Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Disney version of the Victor Herbert operetta about Mother Goose characters, previously filmed in 1934 with Laurel & Hardy. That version is the best of the ones I've seen but this one isn't without some positives. For starters, it's a beautiful-looking film with great sets, props, and costumes. That goose is creepy, though. It's a movie full of bright vivid colors that pop out at you. The cast is good, with Tommy Sands and a stunning Annette Funicello as likable (if dull) leads. Ray Bolger has fun as the villain Barnaby. Gene Sheldon and Henry Calvin, playing Barnaby's henchmen, are obviously impersonating Laurel and Hardy, and having a good time doing so. Ed Wynn is a scene stealer as the Toymaker. Disney legend Tommy Kirk plays his assistant and seems to be having fun. Director Jack Donohue does a respectable job bringing Toyland and its Mother Goose characters to life on the screen. But somehow the whole thing just doesn't click the way it should. You get the feeling from the start that the movie is trying way too hard. There are songs on top of songs and none of them are particularly strong. Most are terribly corny. There are interesting things about the film (particularly the visuals) so it's not a complete dud. It helps to avoid comparisons to the superior 1934 version. If you're a fan of the story or a Disney buff, by all means give it a shot. Also if you're a parent of a young child perhaps they'll like it. Everyone else go in with lowered expectations.

While watching a short documentary on Disney's association with L. Frank Baum's world of Oz, I heard that while experimenting with the possibility of doing a live-action musical film featuring its characters in the late 1950s, this film was what he ultimately made instead. Upon seeing the clips from Babes in Toyland that they had included in it, as a long-time Disney fan I thought "Hey, why have I never heard of this before. So, I quickly went out and bought the movie and within just minutes of sitting down to watch it, I saw exactly why I'd never heard of it before.Throughout the entire film, you get the feeling that the major concern of everyone involved in the production was how it looked because it appears that they spent more time on that than anything else, but there are even times where that isn't very good.It's springtime in Mother Goose Village and sweethearts Tom Piper and Mary Contrary (Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello) have named their wedding day. However, unbeknownst to Mary, she will inherit a fortune upon getting married (from whom we are never told) that the miserly Barnaby (Ray Bolger) wants for himself. So, he instructs his two bumbling henchmen (Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon) to kill Tom. However, the two decide that they want a little extra money, so after kidnapping him, they sell him to some gypsies that eventually return him to his beloved. However, all is not yet well as Mary's five children...wait no, they can't be her children, she's too young...brothers and sisters...wait no, she wouldn't be left to take care of them by herself... foster children...wait no, how does a 25-something-year-old woman get those...ah, forget it! Anyway, five children go wandering into The Forest of No Return and Tom and Mary go to try and retrieve them. However, some menacing-looking singing trees who work for a neighbouring toymaker, played by Ed Wynn (why?) send them off to his workshop where they agree to help him make toys because he has only one assistant (again, why?)So, as you can tell from that summary, there are some major plot holes, but that is not the film's only shortcoming. Many of the characters are so underdeveloped that as you watch, you find yourself very uninvested in what is happening to them. Mary only takes a stand once in the climax of the film. The rest of her screen time is spent either crying, being confused or singing dull romantic duets with her lover. Speaking of Tom, he does get a delightfully goofy number in which he re-enters the town dressed in gypsy drag, but other than that, we see nothing of his personality, other than the fact that he's suave and handsome. As for the kids, the fact that they are what they are is all we know about them.Barnaby is always fun to watch as he twirls his cape and tap dances his way through his scenes, but the problem is that by doing so, he does not present himself as much of a threat when he's supposed to be the main villain of the piece. His two henchmen get a giggle here and there, but not too often. The Toymaker should be really enjoyable, considering who plays him, but he comes across as extremely unlikeable, because he always insists on doing everything himself, making a huge mess in the process. Although, as previously stated there is a lot of creativity to be seen in this movie. The various storybook-like houses featured herein look really imaginative, as do the costumes and several of the effects look very convincing. However, there are exceptions to that statement, as there are times where the visual elements look like they could have been worked on a little more and other effects look really fake. For example there is a scene where one of the henchmen magically disappears underneath a puddle but the movements of the stop-motion toy soldiers used in the climax look extremely choppy. As for the music, Babes in Toyland's numbers range from extremely catchy (Castle In Spain, I Can't Do the Sum) to totally bland and/or forgettable (Just a Toy, Toyland.) On a final note, the choreography looks as though it were lazily thought out, what with the dancers repeatedly jumping from left to right and vice versa.All that said, I feel profuse pity for this film as it had capable actors, great visuals, a previously wildly successful operetta to adapt itself from...all the ingredients that could have made it a masterpiece. Sadly though, in the end my final verdict is "watch only if you're a hardcore Disney fan like me."

Look.I'm tired of defending this great movie all the time to everyone, if you don't get it you are a mean scrooge.It is time to acknowledge this film for all the great qualities it has. A high standard of professionalism,amazing retro special effects and true faithful rendering of Victor Herbert and Mother Goose. Christmas time would be empty without this charming,quaint, film. It's educational value? It teaches kids about more refined subjects like musical operetta and cultural history rather than what is the latest blow em' up and kill your neighbor video game trend. The music has history rather than flash in the pan theatrics of a current trend (kids raised on this are more likely to be eclectic and informed in their musical taste than kids who stick only to the latest trends)you can tell I am not big on trends. Kids need education and brains, not trends. If I had known that when I was younger I would be better off now.I love all kinds of music. But I love opera(what's opera Doc?)and classical music. This movie can inspire small children along those lines. Plus it is'nt just a fuddy duddy film, it's very populist and quaintly oddball, which is fun.The film is also,like most classic Disney,Very safe, and family friendly(I don't even think there is any cigar smoking here which could be common in older kiddie flicks). Annette Funnicello is also a very clean,safe popular icon image for kids to like, unlike many of the juvenile role models they have today who are constantly getting into trouble(I mean,God,who wants to explain the reckless behavior of a Lindsey,Hilary or a Miley to their kids).But alas,fans of this film,we are alone and out-numbered.Even the Disney studio does'nt care enough to enhance and restore this beautiful gem(still looks great nonetheless).The Hal Roach comedy is incredible and wonderful, but it gets all the accolades and acclaim.This film deserves better treatment. The Hal Roach film is essentially a comedy. Disney's film is what Victor Herbert intended. An operetta.I see more and more people are speaking up on behalf of this much neglected film classic. Keep up the good work. Maybe we can inspire a movement and fight all the boogeyman scrooges who hate this adorable little treasure.God Bless.

I have been looking for this movie for so long! I have to say that this is probably my ALL-TIME FAVORITE movie! Every time I would watch it as a little kid, I seemed to always be mesmerized. We always checked it out from the library. It was probably at our house more often than all of the other library patrons combined! My older sisters loved it and so did my younger brother. I grew up on this movie, it gave me expectations on how a movie should make you feel. Every time I watched it, I would sit on the couch and not get up until the movie had finished, at that moment, nothing was more important than Babes in Toyland. My mother promised to get the movie for me for my birthday a few years ago, but by the time she went to go buy it, they had already sold out of it. I was so disappointed, but now that I am going to be able to get it off the net, I am so overjoyed, I can't even put it into words!