Directed
by: Don Bluth & Gary Goldman
Written by: Hans Christian Andersen &
Don Bluth
Music by: Barry Manilow (music) &
Jack Feldman (lyrics)
Released on: March 30, 1994
Running Time: 86 minutes
Budget: $
Box-Office: $11.4 million in the U.S.,
$ million worldwide
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Thumbelina... Jodi Benson
Jacquimo... Gino Conforti
Mother... Barbara Cook
Mr. Mole... John Hurt
Hero... Will Ryan
Queen Tabitha... June Foray
King Colbert... Kenneth Mars
Prince Cornelius... Gary Imhoff
Grundel... Joe Lynch
Mrs. Toad... Charo
Mozo... Danny Mann
Gringo... Loren Michaels
Mr. Beetle... Gilbert Gottfried
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Thumbelina was written
more than 100 years ago: therefore, no rights purchase or licensing was
necessary since the title is in public domaine.
Gary Goldman admitted
that Thumbelina "did terribly at the box office, about $2 million
less that NIMH did 20 years ago.
Thumbelina apparently did well in video, but we do not have the numbers."
Thumbelina is voiced
by The Little Mermaid's Jodi
Benson, and has music by Barry Manilow. This also marks the first
time Don Bluth has used a classic fairy story as the theme for one of his
films - something Disney has always done! The group's very first
production was supposed to be a fairy story - "The Pied Piper", but they
eventually decided against it.
Barbara Cook (1927) is best-loved and remembered for her work on the Broadway
stage. An amazing singer and refreshingly impulsive actress, she made her
debut at 23 in the musical 'Flahooley.' Roles in 'Plain and Fancy' and
the most famous flop of all time, 'Candide' followed. In 1957, she created
her most famous role as Marion Paroo opposite Robert Preston in 'The Music
Man.' She won a Tony for her work. Other shows included 'The Gay Life,
' 'She Loves Me' and 'Something More.' After the short-lived 'Grass Harp'
during the early '70s, Cook retired from the musical theater. Not long
after, she emerged as a dynamite cabaret singer. This second phase of her
career is still going strong today. Her covers of Disney songs are some
of the most highly regarded ones -especially Dumbo's
"When I see an elephant fly".
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The style of the characters
was clearly inspired by Don Bluth's work on Xanadu (1980), an Olivia
Newton-John movie vehicle for which he animated a short sequence.
In February 2002, Don
Bluth looked back at this production and commented: "This film was one
of the last three films we made while in Ireland. The audience target was
female, 6 to 10 and family. Production value-wise, we are very proud of
this film and the story is very close to Hans Christian Andersen's original.
The film has won awards in Denmark and is shown regularly at the annual
Hans Christian Andersen festivals. When we were in bankrupcy court, Disney
offered to buy the film from the court-appointed trustee. The Disney marketing
group felt that the film fit their style of product and that they would
do well with it financially. The trustee did not sell them the film. He
was protecting the company and its 500+ employees. Production-wise, Thumbelina
is a strong example of good animation and production design."
Barry Manilow's "Marry
The Mole!" received a very undeserved Razzie Award for Worst Original Song
in 1995.
Barry Manilow
also wrote music for Disney's Oliver
and Company (1988) and Don Bluth's The
Pebble and the Penguin (1995).
"Thumbelina was
a challenge," recalled Don Bluth in January 2003. "We now wish we would
have made her a stronger character with a spunkier personality. We tried
to stick very close to the Hans Christian Andersen version. But there are
many elements in the film that we are very proud of. The message of 'Follow
Your Heart' is a great message. We also wish that we could have had a female
sing 'Let Me Be Your Wings' in the end credits, with male back-up. It would
be just the reverse of the song sung in or during the body of the film.
It just seemed appropriate, now that Thumbelina has her own wings."
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