I'm always interested in movies about songwriters, being a huge fan of the Great American Songbook. This is the story of Bob and Dick Sherman who were in-house songwriters for Disney for a couple of decades. We have these guys to thank for the earworm "It's a Small World" along with the hit songs written for the grown-up mouseketeer Annette. Need I say more? I found the documentary engaging, mostly because I'm interested in the process of songwriting, and also for the human interest. These brothers, who worked closely together on the music, really had nothing at all in common, went their separate ways in their private life, so much so that their kids did not know their cousins. I don't find that hard to believe at all - plenty of brothers share very little of their lives. These two happened to be in business together, and they made it work.Most interesting was the insight into the inner workings of Walt Disney studios and the profile of Walt. I enjoyed the story about when Walt Disney went to New York to see Julie Andrews in Camelot to check out whether she would be suitable for Mary Poppins. The rest is history.Long story short, this is a doc that's worth seeing for audiences that are interested in songwriting and movie history, and perhaps for those for whom Supercalifragalisitc.... is a treasured part of their childhood. Myself, I'm not a fan of the Disney brand of musical of that era.

This is the third Disney documentary I've seen in the last couple months (this includes this film, "Walt and El Groupo" and "Waking Sleeping Beauty") and all three were enjoyable bits of nostalgia. However, unlike these other two films, the Shermans were most famous for their work but they wrote music for a wide variety of projects--not just ones for that studio.The film begins in a way that took my by surprise. Apparently it was made by one of Bob Sherman's sons and one of Dick Sherman's sons. Neither knew each other and their families never really interacted--despite their fathers being brothers and long-time writing partners! Now that is weird and caught my attention, as it seems that over the years the two became more and more estranged from each other and were so unalike. What follows is a nice nostalgic look at these men and their lives and shows the many ways in which their music has shaped films and our culture.The film is well made, fascinating and great for Disney fans and non-fans. While not as amazingly good as "Waking Sleeping Beauty", it is some documentary.

This little shown intimate portrait of the Sherman Brothers seems to have been largely overlooked in favor of the more broadly drawn "Waking Sleeping Beauty". That is most unfortunate because this is much more profound both as a peek into the creative functioning of the Disney empire...and as a fascinating unvarnished love letter to the astonishingly prolific and inspired team that gave the studio product so much of it's sparkle...This is an exquisite film with the interviews and clips arranged for maximum impact...(the DVD is even more of a treasure trove...the out-takes and extended scenes being just as valuable as the material that made the final cut). The tear jerking moments depicting "The Boys'" relationship with Walt Disney...and his love for "Feed the Birds" has been hinted at before...but this film brings it into a clear focus that makes it a must see for everyone who ever loved one of the studio's films...or ever hummed along to one of the teams immortal creations.There will be some people upset that this ends up being less of a happily ever after fairy tale than they would expect. This documentary lovingly depicts the somewhat strained relationship between two brothers who were very different people and how they were able to come together in one glorious project...the creation of songs that will live as long as there are children to re-discover them.Co-directed by the sons of "The Boys" this is also a delicious portrait of the lives of two families...and of Hollywood Magic in the mid 20th century...The moving reminiscences and archival clips are alone worth the price of the Disc!

We were fortunate to see this film here in Toronto last night in advance of its (I think only) theatrical release. Even more fortunate was the fact that the two directors/sons and Dick Sherman were in attendance and did Q&A afterwards. Dick even had a piano and played some of the brothers' songs, explaining, among other things, how the music of "Spoonful of Sugar" was written as a reflection of the character of Mary Poppins. I'm a bit of a curmudgeon and attended with my 18-year old daughter. We both had tears in our eyes on several occasions during the film and afterwards. How two brothers who are so different can work so successfully together for so many decades and yet never see one another outside their working hours is a remarkable story, simply and lovingly told. The film also provides some interesting insights into the Disney studio during its heyday.