Sammy-Jo Cervantes
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Bonnie O'Connor
I grew up with this movie since it was first released. I remember I would always see this with my older sister whenever we went to visit Grandma. Nostalgia aside, it's a harmless movie. The story is basically about the orphans Jack and Jill who are forced to live with their evil uncle Barnaby, who absolutely hates toys, which leads him to hating the toy factory run by Mary Contrary and Tom Piper. In the meantime, Tom and Mary must complete Santa's order to create a thousand soldiers before Christmas arrives, and Barnaby does whatever he can to shut down the factory and get rid of his niece and nephew at the same time. With the help of Humpty Dumpty, each other, and the toy soldiers, they foil Barnaby's plans. In reality, the film is not that strong as a film. Then again, I'm not sure if there's an actual Babes in Toyland adaptation that was able to stand strong as a film. It's really meant to be a fun adventure to enjoy Mother Goose cameos, and it kinda gives some adventure in this adaptation, but not very much. It's mostly kept to few locations, few explored stories, and over all is just weird and silly. But then again, what do you expect from Babes in Toyland other than strange and silly? As much as I enjoy the characters they aren't really that interesting. The kids don't have much of a personality, Tom and Mary are kinda fun but don't have much to add to the story, and surprisingly the villain's pretty boring. Even Christopher Plummer (voicing Barnaby) doesn't sound like he has much tow work with or enjoy and that laugh is a little too weird. Also, is it just me or are the two henchmen racially insensitive? However, Humpty Dumpty is the most interesting and enjoyable character. I don't know whether it's the voice actor giving so much life to him, or just the fact he's just so fun and lively. He makes Toyland fun to hang around. Of course the animation's really good and takes advantage of the environments, whether in Toyland or the Goblin Forest. Just looking at Toyland, you really believe you're in Toyland, even though Toyland should really be called "Mother Goose Village". Sometimes the animation can be a little choppy and skip continuity for some of the characters. The songs are pretty clumsy for the most part. The score is great, but the lyrics for the most part aren't really that great. Most of them sound like the score had been written first and the lyrics were forced. And yes, the score had been written first for the most part, especially the March of the Toy Soldiers score which thankfully has no lyrics. That music still sounds awesome, even if the toy soldiers themselves are a combo of weird, hilarious, and anti continuity (like were they all really installed with water hoses, boxing feet, punching hands, rocket power, and a flashlight each when being created?). So if this movie is so flawed, why do I still enjoy it so much? Well like I said before, it's nostalgic, so it's kinda hard for me to hate on it. On the other hand, Babes in Toyland (in general) is imagining if toys and Mother Goose characters lived and interacted with one another. It reaches into the child of the adult and brings a young child's imagination to life on screen. I guess that's one reason why most of the characters are almost never interesting in any of the versions. We're not meant to be just watching the main characters, we're watching toys and Mother Goose characters live and breathe in this fascinating world. I still enjoy this movie to this day and remember my childhood every time.
liberty_mks
This is my favorite version of Babes in Toyland.Warning though this is not a film for very young children.This film contains great big goblins and and evil goblin king, the elements can be more frightening that you would expect from a children's Christmas move. It didn't bother me but you need to think about your individual child some scare easier than others. This is one you may want to preview before letting a toddler watch.That being said however I really loved this as a kid and went out and found it on purpose so I could share the magic with the kids in our family.The mother goose land aspect of it is really fun for kids, there are a few really good songs in this as well.I don't think you can say this is a rip off of Disney's version at all. This animated and Disney's was live action. Just because something isn't Disney doesn't mean it should be discarded.If you enjoyed this you may like Gallavants The Nutcraker Prince
twobits
The first half of the movie was ok and pretty innocent, but then the rest freaked me out. I can't see anything animated that is worse for a child to see. This movie is pure evil and will cause nightmares of demons with glowing red eyes. If you want your child to watch this, you may as well have them also watch The Exorcist.
dkallem
This mean-spiritied telling of a Christmas classic (!) is just plain bad movie-making--poor "acting," a confused and confusing plot, florid animation art, and a pack of goblin characters (what classic is this?) that will scare many a small child. Held to the Disney standard, this is a very poor stab at making movie magic.
