Customer Reviews

The Daydreamer

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Award-winning animation producers Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass, fresh from the success of the now-classic TV special RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, aimed extremely high for this ambitious live-action/animated musical fantasy. The story is a fictionalized account of the young life of Hans Christian Andersen, with Paul O'Keefe (Patty Lane's brother on the PATTY DUKE SHOW) as "Chris" and Jack Gilford (COCOON) as his Papa. Chris enters the animated stories of THE LITTLE MERMAID, THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES and THUMBELINA. There are also references to other Andersen tales like "The Garden of Paradise," "Big Claus" and "The Ugly Duckling." Even though some of the production values betray the fact that Executive Producer Joe Levine expected Mary Poppins but only provided a Tom Terrific budget, there is a lot to like in THE DAYDREAMER: a star-studded, perfectly selected voice cast, impressive AniMagic stop-motion art direction, and a knockout score by Maury Laws (check out "The Cartoon Music Book" on amazon.com) and Jules Bass. Fans of the late AL HIRSCHFELD will want to see the caricatured opening sequence; fans of THE WIZARD OF OZ will enjoy Margaret Hamilton's feisty cameo, fans of THE LORD OF THE RINGS will have fun comparing this to the Rankin/Bass production of THE HOBBIT released 11 years later and how far they had come since. Even Oleg Cassini designed the Emperor's New Clothes! The live-action sequences were directed by Ezra Stone, who starred as Henry Aldrich on radio and by that time was directing THE MUNSTERS. If you visited the 1964 World's Fair, look for the Denmark pavilion doubling for the streets of Odense.

This film was produced by the wonderful Rankin/Bass team - best known for their holiday masterpieces "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman" and "Mad Monster Party", just to name a few. The wraparound story (which is live-action) deals with a young Hans Christian Anderson struggling to find The Garden of Paradise. On his journey, we are treated to four haunting stories, each filmed in Rankin/Bass's trademark stop-motion "Animagic". The stories are unusual in that they all end on a low note rather than a typical "Disney happy ending" - keeping true to Anderson's original tales. Included here are "The Little Mermaid", "The Emperor's New Clothes", "Thumbelina" and "The Garden of Paradise". Once again Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass have created a fantasyland of wonder and imagination filled to the brim with beautiful tunes.

With the DVD now in hand....Wanted to add that I was pleasantly surprised by the addition of 3 Black and White 1966 TV SPOTS for the film! These are really something! One is 60 seconds and the other two are 30 second commercials. The DVD was beautifully executed by ANCHOR BAY...my hat is off to them! This is definitely RANKIN/BASS Eye candy! MOTHER GOOSE looks sharp too...THE WACKY WORLD OF MOTHER GOOSE DVD that is.

This is another wonderful childhood movie, full of the joys and woes that come to a young boy who dares to daydream, perhaps a little to obsession. He gets into all sorts of adventures and trouble. What also trully shines is Ray Bolger as the pieman, who dances around like a playful kitten, darting about the rest of the cast with his armful of pies, and his humerous gestures. You also get to see a little Rankin/Bass version of Ray, which is equally as charming. Great movie, great to watch when you're bored, or with he family, all year round.

This movie is wonderful. It is a fictional story based around Hans Christian Andersen's life and how he day dreamed his classic stories with the help of The Sandman(Cyril Ritchard), such as Chris's encounter with the little mermaid(Haley Mills) and the Evil Sea-Witch(Talluah Bankhead), His adventures with Thumbelina(Patty Duke) ,Mr. Field-Mouse(Boris Karloff) and Mr. Mole(Sessue Hayakawa), and of course the Emperor (Ed Wynn) and the two rogue tailors (Victor Borge and Terry Thomas). An All star cast comes together ! this is a wonderful family film!

As has been previously written, this film is by Rankin and Bass the team responsible for the holiday classics Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. This fillm is more ambitious and more uneven than either of those two favorites. They simply expanded on holiday legends/songs in a bright highly satisfying way. This film is a partial live action drama which features Chris (Paul O'Keefe) a young Hans Christian Anderson, whose father (Jack Gilford) is a penniless cobbler, escaping his desperate life to search for the Garden of Paradise and dropping into three Hans Christian Anderson stories (The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes and Thumbelina all in the company's signature puppet inspired Animagic) on the way. This material has a lot of potential and the film does have some lovely sequences particularly during the Little Mermaid and Thumbelina sections. Maury Laws' songs don't reach the heights of Santa Claus or his wonderful work on The Little Drummer Boy but are tuneful and create a mood of wistful wonder. The character of Chris is fascinating too in that he initially seems simply a good hearted boy but often unintentionally betrays and abandons the characters around him and the animated sections have a darker tone than most children's programming. The religous tones (which are true to the Hans Christian Anderson original tales) in several of the stories also make this darker than the usual Rankin and Bass holiday fare.

There are problems. Often the film resorts to silly musical comedy routines to pull the audience out of the darker edges of the animated material. Jack Gilford performs in an almost vaudevillian broad comedy style and seems so powerless and impotent as Chris' father that one hopes that Chris is never forced to return home. Ray Bolger's charm is utterly wasted in his performance as the pieman and Paul O'Keefe's pleasant voice is undermined by the improbability of the situation (he's been captured for poaching and being led by rope down the middle of the town's square as the townsfolk cavort in the clearly underfunded big production number) that he's found himself stranded in. And the questions about Chris' character and his family's desperate financial straits are never resolved.

Still despite these qualms the film has undeniable charm and a certain magic pull in places. I still felt a magic shiver when Chris, caught in a seemingly inescapable situation, spies a flower magically opening up to reveal Thumbelina and a way to escape. I would certainly recommend this film to families to view together--just don't expect a seamless masterpiece or a film even as satisfying the Rankin and Bass Christmas specials.

I remember seeing this film as a child on television. I remember, even then, the print being muddy and the colors being washed out and skips cutting out moments of dialogue. What a pleasure it is to see this new DVD version of this film. The colors are full and bright and there is no bleeding and the sound is free of any pops and scratches. Not quite the labor of love their Mad Monster Party disc was but does include a brief history of the film in the insert.

This film is a fictional account of Hans Christian Anderson life. It switches between the life action adventures of Anderson as a young man and the stop motion segment of Anderson's stories. This is terrific introduction to the stories of Hans Christian Anderson. Although the stop-motion animation may look outdated in comparsion to computer generated effect of today, it is a refreshing change from today's rough animation that dominates television today. This movie is geared towards children; however the plot is so engaging and the music is so charming that adults will have no promblem sitting through this with their childrens.

The Daydreamer is a children's DVD movie filmed through an amazing combination of live-action and stop-motion animation. Adapting some of Hans Christian Andersen's most famous fairytales, The Daydreamer follows a young Andersen as he imagines his fables come to life. The adapted classic Andersen fairytales include "The Little Mermaid", "The Emperor's New Clothes", and "Thumbelina". A commemorative booklet, still gallery, and poster round out this delightful DVD sure to entertain kids and adults alike, starring the voices of such well-known personalities as Boris Karloff, Patty Duke, Robert Goulet and more. 99 minutes, closed-captioned, full frame presentation.

I had fond memories of The Daydreamer, having seen it on TV in the early 1970s, so I was delighted to see the DVD version. The highlight, to my mind, was the bats' song and dance number in the mole's den ("Isn't it Cosy?"). A friend of mine used to amuse us in elementary school days by singing that song in class whenever the teacher left the room! It was also a treat to see Boris Karloff as a rat with a bad case of lumbago! Another memorable sequence was the destruction of the Garden of Paradise. Even young children today might find it a little frightening.
While not up to the standards of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" or "Mad Monster Party," the film is well worth seeing nevertheless. It has a marvellous cast--most of the cast members being seen only as puppets--from Burl Ives to Margaret Hamilton to Terry-Thomas, and a lovely soundtrack. Ideal family viewing--for kids and grown-ups alike.

The movie is good for young children. I would recommend it for any parent to have their child watch. It arrived in a timely manner and in excellent condition. I would recommend this seller to anyone.