"A Step in the Right Direction"/"David Tomlinson "Portobello Road"/Theatrical Trailers

"Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971) was a favorite of mine when I first saw it. The idea of being able to transport yourself anywhere by turning the knob at the foot of a bed was extremely appealing! Although many watching this film might think it is very similar to Mary Poppins (45th Anniversary Special Edition) it was in development before "Poppins" was ever released. An intially lackluster treatment caused Walt to put it on the shelf and proceed with "Poppins" instead. After Walt's passing, the Disney team dusted it off and put together the film that you see now. A very charming story set during World War II, it still stands up today. Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury) is a single woman studying to be a witch. She receives her lessons through mail from a conman, Professor Emelius Browne (David Tomlinson). At the same time, she becomes saddled with 3 young war orphans who throw a wrench in her ordered life. Through a lucky accident, Browne inadvertently sends Price a magical text which is missing the second half. Seeking Browne out, she and the children go on a magical adventure to discover the complete magical spells located in the 2nd book which can help England during the war.***

There have been a number of DVD releases for the Disney Classic "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"; this particular one seems to be aimed at the young teen market. The movie itself is the same restored version from the Bedknobs and Broomsticks (30th Anniversary Edition). There are a few differences between the sets: this Enchanted Musical Edition contains a featurette hosted by Jennifer Stone from Wizards of Waverly Place: Wizard School (8:07) which describes how animation and live action were combined when "Bedknobs" was made and how it is done digitally with a green screen effect today. Stone is very enthusiastic and the tone of this background featurette is clearly aimed at a more youthful demographic. Both DVD sets have the featurette, "Music Magic - The Sherman Brothers" which details the music in the movie. It is a little sad to hear the brothers discuss how after Walt died, many at the studio didn't know what to do and found it hard to believe things could continue on. From this feeling came the song "The Age of Not Believing." Unfortunately for this new edition, the featurette has been trimmed; on the 30th edition, it delves a little deeper into the restoration of the missing footage that was cut after the initial release of the film. Whether this would be interesting or not to today's youth is debatable. The version also has a Dylan & Cole Sprouse promo "Blu-Ray is Suite" (4:44) which shows many of the benefits to owning a blu-ray vs. regular DVD. Again, definite appeal to the youth who follow the Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: Lip Synchin' in the Rain Missing from the 30th release are a few Donald Duck & Mickey Mouse cartoons.

"A Step in the Right Direction" Reconstruction (3:48): By using stills (since the footage is still lost), Disney attempts to recreate the missing Angela Lansbury musical number. Charming number, but not a huge loss as far as the impact of the film is concerned. ***

"David Tomlinson "Portobello Road" recording session (1:10): See actor Tomlinson recording the vocal tracks for this musical number.***

Theatrical Trailers: 4 trailers of varying length, from 1:33 to 3:42 ***

Final Words: