Beanstalk (1994)

OK Kids movie

This restages the classic fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk in contemporary small town America .It is a town where recession is in the air and Jack's single parent mother is having problems meeting the mortgage payment ,and there is a grasping banker waiting in the wings determined -even eager -to foreclose on the mortgage
Enter a dotty academic -played by Margot Kidder in unflattering guise -who has the magic beans which when planted grow into the beanstalk .Kiddrer tries to persuade them to cut the tree down as there are giants at the top and they might well come down and wreak havoc
Jack-naturally climbs the beanstalk where the giants are living in a 50's sitcom America--Nixon is President and the atmosphere id Leave it to Beaver ,with the Munsters as the family unit .And naturally the giant pusues him back to earth

The movie is cheaply made and the special effects are basic .The make up for the giants is well judged- enough to set them apart without frightening the younger audiences,.

Sad to se an actress of Kidder's stature in this kind of thing but for what it is this is okay -if not really for adults January 12, 2005

Another Full Moon/Moonbeam Entertainment "classic".

"Beanstalk" is, of course, a live-action version of "Jack and the Beanstalk". The only thing of any substantial interest is the performance of Margot Kidder. She is so loopy in this film that it is downright disturbing. Kidder takes on the role of a mad scientist/archaeologist with reckless abandon. She truly seems a bit unhinged.

The two main child actors are Patrick Renna and J.D. Daniels. Daniels plays the title role of Jack with all of the emotion of a banana. Renna is more experienced and does a decent job. It doesn't matter, though, because he is trapped in a hellishly awful movie.

The story is too dumb even for kids to enjoy. Richard Moll plays a banker who wants to foreclose on the whole town, tear down all the buildings, and fill the entire area with water. The plan is to make a mint by owning pricy lakefront property. Umm...okay. Anyway, for reasons I won't go into, a giant beanstalk grows in someone's backyard and a couple of kids climb all the way up it to see what's at the top. I was personally hoping they would find a better script up there but they didn't.

One more thing...the scene towards the end featuring the giant stomping around the small town has to be seen to be believed. Give Roger Corman a hundred bucks and even he probably could've come up with something more believable. It's that bad. January 6, 2004

Beanstalk,timely for the ECO-System.

Hey this is a fun-filled fantasy film with THX Mastered Sound, An enjoyous-romp for the little one's and the grown-up's. Good production value's and music score nice acting turn's by veteran's David(American Werewolf in London)Naughton,Richard Moll(TVs Night Court) and zany wacky scientist played by Margot Kidder(Lois Lane of Superman,movies)least of all the child-actor known as Jack,after the Beanstalk,RECOMMENDED FAMILY VIEWING! May 29, 2000

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