"Tom Thumb", released in 1958, is a rather unique MGM musical in that it was directed by George Pal, the man behind the stop-motion animated characters known as the "Puppetoons" (i.e. 1947's Tubby the Tuba), as well as the producer of science fiction classics like 1951's When Worlds Collide and 1953's The War of the Worlds.
Based on the Grimm fairy tale of the same name, the film stars future West Side Story star Russ Tamblyn in the title role, as a boy the size of a thumb, sent by a forest queen (June Thorburn), to live with a married couple (Jessie Matthews and Bernard Miles) who wished for a kid. During his adventures, he would also befriend woodwind musician named Woody (Alan Young of Mister Ed fame), George Pal's "Puppetoon" magic also makes an appearance when Tom's toys come to life (with the voices of Stan Freberg and Dallas McKennon, whose grandson I'm good friends with). Finally, there are the two bumbling thieves, Ivan and Antony, (Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers pre-Pink Panther respectively) who trick Tom into stealing money from the village treasury.
As someone who enjoys watching classic movies (I watch TCM often, so that should be a clue) and is a film major at university, I can say that this film has a certain charm to it that makes it still enjoyable today, and still makes for a good film to show to the kids. The Puppetoon animated segments were quite impressive for the time, and Tamblyn's athletic skill and choreography really shines. The songs are also a nice touch, with one of them being written by Peggy Lee, three years after her work on the Disney picture Lady and the Tramp.
The only thing that doesn't age well at all is the film's compositing effects (or "green screening"), which is rather poor and one of the toy characters, Con-Fu-Shon, is definitely not PC, as it can be seen as an Asian stereotype, because, well...it is. Let's not beat around the bush.
With those positives and negatives in mind, it is an interesting relic from the '50s, and can still make for a nice film for the kiddywinks in order to keep them quiet for an hour-and-a-half.
Based on the Grimm fairy tale of the same name, the film stars future West Side Story star Russ Tamblyn in the title role, as a boy the size of a thumb, sent by a forest queen (June Thorburn), to live with a married couple (Jessie Matthews and Bernard Miles) who wished for a kid. During his adventures, he would also befriend woodwind musician named Woody (Alan Young of Mister Ed fame), George Pal's "Puppetoon" magic also makes an appearance when Tom's toys come to life (with the voices of Stan Freberg and Dallas McKennon, whose grandson I'm good friends with). Finally, there are the two bumbling thieves, Ivan and Antony, (Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers pre-Pink Panther respectively) who trick Tom into stealing money from the village treasury.
As someone who enjoys watching classic movies (I watch TCM often, so that should be a clue) and is a film major at university, I can say that this film has a certain charm to it that makes it still enjoyable today, and still makes for a good film to show to the kids. The Puppetoon animated segments were quite impressive for the time, and Tamblyn's athletic skill and choreography really shines. The songs are also a nice touch, with one of them being written by Peggy Lee, three years after her work on the Disney picture Lady and the Tramp.
The only thing that doesn't age well at all is the film's compositing effects (or "green screening"), which is rather poor and one of the toy characters, Con-Fu-Shon, is definitely not PC, as it can be seen as an Asian stereotype, because, well...it is. Let's not beat around the bush.
With those positives and negatives in mind, it is an interesting relic from the '50s, and can still make for a nice film for the kiddywinks in order to keep them quiet for an hour-and-a-half.