| Thumbelina |  | Directors: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
Actors: Jodi Benson, Carol Channing, Charo, Gino Conforti, June Foray
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
New (6) from $2.75
Rating:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 160652
Format: Animated, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 024543029304
EAN: 0024543029304
ASIN: B000LW7LQI
Theatrical Release Date: 1994
Release Date: September 1, 2007
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Ranking just behind the best of animator Don Bluth's films (Anastasia and The Secret of NIMH), Thumbelina is a bubble-light version of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. The finger-sized heroine goes about the old-fashioned trials of trying to find a good man, but the film is clever enough to make it endearing for the 3-6 set and more than passable for adult viewers. Barry Manilow provides much of the song score, which helps immensely. The ballad "Let Me Be Your Wings" is as good as Disney's best. Carol Channing and Charo have a good ol' time with their songs too. The voice of Thumbelina is none other than Jodi Benson, who gave voice to Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid. --Doug Thomas
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
Not Spunky, but Sweet August 14, 2010
Rin
I absolutely loved this movie when I was younger. I still like it now. I'll try not to give away too much on this review. Well, here goes:
Thumbelina is not your tough, smart-mouthed "spunky" sort of girl. She's sweet, and sheltered, and seems to be the only one of her size in the whole world. She loves her mother very much, but is lonely. On the night her dissatisfaction with this comes to a head, she meets the fairy prince, who is charmed by her shy beauty and lovely singing voice. They fall heavily in like to the tune of the very pretty "Let Me Be Your Wings" and he wants her to meet his parents.
Before this can happen Thumbelina is kidnapped, being prized for her singing talent, by a group of musical performing toads. Her escape is assisted by various friendly animals/insects but she's trailed by the toads (among other creatures), and the frightened girl tries to make it home, nearly freezing in the coming winter.
Thumbelina, never having known what was in the world or what its creatures might think of her, is bewildered but optimistic, occasionally feeling hopeless but always getting back up to try again to make it home. She does learn to accept herself as she is, and stand up for herself to those who want to control her life (even if her only option is to run away from those trying to domineer her). In the end she is reunited with her mother and *SPOILER* marries the prince who loved her just as she was (but probably neither of them complained when *SPOILERx2* she gets her own wings).
Some commentators have the complaint that Thumbelina is weak, and lets herself be walked over. I gently remind them this movie came out before "spunky" was in, and that Thumbelina is, again, very sheltered, amiable and compassionate (the latter two being attributes it won't hurt children to see as being good traits to have). And eventually the girl does decide to take her life into her own hands and *SPOILERx3* escape an unwanted marriage she felt obligated to because of the help she received by the would-be groom and his friend. She is assisted by others, being way out of her comfort zone, but since when is getting a little help a bad thing?
Another good thing is the subtle point, in the form of a conversation with the sparrow, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if you and those you love are perfectly happy with who you are and what you look like, don't care so much about what others think.
No character death (though it looks like there is at two points, but the sparrow is not dead, merely unconscious, and the prince frozen in ice), no blood or bad words. Overall, it's a sweet movie suitable to younger girls who like stories about fairies, music, and friendship, with good triumphing over--well, not evil, but certainly villainous creatures determined to get their own way. I deducted a star merely because the stupid beetle creeps me out, I really hate bugs. Hope this helps. : )
 Awful, awful, awful! June 16, 2010
Robert Cardinalli (Portland, OR)
The main character is a moron. The songs are dreadful. The animation, though, was good.
I swear, I could never, ever sit through this movie again. If I had to listen to those chickens screech out THUMBELINA! just one more time, I know I'd go postal.
One of the worst animated films I've ever seen.
 a terrible story for children and a disappointing story for adults May 21, 2010
AIROLF (USA)
I regret watching this animated film.
As a child, Thumbelina was one of my favorite heroines. She was strong and curious and took care of others. Disney's Thumbelina is codependent on a guy she barely knows and meets the same day, she is afraid to go out and find her way back to who she is and what she loves, she is ditsy and silly.
At one point, Miss Mouse, a field mice who takes in Thumbelina away from the cold, tells Thumbelina that she has an itsy-bitsy brain. Indeed, the heroine of this movie is anything but heroic - she can't figure out to help her friend swallow, she is helpless and is afraid to leave the toad and the beetle who force her into situations she doesn't want to be in.
The main reoccurring theme of the movie is sung by the swallow, who also serves as a narrator for the story. He says you don't need an education (to learn math or science), you just have to follow your heart. What kind of productive lesson is that?
Moreover, the only lesson that's worth teaching to kids - Thumbelina's mother smartly states that Thumbelina must not desire to be anything but what she is and should be proud to be herself - is glanced over and barely gets a minute's notice.
 Memory Lane May 19, 2010
Skittles (kennewick, WA, USA)
So i was at my moms house the other day and she was letting my 4 year old pick out a VHS from our childhood days and she pick Thumbelina.. Man talk about a walk down memory lane. I watched this movie over and over again in my childhood the look in my daughters eyes were that of magic it made my heart melt because i remembered the feeling. Unfortunately i didn't have a VCR so i went on to Amazon.com found it at a great price purchased it right away, and im so glad i did. This movie is timeless i love it and now my daughter and i can sign along together to a movie that is truly timeless.
An enjoyable adaptation of a classic fairy tale April 25, 2010
z hayes (TX)
My 5-year-old daughter who loves fairy tales loves to watch this animated feature of the classic fairy tale Thumbelina. We've had this DVD since she was three but she loves this movie and always enjoys a repeat viewing. The animation is actually quite well-done, perhaps not as polished as some of Disney's animated offerings, but certainly not shoddy either.
Thumbelina is beautifully-rendered in this animated feature, she is lovely and fragile and her fairy prince Cornelius is suitably dashing! Thumbelina goes through many adventures and trials in this feature - getting kidnapped by a family of toads, only to be rescued by a chivalrous swallow, but she ends up in other precarious situations. The songs are suitably amusing, but not exactly memorable. However, to a 5-year-old, these little flaws did not seem to matter. Unlike some reviewers who found Thumbelina's characterization unappealing, I felt her character grew as the story progressed - from a naive and frightened young girl to one who is more aware and sure of herself as the story comes to an end. Final verdict - an above average, beautifully-animated adaptation of a classic fairy tale that is sure to fascinate young children (and dare I say, some adults!).
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
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