Babes in Toyland (1934)

I love this movie so much

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Director: GUS MEINS. Director of scenes and segments in which Laurel and Hardy appear: CHARLES R. ROGERS. Screenplay: Nick Grinde, Frank Butler. Based on the 1902 operetta Babes in Toyland by Victor Herbert (music) and Glen MacDonough (book and lyrics). Comedy scenes devised by Stan Laurel with the assistance of a team of gag men including Frank Terry. Photography: Art Lloyd, Francis Corby. Film editors: William Terhune, Bert Jordan. Music director: Harry Jackson. Additional song, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" by Ann Ronell and Frank Churchill. Special effects: Roy Seawright (director), Art Lloyd (photographer). Barnaby's make-up: Jim Collins. Assistant director: Gordon Douglas. Sound recording: Elmer R. Raguse. Producer: Hal Roach. A Hal Roach Studios Production. Copyright 28 November 1934 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation. New York opening at the Astor: 12 December 1934. U.S. release: 30 November 1934. U.K. release: April 1935. Australian release: 13 March 1935. 79 minutes Re-issue titles: REVENGE IS SWEET, MARCH OF THE TOYS.SYNOPSIS: Stannie and Ollie are boarders in a shoe owned by the Widow Peep but mortgaged to Barnaby (the meanest man in Toyland). The boys undertake to borrow the mortgage money from their employer, the toy-maker, but this ploy fails when the boys are fired after a series of mishaps. When the mortgage becomes due, Barnaby not only throws the widow and her daughter, Bo, into the street but accuses the boys of pignapping.NOTES: Re-made by Walt Disney (as "Babes in Toyland") in 1961. Disney and Roach were close friends. In the Disney version, Ray Bolger starred as Barnaby, Tommy Sands played Tom Piper, Ed Wynn was the toy-maker and Annette Funicello portrayed Mary Quite Contrary. The original stage musical opened on Broadway in 1903. Directed by Julian Mitchell, it starred William Norris, Bessie Wynn, George W. Denham and Mabel Barrison. It ran a most successful 192 performances.The "mouse" who shares some delightful scenes with the cat and flies a balloon at the climax of this movie, was reportedly enacted by a monkey!COMMENT: An absolute delight, "March of the Wooden Soldiers" (as it is now known) was produced on the most expansive budget ever utilized on a Roach feature. And it's all up there on the screen in magnificent costumes and eye-popping sets. Thanks to Gus Meins' lively direction, the pace is fast and furious. Many of the Toyland characters flit by at the speed of knots. Laurel and Hardy fortunately emerge unscathed (they worked in a different unit, nominally under the control of director/actor Charley Rogers), contributing many delightful moments including a priceless bit of foolery when Stannie wishes Ollie "Good night!" We also enjoyed Miss Henry (Alice of Alice in Wonderland) as a radiant Bo-Peep and Florence Roberts (who replaced Margaret Seddon) as the shoe-living widow. Felix Knight has a wonderful voice which does more than justice to Herbert's melodies. And of course Herbert's still-famous "March of the Wooden Soldiers" accompanies the wonderfully glorious climactic free-for- all as hundreds of bogeymen run amuck in the vast Toyland sets.OTHER VIEWS: A superb example of collaborative film-making skill, "March of the Wooden Soldiers" was filmed simultaneously by two units under different directors, yet the result is a pleasingly harmonious whole with no visible seams. The sets are absolutely out of this world, the comedy bright, the songs tuneful, the climax a riot of action and fun. Although they play characters a trifle removed from their customary offerings, Babe and Stan are in top form.

BABES IN TOYLAND is something of a departure for comedy stars Laurel & Hardy. Nearly all of their movies were contemporary comedies set in the real world, whereas this is an out-and-out fairy tale set in the magical world of 'Toyland' which is where all the characters from the famous fairy tales hang out. Our stars are playing thinly-disguised versions of Tweedledum and Tweedledee, but you'll be pleased to hear that they're their usual idiotic selves.Truth be told, the first half of this production isn't great. The humour feels a bit forced and the comedy routines just aren't as funny as elsewhere. In addition, the plot is slow and only the scheming villain Barnaby engages. The dated musical numbers don't help much either. The good news is that things pick up more and more as the film nears the climax, building to a lavish, large-scale action sequence which is quite jaw-dropping. It utilises dozens of extras, stop motion effects, and a lot of visual creativity and is one of the most exciting, amusing, and inventive things I can remember watching lately. In short, it saves the movie.

I know, I know. everyone will debate this till the end of time. at least lovers of Toyland will. the scrooges won't give a d---. but I happen to love Victor Herbert and try to collect all the versions of Toyland I can. I even have the old kinescope live TV broadcast from the 50's presented by Oldsmobile, and the Shirley Temple version. The only one I won't touch is the Barrymore,Reeves version from the 80's. I'll leave that to the terminally unimaginative and people who really don't care if Toyland property values decline.I consider myself a real Toyland fan and I seem to prefer calling this 'March of Wooden Soldiers'. it gives it a independent feel and after all that is the name of Herbert's music. so why not. I love this movie and I love Toyland. I hope Toyland fans will keep fighting the boogey scrooges who hate Toyland because they lashed out the week of December 2009 by purposely giving the Toyland films low ratings so they would go down in popularity on IMDb.I checked. They even rated the kinescope version which is unlikely they even saw that one. luckily these scrooged-out boogey creeps don't know all the versions because they missed the Shirley Temple one.they mostly went after the Disney,the Hal Roach,and for some reason the kinescope classic. i guess that is called cyber scrooging or something.you can't trust anyone these days.

This is Laurel and Hardy's best feature because they portray their trademarked characters as the central focus of a lavish, well told story. The entire film is a pleasure to watch from start to finish. It's even better colorized. It has some good musical numbers like 'Toyland,' 'Castle in Spain,' 'Never Mind, 'Bo-Peep,' and the one in the cave that used to put me to sleep; you even hear 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?' in the background in a Three Little Pigs scene.This movie passes my Test of Time Test: I watched it with my 8 and 10 year old grand children-- they were hypnotized throughout, really enjoying and laughing at Laurel and Hardy's comedy, and were appropriately scared by the sight of the bogey-men. This movie is perfect for anyone who is exactly eight years old (or who ever has been).We get Ollie's famous finger wiggles, Stan's plays on words, and a little edgy content for adults when Stan, disguised as Bo-Peep, marries Barnaby and does his pinched face cry, when he realizes he then has to stay with Barnaby, "But I don't love him!" Later, when Ollie says that Stannie gets along with Barnaby, he replies, "But that was before we were married." I give this film a 10. It makes great holiday viewing for the whole family. It's such a wonderful showcase for, and introduction to (for new viewers) the great thirties films of Laurel and Hardy. My grand children wanted more. Then it's off to 'The Music Box' (1932), 'Towed in a Hole' (1932), 'County Hospital' (1932), 'Busy Bodies' (1933), and 'Dirty Work' (1933).Note for Barnaby fans: Henry Brandon reprises his 'Barnaby' role as an Opera Impresario in the all-singing all-dancing 'Our Gang Follies of 1938' (1937). For a 'change of pace' he plays the lead in the good Republic serial 'Drums of Fu Manchu' (1940) as Fu Manchu himself! Go, Henry!