Review of Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) by Andrew B — 28 Jun 2008

There are maaaany different edits of this movie. It really doesn't matter which version you see, you basically get an all-around second rate MARY POPPINS and a rare entertaining Disney movie featuring Nazis, witchcraft and whores. Check it out!

UPDATE.

I've downgraded my rating from 3.5 stars to 3 after viewing the now widely available restored version on DVD. By the way, like 1776, it is unfortunate that this expanded version is the only choice for owning the movie. It is chock-filled with endless scenes, glaring overdubs, jarring edits, and unnecessary songs that were all clearly cut in the first place for a good reason.

Make no bones about it - this is a difficult film all around. Even watching the film this time I asked myself, "given the opportunity, how would I edit the film?" Different people have different ideas on what should stay and what should go, to the point there would be no film left at all.

As if evidence were ever needed to remind us that we shouldn't tamper with the past, there was once a happy medium to be found between the 99 minute re-release in 1979 and the 139 minute re-edit in 1996. This came in the form of the original 117 minute cut, which may never surface again. Still, it is a film worth giving a look for people who want their live action/animated mix movies served up with a little less sugar than MARY POPPINS - no pun intended ;-).