Customer Reviews

Bon Voyage!

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been familiar with this film since I worked for Disney in 16mm film distribution in the 1970s. I started at Disney after just coming back from Europe, so the French settings were nice to revisit.

I am very familiar with the various negatives of this film. I agree with several reviewers that a DVD should contain the best possible picture and sound element. It should also present the film in its original, projected aspect ratio, which for BON VOYAGE was 1:85.1 (Academy 'flat') which gives the film a slight, rectangular image. However, full frame, 4 by 3 transfers of 1:85x1 pictures are not necessarily all that bad. You loose a little picture on the sides, but not really that much. Some work could have been done on color correcting, although the DVD's 'look' exactly matches the projected film.

I also agree that a few 'extras' would have been nice, even just the theatrical trailer. Walt Disney filmed 'everything' to do with his studio's product, so there must be a good amount of 'extras' for BON VOYAGE in the Disney film vaults. Why aren't they included?

Anyway, it's still nice to have this some-what overlong film back on the market. I grabbed a copy at BestBuy as soon as I spotted it. I have always felt that it was about 20 minutes too long, and that it incorporated two scenes (Fred McMurray and the French prostitute in Paris, and the attempted extortion of son Elliot on the Riviera) that should not have been in the script. The film might have done better with its intended audience. Tommy Kirk's performance as Elliot, however, is a treasure; he was a very polished actor, and gave wonderful comic relief it wasn't 'mugging' but was built solely out of his character.

Look for one mistake the original director made, and it's in the original negative, although it shouldn't have been included. When McMurray punches the Casanova in the casino at the film's end, immediately go frame by frame for a few seconds and you can see the sound stage floor, complete with ladders for the cameras, and even some of the crew in the background.

Some of the scenes bettween McMurray and James Callan (father to young suitor) still resonate even in today's society. And McMurray lost in the Paris sewers is still very funny.

The real star of this movie was the old ocean liner SS UNITED STATES. Parts of the film were shot aboard this great ship www.ssunitedstates.org. This is another Disney family film in the tradition of the Swiss Family Robinson & That Darn Cat. A bit dated for modern kiddies but this film was Disney's most UNDER-RATED film.

Oh, Disney! Disney! Why do you stab me in the heart so often?
This company seems to think that avoiding black little bars at the top and bottom of 4:3 television screens makes families happy and content. Why not consider us grownups instead, who are very saddened indeed to watch movies like this with the sides cut off?
Besides, what child or teenager today would tolerate viewing this movie anyhow, cropped or in letterbox format? This is definitely a film for people BORN in the fifties and sixties. Yes, it's overlong! Yes, it's corny a lot of the time! Yes, it's often dull and even boring! And yes, I still enjoy it for all its faults! But I would be ten times happier if Disney had given me this film on DVD in the correct aspect ratio of 1.78:1 - with anamorphic enhancement, of course! WHEN WILL THEY LEARN?

As a child of the 60s I love the old, classic Disney comedies that were released back then. This movie had potential to be one of them, except for a few shortcomings. First, it's WAY too long. Secondly, the sub-plots with the teenage children almost ruin the breezy feel of the movie, turning to heavy-handed soul searching between a lost youth and the Willard family. His presence literally ruins their long-awaited trip to Europe. He follows them everywhere - tell the mixed-up creep to scram! But the musical score is great, very kitschy 60s, and Fred MacMurray is always the wonderful father-figure. This is a good movie, but too bad Disney let it drift away with too many sub-plots and a script that was just too long. Plus, I counted some "damns" and quite a bit of drinking - not very Disneyesque. But for adults, worth a look on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Draggy family comedy about Americans on vacation abroad wasn't anywhere near top-drawer Disney when it was first released back in 1962--trite, unfunny and decidely kid-unfriendly with its tiresome bickering parents, dreary teen romance subplots and several bizarre un-Disneylike scenes involving drunkeness, a bidet, a French hooker, public urination and even a few mild four-letter words.

It doesn't play any better today in an uncorrected color DVD transfer that frequently makes MacMurray, Wyman and other cast members look like corpses.

One of the biggest live action misfires to be personally overseen by Walt Disney, this DVD edition (with no extras) is a bum trip. Stay home.

If the Great Recession has your family contemplating a stay-cation, you could do a lot worse than to include this movie as a vicarious escape. No horrible exchange rates, no jet lag, no language barriers, and no big bills. But a very pleasant time true to the Disney formula...with a few surprising instances of envelope-pushing, at least for Disney of the early sixties.

What other reviewers haven't noted is that this is one of Disney's early attempts to broaden the Disney franchise to encompass a more "adult" audience. Hence, Fred MacMurray's encounter with a prostitute (in which he nonetheless preaches midwestern American values), Disney's historic first-use of profanity ("...none of you know the first damn thing about love!"), and a surprising quantity of booze (again, surprising for Disney of that era).

For Disney buffs who may recall how Walt once expressed frustration that he couldn't make a film like Alfred Hitchcock, this movie is a very public reminder that there was a time when the classic Disney film franchise as we know it today, was not a foregone conclusion. The founder himself fostered hopes that things would turn out a little differently.

As other reviewers have noted, it's a bit on the long side, but my family never found its attention wandering. Yeah, if you're looking to critique a movie, it could be shorter and it could have benefited from a rewrite. But if you're just looking to enjoy an old family-friendly Disney film, you probably won't be disappointed. And when it's all over, you'll probably end up muttering something about how it's better than most most movies or TV shows made these days.

I love the old movies and Fred McMurray so I enjoyed this though I do think it was longer than it needed to be. I love him lost underground. If you are not into old movies and Disney flicks you probably won't enjoy this.

BON VOYAGE is a solid Disney comedy, with Fred MacMurray and Jane Wyman offering their usual strong performances. However, the movie is long and quite laborous, clocking in at almost two-and-a-half hours. A movie like this could easily be told in 90 minutes.

MacMurray and Wyman play Henry and Katie, a middle-class couple on a whirlwind tour of Europe with their three children (Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley and Kevin Corcoran). This movie features some beautiful cinematography and breezy musical score, and was perhaps an attempt by Disney to step into a more adult-oriented market (the running time alone makes the film a trial for children). In any event, the film did poorly at the box office and Disney returned to it's usual product.

The DVD is in ghastly fullscreen, but let's not carp. BON VOYAGE is a fine if overlong comedy, with great performances from Deborah Walley and Michael Callan.

Also starring Jessie Royce Landis, Georgette Anys and Ivan Desny. Directed by James Neilson. No extras.

BEHIND THE SCENES & TRIVIA: Directed by James Nielson. filmed both on location in Europe and at the Disney Studio. At the studio, a recreation of the Paris sewer where Harry takes a tour and gets lost was filmed. The hotel suites were also created there on the soundstages and interiors of the cruise ship. The outdoor footage on the cruise ship was shot on a real ship, the "S.S. United States" while it was actually en transit to Europe.. But the casino was a real one, the Palm Beach Casino on the French Riviera and the casino staff got to sit in as themselves. Exteriors of the hotels were shot at Salon Kleber. Walt Disney went to Paris to check on the filming of the movie.
The opening credit sequence is very entertaining, and was put together by Disney animators Bill Justice and X. Atencio. The titles are faux postcards of Europe, interspersed with footage from actual sites like Paris and Monte Carlo. The jaunty title song is by the Sherman Brothers, after Walt vetoed their slow pretty waltz they offered and requested a more upbeat song like "California Here I Come", but for Europe. This was their fourth film

The film was not well received by critics at the time, but it did well enough with the public. They felt it was too slow and long for starters and there was not enough to keep smaller children interested. It is a little long and goes back and forth in the storyline a few times, clocking in at 2 hours and 10 minutes. It was nominated for two Academy Awards ®, one for Best Sound for studio sound veteran Robert Cook, and one for Best Costume Design for Bill Thomas. I think those were for the dresses worn by Jane Wyman in the movie. Emile Curry probably should have gotten a nod for his lavish design of the hotel suites, he was in charge of set design on nearly every Disney movie while Walt was alive. The screenplay was by Bill Walsh, based upon the book of the same title by Marrijane & Joseph Hayes. The film premiered in theatres on May 17, 1962. Almost 8 years later it was shown on the "Wonderful World Of Disney" television show in 3 parts over 3 consecutive Sunday nights, starting on January 11, 1970 and did not air on the show again. It was first released to VHS in 1987, and to DVD in 2007.

It does not appear that Disney re-mastered the film for this DVD, but it was well preserved and has good color for the period, and does not have noticeable scratches or sound problems. However, when we blew it up on a high quality projection system we could see some strange background cross-hatching now and then. It is in full screen mode, but Disney Studios made quite a few films that way during the 1960's. The sound is mono, as originally recorded. There are no extras on the DVD, but I can think of a few from the Disney vault that would have been nice without costing new production dollars. Disney made a series of featurettes on travel called "People and Places" in the 1950's. It would have been nice to see one of these travelogues, and maybe a short cartoon. The film trailer should have been included, and they could have put some trailers in for other films from the period, it would only help them sell more DVD's.
Overall, if you are a big Disney fan like me, who appreciates their huge library of lesser known family films I recommend it. But I also recommend that Disney put a bit more effort into their DVD releases for the price.

THE STORY: This Walt Disney live action movie stars Fred MacMurray as Harry Willard, Jane Wyman as his wife Deborah, Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran as their sons Elliott and Scooter, Deborah Walley as their 18 year old daughter, and her love interest "Nick" is played Michael Callan. Beautiful French scenery, some drama, comedy and romance. Deborah Willard has been planning a trip to Europe by boat for 22 year, and now her husband Harry and 3 kids are finally going. Harry is a very loyal husband, a good father and owns a plumbing contracting business. They take a ship to France, and one the jourey their older children meet some romantic counterparts. They visit Paris and Monte Carlo, and Deborah is preyed upon by a local man until Fred finally punches him out shooting him halfway across the casino after getting unexpectedly drunk. Mr. Willard gets lost in the Paris Subways when his son drags him there for a tour. Elliott is hilarious as he tries different disguises and tricks in order to pick up local girls. A scene that raised eyebrows was when a French call girl attempted to pick up Mr. Willard, and later his unwitting son, (not your typical Disney). Harry has to come to his son's rescue when a local hustler attempts to blackmail the family on false charges that his son Elliott has taken advantage of their young daughter. In the end the parents everyone finally gets what they want form their dream vacation.

An oldie but a goodie!! This movie is about Fred Macmuray taking his family on a cruise to France, but the real star of the movie is the Queen Mary! The video of this classic cruiseliner is great!! You will love seeing the French Riviera and Fred even gets lost in the famous sewers of France!! A fun family movie,5 stars!!