Babes in Toyland (1961)

I just finished watching Disney’s 1961 Babes in Toyland. I personally enjoyed the movie. I think some of the references in the movie (mortgage, living in a tent, depressed, or an employer saying “no one wants to work anymore”) could hold up today.

The simple story of the Babies in Toyland is two nursery rhyme characters are due to get married but a dastardly villians messes things up for everyone. But there’s a happy ending.

The characters are all interesting characters. I don’t like the fact that Mary Quiet Contrary is made out to be dumb. And I see where the Mary Poppin’s umbrella talking from 1964 Mary Poppins, might have been ‘borrowed’ from. “Silly” goose, from this movie. The Toymaker who is played by the Mad Hatter actor Ed Wynn is an interesting character he’s a bit ridiculous as first but after something happens to him, he tries to be sensible. The leading male Tom, the Piper’s son, is played by a teen heart throb of the time, Tommy Sands. The villian Barnaby is played by Ray Bolger who played The Scarecrow in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz movie.

Speaking of the Wizard of Oz movie- two of the scenes in the 2nd half of the Babies in Toyland movie makes me think way too much of the Wizard of Oz. Scary, Talking trees in the “Forest of No Return” and also when Mary, Mary Quiet Contrary, Tom, and children (Mary, Mary Quiet contrary’s siblings), are excited to go to the Toy Maker’s house is similar to the scene where Dorothy, The Scarecrow, Tinman and Cowardly Lion are running towards the Emerald City.

The sets are very interesting and especially when they had to somehow make some of the characters look tiny after a VIP (Very Important Plot) happened. I do wonder how that was set up though.

I do have to address two racial things. The first one is when Mary thinks she has no other choice but to marry the villian, the later hires a band of Romani , but in the movie, they’re called and call themselves gypsies, There’s a whole song about it. The other part is when there’s a toy fight lead by a tiny Tom, against Barnaby- some of the toys fighting look like the 1950’s/1960s “Red Indian” stereotype. I might not like the fact that was the stereotypes of the time, but I going to just accept it as is and not make a big deal out of it. The one song that has “depressed”, “living in a tent” and “mortgage” is the song called “I Can’t Do the Sum”.

I did find some interesting trivia when Disney started “hushing up” (ie Covering up) Song of the South movie as the first full length live-action musical- they promoted this movie as their “first live action full time musical movie”. The movie didn’t do so well at the box office so it wasn’t until 8 years later that it was seen on TV. Due to the movie not doing well at the box office, is why it took 2 years before another musical movie was made by Disney 1964 Mary Poppins.

I personally recommend seeing the movie. I give it five out of five stars. Or rewatching the movie if you saw it growing up. My next review is going to be a movie I watched growing up 1961 The Parent Trap- i prefer that one to the 1999 version.

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