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.
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.