Thumbelina (1970)

Retelling of the classic children's tale from a 1960s psychedelic viewpoint.

Director:

Barry Mahon

Writer:

Hans Christian Andersen (story)

Stars:

Shay Garner, Pat Morrell, Bob O'Connell

Cast

Cast overview:
Shay Garner	...	Thumbelina
Pat Morrell	...	Mrs. Mole
Bob O'Connell	...	Mr. Digger
Ruth McMahon	...	Mother
Heather Grinter	...	Witch
Mike Yuenger	...	Flower Prince
Sue Cable	...	Flower Girl

Storyline

Retelling of the classic children's tale from a 1960s psychedelic viewpoint.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | foreign language adaptation | independent film | character name in title

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Genres:

Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Hans Christian Andersen's 'Thumbelina'

Filming Locations:

Pirates World Amusement Park - Sheridan Street, Dania, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinetron, Pirate's World

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Thumbelina talks to the Swallow, she refers to Mr. Digger as "Mr. Mole," though Mr. Mole is another character referred to earlier that is deceased and unseen.

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Connections

Version of Thumbelina (1924)

User Reviews

Barry Mahon's Magical Mini-Masterpiece!

A colorful, inept wonderment, made by exploitation Barry Mahon, arguably his masterpiece of kiddy cinema. The star is a mini-skirted hippie chick (Shay Gardner) who wanders through a tacky Florida amusement park, bouncy and bra-less. She encounters a "Thumbelina" exhibit, and trances out into her own amateur version of the story, on garish sets, very hammy, very talky, very demented in its mindless simplicity. It plays like backwoods children's theatre, loud and verbose and overdramatic, with two music tracks battling for supremacy throughout much of it. Primitive yet effective sets create a passable illusion of miniaturization (surely no worse than an Irwin Allen TV show!). Thumbelina looks pretty stoned throughout the picture, i.e. very "hippie chick". She ends up in the wonderful Kingdom of the Flower Children, a very groovy place. The King of the Flower Kids is a lisping groovester with sideburns who makes Thumbelina his queen. Nice shots of ecstatic hippie kids standing in big flowers. Back at the amusement park, hippie girl Shay wanders around until she meets her lover. Guess who it is? This is a psychedelic kiddy classic, which in some strange way encapsulates the psychedelic era better than many "adult" films trying to do same. This great and groovy flick was released on its own (with "3 Laff Cartoons!"), and was also buried inside the abominable SANTA AND THE ICE CREAM BUNNY.