An apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical magician conman search for the missing component to a magic spell to be used in the defense of Britain in WWII.
A down-on-his-luck inventor turns a broken-down Grand Prix car into a fancy vehicle for his children, and then they go off on a magical fantasy adventure to save their grandfather in a far-off land.
Director:
Ken Hughes
Stars:
Dick Van Dyke,
Sally Ann Howes,
Lionel Jeffries
A poor boy named Arthur learns the power of love, kindness, knowledge and bravery with the help of a wizard called Merlin in the path to become one of the most beloved kings in English history.
Director:
Wolfgang Reitherman
Stars:
Rickie Sorensen,
Sebastian Cabot,
Karl Swenson
With the help of a smooth talking tomcat, a family of Parisian felines set to inherit a fortune from their owner try to make it back home after a jealous butler kidnaps them and leaves them in the country.
During WWII in England, Charlie, Carrie, and Paul Rawlins are sent to live with Eglantine Price, who it turns out is an apprentice witch. Charlie blackmails Miss Price that if he is to keep her practices a secret, she must give him something, so she takes a bed knob from her late father's bed and places the "famous magic traveling spell" on it, and only Paul can activate it. Their first journey is to a street in London where they meet Emelius Browne, former headmaster of Miss Price's witchcraft training correspondence school. Miss Price tells him of a plan to find the magic words for a spell known as Substitutiary Locomotion, which brings inanimate objects to life. This spell will be her work for the war effort.Written by
Matthew Anscher <anscher@radonc.duke.edu>
The castle in the background of the town is real and situated in Dorset, England. Both the castle and the town where it resides are called Corfe Castle, where many Thomas Hardy adaptations have been filmed since. See more »
Goofs
After the armor on the horse is hit with the hand grenade and is put together you can see the wires holding the pieces up. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Captain Ainsley Greer:
You there, which way to Pepperinge Eye?
Elderly Farmer:
Couldn't say, sir. It said on the wireless to paint out the sign posts in case the Nazis drop in.
Captain Ainsley Greer:
I'm not a Nazi, I'm a British officer!
Elderly Farmer:
That's what you'd say if you *was* a Nazi, isn't it sir?
See more »
Crazy Credits
King Leonidas is referred to on-screen by name, by is only credited as "Lion." See more »
Alternate Versions
There is one still-missing song that was intended to be in the film, entitled "A Step in the Right Direction." It would have occurred after Miss Price opened her package and found a broomstick. Disney could not locate any film footage of this number, but they found the audio tracks and still photographs of the number. The restoration team created a still-photo recreation to include as a supplement; it has appeared on most home video versions of the 139-minute cut. Because it was done on tape, it was decided audiences might find the switch from live action to still photos jarring. For this reason, it was left out of the film's reconstruction.
Before the December 1971 wide-release of Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Disney released it in limited engagement theaters around the US with an approximate 130 minute running time around November of 1971 (2 hours, 10 minutes.) Whether or not "Step in the Right Direction" was included in this limited US release remains debated to this day. However, the approximate 10 minutes of film that was included in the November,1971, limited release, was removed from all widespread distribution prints around mid December of 1971. With the exception of Step in the Right Direction, this footage was not restored until the Special Edition 1996 DVD was released. Added footage within the special edition 1996 DVD restoration, brought the film to an approximate 140 minute, (2 hours, 20 minutes) running time. However, the true whereabouts of Step in the Right Direction's film footage for Bedknobs and Broomsticks remain unknown, but are presumed lost or destroyed. See more »
Mary Poppins is definitely much better, but this is a lovely film nonetheless. Angela Lansbury is splendidly dotty as Engletine Price, and David Tomlinson has great fun as Mr. Brown. Their chemistry was just brilliant as well. The children, however just lacked the same sparkle, though Paul is very funny and cute. The songs were actually not as bad as some people say, "Beautiful Briny Sea" is the best, in fact all the songs are outstanding. The special effects were wonderful, that had plenty of magic, and the story is original enough. The highlights, though, like Mary Poppins, were the animated sequences. The underwater sequence was beautiful, but my favourite was the football match, which was absolutely hilarious. The only other criticism was that I didn't quite get the ending when I first saw it. All in all, a lovely film, that is hardly ever on. 8/10 Bethany Cox
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Mary Poppins is definitely much better, but this is a lovely film nonetheless. Angela Lansbury is splendidly dotty as Engletine Price, and David Tomlinson has great fun as Mr. Brown. Their chemistry was just brilliant as well. The children, however just lacked the same sparkle, though Paul is very funny and cute. The songs were actually not as bad as some people say, "Beautiful Briny Sea" is the best, in fact all the songs are outstanding. The special effects were wonderful, that had plenty of magic, and the story is original enough. The highlights, though, like Mary Poppins, were the animated sequences. The underwater sequence was beautiful, but my favourite was the football match, which was absolutely hilarious. The only other criticism was that I didn't quite get the ending when I first saw it. All in all, a lovely film, that is hardly ever on. 8/10 Bethany Cox