Thumbelina
Director: Don Bluth
Cast: Jodie Benson, Gary Imhoff, Barbara Cook, Will Ryan, John Hurt, Charro, Gilbert Gottfried, Gino Conforti, Kenneth Mars, June Foray, Joe Lynch, Tawny Sunshine, Michael Nunes, Kendall Cunningham
Taken from the Hans Christian Andersen story of the same name, Thumbelina tells the story of a beautiful girl named Thumbelina. Born of a flower and growing to only the size of her mother’s thumb, Thumbelina (Jodi Benson) is worried she'll never meet someone her own size, until she happens to catch the eye of Prince Cornelius of the Fairies (Gary Imhoff). Just as soon as she finds love, however, it's torn away from her, when Ms. Toad (Charro) kidnaps Thumbelina. Now, Thumbelina must escape this gaggle of lovelorn suiters and search for her Fairy Prince Charming so they can live happily forever after.
Wishes play a powerful role in this film, and nowhere are wishes more perfectly illustrated, than in the characters of Thumbelina and Prince Cornelius and how their love is able to overcome all the odds, to make Thumbelina’s wish come true.
For Thumbelina, she dreams of finding true love, but she is saddened by the thought that when two people are in love, they need to be about the same size, if there love is to thrive. Unfortunately for poor Thumbelina, she doesn’t know anyone who is her unique size. She tells her mother one night, that she wishes that she were taller, “so that she could be big enough to find love with her own Prince Charming.” Her mother wisely tells Thumbelina “Never wish to be anything, but what you are.” Thumbelina’s wish is finally granted when she realizes, in the end, that she doesn’t have to be rich and well-known, to be big enough to find her true love. She just must trust her heart to guide her to the Prince who is worthy of her love.
As Thumbelina goes on her journey, she makes another wish, as well; she wishes to have wings, so that she can be a fairy. Her wish is granted in two ways. When she meets Prince Cornelius, and goes on a romantic bumblebee ride with him, he sings to her, telling her to let him be her wings and her only love. When Thumbelina is forced into marrying Mr. Mole, Cornelius sings to her again, telling her to let him be her wings…giving her the courage to follow her heart and find her true love…not a false love with the Toad or the Mole. When Thumbelina finally reaches the Vale of the Fairies, she sings their song one more time, and once again, it brings Cornelius back to her, as he promises to never let her go. When she and Prince Cornelius are married, Thumbelina receives her wish…a beautiful, new pair of golden wings and a handsome prince to live happily ever after with.
The song “Soon” plays a strong, symbolic role in this film as it illustrates love; the love shared between Thumbelina and her Fairy Prince, and the love shared between Thumbelina and her mother. When Thumbelina sings this song, she is yearning to find someone that is her size to fall in love with. Her song reaches the ears of Prince Cornelius, who is the very prince that Thumbelina’s heart was calling out for. When Thumbelina is stolen and lost out in the winter snow, her mother sings the same song…and this time, the song sounds like a prayer, one that will bring her precious daughter home to her.
While not my favorite of Don Bluth’s stories (that honor is given to The Land Before Time), Thumbelina remains, to this day, one of Don Bluth’s better films. The voice casting is on point, particularly for Jodie Benson and Gary Imhoff who bring Thumbelina and her Prince to life. The songs are not as timeless as, say, those for Anastasia or An American Tale, but there are still extremely sweet and emotional moments to be had…especially between Thumbelina and her mother and Thumbelina and the Prince. While the animation is a bit clumsy, and the film pays heavy homage to the classic Disney style, for both its animation and its storytelling, I would still recommend this film.
© 2022 Keriane Kellogg All Rights Reserved
Director: Don Bluth
Cast: Jodie Benson, Gary Imhoff, Barbara Cook, Will Ryan, John Hurt, Charro, Gilbert Gottfried, Gino Conforti, Kenneth Mars, June Foray, Joe Lynch, Tawny Sunshine, Michael Nunes, Kendall Cunningham
Taken from the Hans Christian Andersen story of the same name, Thumbelina tells the story of a beautiful girl named Thumbelina. Born of a flower and growing to only the size of her mother’s thumb, Thumbelina (Jodi Benson) is worried she'll never meet someone her own size, until she happens to catch the eye of Prince Cornelius of the Fairies (Gary Imhoff). Just as soon as she finds love, however, it's torn away from her, when Ms. Toad (Charro) kidnaps Thumbelina. Now, Thumbelina must escape this gaggle of lovelorn suiters and search for her Fairy Prince Charming so they can live happily forever after.
Wishes play a powerful role in this film, and nowhere are wishes more perfectly illustrated, than in the characters of Thumbelina and Prince Cornelius and how their love is able to overcome all the odds, to make Thumbelina’s wish come true.
For Thumbelina, she dreams of finding true love, but she is saddened by the thought that when two people are in love, they need to be about the same size, if there love is to thrive. Unfortunately for poor Thumbelina, she doesn’t know anyone who is her unique size. She tells her mother one night, that she wishes that she were taller, “so that she could be big enough to find love with her own Prince Charming.” Her mother wisely tells Thumbelina “Never wish to be anything, but what you are.” Thumbelina’s wish is finally granted when she realizes, in the end, that she doesn’t have to be rich and well-known, to be big enough to find her true love. She just must trust her heart to guide her to the Prince who is worthy of her love.
As Thumbelina goes on her journey, she makes another wish, as well; she wishes to have wings, so that she can be a fairy. Her wish is granted in two ways. When she meets Prince Cornelius, and goes on a romantic bumblebee ride with him, he sings to her, telling her to let him be her wings and her only love. When Thumbelina is forced into marrying Mr. Mole, Cornelius sings to her again, telling her to let him be her wings…giving her the courage to follow her heart and find her true love…not a false love with the Toad or the Mole. When Thumbelina finally reaches the Vale of the Fairies, she sings their song one more time, and once again, it brings Cornelius back to her, as he promises to never let her go. When she and Prince Cornelius are married, Thumbelina receives her wish…a beautiful, new pair of golden wings and a handsome prince to live happily ever after with.
The song “Soon” plays a strong, symbolic role in this film as it illustrates love; the love shared between Thumbelina and her Fairy Prince, and the love shared between Thumbelina and her mother. When Thumbelina sings this song, she is yearning to find someone that is her size to fall in love with. Her song reaches the ears of Prince Cornelius, who is the very prince that Thumbelina’s heart was calling out for. When Thumbelina is stolen and lost out in the winter snow, her mother sings the same song…and this time, the song sounds like a prayer, one that will bring her precious daughter home to her.
While not my favorite of Don Bluth’s stories (that honor is given to The Land Before Time), Thumbelina remains, to this day, one of Don Bluth’s better films. The voice casting is on point, particularly for Jodie Benson and Gary Imhoff who bring Thumbelina and her Prince to life. The songs are not as timeless as, say, those for Anastasia or An American Tale, but there are still extremely sweet and emotional moments to be had…especially between Thumbelina and her mother and Thumbelina and the Prince. While the animation is a bit clumsy, and the film pays heavy homage to the classic Disney style, for both its animation and its storytelling, I would still recommend this film.
© 2022 Keriane Kellogg All Rights Reserved