Sorry to say but this is going to be another "on the bad side review" but I was disappointed. I remembered seeing Bedknobs and Broomsticks and thoroughly enjoying it. This time it draaaaaaaged in the singing spots. Badly draggggggged ! The credits were wonderful. Bayeau Tapestry Modern. The Home Guard were a delight! The start of the movie with the distribution of the children and their first night at the house were top notch. BUT then they went to LondonTown and we were introduced to Professor Brown and it went to pot! I know that David Tomlinson is supposed to be a highlight of the film but his songs were just plain BORING and I don't "bore" in films easily. The song Portebellio Road was OK and the dancers from all over the Commonwealth were terrific BUT they could / should have been cut and put in a deleted scenes file. They added NOTHING to the film. What I had remembered most about B&B was the soccer/ football match and it still delivered. Only time I actually laughed. What in heck was Roddy McDowell and his character even doing wandering around in the film ? He was pointless ! OK. Finally. The animated clothes and the armor were fun. The "invasion" went on too long. Speaking of "going on too long",I will sum up. Get the DVD. Go to scene selection. Use it!

Mary Poppins is a 10, so what's wrong with "Bedknobs" besides it's too long? A lack of "whimsey and wonder". Like comparing "Sleeping Beauty" to Snow White". (Both classics) So let's begin: The opening credits are far too long, as Disney liked to front-load all the credits during this era. The storyboarded titles tell the entire plot line so nothing is left to the imagination. It's like an overlong movie "trailer" that does the same thing. At first the characters are dreadful, and only start to improve in "likeability" as the story progresses. (Angela Lansbury, especially) The Bookman" and his henchman (who reminds me of the "Creeper" from the Sherlock Holmes series) are woefully-miscast; as they are too weird and sinister. "Portobello Road", a botched attempt at recreating the "Consider Yourself" musical number from "Oliver", is far too long. It seems more like a parade at Walt Disney World than a part of the movie. The Germans are both bumbling and menacing. (How is that possible?) The U-boat captain is far too nice! Now here's what's good about the film: The special effects are outstanding. The "haunted armor" is wonderful, although the kids will enjoy the cartoon sequences better: 1. The soccer game animation is only fair by Disney standards and somewhat "mean spirited." 2. The reason that "Beautiful Briny Sea" is so wonderful is that both the story and song were ideas cut from "Mary Poppins" and used here. The restoration seems a bit odd: David Tomlinson's voice is noticeably re-dubbed and (according to English critics) a song is missing, but all the other songs and scenes are fully-restored. In spite of all my criticism, I really do like this film. After all, it did win two Academy Awards for Special Effects!

Three children evacuated from London end up being reluctantly taken in by an odd woman who lives on her own with a raggedy black cat. They don't even make it to the end of the first night before they observe that their new guardian Miss Price is not just odd, she is an actual witch, trying to perfect a spell to help with the war effort. While the children make this discovery, Miss Price makes her own – the mail-order college she has been training with is going out of business before she has everything she needs. With the help of Paul's knob (don't ask) they set off to London to find the Professor – the start of a much bigger adventure.For my girlfriend this film is a strong childhood memory but for me I don't think I had ever seen it. In an attempt to be nice I got it for her a few years ago to watch at Christmas time but it sat unwatched until a miserable Bank Holiday Monday produced the urge to nest and just watch a couple of easy movies. As far as first impressions go, the film doesn't seem to feel any pressure to make a good one and if I'm honest I wondered if the opening credit sequence would ever end (a sequence that only has context once you have watched the film till the end). The titles rolls for at least five minutes without much to recommend them for and the film opens in much the same vein. Although there are some amusing moments and a bit of fantasy in the opening 20 or so minutes, it is slow and takes a while to get going. It doesn't help that the plot is a little vague and messy so that at one point I was neither sure why they were doing what they were doing, nor sure I particularly cared why they were doing it. This is a bit harsh perhaps – but I was thinking what children (not the most patient demographic) would be doing during this – in particular I was trying to think of any child I know who would be entranced by the Portobello Road song and dance number!It is still OK at this stage though and the good news is that it gets better with plenty of action, fun, invention and wit moving forward. The plotting is still a little bit "hmm" but it gets to where it is going thanks to the timely mini-invasion. The soccer match, the underwater musical number and of course the battle at the end are all great fun and I imagine children will enjoy them as much as I did (well, moreso probably). The old-fashioned feel is nice and I did like the sense of good clean family fun which the whole film had – although I'm not sure why the script calls for Paul to expressly refer to his knob so often; it is too deliberate and scripted to be merely something cynical modern ears pick up on. The pacing of the film is generally good as well but it is a little slower than it needed to be and I think being honest they could have had 15 minutes out of this without too much bother and it would have been a better film for it; not to say it is bad for the length, just that it doesn't always seem to need it.The cast are quite fun and all buy into the family tone. Lansbury in particular sells the role and works very well with Tomlinson in the adult roles. The children are a little annoying until you get used to them having the cockney turned up to 11 throughout; odd that neither of the boys ever did acting after this considering I liked them better than O'Callaghan's Carrie, who has less to do. Regardless they all work well and even when the animated sections turn up, the humans don't get lost in the fantasy but remain solid characters.Bedknobs and Broomsticks isn't brilliant but it is a solidly fun Disney family film. The majority of the musical numbers could have been better, the plot could have been stronger and the pacing/length trimmed to be slicker but it does all work, albeit not as well as it could have done. Enjoyable nonetheless with good wit and imagination – off-target Disney is still good after all.

While I will mention some serious flaws that "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" have, I will admit right off that this movie is better than a lot of other Disney movies made during the first fifteen years after Walt Disney's death. That's probably because Walt was still alive and supervising the project when it was started in the early '60s. But there was a lot of work done on the project after his death, which probably explains why this attempt to recapture the "Mary Poppins" magic doesn't quite reach it.I saw the restored, 140 minute version. While I usually approve of restorations, I have to wonder if the 30 or so restored minutes really helped. For one thing, there is not much story in this long version, and frequently the little story there is comes to a screeching halt. Younger kids may also not understand the war theme that runs through the movie. There is also a curious matter-of-fact feeling to much of the movie, which means the feeling of magic is diminished. And what's up with the opening credits, that spoil what happens in the last part of the movie? Still, the acting is good, even with the child actors. There are some songs by the Sherman brothers that are pleasant to listen to, even if they don't match the greatness of the songs in "Mary Poppins". And there are some good special effects, some of which are amazing even in this age of computer animation. But if you watch this movie, I suggest that you divide it up in chunks and take a break between chunks, so you won't get figety in your seat.