1 a Disney childhood favourite
THE GNOME MOBILE reunites Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber in their third and final Disney film pairing. Walter Brennan impresses in two roles with fine support from Tom Lowell and Sean McClory.
Elizabeth and Rodney (Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber) are spending the summer with their tycoon grandfather D.J. Mulrooney (Walter Brennan). Stopping off in the Redwood Forest for a picnic, Elizabeth meets Jasper (Tom Lowell) and Knobbie (Brennan once more), who claim to be the last surviving gnomes.
Promising to help them find more of their own kid, D.J. and the children bundle up Knobbie and Jasper, their destination the Virgin Forest many miles away. A stop at a motel blows their cover and the gnomes are abducted by freak show owner Horatio Quaxton (Sean McClory). The plot thickens when D.J. is thrown into a madhouse!
The story quickly rushes to it's eventful conclusion with Jasper finding the girl-gnome of his dreams (Cami Sebring).
Too bad the movie's in full-screen but never mind. Alas the Disney people are doing this with more and more frequency in their back-catalogue titles.
An entertaining tale with the MARY POPPINS kids! Based on the book by Upton Sinclair. With Ed Wynn, Maudie Prickett, Norman Grabowski, Ellen Corby, Susan Flannery and Richard Deacon.
2 Oh, disheartening Disney, are you listening???
I'm shopping for potential birthday gifts for my son. I've noticed that inept restoration of movies by Disney seems to be the most popular battle cry in most reviews. I did not purchase this dvd version from amazon (Though I really would like to),on the specific advice given in previous reviews. We are so lucky to live in a generation that is able to share our childhood movie memories with our own children. It's too bad that the "powers that be" at Disney clearly have no knowledge of that genre or children. Now is the time for Disney to bring back the past with some respect so that Disney can once again be respected.
3 Silly but Fun
While DJ Mulrooney is picnicking in the woods with his grandchildren, his granddaughter discovers a couple of gnomes living there, who think they are the only gnomes left in the world. JC agrees to help them find other gnomes and all kinds of complications ensue, including stolen gnomes, a stay in and escape from an insane asylum, car chases and a race to catch a "greased" gnome.
The Gnome-Mobile is a typical Disney Film from the `60's - silly but lots of fun to watch. Walter Brennan is great as both DJ and one of the gnomes, while Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber (listed in the credits as the kids from Mary Poppins) are okay as his grandchildren. It's fun spotting the character actors who seem to appear in just about every comedy made in the 60's including Richard Deacon, Frank Cady, Ellen Corby and Charles Lane. Ed Wynn appears all to briefly as a gnome.
The Gnome-Mobile is a good, fun family film.
4 No widescreen = no sale!
Another rotten, stinking pan-and-scan ripoff. Disney studios is truly a Jekyll and Hyde - one moment giving us great Vault Disney deluxe treatments, the next moment trashing their product into standard frame abominations. And it's always done strictly at random, with no rhyme or reason to it.
In this case, it looks like they took the title too literally - they compacted the Gnome Mobile movie down into gnome size! The Disney decision makers must be nuts - they seem to have little clue of the goldmine they're sitting on, and the possible lifetime customers they're ticking off every time they pull this lame standard frame stunt.
Do NOT waste your dough on this dismal dud.
5 Me Johnson Car = Good, Pan-n-Scan = BAD!
If I could stop singing "Me Johnson Car" for one moment, I would complain about the horrid pan-and-scan look of this movie...but I can't! "Me Johnson Car" is among the top Disney songs ever written, sung or produced and I'm very disappointed that a) no one in the Disney stores knows it when I sing it and b) it's not on ANY of the Disney song compilations.
Long Live Me Johnson Car!
6 A Car Load Of Fun
Robert Stevenson's delightful little 1967 film deserves to be seen in a widescreen edition, but your kids won't really care. The catchy music and wonderful theme song, "In the Gnome Mobile" will have you tapping your foot for sheer joy, and perhaps you will be swept away in a wave of nostalgia at seeing the last teaming of Matthew Garber and Karem Dotrice, considerably more mature than they were three years earlier in Stevenson's MARY POPPINS. Robert Stevenson had a lovely way with directing children--he made Elizabeth Taylor a star in the Orson Welles JANE EYRE--and his touch is surefire with young Garber and Dotrice. Sad to think that this was his last film (he died in 1977) but it is a memorable one, not least for Walter Brennan's dual role--wonder if he got two salaries, he deserved them!
Watching the THE GNOME-MOBILE, even in its mutilated pan and scan version, turns into a whole snapshot album of treats. Fans with long memories will recall Sean McGlory from two classic John Wayne films of the early 1950s--THE QUIET MAN in which he played Owen Glynn, and also the rarely seen today ISLAND IN THE SKY, in which he played Wayne's co-pilot. Disney fans will recall he had appearances in both FOLLOW ME, BOYS and THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE. He died too soon, in 2003, without the Disney Legend status he deserved, but his performance here as Horatio Quaxton is filled with generous touches and a lot of old school hilarity.
The beautiful redwood forest at the beginning and the end of the film, shows a Disney comfortable with location filming. Wonder where these sequences took place? Must be somewhere in Northern California or Oregon?
7 Excelente para ninos y adultos
La primera vez que vi esta pelicula, tenia 10 a–os. Ya han pasado sobre 20 a–os y la recuerdo como el principio. La trama es de mucha accion, diversion y emociones.
8 5 stars for the Movie 1 Star for No Widecreen DVD!
I love the Gnome Mobile which stars the Mary Poppins kids, Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber and as much as I like Mary Poppins I have to admit that I actually like The Gnome Mobile better! But why is the Disney company only making fullscreen DVDs and refusing to put out a widescreen DVD? Don't they care about their fans and customers anymore? Or have they just become a bunch of greedy meanies who put profit over quality!
9 The Gnome Mobile
A wonderful story starring the same Children who appeared in Disney's Mary Popins film. The Gnome Mobile song in a delight as is the action chase sequences. My favorite scene comes near the end where the teen gnome bachelor is made up like a grease pig and all the availible maidens try to catch him. The one he falls for reminds me of Anntte Fouchello (mis-spelling of name) but don't think it was her. As the kids grandpa was responsible for many gnomes to disappear and now he try to help a pair of male gnomes for more of their kind.
10 Disney is disapointing
I will pass on this one and all the other Disney DVDs until they do it right, not until I get the full aspect ratios of their films on WIDESCREEN will I purchase any.
11 Another disappointment
Of all the movies of my childhood, there are few that I remember with such fondness as "The Gnome-Mobile". I recall my Uncle picking me up, sitting between 2 of my cousins in the theater munching on Milk-Duds. It was a wonderful day, and the film was absolutely magical.
I was SO excited to see that it came out on DVD - I wanted to share it with my own children. But then I looked at the specs, saw the aspect ratio and realized that it was yet another crappy Disney pan-and-scan hack job. The question I pose is this - at what point are the people at Disney going to have the RESPECT for their treasured films to release them in their entirety? Please don't support this horrible, thoughtless effort on their part.
12 Where is the widescreen format?
The Gnome-moble is an excellent movie and a childhood favorite.
I would love to purchase this and many other Disney titles....
but they are not widescreen. Why are they not releasing these
titles the way they deserve to be shown?
Until the release of the widescreen versions, I will avoid those
pan-and-scan Disney titles.
13 Michael Eisner must go
Here we go again: another great Disney classic that deserves special edition/Vault classic designation released in a terrible fullscreen hackjob presentation by a company run by corporate bean counters who care nothing about preserving the artistic integrity of their films. "The Gnome Mobile" is an incredibly entertaining film with two first-rate performances by the legendary Walter Brennan and excellent special effects (for the mid-'60's). But it's all for naught with this shabby presentation. I've already been ripped-off by the awful pan-and-scan copy of "Follow Me, Boys" I bought against my better judgment. Never again. I'm boycotting all Disney DVD's not presented in widescreen, no matter how much I love the film. I encourage everyone else to do so also.
Please, Michael Eisner. You've ruined the greatest entertainment company in history. Your theme parks are going bust, your live-action films (excluding the "Freaky Friday" remake and "Pirates of the Caribbean") are awful and just about every post-Katzenburg animated film has been an absolute bust. And now you've lost Pixar, the only cash cow Disney had left. To paraphrase Robin Williams, soon you'll only have a theme park and Kermit the Frog. And if you keep up with the cut-rate DVD's you're now mass-producing, soon your video department will go bust as well. Heck, even Roy Disney hates your guts. So, how about it, Mike? Please resign.
Until then, no widescreen, no dice. BOYCOTT!
14 Again, the "new" Disney ignores their heritage
No wonder the company is about to be taken over and broken up -- DVD was introduced to be an alternative to video, to offer more than video: better picture, more extras, and most importantly, more picture. Letterboxing. Widescreen. The complete image. And if you know anything about Walt Disney himself, you would know that he would have embraced the DVD format wholeheartedly -- the latest in technology was king to him. So what does the "new" Disney do? They take some of their most beloved live-action films such as this one, and dump it on DVD in full-frame editions. It's a crime against these wonderful films, films that are a credit to the "old Disney" -- the wonderful, family-friendly Disney. And what, exactly is the point of pan-and-scan? Who isn't used to widescreen DVDs yet? Why should I waste my money replacing my old Disney videos with the same crappy full screen image as before? Disney just doesn't get it, and their sales show it.
15 about Gnome Mobile ..
First of all, I only view movies that have english subtitles and/or are closed captioned. This movie IS closed captioned!
Why is Disney releasing all these classics in a standard format? I'd love to see them in their original form.
I first became interested in this movie, when I saw the real car in a small car museum somewhere in west Michigan several years ago, and have been looking forward to see this movie since then. It was not what I expected, as I thought it would be more action packed, but I am glad I got to view it. I felt it was not a waste of my time.
It's a movie that children can enjoy. I am an adult, and have enjoyed it myself. The only things that bothered me, was that it was a little slow, especially in the beginning, and it didn't have a lot of action. The story plot could have been a little better too. However, I suspect that it was the standard mode that impacted the movie's ability to deliver itself as it should've.
It is only one of the three films that Matthew Garber (who passed away in 1977) was on. This also contributed for my interest in this movie.
Gnome Mobile is not an "A" movie. It is not a Mary Poppins or the Love Bug. It is just a good nature movie to watch with your family or by yourself. If you don't have high expectations and just want to enjoy an old fashioned children movie, this might be a good choice for you. You may want to rent it first though. But if you are a Disney fanatic, then you'll probably want it in your movie library.
16 4 star movie gets 1 star DVD treatment
Once again, the folks at Buena Vista Home Video disappoint Disney fans and film scholars with a poor release of a Disney favorite. Why can't both versions of the film -- the "pan and scan" and the widescreen (original theatrical ratios) be presented on the same disc? The cropping is very distracting, especially with a film like this that has so many scenes inside of a car!!
While "The Gnome-Mobile" may not rate a "Vault Disney" or "Special Edition" release, the least Disney Home Video could do is release the film in its original format. Of course, this might present a little extra expense to the Company, and it's obvious that current management likes to keep profits up by cutting back any way possible. Walt's philosophy of "exceeding guest expectations" seems to have been forgotten. Hopefully, things will change soon.
Note to Disney Home Video: Treat your company's film heritage, and your customers, with some respect.
17 Why does Disney do this to us??????
Alas another wonderful 5 star Disney classic live action movie hacked to bits by pan & scan. Funny how many TV shows and now most commercials are in widescreen format. Maybe now that Eisner is soon to be history, perhaps the consumer will possibly benefit. George Mitchell, are you listening? Hail to Roy Disney and friends for keeping Walt's vision alive.
Oh, sorry but I'm still in boycott mode until Disney studios gives ALL classic live-action movies the "Vault Disney" treatment. I encourage all fans to keep the pressure on Disney with this forum kindly provided by Amazon.com.
18 Pan & Scan blues
I love this movie and would rate it 4 stars, except that this DVD is yet another example Disney's lamentable tradition of releasing most of its live action films in pan and scan instead of in the original widescreen format.
Since I don't really want to buy the film twice, I will pass on this edition and patiently wait until Disney sees fit to do a proper release of this great family film.
19 FINALLY (^_^)
I am like a few of you. I LOVED this movie as a child, noone seemed to have ever heard of it...yes, it seems even disney had not either!! I am so VERY happy to see it here!!!!! I will watch it over and over..AGAIN!!!!!
20 ABOUT TIME!!!
I have waited so long for this movie. No one seems to have heard of it, even the Disney stores. It brings back memories of when I was a kid and stole this movie from major video. Good times good times. I can't wait to watch this movie again. Everyone needs to see it!
21 My faviorte childhood movie
This is my faviorte Disney movie from my childhood. My sister and I used to love this movie so much as kids and I still do! It's the story of a grandfather who takes his grandchildren on an adventure where they meet a grandfather gnome and his grandson. The older gnome wants to find his grandson a gnome bride, so they ride along in the gnome mobile until they find the female gnomes in the woods. This movie is so cute and fun. I would recomend it to anyone who is a child at heart!
22 ONE OF THE BEST FAMILY MOVIES!
I accidentally recorded this film on VHS video tape about seventeen years ago from TV and I have taken special care of it ever since. The fact that it is finally being released on DVD is like a dream come true. It's one of those rare movies that capture the innocence of a bygone era, a time when excellent, feel good, family movies were made. It is with such movies that Disney defined the term family entertainment and that made a whole lot of difference to those of us that grew up with these films. Call it nostalgia if you will but movies are about entertainment and to me entertainment means that you can let yourself go for 90 minutes or so and travel to the faraway places in your imagination where the burdens of everyday life are nonexistent. Any movie that can achieve this is- to me- well worth a place in my collection. The Gnome Mobile is definitely one of those films and I would be a happy man if my son would grow up watching films like TGM rather than all the violent stuff that is so popular among youngsters nowadays.
23 The Gnomemobile
At last...I have waited for many years for this one...An excellent movie for all ages...Walter Brennan was great as the Grampa and the head of the Fairies...
Now if we could only get Song of the South on video and DVD...
24 Very Cute! Curious About Aspect Ratio Though!
The Gnome Mobile is a cute movie and stars Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber the children who played Jane and Michael Banks in Mary Poppins. They are again playing a sister and brother but this time they are named Elizabeth and Rodney who go to California to visit their wealthy grandfather D.B. Mulrooney who is played by Walter Brennen who also plays one of the gnomes who Elizabeth and Rodney discover in a forest. The Great cast also includes Ed Wynn, Richard Deacon, Ellen Corby and Tom Lowell and I highly recommend this movie! The only thing I'm wondering about is what the movies correct aspect ratio is? The movie on the DVD is shown in fullscreen, is that is the right aspect ratio or is this an edited pan and scan version?
25 Utterly Charming, delightfully whimsical!!!!
The Gnome Mobile is an utterly charming motion picture that is an absolute MUST for disney collecters. Like Darby O Gill- Robert Stevenson directed this for Disney as well. Remember this is 20 or thirty years before computer and compositing effects - the special effects in this movie are seamless. The movie is bright and colorfull enhanced with the Mary poppins children Karen Dotrice and Mathew Garber. It has been locked away for far too long. Aquaint your children with this delightful piece of whimsey, it has a spirit of joy and innocence that is lacking in most modern day disney films, and for that reason alone worthy of being in your collection....Truly deserving of five stars..
When it comes to tales on the wee folk Disney is often remembered for Darby O Gill, but this film is equally adorable.
26 Good Disney fantasy
This is a good fantasy from Disney. It is a movie the entire family will enjoy. Walter Brennen plays two roles. A wealthy grand father and the head of the Gnome clan. It features your standard Disney slap stick. The kids will enjoy it.
27 Best Ever
This is one of Disney's best movies ever. Unfortunately Disney had decided to take it off the market leaving the many young children without the knowlegde of the little people in this fantasy film. Great story line.... Great cast..... I am glad I am one of the fortunate ones that own this film.
28 a great film!
walter Brennan is charming in this tale as the old man who sees and befriends the Gnomes, and ends up stealing them. In the process he gets locke dup., because people think he is insane, as he cleaverly escapes. Also Richard Deacon is very funny and charming in it as well, as one of the guys trying to steal the little people. There's a neat chase scene, and a wonderful rooantic scene with the male and female gnomes dancing in the end, with beautiful fairylike costumes.
29 A classic disney movie
This movie is a classic. I grew up watching this film with my brother and consider it one of my favorites. you should really check it out even if you aren't a kid.
