Product Details

• Actors: Tallulah Bankhead, Victor Borge, Patty Duke, Jack Gilford, Sessue Hayakawa
• Directors: Jules Bass
• Writers: Arthur Rankin Jr., Hans Christian Andersen, Romeo Muller
• Producers: Arthur Rankin Jr., Joseph E. Levine, Larry Roemer
• Format: Animated, Color, Live, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Umgd - Vivendi Enter
• VHS Release Date: August 11, 1992
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302581915
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,703 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Not only does the incurably sleepy Hans "Chris" Andersen dream in full color, this future storyteller also dreams in "Animagic." From the award-winning team that delights youngsters annually with their 1964 classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass), The Daydreamer blends animated, roly-headed puppets with live-action talent including Jack Gilford (Cocoon) and Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz). A hunger for knowledge sends young Chris Andersen searching for the elusive Garden of Paradise. But the Sandman (a wavy shadow, voiced by Cyril Ritchard) casts Chris into a magical puppet world where he breaks a little mermaid's heart, humiliates an emperor, and causes big trouble for tiny Thumbelina. Screen favorites like Hayley Mills, Tallulah Bankhead, Burl Ives, and Boris Karloff lend their voices to the fantasy. Best suited for sentimental Rudolph fans and kids who adore lengthy song-and-dance classics like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, this visual candy store runs 99 minutes. (Ages 6 and older) --Liane Thomas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little-known gem from the makers of Rudolph and Frosty!, January 27, 2003

By 

Greg Ehrbar "'MouseTracksOnline'" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Daydreamer (DVD)

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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating! Not your typical animated kiddie fare, December 5, 2001

By 

Joseph Brando (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Daydreamer [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addition to my previous review, February 14, 2003

By 

Richard J. Goldschmidt "Rick Goldschmidt" (Oak Lawn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Daydreamer (DVD)

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.