Thumbelina Review
Disney's revitalization of its animation department in the late 1980s -- and their subsequent huge box office returns -- created a boom period for animated features from other sources as well, although few found significant financial success. Thumbelina, produced in the middle of this period, is another frustrating offering from director/animator Don Bluth. Clearly a talented cartoonist, Bluth has produced few films that realize their promise, and Thumbelina is no exception. The film's biggest problem is its screenplay, which is so freely drawn from the Andersen fairy tale as to have almost nothing in common with it beyond the idea of a tiny girl. The movie also discards the fragile delicacy of the fairy tale in favor of broad humor and hackneyed plotting. In addition, the story Bluth and Willard Carroll have devised centers around one of the most passive characters ever created for a film. Aside from her size, there is nothing distinctive about Thumbelina, and the adult viewer eventually grows tired of her, despite a fine effort from Jodi Benson. Matters are not helped by the ho-hum Barry Manilow score, which contains only one decent number ("Let Me Be Your Wings.") As usual with Bluth, the animation is superior to the story, but while it contains a number of interesting sequences, too much of it is merely serviceable. In addition to Benson, good supporting work is turned in by Carol Channing, Gilbert Gottfried and Charo. Craig Butler, Rovi
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