Picture it, D-Lovers. Toyland. What kind of place of imagination and wonder would have such a name? The mind boggles with the possibilities, doesn't it? Unfortunately, if you want to find out we can't recommend that you watch Disney's BABES IN TOYLAND because despite the title, Toyland takes a shocking amount of time to make an appearance and even then...well, let's just say we hope you really like Ed Wynn. That said, if you want to see Ray Bolger pussyfoot around, TWO Corcoran brothers, and like, five Annette Funicello's singing about how dumb they are, this movie might be up your alley.
It's not déjà vu you're experiencing, D-Lovers; Disney really did make another adaptation of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court a mere three years after the one we watched a few months ago. They really did return to the same location in Budapest. They really did use one of the same lead actresses. Really, the only thing they did differently is instead of a kid who travels through time (and reality - remember that King Arthur and Camelot did not exist) it's Whoopi Goldberg. Which of course means despite being a TV movie, this is obviously the superior adaptation...though don't get it twisted, that's damning A KNIGHT IN CAMELOT with faint praise.
The deep in our dive into the Disney canon we're getting used to seeing some familiar faces in front of and behind the camera. Fred MacMurray, Vincent McEveety, Kurt Russell, Harry Morgan - when their names pop up we know we're in that special era of 1960s/1970s live action Disney. Of course, there were other signs that could have tipped us off in CHARLEY AND THE ANGEL. An old dad, an extended car chase, a completely unexpected and probably unnecessary mobster subplot. But none of our hosts were expecting to see another movie in which an "angel" reveals themselves to the main character not as a benevolent and guiding force of light and good, but as a grim spectre of looming death and disaster. But that's Disney for you!
Smell that D-lovers? There's something in the air, something that portends of things to come...the start of three picture deal between a mega-star in the making and a movie studio on the cusp of its all en-compassing takeover of the entertainment industry. It smells delicious, but dangerous. What could it be, that smell coming from the kitchen? Ah, that's right - it's THE GAME PLAN. That's what The Rock is cooking! The first of the three collaborations between Dwayne Johnson and Disney, this story of a star athlete who is somehow still on a seemingly time-limited quest for a Super Bowl Big Game championship ring getting his life upturned by the arrival of a young daughter he didn't know existed is a little bit paint-by-numbers, but the charisma that Rock "The Dwayne" Johnson would ride into our hearts and box office gold is still on full display.