One of the Undiscovered Animated Treasures of the 1990s!

Don Bluth’s Thumbelina is a sweet musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. While Bluth had always tried to out beat Disney at their own game, he had never come close to matching the grandeur of the Mouse. Only two of his movies, the critically successful Anastasia and the highly innovative though box-office flop Titan A.E., leave a lasting impression. While Thumbelina does not match the haunting classical style of Anastasia, it definitely does possess that undeniable fairy-tale charm which made movies like Pinocchio a classic. And lost under the current of the mega success of The Lion King, Thumbelina somehow disappeared from the box-office and people’s minds.

Bluth remains mostly true to the original fairy tale. The character of Thumbelina is sweet and innocent, but Bluth made a terrible mistake by trying to make those qualities excessively protuberant. As a result her sweetness tends to become irksome more than often. Even so, one can grow fond of the little girl, who by the way has the wonderful voice of Jodi Benson (Ariel from The Little Mermaid). Benson performs her part well and her vocals are really haunting and moving (I will come to that in some time).

In fact, it is the character of Cornelius which is much more interesting. He has the boyish charm of Aladdin as well as that heroic edge to his character. Gary Imhoff’s voice has that perfect adolescent touch, which makes Cornelius very sexy and realistic on the screen. He has the raging hormones of a sixteen-year old teenager. He is attracted to Thumbelina; is impatient and hesitant in his approach to her; bravely goes to rescue his lady love from trouble and is passionately kissed by her in the end.

The supporting cast is quite fascinating. Jacquimo, the swallow with the French accent, is a true believer is the power of the heart. Gino Gonforti provides a warm humorous appeal in his role. Gilbert Gottfried (voice of Iago in Aladdin) is not given much room for performance. While his voice will be forever loved as Jafar’s evil sidekick, I doubt whether anyone will even identify him here in his virtually unrecognizable role as Mr. Beetle. Barbara Cook is good as the caring mother to Thumbelina and Kenneth Mars, (again from The Little Mermaid) who plays the father to Cornelius, confers both dignity as well as love for his son. The two supporting characters I love the most are those of Carol Channing as Miss Field Mouse and Charo as Mrs. Toad. Both the retired Broadway stars portray negative roles. They are comical without being sinister and while Channing impresses with her vocal flair, Charo's Spanish number during Mrs. Toad's feisty dance makes me giggle with mirth. The other characters are mostly one-dimensional.

The standard of animation is comparable to Disney. The visual palette is quite rich and the technique of rotoscoping has been vastly adopted. This gives the characters a very realistic look. Though newly seen is Thumbelina, this technique was later used a lot more extensively for Bluth’s successive projects, Anastasia and Titan A.E.

The music by Barry Manilow fits well into the sweet fairy-tale atmosphere of the movie. Two songs in particular are real standouts; Soon, Thumbelina’s yearning song and Let Me Be Your Wings, the love theme. As I have mentioned before, Jodi Benson’s voice echoes with the same mesmerizing power as heard in Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid). Her performance in Soon leaves you gasping for more. Gary Imhoff has that youthful attractive charisma in his voice. When he sings Let Me Be Your Wings, one cannot help but praise him. Charo’s number On The Road is rather amusing. The remainder of the songs are however silly and forgettable. Whats worse is the lack of a decent orchestral score. Other than the two main themes, there is hardly anything remarkable about the music.


What therefore sets Thumbelina aside is the simplicity of the story and the beauty of the presentation. A compelling love story, where there is attraction, teenage exasperation, discovery of true love and a happily-ever after ending. These elements make the movie appealing to adults as well. True, its no Beauty and the Beast, but it certainly is one of the sweetest and most touching love stories ever told. The recent Disney adaptation of the fairy-tale, The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina is infuriatingly painful to sit through, even through the first watch. Don Bluth’s Thumbelina thus remains one of the most delightful undiscovered animated treasures of the 1990s.