Brendan Carroll I finally saw this film tonight, thanks to the British cable channel "Talking Pictures" screening a really gorgeous print and at last, I can understand why it was such a major box office flop in 1940.The reviews here on IMDb are mostly from people living in the USA and a large number of them express being entranced by this heavy-handed fantasy. Perhaps they see things differently there? Or maybe they just adore Shirley Temple, no matter what the film? As a Britisher, I have never understood the appeal of Shirley Temple. Her saccharine cutesy-pie act and tuneless, off-key singing always left me cold, even as a child. In this movie (her first in colour), she is even less appealing than usual and the thought that she was ever considered for the part of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz just beggars belief.The main problem with The Blue Bird as far as I'm concerned is that it lacks charm, though it tries very hard indeed. The composer Alfred Newman (a musical genius) scores the film with as much sweet-toned romantic melody as he is capable of, but it just does not match what is happening on screen.Some wonderful character actors do their best in various roles and the colour photography is often ravishing - but at the end of the day, one never warms to the central character (Temple) and the "message" of the film is so obvious, the final scene is painfully predictable.The Blue Bird is often compared to Oz and I can see why. But Oz had great songs, humour (Eddie Collins as the dog just leaves me cold) superb special effects (in Blue Bird, the effects are obvious and cheap looking, with gaudy painted backdrops at every turn) and also had a terrific narrative drive thanks to Mr Baum.It also had the unique talents of Judy Garland, who brought pathos, wit, charm and musical verve to the role of Dorothy that had audiences transfixed then and forever afterwards. Ms Temple on the other hand, grates with every toss of her curls and every pout of her lips.In spite of many video, DVD and TV revivals, The Blue Bird has failed to find an audience, even with the patina of nostalgia through the passage of time. I doubt it ever will.It is an expensive, lumpen curio and proof that not everything produced in Hollywood's Golden Age was worthy of the great talents working there.

Steffi_P Amid the competitiveness of classic era cinema, whenever one studio had a big success the others would inevitably roll out their copycats. These were invariably inferior knock-offs, but they often fared reasonably well because they cashed in on the popularity of whatever it was they were imitating. But imagine, if you will, a rip-off movie so appalling that it failed at the box office, even with the attachment of a popular star. Just such a thing is The Blue Bird. It's making was a particularly pertinent bit of point-making by 20th Century Fox, since its star Shirley Temple had lost out to Judy Garland for the lead role in The Wizard of Oz. However, the fantasy movie Fox gave to Temple got wrong everything The Wizard of Oz got right.The failure of The Blue Bird is usually blamed upon the fact that Temple plays a mean-spirited little girl, and it's true this is at least part of the problem. It's not that she isn't good at being the snooty brat – I can well imagine her being like that in real life – it's just that it's wrong for the movie. The story arc is all about Temple's moral development through her adventures, but she's so convincing as the little madam we have no starting point with which to sympathise with her. Ironically though it's the deliciously evil Gale Sondergaard who I find myself routing for, especially since the "good guys" in this movie are so flimsy (or in the case of Fairy Berylune, downright rude).But there are still deeper flaws running through The Blue Bird. Its joyless, po-faced moralism becomes tiresome incredibly quickly. Its fairytale concepts may be a little different but they don't really inspire much delight. Admittedly a little poignancy has been eked from the scene with children waiting to be born, but the concept of unborn babies being love-struck teenagers is a little too weird even for a fantasy movie. And plot-wise it doesn't really have much else to offer. There is a tacked-on "daddy going to war" subplot, very much a Shirley Temple staple, but it falls flat because unlike in The Little Princess an emotional bond between father and daughter is not established.And when one compares The Blue Bird to its predecessor The Wizard of Oz, its woeful banality reaches depressing proportions. Like The Wizard of Oz, it begins in monochrome and turns to colour, but as oppose to the unforgettable transition in Oz it's an almost arbitrary switch between two scenes. Essentially it steals the idea but has learnt none of the grace. And, for want of a better word, it's not movie-fied enough. A frumpy Jessie Ralph in her patchwork cloak is very much as the character might appear in a book of fairy tales, but The Blue Bird could benefit more from the glamour of Billie Burke and her sparkles. And Helen Ericson as "Light" is simply too bland to be a replacement. Also bland is the music, the special effects, the set design… I could go on, but there doesn't seem much point. The Blue Bird shows classic Hollywood at its least enchanting.

dapplegrey13 I haven't seen "The Bluebird" since I was about 10 years old or so (back in the late 1960's or early 1970's). It it still sticks with me and I think of it often. It was certainly a memorable film for a little girl. To me, it was a sweet picture of heaven and of home. It also reminded me very much of the close bond I had with my little brother. Every time I see a bluebird, I remember the movie. It made (and still makes) spotting a bluebird a wonderful experience. I hope it will come out on DVD soon so more people can see it and appreciate it. It's similar to the Wizard of Oz. It is a fantasy and a sentimental family film.

yaso28 I search the movie 'The Blue Bird' with 'Shirley Temple' because I want it to buy. Where can I buy this movie (DVD)? I want this movie in DVD where I can choice the language French. I waiting for your response. Please help me for found this movie if you not have this movie. If you have this movie send me a mail. I like this movie because this have play when I was a children and this is my favorite's movie to my children times. And I want this movie for my children's and children's to my sister and brother so their can see my favorites and children times movie and this is a very big souvenir for me (if I found this) and I hope that I found this.Thanks Petro Yaso