Babes in Toyland (1997 film)
Encyclopedia
Babes in Toyland is a 1997 American animated
musical film
based on the original story
. The animated feature stars Joseph Ashton
, Lacey Chabert
, Raphael Sbarge
, Cathy Cavadini
, Christopher Plummer
, and Charles Nelson Reilly
.
(Charles Nelson Reilly
), meets two children, Jack and Jill (Joseph Ashton
and Lacey Chabert
), who are on their way to Toyland. After meeting Tom Piper (Raphael Sbarge
) and Mary Lamb (Cathy Cavadini
), who run her late father's toy factory, they go to live with their uncle, the evil Barnaby Crookedman (Christopher Plummer
), who doesn't believe in toys and keeps Jack and Jill in the attic. He has plans to shut down the toy factory, and earlier shot down Tom's hot air balloon as he was flying over the Goblin Forest in an attempt to get him eaten by goblins (and is quite shocked to see him alive).
Jack and Jill sneak out and go to the Toy Factory, which receives a big order from Santa Claus requesting a thousand giant toy soldiers. Jack and Jill offer to help, but Barnaby takes them back to the attic of his house and threatens to send them to the Goblin Forest if they go near the toy factory again. Shortly afterward, he hires two pirates named Gonzargo and Rodrigo (James Belushi
and Bronson Pinchot
) to sabotage the toy factory. Jack and Jill sneak out and go to the toy factory again, where Gonzargo and Rodrigo, disguised as sheep, drop a monkey wrench
into one of the machines, but Jack is able to remove it before the machine can explode. Jack and Jill immediately suspect Gonzargo and Rodrigo, though believing them to be sheep, and chase after them, resulting in Rodrigo and Gonzargo being knocked into a well by a ram and Jack and Jill, respectively, get knocked down by an empty pail and fall down the hill again.
Barnaby catches Jack and Jill and orders Gonzargo and Rodrigo, who expose the children's interference with the sabotage, to take them to the Goblin Forest. There, they meet the evil Goblin King (Lindsay Schnebly) who tries to eat all four of them. Mr. Dumpty informs Tom and Mary, who go to the forest to rescue them. As the goblins are weak against light, they use a flashlight to fight them off and escape. Barnaby knocks Mr. Dumpty over a bridge (while giving a mockery saying of the nursery ryhme which bears the egg's name) for the key to the factory and tries to enter it, but is stopped by Tom, Mary, Jack, Jill, Gonzargo, and Rodrigo, and is forced to retreat.
Tom and Mary finish the Toy Factory's order and fall in love, but Barnaby leads the goblins to Toyland, where they invade, setting fire to the buildings and roasting Gonzargo and Rodrigo on a spit. Tom activates the toy soldiers, who soundly defeat the goblins and put out the fire, saving all of Toyland (including Gonzargo and Rodrigo). Barnaby insults the Goblin King, who tries to eat him, but Jack and Jill shine a flashlight on him, and all the toy soldiers do the same, destroying the Goblin King. Barnaby calls him a "pathetic ogre", and the other goblins confront him and chase him off, out of Toyland (though whether they finally catch him and eat him is unclear).
Finally Christmas arrives; Tom has repaired Mr. Dumpty. Santa transforms all the giant toy soldiers into small toy soldiers. He notices Barnaby's cat, Scat, who is now homeless since Barnaby's disappearance; he picks him up and pets him. Jill asks for Scat and she gets him, and Santa continues on his journey.
In the end, Jack and Jill become the adopted children of Tom and Mary.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
based on the original story
Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland may refer to:* Babes in Toyland , an American punk rock band* Babes in Toyland , a 1903 operetta by Victor Herbert* Babes in Toyland , a musical comedy starring Laurel and Hardy...
. The animated feature stars Joseph Ashton
Joseph Ashton (actor)
Joseph Ashton Valencia is an American film and voice actor.-Personal life:Ashton was born Joseph Ashton Valencia in California; both of his parents have Cherokee ancestors. His father is a California Highway Patrol officer and his older brother is Mathew Valencia, a voice actor...
, Lacey Chabert
Lacey Chabert
Lacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and voice actress, known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
, Raphael Sbarge
Raphael Sbarge
Raphael Sbarge is an American actor and voice actor.-Early life:Sbarge was born into a theatre-oriented family in New York City. His mother, Jeanne Button, was a costume designer, and his father, Stephen A. Sbarge, was an artist, writer and stage director who named his son after the Renaissance...
, Cathy Cavadini
Cathy Cavadini
Catherine Janet "Cathy" Cavadini is an American voice actress and singer. Most famous as the voice of Blossom on Cartoon Network's animated television series The Powerpuff Girls and Tanya Mousekewitz in An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and Fievel's American Tails. She is also the successor voice...
, Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, and Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
.
Plot
It's three days before Christmas, as the conductor aboard the Toyland Express, Humpty DumptyHumpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English language nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an egg and has appeared or been referred to in a large number of works of literature and popular culture...
(Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
), meets two children, Jack and Jill (Joseph Ashton
Joseph Ashton (actor)
Joseph Ashton Valencia is an American film and voice actor.-Personal life:Ashton was born Joseph Ashton Valencia in California; both of his parents have Cherokee ancestors. His father is a California Highway Patrol officer and his older brother is Mathew Valencia, a voice actor...
and Lacey Chabert
Lacey Chabert
Lacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and voice actress, known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
), who are on their way to Toyland. After meeting Tom Piper (Raphael Sbarge
Raphael Sbarge
Raphael Sbarge is an American actor and voice actor.-Early life:Sbarge was born into a theatre-oriented family in New York City. His mother, Jeanne Button, was a costume designer, and his father, Stephen A. Sbarge, was an artist, writer and stage director who named his son after the Renaissance...
) and Mary Lamb (Cathy Cavadini
Cathy Cavadini
Catherine Janet "Cathy" Cavadini is an American voice actress and singer. Most famous as the voice of Blossom on Cartoon Network's animated television series The Powerpuff Girls and Tanya Mousekewitz in An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and Fievel's American Tails. She is also the successor voice...
), who run her late father's toy factory, they go to live with their uncle, the evil Barnaby Crookedman (Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
), who doesn't believe in toys and keeps Jack and Jill in the attic. He has plans to shut down the toy factory, and earlier shot down Tom's hot air balloon as he was flying over the Goblin Forest in an attempt to get him eaten by goblins (and is quite shocked to see him alive).
Jack and Jill sneak out and go to the Toy Factory, which receives a big order from Santa Claus requesting a thousand giant toy soldiers. Jack and Jill offer to help, but Barnaby takes them back to the attic of his house and threatens to send them to the Goblin Forest if they go near the toy factory again. Shortly afterward, he hires two pirates named Gonzargo and Rodrigo (James Belushi
James Belushi
James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
and Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Pinchot
Bronson Alcott Pinchot is an American actor. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop , The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It's My Party...
) to sabotage the toy factory. Jack and Jill sneak out and go to the toy factory again, where Gonzargo and Rodrigo, disguised as sheep, drop a monkey wrench
Monkey wrench
The monkey wrench is an adjustable wrench, a later American development of eighteenth century English coach wrenches. It was popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries but is now used only for heavier tasks, having been mostly replaced by the lighter and sleeker shifting adjustable or...
into one of the machines, but Jack is able to remove it before the machine can explode. Jack and Jill immediately suspect Gonzargo and Rodrigo, though believing them to be sheep, and chase after them, resulting in Rodrigo and Gonzargo being knocked into a well by a ram and Jack and Jill, respectively, get knocked down by an empty pail and fall down the hill again.
Barnaby catches Jack and Jill and orders Gonzargo and Rodrigo, who expose the children's interference with the sabotage, to take them to the Goblin Forest. There, they meet the evil Goblin King (Lindsay Schnebly) who tries to eat all four of them. Mr. Dumpty informs Tom and Mary, who go to the forest to rescue them. As the goblins are weak against light, they use a flashlight to fight them off and escape. Barnaby knocks Mr. Dumpty over a bridge (while giving a mockery saying of the nursery ryhme which bears the egg's name) for the key to the factory and tries to enter it, but is stopped by Tom, Mary, Jack, Jill, Gonzargo, and Rodrigo, and is forced to retreat.
Tom and Mary finish the Toy Factory's order and fall in love, but Barnaby leads the goblins to Toyland, where they invade, setting fire to the buildings and roasting Gonzargo and Rodrigo on a spit. Tom activates the toy soldiers, who soundly defeat the goblins and put out the fire, saving all of Toyland (including Gonzargo and Rodrigo). Barnaby insults the Goblin King, who tries to eat him, but Jack and Jill shine a flashlight on him, and all the toy soldiers do the same, destroying the Goblin King. Barnaby calls him a "pathetic ogre", and the other goblins confront him and chase him off, out of Toyland (though whether they finally catch him and eat him is unclear).
Finally Christmas arrives; Tom has repaired Mr. Dumpty. Santa transforms all the giant toy soldiers into small toy soldiers. He notices Barnaby's cat, Scat, who is now homeless since Barnaby's disappearance; he picks him up and pets him. Jill asks for Scat and she gets him, and Santa continues on his journey.
In the end, Jack and Jill become the adopted children of Tom and Mary.
Cast
- Joseph AshtonJoseph Ashton (actor)Joseph Ashton Valencia is an American film and voice actor.-Personal life:Ashton was born Joseph Ashton Valencia in California; both of his parents have Cherokee ancestors. His father is a California Highway Patrol officer and his older brother is Mathew Valencia, a voice actor...
as Jack - Lacey ChabertLacey ChabertLacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and voice actress, known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
as Jill - Raphael SbargeRaphael SbargeRaphael Sbarge is an American actor and voice actor.-Early life:Sbarge was born into a theatre-oriented family in New York City. His mother, Jeanne Button, was a costume designer, and his father, Stephen A. Sbarge, was an artist, writer and stage director who named his son after the Renaissance...
as Tom Piper - Cathy CavadiniCathy CavadiniCatherine Janet "Cathy" Cavadini is an American voice actress and singer. Most famous as the voice of Blossom on Cartoon Network's animated television series The Powerpuff Girls and Tanya Mousekewitz in An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and Fievel's American Tails. She is also the successor voice...
as Mary Lamb - Christopher PlummerChristopher PlummerArthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
as Barnaby Crookedman - Charles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson ReillyCharles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher known for his comedic roles in theater, movies, children's television, animated cartoons, and as a panelist on the game show Match Game....
as Humpty Dumpty - James BelushiJames BelushiJames Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
as Gonzargo - Bronson PinchotBronson PinchotBronson Alcott Pinchot is an American actor. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop , The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It's My Party...
as Rodrigo - Lindsay Schnebly as Goblin King
Musical numbers
- "Toyland" - Humpty Dumpty
- "Mr. Dumpty's Toyland / The Aerial Ballet" - Humpty Dumpty
- "Dream" - Mary, Tom, Jill, Jack
- "The Factory Song" - Tom, Mary, Company
- "A Crooked Man" - Barnaby
- "The Worst Is Yet to Come" - Gonzargo, Rodrigo
- "It's You" - Tom, Mary