I grew up watching this on TV most likely between the ages of 5-12 less than 10 years after its original release.
Fascinated by the idea of the flying car and the goofy inventions, I used to watch the intro scenes glued to the TV thinking of all the junked cars around my small town and their possibilities. The movie really moves slowly for the first half with the exception of the Old Bamboo and Toot Sweets...The 2nd half is a departure from reality, but to a kid, it's perfect. Action packed and terrifying and heroic... As a kid I really didn't appreciate the song writing but definitely understood how catchy the title track was and that the songs were catchy enough to keep even a 7 year old from leaving the room or falling asleep. I probably would give it a 9/10 as a kid.
Now as an adult, I understand that it wasn't necessarily for adults to enjoy, but the songwriting was good enough to keep an audience with one exception. I really only find one true sleeper and evidently it was cut out of the TV versions. The love song ballad, which in most musicals is beautiful, memorable and many times steals the show. "Til There Was You" "People Will Say We're In Love" "On the Street Where You Live"... Unfortunately, even though the scenery is perfect, Truly's white dress is stunning, & she sings beautifully... the song is just a dud and doesn't really tie in like "Truly Scrumptious" or "Hush-a-Bye Mountain". You can't deny catchy Melodie's in the rest of the songs, the fun choreography, and orchestrations are great. But that ballad, even if it appeals to some, does not appeal to the masses and IMHO is the missing element in this musical vs some of the greats.
I do believe a wonderful "Doll On a Music Box/Truly Scrumptious" mash up,reminiscent of "Til There Was You/76 Trombones", is one of the highlights of the movie.
I have done Band arrangements for school concert bands and have dreamed up a few medleys of this show. The trick is to try and include 3-5 of the best songs... tough to decide, but I would definitely start with the big, over the top chorus of "Hush-a-bye Mt" that after about 8 bars goes directly into the title track giving many instruments an opportunity for lead melodies.a 2 bar segue into a short version Truly Scrumptious, Then the percussion would take over with an intro to Ye Old Bamboo using mallets and having the band join a 2nd time through... giving way to a short run of Toot Sweets and then the spotlight hits Hush A Bye then a reprise of the title track. That would be awfully long but worth it!
As an adult I really have to give it 7/10 because of the corny bad guy humor (I loved as a kid) and the lack of a blockbuster love ballad. The overall storyline is not bad but it is missing some depth.
A musical that definitely takes me back to my childhood in the 70s, seeing it in TV guide and eager for the night to see it.
Today's kids and tweens still love despite the lack of modern special FX. Memorable characters and memorable songs.
Fascinated by the idea of the flying car and the goofy inventions, I used to watch the intro scenes glued to the TV thinking of all the junked cars around my small town and their possibilities. The movie really moves slowly for the first half with the exception of the Old Bamboo and Toot Sweets...The 2nd half is a departure from reality, but to a kid, it's perfect. Action packed and terrifying and heroic... As a kid I really didn't appreciate the song writing but definitely understood how catchy the title track was and that the songs were catchy enough to keep even a 7 year old from leaving the room or falling asleep. I probably would give it a 9/10 as a kid.
Now as an adult, I understand that it wasn't necessarily for adults to enjoy, but the songwriting was good enough to keep an audience with one exception. I really only find one true sleeper and evidently it was cut out of the TV versions. The love song ballad, which in most musicals is beautiful, memorable and many times steals the show. "Til There Was You" "People Will Say We're In Love" "On the Street Where You Live"... Unfortunately, even though the scenery is perfect, Truly's white dress is stunning, & she sings beautifully... the song is just a dud and doesn't really tie in like "Truly Scrumptious" or "Hush-a-Bye Mountain". You can't deny catchy Melodie's in the rest of the songs, the fun choreography, and orchestrations are great. But that ballad, even if it appeals to some, does not appeal to the masses and IMHO is the missing element in this musical vs some of the greats.
I do believe a wonderful "Doll On a Music Box/Truly Scrumptious" mash up,reminiscent of "Til There Was You/76 Trombones", is one of the highlights of the movie.
I have done Band arrangements for school concert bands and have dreamed up a few medleys of this show. The trick is to try and include 3-5 of the best songs... tough to decide, but I would definitely start with the big, over the top chorus of "Hush-a-bye Mt" that after about 8 bars goes directly into the title track giving many instruments an opportunity for lead melodies.a 2 bar segue into a short version Truly Scrumptious, Then the percussion would take over with an intro to Ye Old Bamboo using mallets and having the band join a 2nd time through... giving way to a short run of Toot Sweets and then the spotlight hits Hush A Bye then a reprise of the title track. That would be awfully long but worth it!
As an adult I really have to give it 7/10 because of the corny bad guy humor (I loved as a kid) and the lack of a blockbuster love ballad. The overall storyline is not bad but it is missing some depth.
A musical that definitely takes me back to my childhood in the 70s, seeing it in TV guide and eager for the night to see it.
Today's kids and tweens still love despite the lack of modern special FX. Memorable characters and memorable songs.