this, for me personally, was really absorbing and fascinating subject matter for a celebrity profile documentary. i'll have to admit i'm one of those persons whose life was profoundly effected by the Sherman Bros. music. not only did i grow up with it practically from the cradle, i sort of majored in it as a quasi-pupil of sorts. i probably am more familiar with pretty much all of the Sherman Bros. works more than anybody i've ever met. i used to listen to their soundtracks over and over and over...get the picture?
i remember knowing the difference between their Disney and non-Disney musical scores when i was very young and others hadn't the slightest. i even revered the scores to Disney films like 'Family Band' and 'Happiest Millionaire' when others had long forgotten those movies. 'Family Band' and 'Millionare' were my first soundtracks ever. even before i had the original soundtrack to 'Mary Poppins' i had those. i was probably around eight at the time. so you can imagine the influence these two men have had on my life.
funny thing is, i really know little or nothing about their personal life or about who they were. i am familiar somewhat with the chronology of their work and of the various songs and melodies, and i am familiar with the many photographic images, but that's about it. most of the stuff i discovered here in this documentary was news to me and i wasn't sure i liked everything i heard.
i was somewhat shocked to learn that the musical duo that gave us so many happy, happy, joy, joy, children's ditties, were so petty, dysfunctional and cranky with each other. i have a brother, and we are close enough, but i know how this sort of thing goes. i guess i just expected more mature behavior from these two. knowing what i do know about personality types, i venture to say the problem might have lay mostly with Robert, God rest his soul, because he is more withdrawn and less communicative. these types are often moody and are often silent because they are secretive and judgmental. he is also the older sibling, and according to Rank, has the whole dethroned king complex. dunno. just guessing. it was sad, but very revealing to know this about them. i mean it really makes you feel like you kind of got to know them.
there were some sweet, but overly brief interviews with Lesely Ann Warren and John Davidson. and it was interesting, for me, to hear 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' star Angela Lansbury, talk about Robert and his service in World War II and how it effected his treatment on that film score. it was also of interest to hear that their father was a well known songwriter and a immigrant. never knew any of that.
for true aficionados of the Disney classics, this film should be a real treasure. it is done with fondness and warmth without being overtly sentimentalized. for those that don't really respect or truly love the films of Walt Disney himself, this whole thing might not mean much at all.
the Sherman Bros. are my favorite song writers for musical theater of the last century. true, a lot of musical theater doesn't always appeal to me, i find a vast majority of it overrated, but musicals are my favorite genre never the less. the Bros. have never gotten the respect of say a Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe or even a Rodgers and Hart, i think it's time. their scores are truly whimsical and delightful treasure. even if the creators were grounded and mired in their own spiteful, crabbiness.
i remember knowing the difference between their Disney and non-Disney musical scores when i was very young and others hadn't the slightest. i even revered the scores to Disney films like 'Family Band' and 'Happiest Millionaire' when others had long forgotten those movies. 'Family Band' and 'Millionare' were my first soundtracks ever. even before i had the original soundtrack to 'Mary Poppins' i had those. i was probably around eight at the time. so you can imagine the influence these two men have had on my life.
funny thing is, i really know little or nothing about their personal life or about who they were. i am familiar somewhat with the chronology of their work and of the various songs and melodies, and i am familiar with the many photographic images, but that's about it. most of the stuff i discovered here in this documentary was news to me and i wasn't sure i liked everything i heard.
i was somewhat shocked to learn that the musical duo that gave us so many happy, happy, joy, joy, children's ditties, were so petty, dysfunctional and cranky with each other. i have a brother, and we are close enough, but i know how this sort of thing goes. i guess i just expected more mature behavior from these two. knowing what i do know about personality types, i venture to say the problem might have lay mostly with Robert, God rest his soul, because he is more withdrawn and less communicative. these types are often moody and are often silent because they are secretive and judgmental. he is also the older sibling, and according to Rank, has the whole dethroned king complex. dunno. just guessing. it was sad, but very revealing to know this about them. i mean it really makes you feel like you kind of got to know them.
there were some sweet, but overly brief interviews with Lesely Ann Warren and John Davidson. and it was interesting, for me, to hear 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' star Angela Lansbury, talk about Robert and his service in World War II and how it effected his treatment on that film score. it was also of interest to hear that their father was a well known songwriter and a immigrant. never knew any of that.
for true aficionados of the Disney classics, this film should be a real treasure. it is done with fondness and warmth without being overtly sentimentalized. for those that don't really respect or truly love the films of Walt Disney himself, this whole thing might not mean much at all.
the Sherman Bros. are my favorite song writers for musical theater of the last century. true, a lot of musical theater doesn't always appeal to me, i find a vast majority of it overrated, but musicals are my favorite genre never the less. the Bros. have never gotten the respect of say a Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe or even a Rodgers and Hart, i think it's time. their scores are truly whimsical and delightful treasure. even if the creators were grounded and mired in their own spiteful, crabbiness.