Set in the areas of Northern California around San Francisco and Redwood National Park, the film follows D. J. Mulrooney (Walter Brennan), a well known timber magnate, who embarks on a road trip in his 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II with his two grandchildren, Elizabeth (Karen Dotrice) and Rodney (Matthew Garber), to Seattle to facilitate a business deal involving 50,000 acres of Redwood timber. When the trio stop for a picnic lunch, they encounter a gnome, Jasper (Tom Lowell), and his grandfather Knobby (also Brennan) who are the last gnomes in the area. Knobby is slowly fading away having lost hope of seeing his grandson find a wife and continue the family. The trio volunteer to help them find gnomes in other forests, but a series of misunderstandings, revelations, and mishaps make this easier said than done.
One of the final films to be produced by Walt Disney before his death, The Gnome-Mobile reunites Mary Poppins director, Robert Stevenson, with Jane and Michael Banks actors Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber. The film is an adaptation of the Upton Sinclair children's novel of the same name. The movie has been somewhat changed from the book. While the book is very much a children's fairy tale with a subtle environmental message that fits well within Sinclair's oeuvre, the movie while containing some elements of the book's message is more in line with director Stevenson's more comedic takes such as Blackbeard's Ghost. With that said, despite the liberties taken from the source material, The Gnome Mobile is a really charming comedy adventure with a nice sense of humor and good performances.
The movie's central performance of D. J. Mulrooney played by Walter Brennan works quite well. Brennan basically plays the role with genuine warmth and likability that helps to elevate the movie. Likewise, the child actors Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber are still just as charming here as they were in Mary Poppins and have some good screen presence particularly in a scene where they need to borrow the Rolls Royce in a scene that's both suspenseful and quite funny. The Gnomes are well acted by both Brennan as Knobby the grandfather and Tom Lowell as Jasper and their scenes together are a lot of fun as they're are brought to life as gnomes through a mixture of compositing and rear projection that is nicely integrated with the main actors.
Most of the movie being a road adventure is based on "episodes" our characters encounter, and for the most part they work quite well and ae amusing. One of the episodes that's probably aged somewhat poorly is Jasper's quest for a bride which he does find, but without revealing too much it basically becomes an inverse Pepe le Pew situation where he is becomes Penelope and is chased by many female Le Pews in what's essentially the climax for the movie. I suppose its amusing enough, but there's some thinly veiled causal sexism of the time that creeps its way in. It's subtle enough that most kids won't catch it, but it is there.
The Gnome-Mobile is a charming fantasy family comedy brought to life by good performances and good special effects. While the movie is loosely structured and there's some elements that have become somewhat dated, this is still a charming film that carries that familiar Disney magic.
One of the final films to be produced by Walt Disney before his death, The Gnome-Mobile reunites Mary Poppins director, Robert Stevenson, with Jane and Michael Banks actors Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber. The film is an adaptation of the Upton Sinclair children's novel of the same name. The movie has been somewhat changed from the book. While the book is very much a children's fairy tale with a subtle environmental message that fits well within Sinclair's oeuvre, the movie while containing some elements of the book's message is more in line with director Stevenson's more comedic takes such as Blackbeard's Ghost. With that said, despite the liberties taken from the source material, The Gnome Mobile is a really charming comedy adventure with a nice sense of humor and good performances.
The movie's central performance of D. J. Mulrooney played by Walter Brennan works quite well. Brennan basically plays the role with genuine warmth and likability that helps to elevate the movie. Likewise, the child actors Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber are still just as charming here as they were in Mary Poppins and have some good screen presence particularly in a scene where they need to borrow the Rolls Royce in a scene that's both suspenseful and quite funny. The Gnomes are well acted by both Brennan as Knobby the grandfather and Tom Lowell as Jasper and their scenes together are a lot of fun as they're are brought to life as gnomes through a mixture of compositing and rear projection that is nicely integrated with the main actors.
Most of the movie being a road adventure is based on "episodes" our characters encounter, and for the most part they work quite well and ae amusing. One of the episodes that's probably aged somewhat poorly is Jasper's quest for a bride which he does find, but without revealing too much it basically becomes an inverse Pepe le Pew situation where he is becomes Penelope and is chased by many female Le Pews in what's essentially the climax for the movie. I suppose its amusing enough, but there's some thinly veiled causal sexism of the time that creeps its way in. It's subtle enough that most kids won't catch it, but it is there.
The Gnome-Mobile is a charming fantasy family comedy brought to life by good performances and good special effects. While the movie is loosely structured and there's some elements that have become somewhat dated, this is still a charming film that carries that familiar Disney magic.