Taran Wanderer 2007-08-03
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks is probably one of the greatest films to ever come out of the studio. It is often compared to Mary Poppins and criticized for their similarities, but I however feel that Bedknobs and Broomsticks is an improvement over Mary Poppins, even when Mary Poppins had little to improve. The main reason for Bedknobs and Broomsticks' criticism is due to having been made in the period after Walt Disney's death, in which all of their films were criticized, even when they were superior to many Walt Disney era films such as the weak 101 Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963) or The Jungle Book (1967). Bedknobs and Broomsticks is yet another Disney '70s jewel in the lights of The Rescuers (1977) or Pete's Dragon (1977).
World War II is haunting England and children are being evacuated from the city of London into the safer countryside. All children have found a nice home with a stranger family, except for the last three, Carey, Charles and Paul Rawlings who are then sent with Miss Eglantine Price into her large home. The children aren't happy about being with Miss Price at first, they wish to go back to London, even though they have practically nowhere to go there. This all changes when they discover Miss Price's secret, she is in fact a witch, an apprentice witch studying through correspondence and taught by Professor Emilius Browne, who is in fact nothing but a fake who takes his spells out of an old book. However, Mr. Browne is a nice person and he is amazed to find that his senseless words work for Miss Price and they soon start working together. With the aid of Mr. Browne's Traveling Spell, Miss Prince, Mr. Browne and the three children are able to travel around England by means of a bed and its magic bed-knob to search for only one thing, the missing spell of Substitutiary Locomotion, a spell fit for bringing the help needed to end the terrible war.
As corny and out of place as the plot may seem, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a rather deep and serious film. Comparing it to Mary Poppins is silly, for Mary Poppins was a light-hearted comedy with no real plot, where Bedknobs and Broomsticks features a fantastic plot and clever dialog. Another similarity may include two new live-action/animation scenes, "The Beautiful Briny", an underwater animated musical festival and a wild soccer match with King Leonidas. The acting is fabulous, Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson play Miss Eglantine Price and Emilius Browne. Special effects in this film are top-notch and help to fully capture some scenes, the flying bed parts are some of my favorites. The music and songs are gorgeous! The Sherman brothers once again made a memorable and excellent soundtrack, songs include "The Old Home Guard", the Academy Award® Nominated "The Age of Not Believing", "Portobello Road", "The Beautiful Briny", "Substitutiary Locomotion" and the newly added "With a Flair" and "Nobody's Problem's for Me". Indeed, a lot of new scenes and previously cut segments were re-added to the movie, and the entire film has been remastered for better picture and audio performance.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a wonderful film and I'll recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Mary Poppins or Pete's Dragon or to anyone who wants a new and magical way to travel back in history to the era of War World II. This one is a classic!! 10/10.
