Babes in Waltland : Part I

Floyd Norman

16 years ago

As I told Jim Hill last week, if had I known this
was going to be such a big deal, I would have paid closer attention at the time.

Back in the 1960s while working at Walt Disney
Studios, I had the opportunity to casually observe the development and
production of “Babes in Toyland
,” the Company’s first attempt at a full-fledged
live action movie musical. I confess that my attention was on other projects at
the time, and I considered the finished product to be an interesting yet ultimately
unimpressive motion picture.

My apologies if that opinion upsets all of you diehard
Victor Herbert fans out there. But the only reason that “Babes in Toyland” initially
grabbed my attention was that my favorite Disney animator was been tapped to
direct. That’s right, the Old Maestro had chosen the brilliant yet quirky Ward
Kimball to helm the Studio’s first big budget musical.

Before we move any further here, let me add that
Jim has informed me that Disney had to be familiar with the 1934 Laurel & Hardy version
of “Babes in Toyland.” Given that Walt gave that film’s producer –
Hollywood pioneer Hal Roach — permission to use Mickey Mouse and the Three
Little Pigs in that production.

Zip forward a quarter of a century or so, and Walt
Disney Productions is now getting ready to put their own spin on this Herbert
operetta. Mind you, this movie wasn’t supposed to be a remake of the Roach
version. But clearly Gene Sheldon and
Henry Calvin were channeling for Stan and Ollie when they played Roderigo and
Gonzorgo.

A visit to Ward Kimball’s Wing in upstairs 2D would
reveal a treasure trove of toys and scale models as Kimball’s team prepared for
this production. Ward already had a crew of skilled filmmakers at his disposal.
A lot of these guys were responsible for the stellar effects work done in
Kimball’s “Man in Space” films. And this group of hand-picked creatives would
be responsible for all of the cool special effects in “Babes in Toyland.”

As this big budget movie ramped up for production,
we knew that “Babes” was going to be a starring vehicle for Disney’s top babe
at that time, Annette Funicello. Though “The Mickey Mouse Club” had been off
the air for several years at this time, this former Mouseketeer still had legions
of fans. And once Annette was teamed with teen heart throb Tommy Sands, we knew that
this movie probably had hit written all over it.

However, Ward Kimball had yet to cast “Babes in
Toyland” ‘s villain, Barnaby, and he came up with an unlikely choice. You can
imagine our surprise when we arrive on the Stage Two set one day to find
comedian Louie Nye in full make up and costume. For those of you who don’t
remember, Louie Nye was a regular on the old “Steve Allen Show.” The guy who
delivered the famous tagline, “Hi Ho, Steverino.”

Suddenly we thought that maybe “Babes in Toyland”
had promise after all. Ward Kimball was not about to deliver another cutesy,
saccharine kiddy flick, but perhaps something truly original and funny.

I had to sketch this from
memory. Ward Kimball directs Louie Bye on the set of “Babes in
Toyland.” Cast as the evil Barnaby, Nye was famous back in the 1960s
when he was a regular on the old “Steve Allen Show”

Construction on the “Babes in Toyland” sets was
finally under way on Disney’s sizable Stage Two. Suddenly we were no longer
jaded observers as we saw these impressive sets take shape. One of the first
settings that the art directors created was this creepy wooded environment with
animated trees. Think “The Wizard of Oz,” only more so. With such spectacular
sets this underway, we began to reconsider our opinion of the movie.

However, let’s get back to our young stars,
Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands. Annette’s curly brunette locks were given an
auburn rinse. And of course, she looked gorgeous. Her co-star Tommy Sands
looked … Well, I guess he looked gorgeous as well.

Nancy Sinatra and her boots

Back in the 1960s, this teen idol had married
Nancy Sinatra, and Mrs. Sands often visited the Disney studio while the film
was in production. Nancy Sinatra gained a degree of fame of her own that decade
thanks to her hit single, “These Boots are Made for Walking.” However, not once
did we ever see Frank Sinatra’s daughter in a pair of boots while she visited
the Disney lot.

Then, suddenly, disaster struck. Walt Disney
decided to replace the director of “Babes in Toyland.” Like shock waves, the
news of Ward Kimball’s removal from the film rippled through the studio. “How
could this be?” we all wondered. After all, this was the guy Walt had called a
genius.

Production
of “Babes in Toyland” would continue. But the reason that Kimball was fired,
and who would replace him as director of this film would remain a mystery. For
the moment, anyway.

This is
something we’ll discuss in our final installment of this series.

Did you enjoy today’s column about “Babes of Toyland”? Well, this is just one of the entertaining & insightful tales that this Disney Legend
has to share. Many of which you’ll find collected in the three books
Floyd currently has the market. Each of which take an affectionate look
back at all the years that Mr. Norman has spent working in the
entertainment industry.

These include Floyd’s original collection of cartoons and stories
— “Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation” (which is
available for sale over at John Cawley’s cataroo.com)
as well as two follow-ups to that book, “Son of Faster, Cheaper” &
“How the Grinch Stole Disney.” Which you can purchase by heading over
to Afrokids.com.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out Mr. Fun’s Blog. Which is where Mr. Norman postings his musings when he’s not writing for JHM.