Thumbelina (1993) (V)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Directors:

Masakazu Higuchi
Chinami Namba

Writers:

Hans Christian Andersen (story)
Jack Olesker (writer)

Release Date:

1993 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

An animated classic for children of all ages

Plot:

The dam where Thumbelina and her father live is breaking due to the rising waters in the nearby pond...

Plot Keywords:

Dam | Meadow | Mouse | Little People | Swallow

Also Known As:

Golden Films' Thumbelina (USA)
Pulgarcita (USA: Spanish title)

Runtime:

49 min | Brazil:50 min | Spain:48 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:G | Spain:T | UK:Uc | Brazil:Livre | New Zealand:G

Company:

Golden Films

Trivia:

The only one of Golden Films' second line of "Animated classics" to feature a song, the popular "Edelweiss", other than the film's opening theme.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the end of the film, there are no women present besides Thumbelina herself. However, we can hear female voices cheering the prince.

Quotes:

Mr. Mole: Mm! I just love the smell of dirt in the morning.
Thumbelina: It's so dark in here I can barely see.
Mr. Mole: Ooh, you'll get used to it, my dear. You'll come to love the dark as I do. You find all sorts of interesting things in the ground, for instance, look at this.
Thumbelina: [there's a swallow lying dead on the ground; Thumbelina gasps] Oh!
Mona: Now how- however did a bird get down here?
Mr. Mole: Birds are not the smartest of creatures, you know.
Thumbelina: [runs to the swallow's side] Oh, poor thing. He looks like the swallow who sang to me once long ago.
Mr. Mole: You can bet he won't be singing anymore!
[both Mr. Mole and Mona laugh]
Thumbelina: Please don't make fun of him. This could be the bird who sang to me. He was a sweet bird...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Sound of Music (1965)

Soundtrack:

Little Teeny Thumbelina

GoodTimes' best effort!

There's absolutely no doubt about it, Thumbelina is the greatest animated effort to ever be produced by the GoodTimes studio, with only a horrible Don Bluth version to compare it to, Thumbelina usually is the one that gets the most adult-praise, despite being aimed for children just like any other GoodTimes animation.

Thumbelina is as colorful and visually appealing as any Disney film. The animation may not be as skillful, but it is tolerable and quite nice. The character design is adorable, the characters are lively and colorful and feature excellent voices. There's two songs in the film, one of them which is featured in the beginning is "Little, Teeny Thumbelina" which is quite pleasant and sweet-sounding, the second one is the classic campfire song, "Edelweiss" sung by Thumbelina herself. The storyline is far superior and more interesting than that of the Bluth version and not half as corny. Thumbelina here is not a cry-baby waiting for a man to rescue her, but a complete heroine. She needs help sometimes, but she won't be pushed around and will make her own decisions instead of whine and cry.

Charming GoodTimes fair. Usually I tell adults to let the children watch GoodTimes films on their own, but this time, I say, have a go yourself, you might enjoy it, too! It's really sweet.