The Scottish highland village in this film is filled with pet lovers, aghast by the gossip against town vet Patrick McGoohan when he tells daughter Karen Dotrice that her precious cat Thomasina couldn't be saved and he had to put her to sleep. A bunch of angry kids tell the seemingly smarter adults that McGoohan hates animals and always has them euthenized in spite of the fact that one of his patient's dogs was indeed incurable and that Thomasina had tetanus. The kids gave her a glamorous send-off, interrupted by the arrival of the solitary Susan Hampshire whom they presume is a witch. Earlier she fixed the legs of the frog pet of Matthew Garber, Dotrice's best friend, and now sets out to bring Thomasina back to life.
I'll admit that as a kid, I always cried watching this film, and as an adult, I did feel emotion both at the sentiment of that memory and the goings on of the film, no matter how silly I found a lot of it, decades after first seeing it. For "Mary Poppins" fans, the presence of Dotrice and Garber (their first of three films together) is like seeing Garland and Rooney again, reminding the viewer of the fact that Disney's young stars weren't just restricted to Hayley Mills, Annette Funnicello and Tommy Kirk. Dotrice and Kirk are adorable together, and they prevent their characterizations from becoming cloying.
As for the fantasy element of this, you won't soon forget when Thomasina walks up the stairs to meet the cat god (a dream presumably) or all the adorable wild creatures in Hampshire's yard. McGoohan is an old crank of an embittered father, and Hampshire is absolutely sweet and charming. She proves herself quickly not to be a witch through a quick prayer to God. The themes of this film are definitely meant for more mature children as it is a rather dark movie, and I admit that I found a few things unintentionally funny. But it's a heartwarming film once you get past the oddness, one of the most unique entries in Disney's early non-animated feature films.
I'll admit that as a kid, I always cried watching this film, and as an adult, I did feel emotion both at the sentiment of that memory and the goings on of the film, no matter how silly I found a lot of it, decades after first seeing it. For "Mary Poppins" fans, the presence of Dotrice and Garber (their first of three films together) is like seeing Garland and Rooney again, reminding the viewer of the fact that Disney's young stars weren't just restricted to Hayley Mills, Annette Funnicello and Tommy Kirk. Dotrice and Kirk are adorable together, and they prevent their characterizations from becoming cloying.
As for the fantasy element of this, you won't soon forget when Thomasina walks up the stairs to meet the cat god (a dream presumably) or all the adorable wild creatures in Hampshire's yard. McGoohan is an old crank of an embittered father, and Hampshire is absolutely sweet and charming. She proves herself quickly not to be a witch through a quick prayer to God. The themes of this film are definitely meant for more mature children as it is a rather dark movie, and I admit that I found a few things unintentionally funny. But it's a heartwarming film once you get past the oddness, one of the most unique entries in Disney's early non-animated feature films.