Rating: 
Summary: Colourized - So What?
Review: I know that colourizing Laurel & Hardy films does not make them funnier or better. I have a very complete collection of two reelers and the better feature films on VHS in b&w.
That should be enough. But, I read in a book recently that if there was one L&H film to buy in a colourized version it would have to be "March Of The Wooden Soldiers". The backgound came out better on this movie. And boy am I glad I ordered it! Somehow it reminds me of "The Wizard Of Oz". All of you purists buy yourself the b&w version if you can't stand coulourized films and stop whining. Get a life!
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Summary: Lets give them a parting shot of words!
Review: Good Toy Soldiers that march around and whack Bogeymen!that's what you'll find in this epic of Stan-liness and Ollie-Folly.The final sequence is as terrifying as the siege of Gondor
in Peter Jackson's Return of the King!It's scary when you see the Boogiemen burst in the door and carry all the citizens off.
There's no General Gandalf to rally the troops,only Stan and Ollie. They repel boarders using peewee darts, zeppelins, cannons and six foot tall wooden soldiers!Barnaby is such an evil villain,that looks kind of like a werewolf Bogeyman!The special effects are good too,like invisible little gnomes,that look like Gimli,Horrifying bogeymen that look like orcs with good costumes,and a Toyland village that probably took as much work to make as Hobbiton! Then you've got two little characters,Bo-peep and Tom-Tom, who are very much in love,but are threatened by the evil Silas Barnaby and mean Toymaker who says,"What was that?!?",when asked for money to pay off the mortgage owed by Peeps Mother to Barnaby,so that Peep won't have to marry Silas!Simple,isn't it?But Stan and Ollie will endure duckings in the pond,darts,Bogeymen,and even the big man himself,to make sure Tom and Peep live happily ever after!See this movie without delay or you are a fool of a Took!
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Summary: Passport's March of the Wooden Soldiers
Review: I was dubious, and very afraid of a substandard print, but in that the only other versions I'd seen were, inexcusably, colorized, I figured I'd take a chance, given the low cost.What a relief! It's a first-rate print--not crystal clear, but probably as good as this movie's looked in years, and for all I know it never looked any better. There's a more intact version of the opening "Toyland" song than I recall from most TV screenings, and the five or so minutes that commence with "Go to Sleep, Slumber Deep" are (I was holding my breath) restored--most TV screenings lately cut them. I don't suppose the movie's to everyone's taste--it's extraordinarily fey, and creaks with antiquity that must have seemed quaint even when it was new (it's as if the makers were serving Herbert's turn-of-the-century audiences rather than their own), but for those of us who were raised on it, it's glorious.
Rating:
Summary: Stan and Ollie in Glorious Black and White!
Review: Thanks to the folks at Passport Video, we finally have an uncut black-and-white DVD of the Laurel and Hardy classic "March of the Wooden Soldiers" (1934). For purists who detest the "colorized" version, the Passport disc is a must-own. Transferred from a high-quality 35mm print, the DVD looks and sounds great -- far superior to Hallmark's recent botch on "Sons of the Desert." As a special bonus, Passport has included the historic "Lucky Dog," a 1921 short that marked Laurel's first appearance with Hardy (who plays a villainous role). Stan and Ollie fans will not be disappointed with this long-overdue release.
Rating: 
Summary: I hate color on dvd - March of the Wooden Soliders.
Review: My favorite is March of the Wooden Soldiers since i was kid. I do not like COLOR!!! I hate that. I want to black and white chirstmas... It is beautiful old classic black and white. The color is not great. I won't buy this dvd.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining
Review: I'm a big fan of Laurel & Hardy. This film is by far their best known film...although I wouldn't call it their best. However it is great for kids and amusing enough for adults to sit through. It's basically about all those old little fairy tale characters we had growing up, all in one little movie. It even has the "bogeymen"!!!:) It's great for kids, I surely will be sharing this with mine when I have em...in a couple of years or so. Very entertaining for the whole family.
Rating:
Summary: Laurel & Hardy Come To Fairyland and bring their fun Too!
Review: In their third film opera spoof.Stan And Ollie bring their unique comedy to fairyland and we're all the better for it.Here they not only fit into the Mother Goose fantasy motif'but they're also able to bring their unique approach to spoofing man's foilbels and maintain their childlike demenors.The plot of "March Of The Wooden Soldiers"(The film was originally released by Hal Roach Studios and MGM in the late fall of 1934 as "Babes In Toyland!")has the evil and lecherious mortage holder:"Silas Barnaby"(Henry Kleinbach Brandon)forcing "Mother Peep"(Flo Roberts)to have her daughter:"Little Bo Peep"(Charolette Henry)marry him as an alternitive to prevent "Barnaby"from evicting the members of "The Peep"household.When the poor old matriach is unable to pay her mortage bill.But "Stannie Dum & Ollie Dee"(L&H)spoil the villian's plans.When "Stannie"impersonate "Ms.Peep"(Ms.Henry)during "Barnaby's"nupuals.Angered at being made a fool.The vendictive "Barnaby"pignapps One of "The Three Little Pigs":"Elmer"(Angelo Russitto) and frames "Ms.Peep's"boyfriend"Tom Tom Piper"(Felix Knight)for pignapping the little guy.After Poor"Tom Tom"(Mr.Knight)is sent to the frightening relm of"Bogeyland"."Stannie & Ollie"Realize that "Barnaby's"evidence is a fake(The string of pork sauages that was found in "Tom Tom's"house is nothing more than a string of beef hot dogs!).They search The villian's basement and find:"Elmer"a prisoner.Bringing the little guy before "Old King Cole"(Kewpie Morgan)and his subjects.The angry mob chases after "Barnaby".Who escapes down the well in his backyard(Which is a secret entrance to "Bogeyland)"Stannie & Ollie"help "Tom Tom"and"Bo Peep"(Who went after her love)escape from "Bogeyland".But "Barnaby" soon takes command of "The Bogeymen Monsters".And launches an attack on "Old King Cole's"(Mr.Morgan's)relm of "Toyland!".But "Stannie & Ollie"Foil the villian with their armies of giant size toy wooden soldiers .Who march against "Barnaby's"Armada to the strains of Vic Herbert's"March Of The Toys!".The film is filled with great songs,music, an enchanting storyline,beautiful sets(made even more charming via the new process of Colorization),lovely costumes and the beloved comedy of L&H.For those families..who need to find the perfect family film for the holidays(and for those fans of this classic holiday musical comedy film.."Babes In Toyland!"the original 1903 Broadway stage production celebraites it's 100th anniversary this year!).This is the one movie to have in you VHS/DVD Collection.Bravo Stan And Babe! Kevin S.Butler.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful classic
Review: This is a classic in the greatest sense of the word. The colorized version is beautiful and brings it up to date. You will not regrett buying this christmas classic
Rating:
Summary: NOTE: THIS IS COLORIZED. DO NOT BUY.
Review: This DVD is the turnerized version.
Contrary to what people say, just turning the color off on your TV does not give you the original black and white image. They have messed with brightness values, shadows, gray tones, contrast, everything. You will have a muddy, cruddy image.
Go to EBAY and find yourself a copy of the original B&W.
Rating:
Summary: I Wish I Were a Citizen of Toyland, Too!
Review: Tom-Tom announces his engagement to Bo-Peep by jumping up on the stocks and proclaiming, "Citizens of Toyland! I want you all to meet, the future Mrs. Piper!" and then all the characters burst into a frenzied happy little dance to a whimsical piece of music--one of my favorite scenes in this classic adaptation of the famous Victor Herbert operetta, "Babes in Toyland". You know, this is the kind of movie that could all too easily have been really awful: an operetta about nursery rhyme characters with, frankly, limited special effects? But instead, "March of the Wooden Soldiers" is without a doubt one of the best children's movies ever produced in Hollywood. And of course, the major reason for that is that it features the supertalented duo of Laurel and Hardy as the comic relief team who wind up the stars of the movie. They and everyone else in the movie play their roles in the sincerest possible way. That's why this movie is so good to show any child, no matter how young: there's nothing cynical in the movie, no one with a hidden nasty agenda peeking through. Sure, it can be a scary movie, alright, but meaness is punished and goodness rewarded. Think about the wacky costumes of the bogeymen who are lead by evil Silas Barnaby to attack Toyland via raft. Rubber masks and hula skirts worn over longjohns, or so they seem. How on earth could 21st century children find that anything but laughable, with the best computer-generated villains in films today? But it just goes to show you that glitz isn't everything, because those little kids ARE freaked out still, to see the bogeymen jump down when Barnaby summons them in the cave. One of the other reviewers is right when he says that somehow this movie reaches right into childhood itself, what I would think is the German, Brothers Grimm part of childhood, of "things" under the bed. Today's creepy villains are made to frighten sophisticated adults, who've seen it all before. But that's over the head of children, really--rubber-faced bogeymen are all it takes! I think another appealing aspect is that most of the characters, even if they are all really adults, somehow seem like children pretending to be adults-that's even true of a relatively minor character like King Cole as well as for Tom-Tom and Bo-Peep, our leading man and lady. The un-bogeymen parts therefore have a sweetness to them that hearkens from very early chidhood, the kind you see in a Jessie Wilcox Smith painting. And the timing of Laurel and Hardy is perfect: they are just tops! This movie played faithfully in the NYC area every year on Thanksgiving Day, duly followed (for some reason) by "King Kong", and I and my brothers and sisters watched it every time, from babyhood even through sullen teenage years, without ever poking fun at it; oh no, this was (and is) still held as reverentially as though it were right up there after the Bible. Not many childhood rituals can make it unscathed through adolescence, but "March of the Wooden Soldiers" did, and is now enjoyed by new generation Toddler Nephew. It deservedly lives on for each new set of youngsters, a true classic.
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