SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

bkoganbing Essentially Shirley Temple's child star career ended with The Blue Bird. After this she was cast in teen roles and eventually young adults. If not the best way to end her child star career and the biggest money maker at the box office it certainly was one expensive way.Interesting as well because the rumors had it that Darryl Zanuck saw the big money that The Wizard Of Oz made over at MGM with Judy Garland and decided this was action he wanted 20th Century Fox in. So he shot the works financially and the famous Maeterlinck story The Blue Bird was adopted for Shirley Temple.The Blue Bird is a symbol for good luck and prosperity and one that Shirley and little brother Johnny Russell had has disappeared. A magical fairy played by Jessie Ralph sends them on a journey into an Oz like land with their animated pets, Eddie Collins as their dog and Gale Sondergaard as the cat. Sondergaard is truly interesting, she plays the animated cat like she was being the Spiderwoman and really acts like a fifth columnist for the kids.The story even resolves itself like the Wizard Of Oz.The Blue Bird got Oscar nominations for Special Effects, but lost to Alexander Korda's The Thief of Bagdad.It never came close to raking in its cost for 20th Century Fox. It was the end of Shirley Temple as a child star. Ironically MGM had wanted her for The Wizard Of Oz, but Zanuck wouldn't let her go. It was then they signed Judy Garland who cost L.B.Mayer not a dime as she was under contract.Seeing it today it's an interesting children's fantasy and may have not gotten the praise it deserved back in the day.

belva0308 I first saw this movie when I was a child. It stuck with me so I don't think it was all that bad. Spoiler: I loved the part where the Grandparents come to life when they kids think of them.So it is on TCM today and I turned it and looked up the trivia and came across some of the reviews. My favorite has to be from this person named drystyx. I am fairly sure that this person is writing reviews for their own amusement. If they are not in on the joke themselves then I consider it a total abomination of a review. How you could watch this movie and get outraged by the dog/cat prejudice? The review has nothing at all to do with anything about that movie that is in anyway real or interesting. What Nazi propaganda are you talking about you crazy person? Its a simple story and even though the audiences of its time did not embrace it, its decent and has a good moral. Its really a tale that applies to every era.

moonspinner55 Shirley Temple's last lavishly-produced starring vehicle at 20th Century-Fox didn't come close to equaling the success (financial or otherwise) of 1939's "The Wizard Of Oz" from MGM (who had tried, unsuccessfully, to star Temple as Dorothy). This curious enterprise, based on the play, would seem to have a great deal in common with "Oz" (it even begins in black-and-white and turns to color), but the crucial elements of an identifiable plot are missing, and the young girl at the center of this story is consistently petulant. It was a fundamental error to make Shirley Temple unsympathetic; as the scowling, complaining daughter of a poor woodcutter, she wakes one night to an elderly fairy-woman knocking on her door and soon finds herself and her little brother on a search to find the Blue Bird of Happiness. The production is quite grand, but the saturated colors don't gleam and the set-designs are vast without having a sense of wonderment. As for Temple, she's a little bit stiff and self-conscious (odd for her), though her mature sarcasm in the prologue is very funny. Remade (disastrously, yet amusingly) as a musical in 1976. **1/2 from ****

yaso28 I search the movie 'The Blue Bird' with 'Shirley Temple' because I want it to buy. Where can I buy this movie (DVD)? I want this movie in DVD where I can choice the language French. I waiting for your response. Please help me for found this movie if you not have this movie. If you have this movie send me a mail. I like this movie because this have play when I was a children and this is my favorite's movie to my children times. And I want this movie for my children's and children's to my sister and brother so their can see my favorites and children times movie and this is a very big souvenir for me (if I found this) and I hope that I found this.Thanks Petro Yaso