Wednesday 31 December 2008

Bedknobs & Broomsticks


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Originally uploaded by shazammy
One of my all time favorite children’s films is Walt Disney's, Bedknobs & Broomsticks. I was most probably 8 or 9 when the film was released, so I was the target audience. I was hooked immediately. The songs were terrific, the story was, well, enthralling & the cast were perfect in their roles.

Over the years I’ve revisited the movie a number of times and still think it’s an enjoyable piece of art. Originally Walt Disney had planned to do this movie as early as 1964 (the film wasn’t made until 1971. Author, P. L. Travers was proving difficult during pre-production of Mary Poppins so Walt quietly was planning Bedknobs should Mary Poppins fall through.

Occasionally, out of the blue something will catch my attention…I discovered that the Walt Disney Studios Archives occasionally display a number of movie props at the offices. I was surprised to see the actual bedknob and book, The Isle of Naboombu (vital to the movies plot).

A few years ago the movie was restored to its original running length with many deleted sequences restored for the first time since the movies original preview. If your looking for some light weight entertainment…revisit Disney’s, Bedknobs & Broomsticks.

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