hb-60948 Ray Bolger was the highlight of this movie for me. He was absolutely hilarious! I even cited this in one of my essays in college as a prime example of camp in film. There were a few bits that were somewhat haunting though. Maybe not the most suitable movie for small children who are prone to nightmares.

SnoopyStyle Mother Goose and her puppet goose Sylvester introduces a stage performance of the many children story characters. Tom (Tommy Sands) and Mary (Annette Funicello) are planning to get married. Tom is the son of the Piper and Mary is from "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary". Barnaby (Ray Bolger) intends to marry Mary and steal her money. He recruits petty criminals Gonzorgo and Roderigo to throw Tom into the sea and steal Mary's sheep. Gonzorgo has the idea to sell Tom to the gypsies to make money twice. Bo Beep (Ann Jillian) brings news that the sheep have gone. Mary is out of options and is forced to marry Barnaby until Tom suddenly returns with the gypsies. Meanwhile, Bo Beep leads the kids to the Forest of No Return to find her sheep. Tom and Mary go to save the children. The talking trees allow them to go to the Toymaker.This Technicolor fantasy has all the bright colors in the rainbow. It insists on being cheery despite following so much the villains. Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello are not particularly compelling. Funicello is darn cute but has limitations in her acting. The songs are cheery. This has that cutesy Disney charm but it does not really stand the test of time. It has enough wackiness for kids of that era and this should have an appeal due to its nostalgia.

Wizard-8 Walt Disney had great hopes for "Babes In Toyland", releasing it during the lucrative Christmas holiday season. But the critical reaction was just so-so, and the box office take, while not disastrous, was disappointing. Watching the movie today, it's pretty easy to figure out why there wasn't much enthusiasm for the movie. Its biggest flaw is that there is almost nothing done to make the main characters of Tom and Mary into REAL characters - we learn next to nothing about them, and Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello give performances that show their helplessness with their thin characters. Somewhat better is the character of Barnaby - he's given a lot of screen time and Ray Bolger gives a decent performance. Bolger gives some spark in his scenes, but additional problems with the movie defeat his enthusiasm. The songs, while not awful, are extremely unmemorable. Most of the sets come across as extremely stagebound and theatrical and feel phony. Is there anything else in this movie that might attract some viewers? Well, Ed Wynn fans might be charmed by his scenes as the toymaker. And the climax does have some stop-motion animation that might interest fans of the medium. But even these people might turn off their televisions before these moments come because the movie is for the most part so bland. I think even kids will be bored.

irishtek It's a 1960s Disney Musical, I should not have to say more than this about the movie.It's great for kids, unfortunately.I remember seeing it, and liking it as a kid - and got it for my 3 yr old daughter.My wife hates me for it. Not that the movie is that horrible - but my daughter is in love with Tommy Sands and wants to watch this movie every night.My wife even took my daughter to the library and checked out kids movies - she was excited until she got home, and just said she wanted to watch Tom and Mary (The names of the main actors in the movie) If you have little kids - they'll love it. You might even enjoy it some yourself - until it's overplayed.