Leofwine_draca
BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS is a lively children's film that goes out of its way to recapture the magic of MARY POPPINS and does so in a semi-successful way. David Tomlinson is back, this time playing a street magician who gets involved in an adventure with a kindly witch and a couple of kids as they search for magic spell ingredients. The main problem I have with this film is that there are way too many ingredients which makes for a confused viewing experienced. There's a Nazi threat, magical adventures through animated worlds, ample comedy, human villains straight out of Dickens, and more hustle and bustle than you can shake a stick at. The good news is that Angela Lansbury is a solid lead and much better than Julie Andrews and there's enough colour and life to ensure that this is never dull, even if it does feel rather shallow and superficial and episodic in nature.
Davis P
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is an absolute must see for kids. Parents should have this one way up on their list of movies to watch with their children as a family. It is one of the earliest examples of live action and animation coexisting in the same film, besides Mary Poppins. Angela Lansbury (Murder She Wrote) stars as a witch, a good one obviously, ends up taking an adventure with two children on her magical bed which transports you to far away places. The characters are very likable and they make you care more about the story. The special effects are good for 1971, you can't ask for too terribly much because of the time period. The writing is fun and well written. The action/adventure is plentiful and keeps you engaged in what's going on. The main reason I say that families and children need to watch this is because this isn't just a simple family movie, it's got a little bit of everything. And the movie takes you through so many places, it's just gold for a family movie night! 8/10.
OllieSuave-007
This movie has been compared to Mary Poppins as it features a nanny of some sorts who possesses magical powers and is assigned to babysit some children. However, I think it stands well on its own and it is somewhat more entertaining that Mary Poppins was. The plot is set in World War II England, where apprentice witch Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury) journey, with orphans Charlie, Carrie and Paul, to meet Emelius Browne (David Tomlinson), headmaster of the Correspondence College of Witchcraft. There, Miss Price tells Mr. Browne of a plan to find the magic words for a spell known as Substitutiary Locomotion, which brings inanimate objects to life.There are tons of songs in this movie, and my favorites include the solemn but meaningful "Age of Not Believing," the mysterious "Portebello Road," the whimsical and fun "Beautiful Briny Sea" and the catchy "Substitutiary Locomotion." Angela Lansbury sang a large number of the songs and her beautiful singing voice made the music that much more enjoyable. I also enjoyed the combination of live action with animated sequences - cleverly done special effects, especially the under the ocean sequence.Unlike Mary Poppins, I thought the overall movie was somewhat more entertaining. While the film is saturated with songs, there are a lot more adventurous scenes such as the flying bed, royal court, the under the sea and climatic soldier battle sequences. The acting was more believable and less childishly annoying compared to Dick Van Dyle's character in Mary Poppins. And, Miss Price (Lansbury) took on a more nurturing role than Julie Andrews did with her Mary Poppins character and seemed to care for the children more. However, I do find the bratty Charlie character very teeth-cringing.Overall, this is a song-saturated movie and has its boring moments, but kept mostly pretty entertaining with the many uses of magic, good vs. evil aspects and imagination.Grade B-
donnapepper9
Bedknobs and Broomsticks was a film of its time. Yes, war is a strong feature - but there are covert references to war and violence in a lot of children's films - Mulan? For me, this is an ideal children's film - there is such a sense of escapism involved, whilst at the same time there is no attempt made to conceal that bad things do happen in life.The moral of this story, in my opinion, is that in the face of adversity there is always hope, and in hope there is strength to face the enemy. Whatever form that enemy might take - kids have far superior imaginations than adults and I don't believe that they would take a negative message from a film like this.
AD
