Under the Thumb
Thumbelina is no bigger than a thumb, yes a thumb and whilst she longs to meet someone like her to fall in love with is happy with her life, her mother and her animal friends including hero the dog. And then Thumbelina gets her wish as one day whilst singing Cornelius, the thumb sized prince, over hears her angelic singing and comes looking for her. Both head over heals in love it all looks like a fairytale ending is on the cards, that is until a toad kidnaps Thumbelina.
The house of mouse, yes Disney is with out doubt the top animation studio especially when it comes to the classic, fairytale animations. But one time Disney animator Don Bluth has frequently come close to capturing that Disney animation magic, never quite getting it completely right but doing a better job that many animation studios which attempted to do only what Disney could once do. That brings me to "Thumbelina" which is another one of Bluth's almost animations, almost getting it right but coming up short in various departments.
Now in truth I don't know the story of Thumbelina to comment on how close to Hans Christian Anderson's tale this version gets but what is presented to us is entertaining enough and fits the fairytale criteria perfectly. But what for me is lacking is detail starting with the animations as it has that classic animation look which has a nostalgic charm especially during distant shots except the minute it gets up close to Thumbelina the detail is lost and sadly spoils things. It is the same when it comes to the musical ingredient as again it has that classic animated musical feel with big ballads and amusing little songs but there is a coarseness to them which makes them grate ever so slightly.
What this all boils down to is that "Thumbelina" is entertaining and those who yearn for the nostalgic charm of old fairytale animations it has plenty to offer. But for me it lacks the attention to detail to make it great rather than just an entertaining distraction.
