Originally Posted By Brad I am watching the trees singing "This is the forest of no return" right now in the corner of my screen - that sequence scared the Bo Peep out of me as a kid! Not kidding - It actualled SCARRED me and even listening to that song now gives me the willies!!! Sure the film may not have aged well but even just the name brings up lovely memories of listening to the Little Golden Books read along record - something I am sure kids today have NO IDEA what I'd be talking about!!!(Records AND read along records!)
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes I saw this at it's opening in 1961 along with my father at some high falootin' movie theater in San Francisco while my mother and sister went to the Opera House to see the Nutcracker Ballet. As a five year old, I loved it. Having seen it once on TV since, I don't know how my father was able to sit through it without a barf bag. I enjoyed most the Forest of No Return ( which I also found scary) and the March of the Toy Soldiers. Not much later I enjoyed seeing the movie props at the Main Street Opera House. Just a side note: I recently read an old interview with Ward Kimball in which he said some Hollywood reporter trying to get a scoop published that Ward was to be the director of the film. This upset Ward very much as, while he knew he was under consideration and most likely would get the assignment, it was very presumptuous to name him in print as the director and he knew Walt would be angry about it. He was right, and Walt and Ward had a falling out over it that Ward said his career at Disney never completely recovered from. I would have liked to have seen the film as directed by Ward, but no way was Walt going to let that happen.
Originally Posted By tonyanton Someone else mentioned it...I think the stage curtain opening just ruins the film for me from the start...there is no sense of disbelief when you know the sets are just that...sets on a stage!
Originally Posted By Daannzzz I understand what they were trying to do and it has a sweetness about it but it does not work well for me. I liked a couple of the songs and sets but thought it was fairly dull. Should have been a spectacular.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 My older sister had a Golden Book of it, so I knew it existed (and that the soldiers in the Christmas parade were from it), but I never saw it, and they never re-released it to my knowledge (and if they showed it on WWOC, I missed it). So I knew there was this seemingly big splashy Disney movie that I'd never seen, but even at that age I could suss out that maybe it wasn't that good or they'd re-release it... Eventually I got to see it and satisfy my curiosity. And yeah... some decent moments but not that good.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I posted this in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks thread in error. --------- I watched Babes in Toyland the other night, never having seen it all in one sitting. It just never seems to get off the ground. It feels very much like it was shot for TV rather than the big screen. So much of it feels boxed in and small, and even the big dance sequences are boringly shot. Big musicals from decades before had more innovative camera work. Babes in Toyland feels so much like it was shot on a soundstage, you can practically imagine the crew and workers behind the camera waiting around to eat their lunch, checking their watches. Ray Bolger gives it his all, but there's just not much for him to work with here. And he's too darn lovable to root against. Annette seems like her scenes were shot elsewhere much of the time and edited in.
