Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

One of my all time favorites.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Growing up around fly boys and the snooty family her mother works for has made young Shirley Blake see the light about life. She's beloved by all who know her which includes cook Jane Darwell, gruff Uncle Charles Sellon (who made his money in sewage, NOT sanitation) and pilot James Dunn. Her long suffering widowed mother Lois Wilson is constantly being threatened with termination by her nasty employer (Dorothy Christy) who spoils daughter Joy (Jane Withers) to the point where she is no joy. Tragedy strikes, leaving a grieving Shirley up for grabs by the number of people who want to adopt her.The star making role for the not so cloying Shirley (which she would eventually become) made her replace the quite different Mae West as queen of the box office. She gets to sing and dance and charm everybody, and had the writing and directing for her been as good, she would have remained as likable rather than become the stereotypical "Little Miss Fix-It" who remained the same in most of her movies, not growing up even in her post teen years which exposed her lack of formal training.Shirley's rivaled in the scene stealing department by Withers as the bratty Joy (delightfully ripping the head off of dolls and asking for a machine gun for Christmas) and wheelchair bound Sellon, chasing his gated niece Joy around in anger and screeching grouchy wisecracks. Shirley sings her most popular song, "On the Good Ship Lollipop" without a seat belt on a moving airplane. When she does play Miss Fix- It (playing matchmaker for Dunn and his old girlfriend Judith Allen), it's out of plot necessity, not to be interfering or overly adorable. Up there with "Heidi", this ranks as her best performance.

Reasons why this film is worth seeing:1. Bright Eyes stars Shirley Temple. What an appropriate title. Shirley is too cute for words. If you look at her filmography you will see that she had plenty of roles under her belt by the time she made this film, but this is one of the early films that put her on the map.2. Shirley's performance was so popular, it put her on the cover of "Time" and won an Academy Award.3. The canine star of the film is Terry, who later played Toto in The Wizard of Oz.4. Jane Withers nails her performance of the bratty spoiled kid who terrorizes Shirley and everyone else. Only The Bad Seed has a better juvenile villain.5. Shirley sings her signature song: "On the Good Ship Lollipop".

Shirley Temple is at it again, stealing everyone's heart. Her mother works for some snooty people in this film called Bright Eyes. The only one in the household who likes her is the old man, Grandfather, who nicknamed her Bright Eyes, hence the name of the film. His daughter and son-in-law are only nice to him for his money and really want nothing to do with him and nothing to do with Shirley. They reluctantly hired her mother as a maid. James Dunn plays a flier and is friends with Shirley and her mother, due to the fact he was good friends with Shirley's father before he died in a plane accident. James Dunn, a frequent costar in Shirley's movies, visits them a lot, and the uppity lady of the house doesn't like such riffraff in the house and told her maid that if these flier people don't stop visiting, she'll have to find work elsewhere. But everything takes a dramatic turn just before Shirley's birthday party. If you're looking for the film where Shirley sings "On the Good Ship Lollipop," then you've found it. In fact, it's a highlight in an otherwise routine Shirley Temple film. Not that it's a bad film; it's just not terribly original or different than most Shirley Temple movies. But Ms. Temple's sweet smile and the supporting cast of characters played by capable actors help buoy this film into an enjoyable little film for about 75 minutes.

One of Shirley Temple's best movies is stolen by an absolutely riotous performance by Jane Withers as Temple's bratty nemesis-the mean rich kid who picks on poor,noble motherless Shirley. This is the movie that boasts Temple's anthem- On the Good Ship Lollipop.Worth seeing if you haven't seen a Shirley Temple movie.And this was one of the major hits of the 1930's.