jc-osms Nice to re-watch a film I'd not seen since I was a child, the Brothers Grimm tale of Tom Thumb brought to cinematic life by George Pal. Not be confused with that other later film involving a character called Woody, a diminutive boy for whom the toys in his bedroom come to life and a musical soundtrack, "Tom Thumb" stars Russ Tamblyn as the tousle-haired tiny boy magically born fully formed to the elderly, good-hearted woodcutter and his doting but just occasionally nagging wife after he does a good deed in the eyes of the young Fairy Queen of the woods. In a sub-plot said Queen is playing slightly hard-to-get with her human admirer, second cornet in the village band, Woody. It's not long before Tiny Tom encounters and then befriends him, both of them happily heading on into town where a fun fair is in progress, although a bewitched pair of dancing shoes trip Tom into the path of scheming villain Terry Thomas and his portly, dumb sidekick both these parts played with gusto by Terry Thomas and Peter Sellers, soon to be reunited in an altogether different movie the next year, the sharp-edged political satire "I'm Alright Jack".Various scrapes and misunderstandings follow which all end up with Tom and Woody in a race to save Tom's wrongly accused parents face 20 lashes in public. You can guess how it ends up from there.I really enjoyed the fantasy sequences, especially Tom's s interaction with the toys, firstly when he comes awake and secondly when trying to sleep. Likewise the dancing shoes sequence at the carnival with Peter Butterworth carrying on well enough as a stall holder. The acting is nice with other British actors besides, like Bernard Miles and Jennifer Matthews in prominent parts as the new-old parents. Russ Tamblyn, the young American actor soon to feature in "West Side Story" is very likeable as the acrobatic Tom.Okay so some of the process shots rather jarringly misfire, some scenes run on too long and the songs are okay at best but there's a nice title "storybook" sequence, a fine "Mutt and Jeff" turn by Thomas and Sellers and lots of fine stop-animation work to enjoy.Colourful, energetic and fun this is still a nice family entertainment perhaps best watched around Christmas time, as I did.

MartinHafer I understand why some of the reviewers have fond memories of seeing "tom thumb" when they were kids. Back in 1958, the special effects were amazingly good. However, when seen today, the film comes off as very badly dated and a bit stupid. There...I said it. So, despite some wonderful George Pal effects, today it just seems like a silly and insignificant film.The story begins with a magical queen giving an old couple a 'son'--a 4 inch high one! Tom turns out to be a lot like Pinocchio--very naive and ripe to be taken advantage of by baddies. And, the baddies (Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers) convince the little guy to steal for them--and poor Tom doesn't know what he's going. Additionally, Tom has lots of singing and dancing adventures with magic shoes, toys that come alive and the like.I guess that part of the reason the film hasn't aged well is that stop-motion has been supplanted by CGI. The computer animations simply look better and don't have a 'halo' around characters when they are superimposed onto backgrounds. Another problem is the singing and dancing--there is just too much and it probably would bore many kids. Overall, a nice film back in the day but a terribly dated one today.

beresfordjd I saw this as a kid and it entranced me then and still does it to this day. When I became a teacher and it was available as a video I used to show it at the end of the summer term on the last day or as a Christmas treat. I taught for 25 years and must have shown it at least 15 times. It never failed to amaze me how "sophisticated" modern children still loved it and laughed at it. The Yawning Man's song never failed to start the audience yawning along with him. Now it was not great art (though the animation was never less than superb) but it did the job of entertaining its audience. Russ Tamblyn was fantastic in it - the perfect Tom Thumb. Sellers and Terry-Thomas were really, really funny and it still makes me laugh to think of their interaction - they stole the film. The scene in the castle where the villains are counting out their spoils is a brilliant piece of comic timing and action. Alan Young and June Thorburn were rather insipid as the lovers but did not detract too much from the rest of the movie. If you need a film to entertain young children from 5 - 12 then this is the one, it never failed me. And here I am again watching it on Christmas Day 2016 and it has not lost it's charm. The effects are still impressive even though CGI would do it as almost realistic- the more primitive effects still work. I always hope that maybe some of the kids I showed it too love it as much as I do and may be watching it now.

Caz1964 Tom Thumb is a film that can be enjoyed by all age groups its harmless fun and the special effects are really state of the arc for 1958,especially when the toys come alive the puppetoons are really fascinating to watch and should even by todays standards keep children amused.George Pal went on to direct The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm which I've never been able to get round to seeing as i keep missing it on TCM,but i know its suppose to be just as good. Russ Tamblyn was the perfect choice to play the title role as he really does come across as a little boy even though he was 24 years old,his dance routines are amazing especially with the added acrobatics you cant tire from watching him he makes his routine look so easy when obviously its not. Also another great bonus is the pairing up of two of my all time favourite comedians Peter Sellers and Terry Thomas as the two dastardly villains Tony and Ivan who greedily cheat and use Tom to steal a bag of the Kings gold and let Toms parents take the blame. They weren't very often teamed up in films together but if you ever want the chance to see them paired up then this is a good opportunity. Tom Thumb is a very simple story its easy to follow and this probably makes it all the more enjoyable and suitable for young children,there's no complicated plot its just pretty basic. Also Toms theme song 'This is my song '{DOO DEE DOO DEE DOO}is very catchy and your sure to start humming it before the end of the movie.