Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

HelenMary Early eighties, cheesy, low budget, badly dubbed, yes, but Babes in Toyland still has the power to entertain and fill with the joy of toys, childhood and Christmas. No-one in the film was brilliant, even Drew Barrymore and Pat Morita struggled in places and were a little acting-by-numbers but there was also some great chemistry on screen and Barrymore, Reeves, Schoelen and Gress looked genuinely like they were enjoying themselves and given the subject matter were pretty committed to role, even if it was a bit hammed up. The worse bit of the film was definitely the dubbing (worse than films of that era generally) and the songs were terrible. I think the actor's voices were used but it was obvious who the good singers were(Reeves has a good voice) and who's dubbing was totally someone else. The bad guy Mulligan was good at being bad and Eileen Brennan brought a little of comedy in her familiar style to the film.Definitely a children's film, although not nervous children as the bad monsters were pretty awful looking, but it was light, fun with lots of familiar characters to recognise. Probably just enough for adults in the film too - some slapstick antics from the two bad sidekicks Mack and Zack - and the car chase scene was a bit of a giggle. Reeves pulls off a rather impressive stunt type skid in the Toyland car, which was probably quite hard to do given the slow speed! This wasn't as bad as I expected, and whilst it is incredible low budget and massively dated, there were some entertaining performances. Drew Barrymore (even badly dubbed to the point of jet lag) is always good to watch and Keanu Reeves swashbuckling around as Jack be Nimble (jnr) when he was in his early twenties is... well... a pleasure.

DesertHedgehog I'm reviewing this movie based on its own merits. I'm not comparing it to any older productions.The sets are hideous. Imagine the most boring and spartan buildings you can picture painted various shades of pink and purple, and you've got Toyland. Even the giant shoe the old woman used to live in manages to be boring.The characters (most of whom are flat and dull) seem to spend most of their time running around and getting nothing of value done. For example, Jack gets thrown into jail, gets broken out of jail, and promptly gets himself trapped by the villain. Ample screen time is spent showing the characters running around town in kiddie cars instead of advancing the plot.The movie hands out promises like it's Christmas and breaks every one of them. For example, George Porgie says that Barnaby occasionally rolls his bowling-ball-shaped house into town. You'd expect that to be foreshadowing for the film's climax, right? Nope, it never happens. Lisa attempts to play matchmaker between Barnaby and Mrs. Hubbard, something you'd expect to pay off SOMEHOW by the end of the film. It doesn't, unless you count a cheap joke to be a payoff. The Dark Forest is mentioned several times, leading you to think the characters might end up having to go into it, but in fact, they never leave town. The Toymaker hints that Barnaby could be redeemed... but in the end, he just gets banished to the forest.A particularly ridiculous aspect was how Lisa, who frequently complains that she's "not a child," must learn to use her imagination again and "believe." However, up until the end of the film there is no real indication that Lisa isn't imaginative; whenever she insists that she's no longer a child she is clearly doing so because she does not want to be perceived as incompetent or incapable based on the fact that she's 11. Bucking against ageism and refusing to use one's imagination are not the same thing, which this film unfortunately implies.As far as charming holiday specials go, this movie is not one of them.

M Townes Blah blah Drew Barrymore blah blah Keanu Reeves... we can talk all day about their mediocre performances, but it is a shame that they obscure the hidden gem in this film. I'm thinking specifically of the Postmouse, brilliantly played by some young, unnamed actor. Although his screen time is all too short and his character mostly background, this anonymous thespian nevertheless succeeds in conveying the earnest pathos of a mouse hard at work in land of toys. Had the production not been otherwise deficient, this budding Brando might have been given a chance to shine... but alas, he will remain yet another Unknown Soldier in the war between art and celebrity.

Heather C. Although I was probably ten or eleven when I saw this movie for the first time, I thought it was very cute and enjoyable, and even now, being nineteen, I can still watch it and enjoy it. I understand how someone could not like it, watching it for the first time thirteen years after it came out, especially since peoples views on movies have changed drastically. I'm sure if I had never seen it before, and I watched it now, being nineteen years old, my views might be a little different, but you never know. Anyway, it was a very cute movie, and I think it's still suitable for anyone, even over the age of ten, it just depends on the person.