she got home, and just said she wanted to watch Tom and Mary (The names of the main actors in the movie) If you have little kids - they'll love it. You might even enjoy it some yourself - until it's overplayed.

Disney version of the Victor Herbert operetta about Mother Goose characters, previously filmed in 1934 with Laurel & Hardy. That version is the best of the ones I've seen but this one isn't without some positives. For starters, it's a beautiful-looking film with great sets, props, and costumes. That goose is creepy, though. It's a movie full of bright vivid colors that pop out at you. The cast is good, with Tommy Sands and a stunning Annette Funicello as likable (if dull) leads. Ray Bolger has fun as the villain Barnaby. Gene Sheldon and Henry Calvin, playing Barnaby's henchmen, are obviously impersonating Laurel and Hardy, and having a good time doing so. Ed Wynn is a scene stealer as the Toymaker. Disney legend Tommy Kirk plays his assistant and seems to be having fun. Director Jack Donohue does a respectable job bringing Toyland and its Mother Goose characters to life on the screen. But somehow the whole thing just doesn't click the way it should. You get the feeling from the start that the movie is trying way too hard. There are songs on top of songs and none of them are particularly strong. Most are terribly corny. There are interesting things about the film (particularly the visuals) so it's not a complete dud. It helps to avoid comparisons to the superior 1934 version. If you're a fan of the story or a Disney buff, by all means give it a shot. Also if you're a parent of a young child perhaps they'll like it. Everyone else go in with lowered expectations.

Even Disney buffs willing to go to the ends of the earth for Annette Funicello might admit this is one of the former Mouseketeer's weaker efforts for the Disney company. Mary Contrary hopes to get married, but her wedding plans are thwarted by an evil villain. Most of the production and the special effects in the finale are very good, and the adaptation of the operetta score is fine, but the balky direction has no pizazz, no snap. Worse, the scowling children make exclamations in unison, Tommy Sands is excruciatingly hammy in drag as an old gypsy woman, and the Laurel and Hardy-inspired slapstick routines feel out of place. Veterans Ray Bolger and Ed Wynn bring the film some polish; otherwise, there's not much happening in "Toyland", beyond the fact it has a distinct case of "Wizard Of Oz"-itis. ** from ****