Gulliver's Travels 

An Englishman returns after nine years abroad and tells strange stories of the tiny people of Lilliput, the giants of Brobdingnang, the flying island Laputa and the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent horses.

Stars:

Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, James Fox

Won 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 6 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Ted Danson	...	Lemuel Gulliver 2 episodes, 1996
Mary Steenburgen	...	Mary Gulliver 2 episodes, 1996
James Fox	...	Dr. Bates 2 episodes, 1996
Robert Hardy	...	Dr. Parnell 2 episodes, 1996
Edward Petherbridge	...	Dr. Pritchard 2 episodes, 1996
Tom Sturridge	...	Tom Gulliver 2 episodes, 1996

Storyline

All star adaptation of Jonathan Swift's satirical tale about a normal man who, after returning home following eight years of absence, relates fantastical tales about how he was thought to be giant in the Land of Lilliput, but was only six inches high in the Land of Brobdingnag. He also tells of his visit to the floating island of Laputa populated by scientists who are so obsessed with reason that they act with no common sense. Finally, he tells of his journey to the land where his disturbing likeness to the bestial Yahoos and his inferiority to the intelligent horses there makes him question the very worth of his humanity.

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Plot Keywords:

gulliver | reference to gulliver | reference to gulliver's travels | horse | giant | 

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Taglines:

The adventure of a lifetime

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

distributor's official site for individuals Distributor's official site for professionals

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gulliver's Travels

Filming Locations:

Ajuda National Palace, Ajuda, Lisbon, Portugal

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Entertainment, Channel 4 Television Corporation, Jim Henson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

186 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first screen version of Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel "Gulliver's Travels" to adapt all four of its parts.

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Goofs

When Dr. Bates is tearing pages from Gulliver's journal and throwing them on the fire the pages change position between shots.

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Quotes

Emperor of Lilliput: Good plans, boys, but I don't think we should actually murder him. You were so keen on killing Mother last year and now I miss her dreadfully. You're both too impulsive!

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Connections

Referenced in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

User Reviews

A Work of Art

Swift's writing really has more in common with Kafka and Orwell than with fantasy-adventure writers, so it's curious that Gulliver's Travels has been deemed a children's novel. Lucky kiddies!

The same applies to this movie. There have been some really awful versions of this story, which must be why people are reluctant to look at this version. I mean, it's a TV-movie and it comes from muppetteer Jim Henson, so how should we expect anything but cuteness?

Look again - beauty turns up in the oddest places. Children love this movie enough to sit through all three hours of it, but it also takes the time to get Swift's dark vision right. I hate special effects, but here they are used to carry the story forward instead of just dazzling us. Please note that the producers took the trouble to recruit classical actors like John Gielgud and Peter O'Toole who perform their eccentric roles with perfection.

Dramatically, the romance between Gulliver and Glumdalclitch is rendered touching and poignant, as well as funny (she's a little girl, but twenty times his size). The frame-story has a theme about absent fathers that many children will relate to. And the part about Gulliver in the asylum introduces an element of horror dealing with the abuse of authority (apparently deriving from Val Lewton's "Bedlam" [1946], another forgotten masterpiece).

The VHS is always turning up in the bargain-bin for a few cents, which is an insult to the many great artists who put this thing together. I encourage audiences to recognize a good thing by getting this movie and inspiring others to watch it. Although it has a lot to offer children, grown-ups will find that it stands up nicely to such classics as Aguirre, Brazil, 1984 and other serious fantastic works.

Much of it was filmed in Portugal, I was looking up the various palaces involved-

Sintra-

-Monserrate(Laputa) -Queluz(Brobdingnag) -Ribafria Palace (Sorcerer's Palace, I think) -Castle of the Moors(Struldbrugs)

Lisbon-

-Ajuda(Burning Palace, Lilliput)

Mafra-

-Royal Palace and streetscapes (Lilliput) -Sea Cliffs (Brobdingnag and Lilliput)

The Doctor's Mansion is obviously in the Cotswold limestone district... anyone recognize it?

The final shot is modelled after the Paul Nash painting "Landscape from a Dream", surrealism seems right for a movie like this.

www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/nash-landscape-from- a-dream-n05667