Hardly the congenial dramatization of any work by the harrowing Grimm Brothers! This 1958 'Tom Thumb' is much too sweet, sugar-coated and unassuming to even begin to delve the depths of the Grimms.
24-year old Russ Tamblyn plays the minuscule boy Tom who, by the intervention of a miracle, comes to liven up the days of a childless middle-aged couple, a woodcutter and his wife. A pair of colorful crooks uses the boy to steal some money from the treasure, and his foster parents are accused of the theft, so now Tom Thumb has to save the day.
Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers compete as to who is the more deliciously unsavory and their interaction is quite violent by today's Disney standards, but still they come closer to the Brothers Grimm than anything else in this film. Except maybe the delightful abundance of toys that come to exuberant life when Tom enters their 'lives'! The scene in the beginning when Tom dances and bounces around all his new toys is gorgeous, Russ Tamblyn displays all his athleticism and dancing skills here, and the animation is wonderfully realized, even when seen today. Regrettably, Tamblyn does not get much screen time except in totals, so we never really learn what goes on in that tiny brain of his. But ... of course, he is terribly cute.
The songs, unfortunately, are so-so, not one memorable on in the lot. But watch it with your kids, they might just bite the bait.
24-year old Russ Tamblyn plays the minuscule boy Tom who, by the intervention of a miracle, comes to liven up the days of a childless middle-aged couple, a woodcutter and his wife. A pair of colorful crooks uses the boy to steal some money from the treasure, and his foster parents are accused of the theft, so now Tom Thumb has to save the day.
Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers compete as to who is the more deliciously unsavory and their interaction is quite violent by today's Disney standards, but still they come closer to the Brothers Grimm than anything else in this film. Except maybe the delightful abundance of toys that come to exuberant life when Tom enters their 'lives'! The scene in the beginning when Tom dances and bounces around all his new toys is gorgeous, Russ Tamblyn displays all his athleticism and dancing skills here, and the animation is wonderfully realized, even when seen today. Regrettably, Tamblyn does not get much screen time except in totals, so we never really learn what goes on in that tiny brain of his. But ... of course, he is terribly cute.
The songs, unfortunately, are so-so, not one memorable on in the lot. But watch it with your kids, they might just bite the bait.