When a mail-order apprentice witch (Angela Lansbury) is saddled with three sibling refugees from London during World War II, the outlook is grim. But the kids soon discover her secret and sign on for adventure in the name of England. With the aid of a magical bed, they track down her fraudulent headmaster (David Tomlinson) to find the spell that will aid the Allies. Fascinated that she has actually achieved results with his lessons, he joins forces. The quintet does battle with corrupt booksellers, animated-lion royalty, and, eventually, invading Germans. Songs include Lansbury's Oscar-nominated "The Age of Not Believing." This film is often compared to director Robert Stevenson's earlier effort, Mary Poppins, and for good reason. In addition to Tomlinson, the movies share a fondness for magic at the hands of a good woman, light romance with an understanding male, and wide-eyed children. Stevenson also graces both films with interaction between humans and animated animals. Disney is wise to play up that aspect on its box this time around as both the underwater ball and the subsequent island soccer match are the most visually interesting and appealing parts of the film. Adults may find the 1971-vintage mixing of actors and animation a bit creaky, but kids used to a variety of animation quality will find the action a hoot. Ages 4 and up. The movie has been recut several times but was restored to the original length of 139 minutes for its 30th anniversary in 2001. --Kimberly Heinrichs
Customer Reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: My Favorite Comment: This is one of my all time favorite movies. Some of my favorite parts include the one in the cartooned section of the kids under the sea. I also like the battle at the end with all the knights.
If you have young children this movie is sure to delight them and fascinate them. My children, ages 9, 7, and 5 enjoy this movie. Customer Rating: Summary: Magical story Comment: I loved this movie as a child and my 2 year old loves it too.
The animation in the middle of the movie makes it a great surprise for kids.
Customer Rating: Summary: One of the favorites Comment: Bedknobs and Broomsticks (30th Anniversary Edition) One of the all time best and fun movies one that I felt Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tried to be but couldn't. Angela Lansbury is phenomenal and the whole show has a sweet lightness to it without the forced freneticism of so many others. I'm in my late 50's and still love it Customer Rating: Summary: Bedknobs and Broomsticks Comment: My husband and I had been looking for this movie for quite some time and couldn't believe that we actually found this on Amazon.com. We were so excited and couldn't wait to share this with our entire family. Our grandchildren thought this was just absolutely awesome. Customer Rating: Summary: Childhood favorite Comment: I remember watching this movie everytime it came on TV (no DVD's/videos back then)! It's nice to share old school Disney with my kids. You even get a little history with the make believe. I STILL love this movie.