Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

Touches You

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

When I was a kid and my grandmother would say, "Do you want to go see the Disney movie at the movie theater?", my answer was usually no; they were too "kiddish". Occasionally there were exceptions, and this film was one of those exceptions. It was a treat seeing it again on TCM 57 years later, and I think it's -- perhaps -- the best Disney film ever made. But it's not perfect.The good points: 1. A good story line with almost no "down time". The action moves right along, and you're constantly engaged in what is happening to the characters.2. Great scenery and photography (and yes, it was filmed mostly on location).3. Mostly very good acting. This is a wonderful role for John Mills, and it's a treat seeing Dorothy McGuire. They worked well together. James MacArthur is excellent (almost as good as he was in "Spencer's Mountain" with Henry Fonda). I never realized how good Tommy Kirk was as a child actor.The bad points: 1. It appeared to me that there was some cruelty to animals in this film.2. It's a family picture, so some things were handled a bit on the "everything will be all right" approach, which was fine. But through much of the battle with the pirates, the family wasn't taking things very seriously...and after all, they were fighting for their lives and to prevent the women from being raped.3. Disney was loathe to show any of the pirate really being harmed much, so it wasn't very dramatic in the that sense.4. Worst of all -- the presence of Kevin Corcoran. When I was a kid I always thought he was a little jerk. I still think that. Kid shoulda been put in a straight jacket! (Okay, that might be overstating it a bit, but not much). Totally distracting.However, the strong points of this film well outweigh the weak points. It's a fairly exciting movie, there's a touch of romance, good insights to the jealousy that can exist between siblings, and a very engaging story. And, at least in my view as a 68 year old, it's not just a film for kids. Some say this is Disney's finest movie; I tend to agree.

I just downloaded this movie the other day, and really enjoyed this movie, it was good to see James Macarther(Hawaii 5-0 fame) I saw this once back in the 80s and only seen parts of it, but yesterday I got to see it all the way through, it is an awesome movie, the only spot I thought was a little cheesy was James Macarther and Tommy Kirk found the kid under the headband was a girl!!!!!1lololol I was dumb founded, I found myself talking to the t.v Hey guys you mean to tell me you just now figured that out?!!!!! I figured it out when her James& Tommy were running away from the Chinese pirates, going up the hill, I mean come on guys you cant see a woman when you see one???!!!!!!!!! and even THAT was hillariouse! I highly recommend Swiss family Robinson,Michael Smith

I used to watch this movie as a child and I enjoyed it. As a school teacher I recently had the opportunity to use the novel in my classroom. As a culminating activity we are watching this movie. Anyway, seeing it from this perspective puts things a little different.First of all the family is not named Robinson...the title was given as a reference to Robinson Crusoe. People complain of the ludicrous compilation of animals and the unlikely events...well that is how the novel was written. In fact the novel goes much further in its extremism. My biggest complaints come from the way that the movie departs from the novel. Eliminating the son named Jack was an odd choice from the start. They accelerated the pace of necessity since it is a movie and cannot contain as much as the novel but reordering events or making the mother (who in the novel was quite capable and contributed just as much to the family as everyone else) into a 1960's movie era helpless female did not serve the plot well. Turning Francis into the whiny little boy on screen just makes me want to pull my hair out. The overall spirit of the film is in line with the novel however and it is not a horrible movie to watch, it is actually enjoyable to watch. The value of this movie increases when I use it in the classroom because it opens up a lot of dialog comparing it to the novel and it really gets the students back into the book and trying to read for further understanding. On the whole it is a good classic Disney movie...it hearkens back to a time when Disney didn't totally screw things up (can we say Pocahontas?)...I'd recommend it, especially for young boys.

The family Robinson are sailing their way to New Guinea, but as a storm rages and they are attacked by pirates, they wind up shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island. Having no means of escaping the island they set about making a new life in the hope that help will one day come sailing past. However, as adventurous as it at first seems to be, peril and pirates are never too far away!Full of Disney's live action touches, Swiss Family Robinson triumphs as an entertaining adventure because it avoids heavy leanings towards sentiment. With a story of this type, sourced from the popular novel by Johann Wyss, it would have been an easy mistake to make, but with one tiny moment of treacle aside, it's funny, intelligent and up there for all the family to enjoy. 7/10