Jim on Film:Enchantment: A Survey of Disney's Feature Film Live-Action Musicals
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In their book Walt�s Time, the Sherman Brothers explain their learning process during the films of this time, such as the need for their songs to be worked into the underscoring to help clarify characters and situations. One could hypothesize that the musical storytelling of Summer Magic was part of that learning curve.

However, in watching Summer Magic, it�s important to keep in mind the whole effect of the film. One could criticize its use of music, but what is most important is not that it follows an established inventory of rules but that it is full of charm and pure entertainment. And Summer Magic is pure charm and entertainment. The average viewer is so delighted by Hayley Mills and the plight of the Carey family, you never feel bored during numbers like �Beautiful Beulah� or �On the Front Porch.� It�s all part of the fun.

As other writers have pointed out, the screenplay was written by Sally Benson, the writer whose short stories became the basis for the classic MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Like that great movie, Summer Magic has a loose story filled with endearing characters and old home situations. They are both reminders of a life in a simpler, happier time, and because of that, both films are always joys to revisit.

If the film was only better known today, it would make for a great stage adaptation for the youth theatre market which Disney has been aggressively pursuing. It has all the elements that appeal to kids�rivalries, romance, and humor.

While the soundtrack has never been available in stores, as of 2005, it was available at Disneyland from the music shop with the machine that burns discs and prints cases.

Mary Poppins�Is there much that can be said about Mary Poppins that hasn�t already been said? A tremendous cast in a tremendously fun story singing tremendously great Disney songs . . . the list goes on.

The Happiest Millionaire�Despite its extreme over-length and uneasy tightrope between fantasy and reality, The Happiest Millionaire is still a worthy successor to Mary Poppins.

Most importantly, the Sherman Brothers are at the top of their game in creating some of Disney�s best songs. Like their best work in the better-known Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, and The AristoCats, they wrote very singable and memorable tunes for The Happiest Millionaire, though this time adding to their repertoire a more sophisticated Broadway-style tone. My favorite has always been the beautiful �Are We Dancing� for its romance and pleasing melody, but that is simply one in a shining array of crown jewels.

Under other circumstances, when long musicals weren�t en vogue, The Happiest Millionaire probably would have been cut by an hour or more. Honestly, it could have been greatly cut down without sacrificing any of the important story elements, but that is not to say that the full roadshow version, the one currently on DVD, is ever boring. It�s just long. After having grown up watching the shortened version, which was the only version available for rental on VHS until the early 2000s, I still prefer the roadshow version. The fun is longer-lasting.

Like Mary Poppins, The Happiest Millionaire is greatly enriched by the casting of major musical stage talent. Tommy Steele was pulled from Broadway, and Lesley Ann Warren (from the television remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein�s Cinderella) and John Davidson had both garnered Broadway credits before filming. The other major stars�Fred MacMurray, Geraldine Page, Greer Garson, Gladys Cooper, Hermione Baddeley�were all first-class film talents of the classic era when actors were required to exceed at performing using multiple talents. As a result, they were all more than able to rise to the occasion required by a musical film.

Several years ago, the soundtrack was blessedly released on CD. It doesn�t appear to be currently in print, though copies are readily available. If you are a fan of the movie, don�t hesitate to secure your copy right away.

The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band�With The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, Disney ended its string of excellent musicals. While Summer Magic is a very enjoyable film, the following three Sherman Brothers musicals perfected the art of storytelling with music, and while most reviewers don�t acknowledge the following two, they are very worthy successors to Mary Poppins. Whatever failings The Happiest Millionaire may have, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band corrects them by keeping the story concise and firmly rooted in reality.

This movie also features a spectacular cast, headed by Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson, both with beautiful singing voices. Buddy Ebsen was an old song and dance man perfectly suited for such a role, and Janet Blair had an impressive number of Broadway and other stage credits. Walter Brennan, not known for his musical giftings, is very good here as well.

Again, a major strength of the film is its superb musical numbers. Just as with The Happiest Millionaire, it would be pointless to create a list of the best songs because it would encompass about the whole score, though it is worth highlighting �West O� the Wide Missouri,� which is not only a great song but features some really fun character-driven choreography. So while the song, lyrically, is extraneous, the choreography makes it firmly rooted in the story, as Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson�s characters flirt and attempt to make the other jealous.

It was a long-time coming on DVD, though it thankfully arrived several years ago. Unfortunately, the CD has yet to make an appearance, the chances of which grow less and less likely as digital music files make it more appealing for Disney to forgo CD releases of its older titles. I can always hope.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks�In terms of study, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is probably the most interesting of the Disney live-action musicals. It features ten great Sherman Brothers songs, a film-making pedigree as impressive as anyone could ask, and Broadway superstar Angela Lansbury.

However, where that mixture before led to great artistic success, the lacking of a key ingredient, Walt Disney, shows how instrumental he was in the creation of Mary Poppins.