Babes in Toyland (1961)

Directed by

Jack Donohue

Genre

fantasy film, musical film, children's film, Christmas film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 45m

Rated

G

Rating

5.9 of 10 from 107 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young woman named Mary Contrary is about to marry Tom Piper but the scheming Barnaby tries to stop the wedding. With the help of a toymaker and his toy soldiers, they set things right in a storybook land.

whimsicalfestiveplayfulbrightlightheartedbouncycolorfulnostalgic

What happens

Babes in Toyland is a 1961 American Christmas musical fantasy film directed by Jack Donohue and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker. The film is based on Victor Herbert's 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland. There had been a 1934 film also titled Babes in Toyland starring Laurel and Hardy, and three television adaptations prior to the Disney film, but Disney's was only the second film version of the operetta released theatrically and the first in Technicolor. The plot, and in some cases the music, bear little resemblance to the original, as Disney had most of the lyrics rewritten and some of the song tempos drastically changed, including the memorable song "Toyland", a slow ballad, which was sped up with only the chorus sung in a march-like rhythm. The toy soldiers later appeared in Christmas parades at the Disney theme parks around the world. Funicello said it was her favorite filmmaking experience. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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• Babes in Toyland (1997)
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• Mother Holly (1961)
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