Don Bluth's "Thumbelina" (1994), from his studio Don Bluth Entertainment, is a terrific treat for children. The "Thumbelina" animation is top-notch, matching anything from Disney at the time, but the real draw is the score by Barry Manilow, who also sings over the end credits. Remaining fairly true to the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, "Thumbelina" is a wonderful treat full of dazzling colors, expressive characters who move in very life-like fashion, and a romantic lead who should captivate most children. "Thumbelina" is not an animated film for adults, like so many later Disney/Pixar efforts, which gives it a charming focus that make many adults keep it as a treasured childhood memory and which, no doubt, understandably clouds their present-day judgment about "Thumbelina." Whether you like it or not, though, will depend on how you feel about all the modern showbiz elements, which for some will elevate this to classic status, while others might get turned off in a hurry at this exercise in showbiz introspection.
The way the petals unfold is magical
Thumbelina is the child of a lonely woman in medieval Paris who only wanted a child to love. A good and sympathetic witch gave her a barley corn to plant, revealing Thumbelina in its petals (it sure looks like a rose, though). There is only one catch: Thumbelina arrives no bigger than a person's thumb. Thumbelina grows up - well, she arrives fully grown, so there's really no growing to be done - to be a lovely girls with flowing red/blonde hair on her mother's farm, and wants a man of her own, but there is nobody around her size. Or is there? Her mother comforts her with stories of tiny fairies who treasure girls like Thumbelina.
Hi, mama!
Thumbelina goes to bed and dreams of having someone to love, singing and dancing to show her feelings. Prince Cornelius of the Fairies notices her as he is flying by and pops in to visit. They spend the evening together, flying about on Cornelius' bumblebee, and both fall in love. At night's end, Cornelius returns Thumbelina to her bedroom and promises to return after clearing things with his parents.
Cornelius and his steed
Unfortunately, thuggish Grundel the Toad also notices Thumbelina that night and falls for her, telling his mother, Mrs. Toad, of his feelings. She kidnaps Thumbelina despite the best efforts of Thumbelina's dog, Hero. Cornelius returns, looking for his love, but Hero lets him know what happened. Mrs. Toad, meanwhile, who is a Spanish performer reminiscent of Carmen Miranda or, well, Charo (Charo actually voices the character), has taken Thumbellina to her lily pad and intends to have Thumbelina join the family singing group, "Singers de Espana," after Thumbelina, of course, marries her son.
I just want to sing and dance!
Thumbelina, naturally, is not too happy with this generous plan (although she joins in a nice Spanish song and dance with the Toads and does quite a nice job of it), and, after Mrs. Toad leaves, Thumbelina cries out for help. Jacquimo, a swallow (sort of a Maurice Chevalier type) who also serves as the story's narrator, hears Thumbelina and rescues her, telling Thumbelina to follow her heart home. Cornelius, meanwhile, asks his parents to delay the imminent winter frost to help his search, but they can only do that temporarily. Cornelius and Grundel then both set out separately to find Thumbelina.
They put him next to "sleazy" in the Dictionary
Thumbelina is captured on her way home by Berkeley Beetle (sort of a crazed Jiminy Cricket), who also loves Thumbelina and makes her perform at the Beetle Ball. Unfortunately, she does not fit in with the beetles and is kicked out for being "too ugly." This discourages her, but Jacquimo tells her that all she needs is Cornelius' love. Jacquimo, meanwhile, is injured by a fox who he asks for help, but Grundel has better luck, getting advice from Beetle to use Cornelius to help him track Thumbelina down. Grundel, though, has a better idea and simply strong-arms Beetle himself to help find Thumbelina.
Is that a cane you're holding, or are you just glad to see me?
It starts to snow, and Jacquimo falls into a honey pot after asking a bear for help, making him unable to fly. Cornelius also has trouble with the frost, falling from his bumble bee into a pond, where he is frozen solid. Beetle finds Cornelius in the ice and takes him to Grundel. Thumbelina has to find shelter from the storm in a shoe, where she is welcomed by Miss Fieldmouse, who tells her incorrectly that Cornelius died in the ice, but that she has a nice suitor in mind. Heartbroken, Thumbelina agrees to go and sing for Mr. Mole, who immediately falls in love with her and seeks her hand in marriage.
Mrs. Toad actually is kind of cool ¡ Ay Caramba!
Thumbelina finds Jacquimo and tells him she might as well marry Mr. Mole, even though Thumbelina does not love him, because she is alone in a hostile world. Jacquimo flies off to see what he can do, and a marriage ceremony is set up for Mr. Mole and Thumbelina. Both Cornelius, thawed by three young jitterbugs befriended earlier by Thumbelina, and Grundel show up, and there is a mad chase through the underground mole tunnels.
Like Snow White, Thumbelina is friends with all the little creatures like these jitterbugs
Thumbelina finds her way to the surface, where Jacquimo finds her and flies Thumbelina to the Vale of the Fairies which he has been able to locate. It is covered in ice, but Thumbelina's singing thaws the snow, and they just have to wait and see if Cornelius was able to escape from Grundel.
They fall in love after one song
Several things strike the viewer about "Thumbelina" early on: the animation is simply dazzlingly gorgeous, with the unfolding of the rose to reveal Thumblina being a stunning, iconic shot; the singing and dancing is pure Broadway, with no filter; and there is absolutely no doubt from the opening sequences how the story will end. All sorts of razzle dazzle is thrown in, with multiple plot twists and a parade of eccentric characters. In a way, it almost starts to resemble Disney's classic "Alice in Wonderland," though it has a more "real world" focus. "Thumbelina" also shows a few similarities to "Peter Pan," as Cornelius resembles nothing so much as a male Tinker Bell. Don Bluth clearly likes to borrow from the best.
Miss Fieldmouse is kind of hammy
You couldn't ask for a better voice cast. Jodi Benson, who is Ariel in "The Little Mermaid" and its two sequels, voices Thumbelina with an innocence that at times grates against her character's sudden changes of mind and knowing attitude while dancing. Gino Conforti does Jacquimo with a heavy French accent which really isn't all that necessary since, despite the fact the story supposedly is set in Paris, everyone else speaks in straight American tones, well, except for Charo and her clan, who are Spanish. Charo does an impressive job of voicing basically herself, and Carol Channing of all people really stands out as Miss Fieldmouse, showing she can still carry a tune with the best of them. Gilbert Gottfried as Berkeley Beetle, well, Gilbert is who he is, and you either like his nasally, out-there act or you don't, and there is a lot of it (too much for most people, probably) to like or dislike in this film. He certainly makes an impression.
Thumbelina and Cornelius chastely holding hands
The other voice actors are pleasant enough, Kenneth Mars also stops by from his role of King Triton in "The Little Mermaid" to voice Cornelius' father, while Gary Imhoff is blandly inoffensive (and his character pretty darn ineffectual) as Cornelius. Charo, Carol Channing, Barry Manilow - that list of veterans should give you a good idea where this film has its roots buried.
I hate it when this happens to me
Since this clearly is aimed at children, there is no point at listing all the reasons why an adult might start to lose interest in this about halfway through, once Thumbelina's parade of adventures with different, obviously unworthy, forest creatures as suitors begins. Even for children above a certain age, it might get confusing, with a succession of show-stopping tunes that, well, stop the show and interrupt the flow. In terms of the musical style, it is a cross between Manilow's jazzy "Copacabana" and Broadway's version of "Beauty and the Beast," with a few random '80s pop song touches thrown in for good measure.
Is her hair supposed to be red like Ariel? Or blonde like Cinderella? It keeps changing
Thumbelina also is at times difficult to understand. She clearly loves to sing and dance, and in fact is so good at it that one wonders where she studied advanced theater techniques. She has a fine time kicking up her feet with Mrs. Toad, Beetle and the others, pulling off elaborate cabaret numbers whenever the mood strikes. However, when she isn't hoofing it, Thumbelina suddenly reverts to being a helpless little girl, determined to find someone to marry, and fast. Naturally, everyone falls in love with her, which is every girl's fantasy, so little girls especially should like "Thumbelina." But why does Thumbelina's hair keep changing color?
Now Cornelius is definitely a red head
A modern attitude on a classic fairy tale character is interesting, but it also makes Thumbelina's contrariness seem odd, as if she is wrestling with both her inner "Hans Christian Andersen" and modern flightiness. If Thumbelina really is so in love with Cornelius, why is she getting up there and loving it up with her dancing and her varied suitors and all that? There is nothing wrong with having fun, but one minute Thumbelina is pining for her true love Cornelius, the next Thumbelina is about to get married to someone else, and Thumbelina's mindset just seems awfully fluid (one might be unkind and say "trampy") for a fairy tale character.
Now here they both are red-heads
"Thumbelina" is a wonderful tale if you appreciate the Broadway-style singing and the numerous wild characters. It can be a struggle to take it all in during one sitting, though, and that's coming from someone who really appreciates the music. A little judicious editing would have improved "Thumbelina" tremendously, along with a title character who did a little less singing and a little more thinking. It pains me to say anything negative about this sweet story for little children, and "Thumbelina" indeed is a wonderful, gorgeous film, so let's leave it at that. Best for very young children who will watch and listen to it while playing with their toys while not caring about the overly intricate plot twists and gaudy characterizations. They will absorb it all, and then someday rhapsodize about "Thumbelina" and how they don't make great animation like that any more when they hit their forties.
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