Rating: 
Summary: ANNETTE FUNICELLO AT HER BEST
Review: I TRULY ENJOYED THIS DISNEY MOVIE AND ANNETTE FUNICELLO WAS AT HER BEST. ANNETTE DISPLAYS HER BALLET TALENT. SHE'S AN EXCELLENT DANCER. TOMMY SANDS IS ALSO AT HIS BEST AND EVEN ANN JILLIAN IS IN IT (AS A CHILD).WALT DISNEY'S CLASSIC BRINGS TOYS TO LIFE BEFORE ALL THE COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY! SEE THE MOTHER GOOSE CHARACTERS COME TO LIFE AND ENJOY A TRULY ENJOYABLE HOLIDAY CLASSIC WITH UNFORGETTTABLE SONGS FEATURING "MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS".
Rating: 
Summary: Its great!
Review: Iffin ya want the real Babes in Toyland this is the movie you want! Its got little boy blue, its got peter piper, its got a lot of the characters from mother goose rhymes. The characters discussions are great and unless you pay attention ya won't notice that they speak in rhyme it flows that great. They go visit the toymaker after they have stumbled into the forest of no return, the help him make the toys since his assitant grumio made a right royal mess and blew up a lot of the toy factory. I have seen several different versions of the Babes in Toyland but this is the only one that I think does justice to it!
Rating: 
Summary: A Pointless Re-release
Review: It is notable that the name of "Walt" Disney has now been removed from above the title on this classic film from the studio bearing his name.Sadly, it appears that the reference to "Disney" no longer represents the creative vision and product of Walt Disney, but only the diminishing brand name of a shrinking company. Here again, the opportunity was present to recapture the backstory and first-hand accounts of production on Walt Disney's "Babes in Toyland". Regrettably, those who are still alive to tell their story will likely be gone when the next version of this film reaches the market. We can only wonder what could have been, had current corporate management understood the historic significance of Walt Disney's more experimental films. The "special features" that have set apart other recent Disney DVD releases could have, and should have been represented within this release. As the forerunner for the success that became "Mary Poppins", Walt Disney's production of "Babes in Toyland" deserved better treatment in this DVD version.
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Summary: What a wonderous Journey!!!!!
Review: Just when you feel you cannot find a movie that you could bare to show to young childrenand adults at the same time,here it comes, dancing along with a lovely lilt. It's one of those movies that will bring joy and happy memroies to you and create them for your children as they join Barnaby, Mary, Tom, Mother goose and everyone else in this perils of Pauline style movie. The movie stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, the evil, but cute and lovable villian who has his infamous stovepipe hat that seems almost as tall as he is, dances around cape in tow, chasing Mary about, because he wants her inheritance. Ray's dancing and old comic villian style add to the uniqueness of this movie. Ray showed yet another wonder facet of his amazing talent here. He plots to drown Mary's fiancee, Tom, and the plan later falls through, with Mary and Tom marrying at the end. The movie has no vulgar language, no sexual innudendoes, no real viewable violence, and is a delightful story. Your family will love the slightly loudmouthed goose who really tries to lay it into barnaby for being so evil. Great movie, I highly recommend it. ;-) Mrs. Barnaby
Rating: 
Summary: Promising debut for Disney, but it's no MGM...
Review: Please do not stone me with toys, but I have to confess, I found this film rather tedious, at least through the first half. Comparisons to "The Wizard of Oz" are right on the money, down to the "living" trees, and our first glimpse of Toyland (looking suspiciously similar to The Emerald City). And Annette (still credited here with her single-name Mouseketeer moniker despite having grown out of her Mouse Ears), does a very good impression of Judy Garland from "Oz". In fact, Disney seems to have gone out of their way to make Annette look like Judy (hair, clothes, song selection, you name it). Now, Ray Bolger is just excellent as the "Oil Can Harry," classic old movie black-hat villain. However, his bumbling mercenaries, although funny, are pretty much just a ripoff of Laurel & Hardy. And Tommy Sands? The kid runs around the movie wearing a hairdoo that looks like a cat is pearched atop his noggin. He also suffers from some bad dubbing in some of his songs. He doesn't do much to strike the viewer as a big hero, either. Still, things do pick up. Once the characters manage to find their way out of the forest, so does the script. Once in Toyland, we meet Ed Wynn, who is the perfect Toymaker. The Toymaker's inventive assistant offers up wonderful toy-making gadgets, and the villain causes villainous villainry. One facet of the film that sets it apart from other studios is the simple use of animation. When being bonked on the head, a character see stars literally swirling around, and the toy army is nicely animated in stop motion. The idea is great, and the characters are just fine, but the production is spotty throughout the first half, perhaps even too long, making the film more tedious than full of the usual Disney wonder and charm. As for letting the kids watch, you'll have no worries there. The film is so sappishly innocent, that even a simple kiss between two sweethearts is forbidden (even Mickey got to get in a smootch now and then!). However, little kids may be scared by the trees, and by Ray Bolger when he attacks Toyland and battles the toy army.
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Summary: Film Remastering
Review: Since there are NO special features on this new remastered DVD, I continue to wait for a stereo surround version in widescreen -
(if that's ever going to be possible!). The colors ARE brightly crisper and the digital surround sound is in fabulous mono, but Disney obviously didn't remaster the original film negatives as you can still see specks during the feature and even an occasional upper-right 'filmroll change' small circle (a blemish on film indicating one of the 35mm rolls on one of the 2 projectors showing the flick was about to run out!). The picture also looks uncentered at times (possibly because of the way the original was filmed), esp noted on the right-side in the 'book opening' credits, along with other scenes - e.g. 'Won't Be Happy 'Till We Get It'; you only see half of Roderigo's (Gene Sheldon) head at the end of that muscial segment. But auspiciously, if you're a devoted fan of this movie for the music and Annette, Sands, Bolger, Ed Wynn and a young Ann Jillian (credit says 'Jilliann') and you have a DVD player getting a little bored, then it's worth the under $18 purchase. This being Disney's first musical production, it's ironic they never released an 'authentic' original soundtrack for this classic. The old Disneyland vinal LP's/45's of this film in the sixties only featured remakes and Ted Cassidy ('Lurch' of Addams Family) doing the Barnaby character, so this definately makes up for that.
Rating:
Summary: like an old favorite christmas ornament
Review: Sure there are many of the classics like rudolpd and frosty and a charlie brown christmas, its a wonderful life, plus many new"classics" for the holidays....that have stood the test of time a little better then babes in toyland....but like a n ornament thats has been passed down from gen to gen there are holes in the exterier,the gloss may be worn but you wouldnt part with it for any thing!!
watching it makes you feel good !!
Rating:
Summary: STUPID....DON'T SEE IT
Review: THE STUPIDEST MUSICAL EVER. THE TITLE IS MISLEADING TO SOME GUYS. THERE ARE NO BABES IN THIS TOYLAND. LITTLE KIDS MIGHT ENJOY THIS MOVIE BUT I DOUBT IT.
Rating:
Summary: Marching Wooden Soldiers
Review: This DVD release of this film adds nothing to the VHS, so do not think you are getting a better copy. No Widescreen, no re-mastering, and no extras. I will keep my VHS copy for now. Now on to the original film itself: In this 1961 film was the first true live-action musical from the Walt Disney Studio, Tommy Sands is paired up with America's girl next door who got her start with Walt Disney, Annette Funicello. Also the famous Ray Bolger and Ed Wynn are featured, and Ann Jillian was a child actor in this movie. There is more great talent from the Disney in-house stable of stars, Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran, who played brothers in "Old Yeller", and "Swiss Family Robinson". The story is simple enough, we are in Mother Goose land and the villain shrinks our heroes to toy size. They must enlist help from the toys in the Toymaker's shop to fight back. The effects were eye-popping at the time, and to see a toy army coming to life and fight the bad guys is a great treat for kids. The movie has some real fun stop motion style animation, where the toys are made to look like they are alive (30 years before computer animation did it for "Toy Story"). The Christmas parade at Disneyland has featured replicas of the marching soldiers from this film for over 40 years. The beautiful wooden toys that are seen in the film were all designed by veteran animator Ward Kimball. (X. Atencio and Bill Justice joined Ward on the stop-animation to bring the custom made toys to life). The movie was promoted in advance on the Walt Disney television show, in a 1961 episode that also promoted "The Parent Trap", (the episode is "The Title Makers"). The film was promoted again that year in an episode called "Backstage Party", which celebrated the completion of the film and gave the viewers a tour of the studio. The sets specially built at the studio were so unique, they found a temporary home at Disneyland from the films release to 1963, and people could actually visit them inside the Opera House on Main Street. The best part of the film is the music, which is the true star of any musical. The musical score features 11 songs from the in-house team of George Bruns (music) and Mel Leven (lyrics), and their score was nominated for an Academy Award. But even with the music, great stars, incredible sets, special effects, nice costumes, the script and dialogue left a lot to be desired so the film is a dud for adults. Uncle Walt hated the end product, but gamely tried to promote it as best he could and use it as an exercise for the studio to lean from. Just 4 years later he released the studios biggest live-action fim ever, a musical to beat all musicals, "Mary Poppins". The lesson had worked. Watch Babes in Toyland with light expectations, see it for the toys, and enjoy the music.
Rating: 
Summary: Has anyone noticed Annette Funnicello can't sing?
Review: This film was very disappointing, coming from the Disney fold. Sure, my kids (aged 3 and 2) love it, but this movie is, at best, tedious, and downright nails-on-the-chalkboard grating when Annette Funnicello speaks her lines. Her opening dance number was halfway decent, but her bland, uninspired performance goes steeply downhill from there. And let's not get started on that nasal monotone she calls singing! She was such a bad actress in this film, the only other person who turns in a more dismal acting performance is Mother Goose herself. It is such a chore to watch the two women in the same scene, trying to outbore each other. I think Ed Wynn's turn as The Toymaker is the only part worth watching of the whole lot. By the time the last scene plods on, with the supposedly-demure Mary leading her groom Tom down the church steps after their wedding, you are just too sleepy it doesn't even occur to you to question if her wedding gown was inspired by the Michelin Man or if she had her hat specially sent in from Sherwood Forest. I would skip this one, unless you have very young kids.
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