Thumbelina | |
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Directed by | |
Screenplay by | Don Bluth |
Based on | Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Edited by | Fiona Trayler |
Music by | |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. [a] [1] [2] |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $28 million [3] |
Box office | $17 million [4] |
Thumbelina (also known as Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina) is a 1994 American independent [5] animated musical fantasy film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, based on the story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The film stars the voices of Jodi Benson, Gary Imhoff and John Hurt, with supporting roles from Gino Conforti, Charo, Gilbert Gottfried, Carol Channing and Joe Lynch. [6]
Thumbelina was produced by Don Bluth Ireland Ltd. and distributed by Warner Bros. [a] under its Family Entertainment imprint. The film was released in theaters on March 30, 1994 to mixed reviews from film critics, [7] [2] and became a box-office bomb, grossing $17 million against a $28 million budget.
A lonely widow longing for a child of her own is given a barley seed by a friendly witch. The planted seed grows into a flower, and a tiny girl emerges from inside, no bigger than the old woman's thumb. The old woman names the tiny girl Thumbelina and raises her as her own. Although Thumbelina loves her mother, she craves companionship from someone her own size. One night, the fairy prince Cornelius stumbles upon Thumbelina after hearing her singing. He is the first person whom she has ever met who is roughly her own size. The two take a ride on Cornelius' bumblebee and fall in love. During this ride, Mrs. Toad and her son Grundel are enchanted by the singing. That night, Mrs. Toad kidnaps Thumbelina, desiring her to join the troupe and marry Grundel as her husband. Thumbelina is rescued by Jacquimo, a swallow. Meanwhile, Cornelius learns of her being kidnapped, and returns to his kingdom, the Vale of the Fairies, to ask his parents to try holding back the winter as long as they can, but they can only hold it for a day.
Grundel learns that Thumbelina escaped and ventures out to find her. While trying to get home, Thumbelina meets Berkeley Beetle, a singer who promises to show her the way home if she sings at his Beetle Ball. She reluctantly complies, but her bug disguise falls off during the concert, and she is denounced as "ugly" as well as being publicly humiliated in front of the audience. Beetle rejects her without helping her. She is next found by Jacquimo, who promises to find Cornelius. Beetle is confronted by Grundel and suggests that Grundel kidnap Cornelius and use him as a meal to lure Thumbelina. Grundel coerces Beetle into partnership by removing his wings.
Upon the arrival of winter, Jacquimo injures his wing and loses consciousness from the freezing, while Cornelius falls into a pond by wind and gets frozen. Beetle finds Cornelius and takes him to Grundel. Thumbelina is forced to take refuge in an old shoe, where she is discovered by Miss Fieldmouse and granted shelter in her underground house. After relaying Cornelius' fate to her, Miss Fieldmouse introduces her to her neighbor Mr. Mole, who becomes infatuated with her and desires to marry her. Devastated by the apparent loss of Cornelius, Thumbelina gives in to hopelessness and accepts Mr. Mole's proposal. Jacquimo revives and, before Thumbelina can get a chance to explain to him what happened to Cornelius, resolves to find him before the wedding.
Beetle tells Grundel of Thumbelina's wedding. When they leave Cornelius behind, a trio of friendly insect children find and thaw Cornelius back to normal. At the wedding, Thumbelina finds herself unable to marry Mr. Mole after remembering Cornelius' promise to always love her. Grundel and Beetle arrive to stop them, and a chase scene ensues. Cornelius also arrives and engages Grundel in a fight, which culminates with the two falling into a hole. Thumbelina escapes on a pile of Mr. Mole's treasure, causing it to fall at Mr. Mole and the wedding guests. Jacquimo finds the Vale of the Fairies and takes Thumbelina there. She and Cornelius reunite, and she magically grows her own pair of wings upon accepting his proposal and kissing him. With Thumbelina’s mother and the fairy court in attendance, the two marry and depart on Cornelius' bumblebee.
The credits images reveal that Beetle's wings regrew, and he resumed his pop career; Grundel has survived the fall with a broken leg and finally married a female toad to his mom's delight, and Mr. Mole married Miss Fieldmouse.
Having watched the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen , Don Bluth decided to adapt the fairy tale "Thumbelina" into an animated feature film. Bluth stated, "I wanted every little girl in the world to love Thumbelina, and I was determined to get an early start on the script." [9] To write the screenplay, Bluth hired American writer Carol Lynn Pearson, who also admired the fairy tale. She arrived at the Sullivan Bluth Studios in Dublin with her family to meet with Bluth. [9] After she had submitted a story treatment, the two held several story meetings, in which Bluth gave Pearson nine months to complete the screenplay. By the eighth month, Pearson turned in her final script draft. Bluth read the draft later that night, and held a follow-up meeting with Pearson the next morning. "There are some great moments," Bluth told her, "But there's also some stuff missing." [10] He explained that Cornelius, the fairy prince, was a wimp and that Thumbelina is too pitiful on herself. [10]
Pearson was told to improve Thumbelina and Cornelius's love story, and have Thumbelina act more optimistically. She flew back to the United States to be with her children, who were starting school. A month later, Bluth and Pearson met again in Century City, Los Angeles to discuss her script revisions. However, she held firm to her vision for the story. Bluth then decided to rewrite the script himself. [10] In February 1991, Thumbelina went into production at Sullivan Bluth Studios Ireland Ltd. (formerly known as Sullivan Bluth Studios at that time) in Dublin. During the film's production, Sullivan Bluth faced financial difficulties when the UK-based Goldcrest Films threatened to liquidate the studio when they had failed to repay a loan statement of $300,000. The Irish High Court gave Sullivan Bluth a period of time to prove they could make the necessary payments. However, in April 1991, Goldcrest repealed its lawsuit. [11]
After the release of Rock-a-Doodle (1991), and its dismal box office performance, the studio (which was renamed Don Bluth Entertainment) filed for bankruptcy protection in October 1992. [12] [13] Due to Bluth Entertainment's liquidation proceedings, the production staff had been laid off. [14] A month later, John Boorman's production company Merlin Films, along with the Hong Kong-based Media Assets, made bids to spend $14 million to acquire the studio. [15] By this time, Bluth had three films in development—Thumbelina, A Troll in Central Park (1994), and The Pebble and the Penguin (1995). [16] The acquisition was approved by the Irish High Court, with Merlin Films and Media Assets spending $6 million to immediately complete the first two films, though financiers wanted Thumbelina released first. [15] With Boorman as the company's new chairman, the production staff of 500 people, who had lost their jobs, were rehired to finish the film. [17]
Jodi Benson, best known for voicing Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), was cast as the title character, and began recording her role in early 1992. [18] Gilbert Gottfried was cast as Berkeley Beetle. According to Entertainment Weekly , Gottfried was hired for the role before he had been cast as the parrot character Iago in Aladdin (1992). [19] John Hurt, who lived in Ireland at the time, was cast as Mr. Mole. He recorded his part at the Windmill Lane Studios. [8]
Betty White was initially hired to voice the character Mrs. Fieldmouse, and recorded her part in Los Angeles. Bluth however felt her voice "lacked energy" and flew back to Dublin. Without informing White, Bluth hired Carol Channing for the role. Channing and White had been lifelong friends, in which Channing called White stating: "I just recorded the voice of a field mouse for an animated movie. It was so fun." [20] White replied she did the same, and Bluth was soon met with an angry phone call from White's agents. Regretting how he handled the situation, Bluth wrote an apology letter to White. [21]
Thumbelina was originally slated for a Thanksgiving 1993 release, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) as the film's distributor in North America; J&M Entertainment was to be the film's international distributor. However, by the time it was completed, both companies dropped the arrangement due to concerns about the bankruptcy of Bluth's studio. During Sullivan Bluth's bankruptcy proceedings, the court trustee presented the film to Disney's film distribution unit, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. The trustee ultimately declined Disney's offer to distribute the film as they were also trying to find a new owner for the studio. [22]
In March 1993, Warner Bros. acquired the film's distribution rights. [1] During test screenings, the film reportedly received higher scores, where Warner Bros. replaced their logo with that of Walt Disney Pictures. [23] When released in theatres, it was preceded by the Animaniacs short, I'm Mad .[ citation needed ]
On July 26, 1994, Warner Home Video released Thumbelina on VHS and LaserDisc in the United States and Canada and internationally throughout the 1990s. The film was re-released on VHS in the United Kingdom on March 20, 1995. Warner Home Video released the film on DVD on September 21, 1999. [24] Thumbelina was re-released on VHS and DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on February 19, 2002 alongside Anastasia and FernGully: The Last Rainforest as part of the Fox Family Features lineup and on Blu-ray on March 6, 2012.
The film was available to view on Disney+ when it launched on November 12, 2019, [25] following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox earlier that year. [26] It has been intermittently available on the service since then. [27] It was also available to view on Disney+ via the international brand Star when Star was launched on October 27, 2021 in Japan. [28]
Barry Manilow agreed to compose the songs for three Don Bluth pictures. Thumbelina was the first, followed by The Pebble and the Penguin , and the third, a retelling of the story of Rapunzel, in which Manilow would also have a voice role, was canceled. The film's soundtrack was released for a limited time and has since gone out of print. "Marry the Mole" won the Razzie Award for Worst Original Song.
During its opening weekend, the film opened at eighth place at the box office, earning $2.3 million. [29] During its second weekend, its weekend box office grosses fell by less than 4 percent, and earned $2.2 million. [30] It ultimately earned $11.4 million within the United States and Canada. [4] In 24 markets internationally, it grossed $5.2 million [31] for a worldwide total of at least $16.6 million against a budget of $28 million.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 36% of 15 critics' reviews were positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10. [32]
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called Thumbelina "another success from Bluth and his partner Gary Goldman." He further wrote the film "is a work of lilting pace and charm with an array of enjoyable rather than memorable songs, with lyrics by Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman and music by Barry Manilow." [33] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three stars out of four, and wrote: "Thumbelina is close to, but not quite at, the level of The Little Mermaid , the weakest of Disney's recent entries". [34] Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune also gave the film three stars out of four, writing: Thumbelina "rivals some of Disney's best work". He felt the film's best moments were "its star-studded comedic cast and a memorable score by Barry Manilow. Most notable is the voice of Thumbelina, melodically performed by Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid." [35]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars out of four, concluding his review: "It is difficult to imagine anyone over the age of 12 finding much to enjoy in Thumbelina". [36] Stephen Holden of The New York Times favorably compared Manilow's music to Alan Menken's in The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast (1991), but felt the lyrics "lack the chiseled-in-stone wit of Howard Ashman's brilliant lyrics for those films." [37] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post criticized Bluth's deviations from the original fairy tale, writing: "By turning the story upside down, Bluth has stripped away its natural tension. The Lilliputian heroine never really grows or changes; she just wanders about the forest fighting off horny toads, marriage-minded moles and other quirky little critters. There's plenty of talent here -- Carol Channing, Barbara Cook, Gilbert Gottfried and John Hurt -- but it's wasted on this fallow ground." [38]
It won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song for the song "Marry the Mole", sung by Carol Channing. [39] It was also the only animated film to win a stand-alone Razzie until 2017's The Emoji Movie , which won the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screen Combo, and Worst Screenplay at the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards.
Anastasia is a 1997 American animated musical historical fantasy film produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman from a screenplay by the writing teams of Susan Gauthier and Bruce Graham, and Bob Tzudiker and Noni White, and based on a story adaptation by Eric Tuchman. It features songs written by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens and a musical score composed and conducted by David Newman. The film stars the voices of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, Kirsten Dunst, and Angela Lansbury. The film shares its plot with the 1956 film Anastasia, which in turn was based on a play by Marcelle Maurette. Unlike those treatments, this version adds Grigori Rasputin as the main antagonist.
The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 American animated fantasy adventure film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut and based on Robert C. O'Brien's children's novel, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. It features an ensemble cast consisting of Elizabeth Hartman in her final film role as its protagonist, Mrs. Brisby, with Peter Strauss, Arthur Malet, Dom DeLuise, John Carradine, Derek Jacobi, Hermione Baddeley and Paul Shenar in supporting roles. It was produced by Bluth's production company Don Bluth Productions in association with Aurora Productions.
Donald Virgil Bluth is an American filmmaker, animator, video game designer and author. He is best known for directing the animated films The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Anastasia and Titan A.E., for his involvement in the LaserDisc games Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, and for competing with former employer Walt Disney Productions during the years leading up to the films that became the Disney Renaissance.
Gary Wayne Goldman is an American film producer, director, animator, writer and voice actor. He is known for working on films with Don Bluth such as All Dogs Go to Heaven for his directorial debut, Anastasia, An American Tail, and The Land Before Time. He was an animator at Disney before working at Sullivan Bluth Studios with Bluth.
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a 1949 American animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It consists of two segments: the first based on Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's novel The Wind in the Willows and narrated by Basil Rathbone, and the second based on Washington Irving's 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and narrated by Bing Crosby. The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen, and was directed by Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, and James Algar.
Fox Animation Studios was an American animation production company owned by 20th Century Fox and located in Phoenix, Arizona. It was a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox Animation. It operated for six years, until the studio was shut down on June 26, 2000, ten days after the release of its final film, Titan A.E.. Most of the Fox Animation Studios library was later acquired by Disney on March 20, 2019. Anastasia is the studio's most critically praised and commercially successful film, as well as the most commercially successful film by Don Bluth.
Rock-a-Doodle is a 1991 independent live-action/animated musical comedy film produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios Ireland Limited and Goldcrest Films. Loosely based on Edmond Rostand's 1910 comedy play Chantecler, Rock-a-Doodle was directed by Don Bluth and written by David N. Weiss. The film features the voices of Glen Campbell, Christopher Plummer, Phil Harris, Charles Nelson Reilly, Sorrell Booke, Sandy Duncan, Eddie Deezen, Ellen Greene, and Toby Scott Ganger.
Thumbelina is a literary fairy tale written by the famous Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Travelling Companion" in the second installment of Fairy Tales Told for Children. Thumbelina is about a tiny girl and her adventures with marriage-minded toads, moles, and cockchafers. She successfully avoids their intentions before falling in love with a flower-fairy prince just her size.
Joseph Laurence Lynch was an Irish actor who had a long career in both comedy and drama. He provided voice work for children's animated series, in particular Chorlton and the Wheelies.
Thumbelina is a Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, first published in 1835.
Christos Stasinopoulos is a Greek tenor and actor from Athens.
Don Bluth Entertainment was an Irish-American animation studio established in 1979 by animator Don Bluth. Bluth and several colleagues, all of whom were former Disney animators, left Disney on September 13, 1979, to form Don Bluth Productions, later known as the Bluth Group. This studio produced the short film Banjo the Woodpile Cat, the feature film The Secret of NIMH, a brief animation sequence in the musical Xanadu, and the video games Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. Bluth then co-founded Sullivan Bluth Studios with American businessman Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy and Morris Sullivan in 1985.
The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina is a 2002 American animated fantasy film directed by Glenn Chaika and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Elijah Wood, Peter Gallagher, and Jon Stewart. Produced by Hyperion Animation, the film was distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment under the Miramax Home Entertainment label.
Anya is a character in 20th Century Fox's animated film Anastasia (1997). A Russian orphan with amnesia, Anya travels to Paris, France, in hopes of re-discovering her past and family, aided by a pair of con artists who scheme to use her likeness to Russia's Imperial family to win a lucrative reward. Although largely fictionalized, the character is loosely based on two historical figures: Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, and Anna Anderson, an imposter famous for claiming to be the Grand Duchess. Plot elements from the film Anastasia (1956), in which the title character is played by actress Ingrid Bergman, served as a primary source of inspiration for Anya.
The Pebble and the Penguin is a 1995 American independent animated musical comedy-adventure film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The film stars the voices of Martin Short, Jim Belushi, Tim Curry, and Annie Golden. Based on the true life mating rituals of the Adélie penguins in Antarctica, the film focuses on a timid, stuttering penguin named Hubie who tries to impress a beautiful penguin named Marina by giving her a pebble that fell from the sky and keep her from the clutches of an evil penguin named Drake who wants Marina for himself.
Thumbelina: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1994 Don Bluth animated feature Thumbelina and was released on February 24, 1994. The soundtrack was composed entirely by Barry Manilow. Manilow, along with lyricists Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman, who wrote the songs. Bluth personally approached Manilow, who had been quoted as saying he originally aspired to be a soundtrack composer, to record the album. For his part, Manilow was enthusiastic about the opportunity to score Thumbelina, as an animated film where almost the entire runtime was soundtracked.
Dragon's Lair is a video game franchise created by Rick Dyer. The series is notable for its film-quality animation by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth, and complex decades-long history of being ported to many platforms. It has also been adapted into television and comic books.
Mrs. Brisby is a fictional field mouse and the protagonist of the 1982 animated adventure film The Secret of NIMH, directed by Don Bluth. Adapted from the 1971 children's novel, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, in which she is originally named "Mrs. Frisby", she is voiced by Elizabeth Hartman in her final film role, who, by her own accord, made the character sound shy and timid. She was originally named "Mrs. Frisby" during the production of the film, like the book character, but was renamed due to a trademark issue with Mattel's Frisbee.
Events in 1921 in animation.
Thumbelina is a 1978 Japanese anime fantasy film produced by Toei Animation and Tezuka Productions based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The film was first shown in Japan on 18 March 1978 in the Toei Manga Matsuri. The film sees "Father of Manga" Ozamu Tezuka as character designer and former Mushi Production's animator Kazuko Nakamura as assistant animation director upon Tezuka's recommendation.
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Thumbelina – starts tomorrow [March 30]