Customer Reviews

The Parent Trap (Walt Disney Pictures Presents) [VHS]

5 star:		(386)
4 star:		(60)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Let me start by saying I am a mature adult having lived almost half a century. I have seen many movies and for some unknown reason this one has grabbed me. In the past two months I have watched it at least 20 times and each time found something I had not seen before.

Why?! Because this is a FUN movie. If you let yourself forget you are an ADULT and just watch you will find a wonderful story that is funny, romantic, and touching. You laugh, you cry, and if you have one ounce of romance in your body you feel the emotions of Annie and Hallie, their parents Nick and Elizabeth, and the supporting roles such as Martin and Chessy the respective butlers.

All of the actors do an excellent job with their chacters. Of particular note is Lindsay Lohan. A dual role is always demanding, but her ability to transititon between the unique differences of Hallie and Annie, both in language and personality, is amazing. She is an ACTRESS in the best sense of the word. I look forward to seeing her time and again in the years to come. (Of note other actresses who played dual roles in Disney films include Haley Mills [The Parent Trap] and Jodie Foster [Freaky Friday]. Pretty good company for a young star.)

One other componet is the soundtrack. Songs by Nat "King" Cole, Natalie Cole, Ray Charles, Linda Rondstadt, and others make excellent backdrops to many moments of the movie. In addition the score accentuates the emotions in just the right manner.

It is very seldom I feel so positive about a movie. To paraphase Annie (Hallie when she is pretending to be Annie in London) as she speaks about her stuffed animal I "really, really, really" loved The Parent Trap.

Do yourself a favor and see it!!!

When this film was originally released in theatres, I had no desire to see it because I didn't think it could possibly live up to the Hayley Mills version. Years later, I was flipping channels and saw it featured as the Disney movie of the week, and I fell in love with it! This version is even BETTER than the original! So much of the plot mimics the original story (twin girls separated at birth reunite and scheme to get their parents back together), and the small deviations are wonderful, like having one of the twins speak with a British accent (so cute!).

Lindsay Lohan is absolutely adorable in her dual role: I don't think I've ever seen a little girl as charming as she is! Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson are a wonderful couple, and Elaine Hendrix is perfect as the girls' evil stepmother-to-be. Fans of the original "Partent Trap" will enjoy seeing Joanna Barnes in her cameo role as Meredith's mother, Vicki: a great tribute to the character she played in the 1961 version of the film).

The music in this film is fantastic, and I highly suggest that you purchase the soundtrack in addition to the DVD. However, the one disappointment in this film is that the twin Lindsays don't do a modernized version of "Let's Get Together," which is the song that the twin Hayleys performed for their parents in the original film. in fact, there's no real musical number in this version at all (although they do briefly pay tribute to the classic song).

Overall, though, this movie is FABULOUS: I'm still kicking myself for not having gone to see it in the theatre, but I'm thrilled to own the DVD!

I saw this re-make most reluctantly. After all, I thought, how could it compare to the original blockbuster hit of the same name, which starred the adorable British actress, Hayley Mills? Well, to my complete surprise, this film is a winner in its own right. Reprising the dual roles played by Hayley Mills, a young Lindsay Lohan, in her silver screen debut, is surprisingly effective and adorable, making the dual roles her own.

For those of you unfamiliar with the premise of the film, two girls, Hallie Parker and Annie James (Lindsay Lohan), meet at summer camp. They look exactly alike. One lives with her father, while the other lives with her mother. They soon figure out the previously unknown but inescapable fact that they are twins, separated shortly after birth, each of whom lives with one of their biological parents. They both long to know the parent that is missing from their respective lives. So, they concoct a plan that will allow them to do so, leading to a scheme to reunite their estranged parents. They simply switch places, when it comes time to return home. Their reunion scheme is almost derailed, however, when their biological father seems to have romantic designs on someone else.

This comedic caper focuses on the intrigues of the twins as they try to get the potential usurper out of their father's life and re-unite their parents. Lindsay Lohan is simply terrific in the dual roles of Hallie and Annie, infusing a great deal of charm and personality into her portrayal of the twins. Natasha Richardson is wonderful in the role of the mother, Elizabeth James. While she lacks the feistiness of Maureen O'Hara, who originally played the role, Ms. Richardson manages to make the role her own with her low-key charm. Dennis Quaid is terrific as Nick Parker, the handsome, hunky father, who is the besotted prey of a gold digging, scheming, statuesque blonde (Elaine Hendrix). I actually like his performance better than that of Brian Keith, who played this role in the original.

Blonde bombshell Elaine Hendrix is effective as Meredith Blake, the potential wicked step-mother, who quickly sees her own scheme to marry a wealthy husband go up in flames as the twins plot against her. Lisa Ann Walter is simply wonderful as Nick Parker's good-hearted housekeeper, infusing the role with a rich warmth. Simon Kunz is very funny in the role of Martin, the James' butler, creating a memorable character, and Ronnie Stevens is perfectly cast as the maternal grandfather, Charles James.

As to whether or not their mother and father will be re-united, as the twins so desire, watch this film and find out. Although Lindsay Lohan does not sing the popular signature song, "Let's Get Together", which Hayley Mills sang in the original film, the viewer will not be disappointed by this re-make. Disney Studios, which is the studio responsible for both the original and the re-make, has created a terrific little comedic gem in its own right with this film.

Yes "Everytime we say goodbye" was left out of the Soundtrack. But it is available on a marvelous 2 CD set by Ray Charles and Betty Carter(Dedicated To You). I got that(for only $10) and along with the Great Escape March(Elmer Bernstein), How Bizarre(OMC) and In The Mood(Glenn Miller), I created my own Parent Trap Soundtrack. I also rearranged the songs so they would play in the order or the movie tracks. There are some wonderful tracks in this CD. I especially like L-O-V-E, There She Goes, Never Let Her Go and the version of Here Comes The Sun by Bob Khaleel. As a big George Harrison fan, I was impressed and thought it was a very nice remake.

At a summer camp in Maine, 11-year-old Hallie Parker (Lindsay Lohan) meets Annie James (also Lindsay Lohan). Despite a curious resemblance, Hallie develops an immediate dislike for Annie, and the feeling is mutual. However, the two eventually discover they are twin sisters separated not long after they were born. Their parents, Elizabeth (Natasha Richardson) and Nick (Dennis Quaid), had met on the Queen Elizabeth 2 and married on that same voyage. After a divorce, Nick brought up Hallie at his Napa Valley vineyard, while Annie lived with wedding-gown designer Elizabeth in London. Neither twin was aware she had a sister, until their summer-camp meeting. To learn more about their parents, they switch places and maintain the deception until Nick states he will remarry. The twins then try to engineer a renewed romance between Nick and Elizabeth, but Nick's annoying but attractive fiancee Meredith (Elaine Hendrix) presents a major problem in reaching their happy-ending goal.

The picture quality is razor sharp that if you were to touch the screen with your finger, you would get cut!!! Thats how super sharp this movie is on this DVD!!

The extras are great. Theres an original making of piece which has Lindsay talking on the set of how fun it is making the movie and theres also comments from some of the others who are in the movie.

Theres a neat special on how they did the split screen process to make it seem as if Lindsay is interacting with her twin sister!! Its amazing how good this process is!!

In watching this movie, you really feel as if it really is twin girls. Lindsay did a super job in playing her 2 roles!!!

The one thing that is missing from this special edition DVD is the trailer to this movie which was included on the original release DVD from a few years ago.

Most of the extras on this special edition DVD came off of the laserdisc version and one thing they did not put on this special edition DVD that is on the laserdisc version is, Lindsay's screen tests. They should have put this on the DVD but, for some unknown reason they did not.

You may ask: "is this DVD worth getting since I allready have the DVD version that came out a few years ago?", The answer is YES!Reason is, of course the extras that are on this and also because the picture quality is much better then the original DVD version,as they did remaster it!!

This is a true winning and wonderful DVD!!

First off, I love this movie and its music. So much so that I bought the soundtrack and will buy the score. The soundtrack includes some great and some not so great songs.

I have two criticisms. 1) The most significant is the omission of "Every time we say good bye". This is a major song critical to the mood of leaving Napa yet the producer omitted it. WHY?!!!!

2) If you expect to hear the original or popular artist for a song then think again. Most of the tunes are done by less than well known artists. Again WHY?!!!!

Despite the above comments it is good album and I give it my recommendation. The producer could have made it better.

Mark

The movie was cute, but the music was absolutely GREAT! Although some may complain about the 'missing' song, no big deal, you're still in for a treat if you buy the soundtrack. The songs are simply fun and happy, and make you want to get up and dance. The next time you are depressed, turn on the CD and let your misery wither away.

This is a great album to get if you want lots of great music. This album does not have a bad song. Out of all the albums I have seen, it definatly meets the criteria. It has songs like L-O-V-E, which are classics. It has many later songs, buy popular artists. Best of all, they keep the whole CD appropriate for anyone, so you can listen to it without interruption. This is one of my favorite albums in my collection, because you can listen through the whole thing without skipping tracks. 3 thumbs up!

Being 16 years old, I'm not a big fan of Disney movies any more. But my parents were watching the movie in the family room when I came in to read the newspaper, and I must say I was captivated by the entire movie!

I remember hearing a few years ago that Disney made a remake of The Parent Trap. I had seen the original, and I must admit that I thought it would not be nearly as good as the original. I must also admit that I was wrong.

As hard as it may be to believe, this is even better than the original! Lindsay Lohan does a spectacular job portraying both Hallie Parker and Annie James; and to think this is her first movie! Natasha Richardson and Dennis Quaid both make wonderful performances as the girls parents. Simon Kunz and Lisa Ann Walter also do a great job portraying Annie's butler and Hallie's nanny, respectfully. This was based of the 1961 parent Trap, starring Hayley Mills, that was written by David Swift. Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer wrote the script for the remake and Meyers was director and Shyer producer. You'll remember the duo from their work with the Father of the Bride movies. Elaine Hendrix also does a great job playing Meredith, the evil step-mother-to-be. Ronnie Stevens also does an excellent job playing Annie's grandfather.

The movie starts out when the girls are sent to Camp Walden For Girls in Maine. While there, they meet and aren't very fond of each other. They start playing practical jokes on each other until the camp directors, Marva Kulp Sr. and Marva Kulp Jr. (played by Polly Holliday and Maggie Wheeler, respectively) send them to an isolation cabin for them to spend the rest of the summer there. While there, the girls try to make the best of things and start to talk to each other. They then begin to realize that they are amazingly similar to each other. After a while, they finally realize that they are twins! With each child wanting to meet their other parent, the girls devise and elaborate plan to switch places, hoping that when their parents realize they have the wrong child, they will have to switch them back and see each other after a hiatus of eleven years.

This movie is highly suggested. I also suggest that you see the original one, so you can see the similarities and differences between the two movies. You'll be able to see how the time difference between the two movies can make them seem much different, even though they have the same plot. If you liked the first one, you'll love this one!

It should come into the # number one # in the category of soundtrack music. The old and the new songs blends into one album which is excellent and the movie also damn good, I watched it twice already and if friends of mine ask me to watch it again, I would like to. Oh, and I love the song of LOVE by Nat Cole King, it just superb and also the other songs like There She Goes, Here Come the Sun, and many more are just absolutely fabulous.