Parents' Guide to

Brigadoon

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Magical Scottish village, singing, dancing, and romance.

Movie NR 1954 108 minutes
Brigadoon Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

Al M.
Al M. Parent
May 28, 2018
age 10+

Childhood memory

I was a very young boy along with my sister from a very conservative family. My father was a doctor and we moved to Canada when I was two. One of my earliest memories of television and what was available was the movie Brigadoon my father and mother loved. Maybe my Scottish heritage had something to do with it but I'm now 45 and it still,resonates with me. So different from, today's Hollywood. I now have two 18 month old twin girls and look forward when they are ready to showing them some of the classics before they get inindated with the new high tech movies. Great values soundtrack and a great music. I know they will appreciate it if presented at the right time. Timeless classics like.this need to be a stapel for our young kids. Teaches so much. Not all violence and killing. Others I remember are The King and I (Yule Brenner) and as a boy The Bridge Over The River Quai, Shane the western. Not to say there is no violence but it is no where near as graphic as today's shows. The realism I thinkk has gone overboard and made death look to realistic. If your kids are older and can handle bit of violence,and Classics that should not be forgotten to todays movies like. X-Men or TV like walking dead...; so much violence. I feel were.at a.point where compassion and love and song ( which is non existan unless it's a popular artists are a thing by the way scale) bring back the original custom soundtracks musical format. Those who have young children know how much they can absorb and when young enough can appreciate something new to listen to and sister get along other than what's on there iPod. Maybe I'm.old.at 45 but I still look back online at the classics my dad introduced me to as a young kid because they stuck in my developing memory. Any insight from others?
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What's the Story?

The village from the title, BRIGADOON, is a magical spot in Scotland that seems to live in the past. When Tom and Jeff (Gene Kelly and Van Johnson), two grouse-hunting vacationers from New York, stumble upon it, they are welcomed with hospitality. The local men wear kilts and what look to be tartan leotards and the women flouncy crinoline, all in seeming communal bliss. But it soon becomes clear that the villagers are hiding a strange secret. Tom, who is engaged to a woman he doesn't love back in New York, falls madly for Fiona (Cyd Charisse) at first sight and together they sing and dance to seal their connection.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

This classic musical will charm young fans of the genre. Some audiences may find the music quaint and cringe at the balletic choreography by its male lead, Gene Kelly, which can feel starkly out of sync with today's popular hip-hop-inspired dance moves. But the movie's technical quality cannot be disputed, with music and lyrics by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner, and direction by veteran Vincente Minelli, and produced by MGM musical guru Arthur Freed. Brigadoon opened on Broadway in 1947 and its success spawned this film and a 1966 television version of the same title. The suggestion is that modern life is bad and the old ways are good. Feminists will note that evil is blamed on women: witches threatened the village's tranquility, and Tom and Jeff note that such women are still around plaguing humanity in New York.

While it's not emphasized above the romance and magic, the religious backdrop is an important subtext. The story goes that it was a pastor's unilateral decision to make a deal with God on behalf of the innocents in his flock that blessed or doomed (depending on your point of view) Brigadoon to its strange existence/nonexistence. This is a proposition that could spur lots of philosophical discussion. Is it better to live safely, but sporadically, isolated in the past, with a small, insular group in seeming immortality, or to be out in the greater world with all the inherent risks and hazards? One member of the community feels doomed and stifled, and longs to escape. While the movie tries hard to sell the value of a safe haven impervious to the corrupt outer world, many viewers may identify with the outlier's longing for freedom.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the idea of protecting people from exposure to the world's corruption. There are many ways the creators of Brigadoon could have chosen to magically separate the village from the outer world. How do you think the solution they picked adds or subtracts from the success of the story?

  • How effective do you think the choreography suggests a blossoming romance between the lead characters?

  • Musicals depend on suspension of disbelief -- naturalistic acting disappears for a few minutes while the performers burst into song and dance to advance the plot. Do you think musicals are fun or odd? Why?

Movie Details

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