Babes in Toyland is a 1961 musical
film in Technicolor, directed by
Jack Donohue, produced by Walt Disney, and distributed
to theatres by Buena Vista Distribution. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary,
Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker.
Annette was one of the original members of the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s.
Barnaby's henchmen, Gonzorgo and Rodrigo, were portrayed by Henry Calvin and
Gene Sheldon (Rodrigo does not speak at all in the film) of Zorro fame.
The film was based upon Victor Herbert's popular 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland, which had been filmed in a 1934 black-and-white version by Laurel and Hardy
and Hal Roach. The plot, however, bears little resemblance to the 1903 show. The Disney
version contains more than twice as many songs as the Laurel and Hardy version, although the lyrics are changed and some of the
song tempos drastically altered.
Tagline: The happiest, most delightful musical comedy of your lifetime!
Plot summary
The film is set as a stage play presented by Mother Goose about two nursery rhyme characters, Mary Contrary and Tom Piper, who
are about to be married. At the same time Barnaby, a miser, is hiring two crooks to throw Tom into the sea forcing Mary to marry
him instead. After smashing Tom on the head with a hammer and tying him in a bag, the two henchmen, Gonzorgo and the silent
Roderigo, pass by a gypsy camp. They decide to sell Tom to the Gypsies instead of drowning him in order to collect a double
payment.
Gonzorgo and Rodrigo return and tells Mary, Barnaby, and the citizens of Mother Goose Land that Tom has accidentally drowned.
They show Mary a phony letter in which Tom tells her that he is abandoning her for her own good and that she would be better off
marrying Barnaby. The grief-stricken Mary is still able to earn a living off of her sheep to avoid marrying him, but Barnaby,
knowing this would happen, also has told his henchmen to steal the sheep. Mary, unable to find another solution, reluctantly
accepts the proposal from Barnaby. Barnaby unknowingly arranges for the same gypsies that have Tom to provide entertainment for
the marriage. Tom, disguised in drag as the gypsy Floretta, reveals himself and Barnaby pursues the frightened Gonzorgo and
Rodrigo, furious at their deception. One of the children informs Mary of some sheep tracks leading into the Forest of No
Return.
The children, still eager to find their sheep, sneak away into the forest to search for the missing sheep. The trees of the
forest come to life and capture them. Tom and Mary follow and find the children in the forest telling stories about the live
trees, which, at the moment, seem like ordinary ones. They camp out for the night, and in the morning the trees once again come
to life and inform the family that they are now in custody of the Toy Maker in Toyland. Excited by this, the group happily
continues on.
Through the windows of The Toy Maker's house they watch the Toy Maker's rather incompetent apprentice, Grumio, present a new
machine that makes toys without any manual labor. Overjoyed, the Toy Maker speeds up the machine to such a high rate that it
explodes, destroying every toy in the factory. The family comes in and offers to help make more toys in time for Christmas.
Grumio also presents another invention, one that shrinks things down to toy size, and if it were used on anything more than once,
they would disappear completely. Barnaby and his henchmen, who had been spying on everyone, shrink down the Toy Maker and Tom.
When Barnaby's henchmen see Barnaby threatening to give Tom two servings of the shrinking formula they abandon Barnaby and run.
They, too, are shrunken to toy size and locked up with Tom in a birdcage. Barnaby awakens Mary and starts a marriage ceremony
threatening to destroy Tom if she resists, and The Toy Maker if he refuses to marry the couple. While the Toy Maker delays the
marriage Tom sneaks away with the help of Gonzorgo and Rodrigo, and returns with an army of toy soldiers to fight Barnaby.
Barnaby easily demolishes the toy soldiers, and is about to obliterate Tom with another dose from the shrink gun, but Mary
destroys it with a toy cannon. The liquid splatters all over Barnaby, and shrinks him to Tom's new size. He is challenged to and
engages in a sword duel with Tom which he loses, but in the film as released, it is unclear whether or not he is actually killed,
although he does appear to have been stabbed. (Pre-release publicity stills and a comic book adaptation of the story had him
locked up in the birdcage right at film's end, but in the actual movie, he falls into a toy box at the end of the duel and is
never shown again.) After the fight is over, Grumio once again presents a new invention, this time returning people to their
original size. It is promptly used on Tom, the Toy Maker, Gonzorgo and Rodrigo - but not on Barnaby. Tom and Mary are married and
they live happily ever after.
External links
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