Which admittedly I did actually go out and buy...
Anyway, the story is good and this films is devoid of the annoying plot twists that are common in Don Bluth's other 90's films. The way the seasons shift over the course of a day is very interesting. The songs are also really good, including the ever-underappreciated "Merry the Mole", which is a villain song so kids aren't supposed to learn anything from it. What I don't like about this movie is that after the long 20-30 minute intro to the story, the rest just feels rushed. Plus, Thumbelina herself is one of the worst characters ever thought up by Bluth. I have no problem with love at first sight, even though that idea had been scrapped shortly after The Little Mermaid, but my god, Thumbelina is a ditz. In every scene, she's literally struggling to stand up! What's more is that she's a hypocrite. She can't make up her mind! Every time one of the random villains/good guys start singing about what they think she should be doing, she immediately changes her mind and agrees with everything they say... wow, what a maroon! Despite that, it's still a good film, just not one of Bluth's proudest.
It is completely fine for all ages (though I'm sure only kids four and up will be really interested). However, I'm not sure if anyone older than, let's just say, nine will actually care. I rarely say this about children's movies, either.
Lots of nice, Disney-like music written by Barry Manilow. Story follows the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale pretty closely.
The best thing about this movie is that my 4 year old (who is terrified by witches, ghosts or anything that could be remotely scary) can watch this by herself and enjoys the whole show.
I have a 4-year-old, and we found this movie too dark! The storyline contains mostly stressful situations for the heroine (and comparitively few happy moments) once the action starts. The movie's ending is happy, of course, but JUST. Many references to death. Inappropriate words, such as "shut up". I found the mushy embraces and love between Thumbelina and the prince, as well as the theme of forced marriage to both the frog and the mole, not to mention the beetles' physical attraction to her (singing that he's "hot to trot"), to be inappropriate for my daughter.
Not subject matter I want her dreaming about tonight.
Our grandmother gave us this movie when I was 6 and my sister 4. We didn't care for it. I am now 11 and my sister 9, and our littlest 3. Our littlest loves this movie, since she loves fairies. We couldn't believe it! Thumbelina's favorite word is "um!" The main theme is arranged marriage! (which made us think about *ahem* other themes). Thumbelina sings the entire time about true love, even though she's only met the fairy prince once and is attracted to him since he is 2 inches tall. Really? And is there ONE animated movie that does not have Gilbert Gottfried in it? His appearance as the beetle was a little disturbing, since he wanted to make money by displaying Thumbelina in public at a beetle themed gathering. Ick! Not one of Mr. Gottfried's prouder performances. We gave this movie to the library once we had seen it. No thanks!