March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934)

All of the Mother Goose characters join Santa Claus in Toyland. -Originally produced in 1934, it is now newly restored in color -Also includes restored B/W version -Includes bonus Rudolph short animated feature

A L&H Lovers Delight

While I wouldn't rate this as Laurel & Hardy's best feature, it certainly rates in the top-5 and is quite enjoyable for the whole family (though as my 5-year old daughter can attest, smaller children may find the bogeymen in the last part of the story just a little too scary without Mom and Dad nearby!). L&H have several enjoyable routines, Henry Brandon does a wonderful overacting job as the evil Silas Barnaby, and -- for the men reading this -- Charlotte Henry plays a very fetching Bo-Peep!

As other reviews have pointed out, this DVD release contains both the original black-and-white version and a colorized version. While I am one who is glad the practice in the 80s and early 90s of bastardizing B&W classics by colorization is largely ended, I have to admit that colorization improves this film given it's fantasy nature (imagine what "The Wizard of Oz" would have been like if it had been in B&W...Dorothy skipping down the light-gray road just isn't the same!). The purist in me, though, is glad to see both available on this edition. That same purist is also delighted to see that, despite the name on the box, Legend's source material still has the original "Babes in Toyland" title in the opening credits (the title was changed to "March of the Wooden Soldiers" for a 1940s re-release, and it's had that title on every TV broadcast and DVD up until now).

Finally, and this is probably something only die-hard L&H fans like myself will appreciate, this DVD also contains the rarely seen "The Tree in a Test Tube". This short was produced by the federal government during WWII to show the public the variety of products containing wood. Supposedly L&H filmed this on their lunch hour, and it shows. It's only mildly amusing, but of course the main goal of the film was information, not entertainment.

In conclusion, if you are looking to buy a copy of this movie, this is the version to purchase. If you already own a copy, I would say there's no reason to buy this one unless you are a huge L&H fan and want a copy of this movie with the original opening credits or a copy of "The Tree in a Test Tube". August 3, 2008

Brilliant!

I have forgotten just how brilliant at comedy Laurel and Hardy are, and just how marvelously funny this film is. The colorization is beautiful and the film itself has been restored to its full length and with the original opening and closing titles. If you've never seen Laurel and Hardy and want a perfect primer to their seemingly effortless chemistry and comic timing, Babes in Toyland (aka March of the Wooden Soldiers) is a good place to start. May 6, 2008

A B&W MOVIE IS LIKE A COLORING BOOK

There are many reasons movies are filmed in Black & White. Sometimes for budgetary reasons, other times the stars didn't want to show their "perfect" skin had flaws. The effects people were afraid their work would not look real. And yes, sometimes for artistic expression, but not for this movie. This movie was meant to be filmed in color, but budget was stretched and color technology wasn't perfected till four years later, ala The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938. There are two colorized versions of this movie and I suggest you see both. First came the Goodtimes version colorized by American Film Technologies. Then came Genius Entertainment's version colorized by Legend Films. The reason I say you should see them both is to see all the different color choices used by both "labs". A few examples are. In the G T version Stannie Dumm wears a green top and light blue tights. The L F version colored his top blue and his tights yellow. One shows orange spilt paint the other shows white spilt paint. Mother Goose's hat is Black in this, but reddish brown in the other. The comparisons are nearly endless. Now to focus on this edition only. The picture is nicely restored but it's too bright and does require some turning down of the brightness setting. Also there are no subtitles or commentary track. I would have gladly given up some of the bonus features in favor of a mini documentary on the making of this movie. In closing I would like to say I've "seen" this movie many times but never really watched it as closely as I have with this dvd. And all I can say is, Wow! This really is a great movie. The original title may have been "Babes In Toyland" which is actually shown in the opening credits of the DVD, but to me and countless others, this will always be in our hearts MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS. February 18, 2008

Childhood Memories

When I was growing up, I remember this movie on one of the 3 channels we had in NY. It was nice to see this reissued with both the B/W and Color versions. February 9, 2008

The only version to own

It's not Christmas without the Laurel and Hardy version of "March of the Wooden Soldiers". This is also the only version to purchase. It might not be as cheap as the others on Amazon but the production company did an excellent job refining the movie. This version also has the opportunity for the user to view in BW or Color. The extra's are awesome too. Definately worth the money. January 15, 2008

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