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- “I wonder if there really are such things as fairies.”
- ―Thumbelina
Thumbelina is a 1994 Irish-American animated film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman from a screenplay by Bluth based on Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina. The film was produced by Don Bluth Entertainment and was released to movie theaters by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment on March 30, 1994 in United States and July 29, 1994 in United Kingdom.
Plot[]
A lonely old widow who longs for a child is given a seed by a good witch. When planted, the seed grows into a flower, and inside the blossom is a tiny girl the size of the old woman's thumb. The old woman names the girl Thumbelina and raises her as her own.
Although Thumbelina loves her mother, she craves companionship from someone her own size. One night, Cornelius, the fairy prince, stumbles upon Thumbelina after hearing her beautiful singing. The two take a ride on Cornelius' bumblebee, and fall in love; during this ride Mrs. Toad and her son Grundel are enchanted by Thumbelina's singing. Cornelius promises to return the next day, but after he's gone, Mrs. Toad kidnaps Thumbelina from her bed and takes her away.
Thumbelina awakens on Mrs. Toad's show boat. Mrs. Toad wants Thumbelina to join their troupe and marry Grundel, who is in love with her. They leave Thumbelina alone on a lily pad in order to fetch a priest, but a friendly swallow, Jacquimo (the narrator of the film), overhears Thumbelina's cries for help and frees her. Jacquimo's friends, the jitterbugs, promise to help Thumbelina get home safely while Jacquimo sets off to find Cornelius. Meanwhile, Cornelius learns of Thumbelina's kidnapping and ventures out to find her.
While trying to get home, Thumbelina is ambushed by Berkeley Beetle, who scares the jitterbugs away. He is enamoured with her singing, and promises to show her the way home if she sings at his Beetle Ball first. Thumbelina agrees, but when she's received poorly at the Beetle Ball, Beetle kicks her out without helping her.
Winter is approaching. Jacquimo accidentally impales his wing on a thorn and is knocked out by the cold, while Cornelius falls into a lake and is frozen in ice. Grundel, who is still searching for Thumbelina, finds Beetle and forces him to help find Thumbelina.
Thumbelina is taken in by Miss Fieldmouse, who tells her that Cornelius has died. The two visit Miss Fieldmouse's neighbor, Mr. Mole who tells them about a dead bird he found in his tunnel earlier that day. It turns out to be Jacquimo, who Thumbelina discovers to be only unconscious. Mr. Mole wishes to marry Thumbelina; heartbroken over Cornelius's death, Thumbelina accepts. Jacquimo awakens under Thumbelina's care and leaves to find Cornelius, refusing to believe that he is dead. Meanwhile, Beetle brings Cornelius's frozen body to Grundel and informs him that Thumbelina is going to marry the Mole. After the two leave to stop the wedding, the young jitterbugs thaw Cornelius's body out.
At the wedding, Thumbelina realizes at the last moment that she can't marry someone she does not love and refuses to take the vows. Grundel and Beetle crash the wedding, but Thumbelina flees from them and Mr. Mole. Cornelius intercepts the crowd and confronts Grundel, the ensuing fight resulting in them both falling into an abyss. Once outside and free, Thumbelina is reunited with Jacquimo, who takes her to Cornelius' kingdom, the Vale of the Fairies. Cornelius appears, having survived the fall, the pair are reunited, and Thumbelina accepts his proposal of marriage. The two kiss, and Thumbelina is granted her own wings.
With Thumbelina's mother and the fairy court in attendance, Thumbelina and Cornelius are married and depart on their honeymoon on Cornelius's bumblebee. Images shown during the credits reveal that Beetle resumed his singing career and had gotten his wings back, Ms. Fieldmouse married Mr. Mole, and Grundel also survived the fall with minor injuries and married a female toad (implying that he lost interest in Thumbelina).
Voice cast[]
- Jodi Benson as Thumbelina
- Gary Imhoff as Prince Cornelius
- Joe Lynch as Grundel
- Gino Conforti as Jacquimo
- Gilbert Gottfried as Berkeley Beetle
- John Hurt as Mr. Mole
- Carol Channing as Ms. Fieldmouse
- Kenneth Mars as King Colbert
- June Foray as Queen Tabitha
- Charo as Mrs. Toad
- Barbara Cook as Mother
- Will Ryan as Hero/Reverend Rat
- Danny Mann as Mozo
- Loren Lester as Gringo
- Pat Musick as Mrs. Rabbit
- Neil Ross as Mr. Bear/Mr. Fox
- Tawny Sunshine Glover as Gnatty
- Michael Nunes as Li'l Bee
- Kendall Cunningham as Baby Bug
Uncredited[]
Music[]
- Main article: Thumbelina (soundtrack)
Barry Manilow agreed to compose the songs for three Don Bluth pictures. Thumbelina was the first, followed by The Pebble and the Penguin, and the third was cancelled. The film's soundtrack was released for a limited time and has since gone out of print. "Marry the Mole" won a Razzie for Worst Original Song.
- "Follow Your Heart" (Intro) - Jacquimo
- "Thumbelina" - Thumbelina, Farm Animals
- "Soon" - Thumbelina
- "Let Me Be Your Wings" - Cornelius, Thumbelina
- "On the Road" - Mrs. Toad, Thumbelina, Singers de Espana (Los Sapos Guapos)
- "Follow Your Heart" - Jacquimo, Jitterbugs, Birds
- "Yer Beautiful, Baby"- Berkeley Beetle, Beetle Chorus
- "Soon (Reprise)" - Thumbelina's Mother
- "Let Me Be Your Wings (Sun Reprise)" - Thumbelina
- "Marry the Mole" - Ms. Fieldmouse
- "Let Me Be Your Wings (Wedding Reprise)" - Cornelius
- "Let Me Be Your Wings" (Finale) - Thumbelina, Cornelius, Jacquimo and chorus
- "Let Me Be Your Wings" - Barry Manilow & Debra Byrd
Production[]
Thumbelina was in production from February 1991 to May 1993. The film was completed with funds from filmmaker John Boorman and Hong Kong-based Media Assets after Don Bluth Entertainment filed for bankruptcy.
It was originally scheduled to be distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the United States and J&M Entertainment overseas, and was also originally slated for a Thanksgiving 1993 release. By the time it was completed, both companies dropped the arrangement due to concerns about the bankruptcy of Bluth's studio. Warner Bros. subsequently bought the distribution rights in March 1993.
Reception[]
Box office[]
The film grossed $11.4 million at the US box office, against a budget of $28 million.
Critical reception[]
Critical response aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 25% approval rating based on 8 reviews, with an average score of 5.2 out of 10.
Roger Ebert giving the film a middling two stars out of four, concluding his review "It is difficult to imagine anyone over the age of 12 finding much to enjoy in Thumbelina."
It also won a Razzie award in the category of "Worst Original Song" given to "Marry the Mole", sung by the vocal performance of Carol Channing.
Release[]
Theatrical run[]
Thumbelina was released the following year on March 30, 1994 in the USA. When released, it was preceded by the Animaniacs short music, I'm Mad.
International premieres[]
Home media[]
- Main article: Thumbelina (video)
Warner Home Video released Thumbelina on VHS and LaserDisc on July 26, 1994 in the United States and Canada, and internationally in different countries throughout the 1990s. The film was re-released on VHS in the United Kingdom in March 1995.
In February 19, 2002, Thumbelina was re-released on VHS and DVD; licensed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. On March 6, 2012, Thumbelina was released on Blu-ray.
Thumbelina was available to stream on Disney+ when the service launched on November 12, 2019, following the The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of the film's previous licensor 20th Century Studios that year.
Transcript[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is the first Don Bluth's animated film to be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures under the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment banner.
- This is also the first Warner Bros. Family Entertainment animated film to have musical numbers.
- Fox may own the rights to Thumbelina and A Troll In Central Park, but Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc still owns rights to the characters.
- This film is not part of Warner Archive Collection video releases.
- This is the second time in which Jodi Benson, Kenneth Mars and Will Ryan appeared in a film adaption of a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, the first being in The Little Mermaid, in which these respective actors voiced Ariel, King Triton, and the seahorse, respectively.
- This is, by far, the first animated film to be nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award and the first animated film to win a Golden Raspberry Award for worst in film; it won it for the song "Marry the Mole" in the category "Worst Original Song."
- During its theatrical release, it was released with the Animaniacs short "I'm Mad", which was later integrated into the TV series.
- Despite the film being a financial failure it has developed a cult following, and is sometimes called one of Don Bluth's better 90 films.
- In his review of the film, Roger Ebert said that there was hardly anything to enjoy. He rated it 2 & 1/2 stars out of 4.
- This is the first Don Bluth film to be shot in widescreen using the aspect ratio 1.78:1, it is cropped to 1.85:1 on the first DVD from Warner Bros. and on the 20th Century Fox DVD release.
- Like The Pebble and the Penguin, Thumbelina featured songs composed by Bary Manillow and was broadcast on the Toon Disney.
- Thumbelina was the first movie made by Don Bluth that was never broadcast on Cartoon Network.
- Thumbelina was also shown on Sprout (now known as Universal Kids) in 2015.
- The producers generated positive ratings during test screenings by playing the Warner Bros. logo at the beginning, making viewers think they were watching a Fox movie. Ironically, this film has been still owned by Fox with Disney's deal since March 20, 2019, exactly 10 days before its 25th anniversary after been distributed originally by Warner Bros. Pictures.
- This Irish-American theatrical animated film by Warner Bros. follows-up with other animated films in the same year of 1994, The Lion King (Walt Disney Feature Animation/Walt Disney Pictures), A Troll in Central Park (Warner Bros.), The Pagemaster (20th Century Fox/Turner Pictures) and The Swan Princess (New Line Cinema/Columbia-Tristar).
Differences between the book and the film[]
- Thumbelina was born in a tulip.
- The female toad had only one son.
- Fish cut the water lily and a butterfly helped Thumbelina to drift in the river until the beetle caught her.
- A woman yearning for a child asks a witch for advice, and is presented with a barleycorn which she is told to go home and plant (in the first English translation of 1847 by Mary Howitt, the tale opens with a beggar woman giving a peasant's wife a barleycorn in exchange for food).
- After the barleycorn is planted and sprouts, a tiny girl, Thumbelina (Tommelise), emerges from its flower. One night, Thumbelina, asleep in her walnut-shell cradle, is carried off by a toad who wants her as a bride for her son.
- With the help of friendly fish and a butterfly, Thumbelina escapes the toad and her son, and drifts on a lily pad until captured by a stag beetle who later discards her when his friends reject her company.
External Links[]
- Thumbelina at The Big Cartoon DataBase
- Thumbelina at AllMovie
- Thumbelina at Rotten Tomatoes
- Thumbelina at Box Office Mojo
Thumbelina (film) on Netflix- Thumbelina on Disney+
- Thumbelina on Don Bluth Wiki
- Thumbelina on 20th Century Studios Website
- Thumbelina at TV.com
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Thumbelina (1994 film). The revision history lists the authors. The text on Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki and Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). |
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