Bedknobs and Broomsticks was produced several years after Walt Disney's death and released in the fall of 1971. As it turned out, Bedknobs was frequently compared to Mary Poppins -- probably thanks to several striking similarities between the two productions, notably the presence in the cast of David Tomlinson, the use of Cockney children as central characters, and the inclusion of sequences that combine animation and live-action. Set in wartime England, Bedknobs stars Angela Lansbury as
Eglantine Price, a would-be witch who hopes to use her newly acquired conjuring powers to forestall a Nazi invasion. Saddled with three surly kids who've been evacuated from London, Lansbury wins over her charges by performing various and sundry feats of magic. And, yes, she manages to foil a few Germans along the way. The film's most famous episode is an elaborate undersea fantasy, which combines animation with live-action on a gargantuan scale, dwarfing all previous Disney sequences along these lines. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The fantasy is earthbound, the score by Richard and Robert Sherman (who also wrote music and lyrics for Mary Poppins) is forgettable, the special effects lackadaisical.
I suspect the movie will be something of a long, uninterrupted sit for the very children for whom it's intended, and an even longer one for those parents and guardians (both adults and teen-age) who will probably accompany them.
I do think that too much burden is placed on Lansbury and Tomlinson to handle most of the songs, when one doesn't have a singer's voice and the other is really a character actor.
A fun adventure, with what was probably quite an impressive mix in 1971 of animation and Actors combined. Very drawn out and very dated now, although the Portobello Market scene was really enjoyable.
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