3 étoiles, 36 chandelles

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.

Dean Jones inherits a hotel in Colorado. He quits his job and moves himself, wife Nancy Olson and children Johnny Whittaker and Kathleen Cody to their new home. They discover Harry Morgan and a wrecked hotel and they decide to open a ski lodge, despite knowing nothing about it and banker Keenan Wynn wanting the property for his own, presumably nefarious, purposes.

It's typical Disney family fare in this period, pleasant and episodic. While it begins with story-telling more suited to a TV series than a theatrical movie, by about the 40-minute mark, Frank Phillips' camerawork takes advantage of the winter scenery around Crested Butte, Colorado to turn this into a nicely cinematic -- although process-shot-laden -- effort.

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'm sure I loved this as a kid, but it felt all new to me now. Nothing wrong with this movie at all, I'd recommend it to any family. Silly, low budget fun. Just not my cup of tea these days.

We still watch this movie often and still laugh a lot at it. It's one of our favorites. We still often joke about the name on the snowmobile. Does anyone know where the hotel scene was shot and if the hotel still stands? Was it built for the movie? Was it in the Crested Butte area? We visited Crested Butte today, and yes, it looks quite a bit different from the movie. I also wonder if the scenes at the bank were shot in this area or in a studio. I agree with other posts that Harry Morgan was superb. The look on his face when he talked about getting the skiers in where it was warm was absolutely priceless. Keenan Wynn was a great conniving heavy in his role, and Mary Wickes perfect as his secretary.