Rating: 
Summary: Pet alligators, Bible school with boxing and song...
Review: ..what else could you ask for? This is the kind of movie Disney should be making today. The protagonist is a feminist before it was fashionable, stands up to her dad and up for herself. Her beau chases a dream everyone else thinks is silly, and opts for a career instead of resting on his families laurels. The songs are memorable and the plot something outside the norm. It's fun and funny but talks about real issues and doesn't insult your intelligence.
Rating: 
Summary: Why roadshows killed the movie musical...
Review: A perfect example of why hugely budgeted, tiresomely lengthy film musicals doomed that genre forever beginning in the mid-1960s, THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE is truly one of the nadirs of the roadshow musical. A huge amount of work went into this film; unfortunately, the material is hard pressed to bear the weight of the roadshow accoutrements. Originally planned as a comedy and not a musical, THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE on view in this new DVD was born as a result of the Disney studio having had such success with MARY POPPINS in 1964, coupled with the industry-shaking phenomenon of THE SOUND OF MUSIC in 1965. Big musicals were considered foolproof at that point, but it was a major miscalculation on the part of the film industry.THA HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE suffers from monotonous pacing, anachronistic costuming and hair styles, a terrible visual look due to the flat, overly bright lighting, and a dearth of production numbers. It's as if a bad '60s sitcom were grafted onto an overly ambitious Broadway musical. The movie wasn't a critical or box-office success, so Disney trimmed 20 minutes from the reserved seat version, and it still didn't catch on. Late 1967 also brought the ruinously expensive DOCTOR DOLITTLE to the screen, and that failure, plus the miscalculation of THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE, began the self-destruction of the film musical. Seeing the latter in its full-length version in 1999 doesn't evoke feelings of nostalgia, rather, it lets us see very clearly how the movie musical died. Sad but true.
Rating: 
Summary: Joyous Musical Classic
Review: The expression, "They don't make them like that anymore" applies to The Happiest Millionaire, a joyous musical comedy from the folks at Disney. The last film that Walt personally oversaw was made at a time when musicals were extravagantly produced, with opulant sets, lively orchestrations, spirited choreograhy and oscar nominated costume design. Unfortunatly, if you did not see this in its initial release in the late sixties, you probably missed it because Disney buried it in its vault for years. Basking in the glow of Mary Poppins a couple of years before, the studio was hoping for another smash hit and hired the Sherman Brothers to score another Road Show musical. However, it was not to be and after only a moderate success with critics and the public, at a time when musicals were dying, the film all but disappeared except for occasional airings on the Disney channel.I saw the film as a kid and loved it and I find it just as enjoyable today. The cast highlighted by Fred McMurray and Greer Garson are in top form and you'll be singing Fourtuosity long after the fade out.Thank you Anchor Bay for restoring this lost classic that doesn't deserve its obscurity.
Rating: 
Summary: lavish disney production does not equal the sum of its parts
Review: THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE is the last live production that Walt Disney oversaw before his death. The movie is an attempt to emulaite the big blockbuster reserved seat movie musicals popular following the SOUND OF MUSIC's success during 1960s and also to duplicate MARY POPPINS success. The production is lavish in terms of settings and costumes; with a great cast led by Fred MacMurray and Greer Garson; The songs by the Sherman brothers are likeable and not as bad as critics would have you believe; there are some great dance sequences. Unfortunatly, the plot is such a simple trifle which goes on and on for 164 minutes(in the restored version)that the movie eventually becomes a bloated, overlong bore. Its too bad because all the right ingrediants are there except a good story and script. The new DVD finally restores the movie to its original roadshow lenght. MILLIONAIRE was cut by 20 minutes following its premiere engagements.In fact the print which opened at Radio City Music Hall in NYC was already cut. The colors are excellent, the stero sound is good and the source materials are generally in good shape (a few markings here and there are not worth complaing about). This movie is now more a curiousity of its era and the wanning days of Disney's regime. It is certainly worth a look and may appeal to non-discriminating fans of musical movies.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst musicals of the 60s.
Review: High expectations following MARY POPPINS were bitterly dashed with the release of THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE from the Disney Studios. In 1967, the era of cultural and political revolution, Disney presented us with Fred MacMurray and tried to pass him off as a free-thinking eccentric. In spite of the lavish production values, the entrenched conservatism of the mileu and the dated hi-jinks offered up fail to make this spiritless enterprise sparkle. Tommy Steele and Hermoine Baddeley prove that they, at least, know what they're doing, but nothing in this picture remotely "works." This video company presents this best-forgotten picture in a multiplicity of formats and yet Warner Brothers has yet to release Judy Garland's great A STAR IS BORN in widescreen in ANY format. Hello???
Rating:
Summary: A BIT under-rated, but NOT a great movie...
Review: How can Walt Disney top "Mary Poppins?" He can't. But that didn't stop him from trying. "The Happiest Millionaire" is the first of many tries--and it's easy to understand why it flopped miserably in it's original release. Thankfully with this release, the film can be seen and judged on its own merits. Silly but very likable songs, and great performances all the way around help the TRIFLE of a story work it's way towards a typical Disney ending. Compared with other bloated musicals of the same period ("My Fair Lady," Paint Your Wagon," and "Camelot"), it holds up pretty well. And like the other films, it hasn't dated very well, unlike the completely TIMEless "Mary Poppins."
Rating:
Summary: The best musical movie ever!! Great family film!!
Review: This movie is one of my favorites! A light hearted family comedy, with romance, et al.
Rating:
Summary: Oddly entertaining.
Review: This movie was a bit long, and I used the fast forward button to get by some of the musical numbers. However, I enjoyed it overall. Some of the scenes are unforgettable. I will want to see it again, just to relive the odd and funny moments.
Rating:
Summary: it is a funny and cute movie
Review: This movie is one of the best Disney movies in my opinion. The music and the story are wonderful to listen to and watch. As a fan of Fred Macmurray, I have to say that he makes the movie even more fun. The dancing, the story, and the music make the movie worth watching
Rating:
Summary: Disney at its best!
Review: I have the belief that Disney is going down the tubes now days. With movies such as "Hocus Pocus", and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and the deeply disappointing movies such as "Pocahontas" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (one that should not have been made at all from my point of veiw, and not fit for children), Disney is very disappointing. THe Happiest Millionaire is just one of those great movies made when movies were kept clean. There is no need of foul language or sex in this movie, you don't even miss them. Tommy Steele was great in this movie, he was witty, funny and charming. Fred MacMurray played the part well, and the paring of Leslie Ann Warren with John Davidson was brilliant. They were just right for the parts, and did them well. Gladys Cooper as the matriarch Aunt Mary, and Geraldine Page as the pompous Mrs. Duke were hilarious in the their duet song "There are Those". The songs in the movie are easy to remember, and fun to listen to. This in one movie (of many, believe me) that my mom and I like to watch together. I believe that you'll recognize Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Worth, who, when Mr. Drexel Biddle told her "I could be dying!", replied with out batting an eye, "Indeed you could." (Baddeley played the maid who was always fighting with the cook in Mary Poppins.) This movie is one of a kind, and entirely true, based on the book, My Philadelphia Father, by Cordelia Drexel Biddel.
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