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Babes in Toyland is a 1961 musical film in Technicolor, directed by Jack Donohue, produced by Walt Disney, and distributed to theatres by Buena Vista Distribution. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker. Annette was one of the original members of the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s. Barnaby's henchmen, Gonzorgo and Roderigo, were portrayed by Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon (Roderigo does not speak or sing) who starred on Zorro (TV series). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Jack Donohue may refer to the following people: Jack Donohue (dance films), a dancer turned dance film director active in London and Hollywood in the 1940s and 50s. ...
For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ...
Firehouse Five Plus Two LP album cover. ...
Ray Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow (and the farmworker Hunk) who was Dorothys favorite in the 1939 film classic, The Wizard of Oz. ...
[[Image:T[ommySands. ...
Annette Joanne Funicello (born October 22, 1942) is an American singer and actress. ...
Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859–May 26, 1924) was a popular composer of light opera, and an accomplished cellist and conductor. ...
George Bruns (July 3, 1914 - May 23, 1983) was a composer of music for film and television who worked on many Disney films. ...
The Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group is a collection of affiliated motion picture studios, all subsidaries of The Walt Disney Company. ...
is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events. ...
The musical film is a film genre in which several songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative. ...
Logo celebrating Technicolors 90th Anniversary Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation (a subsidiary of Technicolor, Inc. ...
The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ...
Jack Donohue may refer to the following people: Jack Donohue (dance films), a dancer turned dance film director active in London and Hollywood in the 1940s and 50s. ...
For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ...
Buena Vista production logo, 1950s. ...
Ray Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow (and the farmworker Hunk) who was Dorothys favorite in the 1939 film classic, The Wizard of Oz. ...
Annette Joanne Funicello (born October 22, 1942) is an American singer and actress. ...
[[Image:T[ommySands. ...
Ed Wynn (November 9, 1886 - June 19, 1966) was a popular United States entertainer, born Isaiah Edwin Leopold in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...
The Mickey Mouse Club was a long-running American variety television series that began in the 1950s, produced and televised by Walt Disney Productions and featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. ...
Henry Calvin (1918-1975) was an American comic actor best known for his role as Sergeant Garcia in the Disney television series Zorro. ...
Gene Sheldon (1908-1982) was an American comic actor specializing in pantomime as his career and broadcasted on Toledos radio in 1925. ...
This article is about the first Zorro television series. ...
The film was based upon Victor Herbert's popular 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland, which had been filmed in a 1934 black-and-white version by Laurel and Hardy and Hal Roach. The plot, however, bears little resemblance to the 1903 show. The Disney version contains more than twice as many songs as the Laurel and Hardy version, although the lyrics are changed and some of the song tempos drastically altered. Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859–May 26, 1924) was a popular composer of light opera, and an accomplished cellist and conductor. ...
Babes in Toyland is a 1903 operetta by Victor Herbert, which wove together various characters from Mother Goose nursery rhymes into a musical — mainly because librettist Glen MacDonough wanted to cash in on the Wizard of Oz phenomena sweeping Broadway that year. ...
Babes in Toyland is a 1934 musical comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. ...
Laurel and Hardy, in a promotional still from their 1937 feature film Way Out West. ...
Harold Eugene Roach, Sr. ...
Tagline: The happiest, most delightful musical comedy of your lifetime!
Plot summary
The film is set as a stage play presented by Mother Goose about two nursery rhyme characters, Mary Contrary and Tom Piper, who are about to be married. At the same time Barnaby, a miser, is hiring two crooks to throw Tom into the sea forcing Mary to marry him instead. After smashing Tom on the head with a hammer and tying him in a bag, the two henchmen, Gonzorgo and the silent Roderigo, pass by a gypsy camp. They decide to sell Tom to the Gypsies instead of drowning him in order to collect a double payment.
Gonzorgo and Roderigo return and tells Mary, Barnaby, and the citizens of Mother Goose Land that Tom has accidentally drowned. They show Mary a phony letter in which Tom tells her that he is abandoning her for her own good and that she would be better off marrying Barnaby. The grief-stricken Mary is still able to earn a living off of her sheep to avoid marrying him, but Barnaby, knowing this would happen, also has told his henchmen to steal the sheep. Mary, unable to find another solution, reluctantly accepts the proposal from Barnaby. Barnaby unknowingly arranges for the same gypsies that have Tom to provide entertainment for the marriage. Tom, disguised in drag as the gypsy Floretta, reveals himself and Barnaby pursues the frightened Gonzorgo and Roderigo, furious at their deception. One of the children informs Mary of some sheep tracks leading into the Forest of No Return.
The children, still eager to find their sheep, sneak away into the forest to search for the missing sheep. The trees of the forest come to life and capture them. Tom and Mary follow and find the children in the forest telling stories about the live trees, which, at the moment, seem like ordinary ones. They camp out for the night, and in the morning the trees once again come to life and inform the family that they are now in custody of the Toy Maker in Toyland. Excited by this, the group happily continues on.
Through the windows of The Toy Maker's house they watch the Toy Maker's rather incompetent apprentice, Grumio, present a new machine that makes toys without any manual labor. Overjoyed, the Toy Maker speeds up the machine to such a high rate that it explodes, destroying every toy in the factory. The family comes in and offers to help make more toys in time for Christmas. Grumio also presents another invention, one that shrinks things down to toy size, and if it were used on anything more than once, they would disappear completely. Barnaby and his henchmen, who had been spying on everyone, shrink down the Toy Maker and Tom. When Barnaby's henchmen see Barnaby threatening to give Tom two servings of the shrinking formula they abandon Barnaby and run. They, too, are shrunken to toy size and locked up with Tom in a birdcage. Barnaby awakens Mary and starts a marriage ceremony threatening to destroy Tom if she resists, and The Toy Maker if he refuses to marry the couple. While the Toy Maker delays the marriage Tom sneaks away with the help of Gonzorgo and Roderigo, and returns with an army of toy soldiers to fight Barnaby. Barnaby easily demolishes the toy soldiers, and is about to obliterate Tom with another dose from the shrink gun, but Mary destroys it with a toy cannon. The liquid splatters all over Barnaby, and shrinks him to Tom's new size. He is challenged to and engages in a sword duel with Tom which he loses, but in the film as released, it is unclear whether or not he is actually killed, although he does appear to have been stabbed. (Pre-release publicity stills and a comic book adaptation of the story had him locked up in the birdcage right at film's end, but in the actual movie, he falls into a toy box at the end of the duel and is never shown again.) After the fight is over, Grumio once again presents a new invention, this time returning people to their original size. It is promptly used on Tom, the Toy Maker, Gonzorgo and Roderigo - but not on Barnaby. Tom and Mary are married and they live happily ever after.
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