Please don't spend money on this.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

I had never seen this film before. I just ran across it on TCM. It's a fairy tale of a little musical and only 81 minutes at that. Leslie Caron plays a 16-year-old orphan (she is 22 at the time) that finds herself abandoned and alone in a small French provincial town, so naturally she joins the carnival that just happens to be passing through it. I know this sounds corny, but told in the pretext of a fantasy, it works perfectly. Simple yet effective sets. She has a "crush" on the magician, never suspecting than he is secretly married to his gorgeous assistant, played very well by Zsa Zsa Gabor. She becomes entranced by the puppets and become part of their act, singing "Hi Lili", a wonderful song that won an Oscar. Two fantasy dance sequences including the finale where all the puppets come to life as she runs away. This sequence intentionally will remind you of "We're Off to See the Wizard". The slight amount of "sexual awakening" will be lost on any young girls who watch this as only a fairy tale. Wonderful in its simplicity and simply charming. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role of Lili except Caron. Only available as a basic WB "Archive" DVD-R, which will play on most current players.

I too saw this movie as a six or seven year old and strangely remember the dream sequence when she was dancing along the road with the wolf. It haunted me for years! A very trippy sequence, since I have watched it as an adult and found it to be still very haunting and intriguing. I recommend for any classical film buff.Caron is excellent as the confused waif and the indifference of the puppeteer played out well. While dated, as any movie of its age would be, it holds up remarkably for viewers in this day and age. You will find yourself tied into it and staying with the story til the end.For some reason this movie makes me also think of Gleason's Gigot...maybe because of the french connection, but that is a movie made ten years later that is as engaging as this one.

What more can I say? I love this movie. Sure, it's dated, sure it's old, but classics are classics.(Spoilers) Set in France after World War II, Lili is an orphaned girl who's on the end of her rope. Losing her job as a waitress in a passing carnival, she decides to kill herself. But a crippled and bitter puppeteer named Paul, who hates people, stops her by talking to her through a puppet by the name of Carrot Top. (There are also three other puppets: Reynardo, a sly fox who steals; Margeruite, a vain dancer; and Golo, a cowardly giant.) Paul falls in love with Lili, and Lili falls in love with the puppets, unaware that Paul's the one behind them. They convince her to stay with them and sing with them, and she agrees. The act sells out shows and everyone loves the girl's charm.Lili is in love with a handsome magician named Marcus, whom Paul greatly detests. But the poor girl doesn't find out until later that the magician is a married man who's cheating on his wife. Trying to go and talk to Marcus, Paul grabs her, thinking she's going back to the magician for love. Furious with her struggle, the cripple strikes Lili on the face. Realizing what he did, he limps away where as Lili goes to leave.But as she leaves, Carrot Top tries to convince her to stay or take him with her, because he adores her. Lili starts to feel guilty and is unsure of what to do. Golo tells her that if the "boss" is so mean to her, that he'll protect her from him. Lili tells him that she knows he would, because he's so kind and always knows how she feels. Paul begins to feel sad for hurting Lili and makes Golo shout out, "I'll kill him. I'm gonna kill the boss!" However, after regaining composure, he says, "Well, I'll give him a good talking to at least." Then, Reynardo comes out, carrying a fox fur. Lili thinks he broke his promise not to steal and swiped it when no one was looking. But the fox says he made a deal. If he wasn't able to keep up with the payments, he was going to give the man something in exchange; another fox fur, himself. Lili cries and holds them, saying she won't leave. Suddenly, she feels the puppets trembling and realizes it's Paul.Due to his shyness, Paul can't express how much he loves Lili and gets angry. Lili wonders why he hides behind his puppets. But Paul tells her that he is the puppets: the confident, clever Carrot Top; the cowardly and clumsy giant Golo, who longs to be loved; the vain and jealous Margeruite; and the compromising and lying Reynardo. Angrily, Lili leaves, and Paul looks full of regret. But as the girl is walking she realizes that each puppet was a part of him. And after the most adorable dream sequence EVER (in which she dances with Paul), she turns back, and runs into his arms. He then, gives her lots of kisses, and holds her. And then, the puppets, pleased that the two are now in love, clap with excitement as they watch the two lovebirds.10/10 for the love and sweetness. Buy it today!

First of all, the puppets are so creepy-looking I would think they'd scare children. Second, Lili is 16 years old, and seems more mentally challenged than innocent at times. The movie has her in between two men, one a hound and one a bitter man who slaps her. Both of them look like they are bumping up on 30 or so. If that isn't disturbing enough, the film has this supposedly 16 year old girl in dream sequences that show her trotting around in a short, low cut waitress outfit or in sequin pajamas, prancing around in front of Marco and trying to seduce him away from his girlfriend. It all left me feeling a little hinky.