A film with a lovely story that appeals to both adults and children. There are few cat films of note and Disney's "Thomasina" can take its place as one of the best in content and performance. The principals are excellent with Susan Hampshire as the kindhearted, pretty "witch of the glen" taking top honors with one of her finest performances. The secondary performers are sterling with the village clergyman and the family's housekeeper especially engaging. Juvenile actress Karen Dotrice as Mary McDhui is superb with her co-worker Matthew Garber turning in an excellent performance as her playmate. (Dotrice and Garber would one day appear as the Banks siblings in Disney's masterpiece "Mary Poppins.") A word of warning! Many film viewers today are sensitive to the treatment animals receive during production and sadly "Thomasina" is marred with the evident abuse its performing feline star receives: the poor cat is soaked with water for several rainy scenes and in the dream sequence she appears to have been dropped from a height, twisting and turning to regain her balance. Additionally, the cat was likely anesthetized for the funeral scene (anesthetization during film production is forbidden by today's ASPCA) and there are other scenes in which the viewer may wonder not only about the cat's treatment during production but the treatment of other animals as well. The film was made at a time when ASPCA regulations regarding animal abuse during film production were less stringent than today's regulations. A fine film in content and performance but some viewers will have issues with the treatment of the cat during production.

I don't see what is the fuss over this dull forgettable movie. It's not cheery as with Karen Dotrice's next film Mary Poppins. There are far too many soppy moments in this film for kids, and even some adults, to handle.Things bound to get people too emotional is the death of a cute cat (although she comes back to life) and after that death, the rejection of so many cute, adorable puppies and kittens looking for a home only to be rejected by a miserable girl.That aside, it's also a very boring film. I hope people would put this one aside and focus on 1964's superior Disney feature Mary Poppins and not even acknowledged that anyone from the Mary Poppins casts was involved in this dark, morbid, sordid piece of forgettable slop.

Superb, sentimental live-action drama from Walt Disney concerns a young Scottish girl's love and devotion to her sickly pet cat, who gets a new lease on life from a "magical" mountain woman whom the townspeople believe is a witch. The screenplay, from Paul Gallico's book, tries packing too much plot into its 100 minutes and, as a result, the midsection of the movie doesn't feel fully played-out. Still, the majority of the film is captivating, beautifully shot, and the characters are engaging and believable. Karen Dotrice (best known as Jane from "Mary Poppins") is quite the little thespian here, and her tears and youthful anger are convincing; she's as good a child actress as I have ever seen (Walt must've had a soft spot for wholesome British lasses, Dotrice and Hayley Mills seem sprung from the same boarding school). The production is plush and Thomasina is one gorgeous feline. *** from ****

Strange and exciting Disney drama that seems forgotten today.Very popular for about a month in 1965 in Australia, I saw this in its first release and remember it very well. Disney films of that period seemed to add particularly interesting adult themes into their films especially if they contained British kids. Like Pollyanna or The Moonspinners or Mary Poppins, this film is perfectly realized for children and has enough weight and wry humor for parents to feel the production works for many ages. I am surprised this film is so forgotten today and is almost completely unavailable. It is just as good as any of those mentioned above which are widely available.