In Search of the Castaways

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Fun Family Adventure, 2010-08-04
In 1858 Glasgow, two young teens, Mary and Robert Grant, set forth on a daring journey across the ocean to find their castaway father and his companions with only a message in a bottle as an indication of his possible survival and clue to his location. They are joined by charming, carefree Frenchman Jacques Paganel, the stately Lord Grenarvan, and his teenage son, John, whose sights are casually set on Mary. The little band of adventures make their way to South America, Australia, and New Zealand on their search for the lost Captain Grant, and they encounter harrowing dangers every step of the way. Luckily, Paganel is played by Maurice Chevalier, and he is always ready to lighten things up with a song! br / br /Released in 1962 and based on Jules Verne's book "The Children of Captain Grant", "In Search of the Castaways" is sort of a second tier Disney live-action classic, easily known by hardcore Disney fans and even often remembered by the general public, though not as much as films like "Swiss Family Robinson", "Old Yeller", "The Parent Trap", and a few others. This is probably because it is such a simple adventure story that doesn't spend much time on character relationships or subplots. It is purely a forward moving search to find the lost father. That's not to say it doesn't work. It's a fun, entertaining adventure with likeable, believable characters, and to my fellow Disney theme park lovers, this is one of those great "Adventureland" films. It does have another trait that may be the reason it is not quite as revered as the other films I mentioned (though this film is hardly among Disney's more obscure stuff), and that is the fact that the effects in "In Search of the Castaways" often seem sub par compared to other classic live-action Disney films, and I'm not really sure why it turned out that way. Some of those effects driven stunts are also quite absurd, admittedly, but that's forgivable in this fun-filled romp. Still, if you took serious issue with some of Indy Jones's more extreme survivals, you may not enjoy Castaways either. One has to go into the film ready to accept that what they are watching is not trying to be 100 percent realistic. This is more of a DuckTales kind of adventure, but it really is a delightful way to spend an hour and 38 minutes, and I still highly recommend it! br / br /The main cast in "In Search of the Castaways" is excellent, including Disney fave Hayley Mills as Mary, the aforementioned Maurice Chevalier, Keith Hamshere as Robert, Wilfred Hyde White as Grenarvan, Michael Anderson, Jr. as his son, Wilfred Brambell as the very Ben Gunn reminiscent Bill Gaye, and even the voice of Shere Khan, George Sanders, as a rather suspicious character in the second half of the film. Directed by Disney great Robert Stevenson, it's really just the sometimes less impressive than expected visual effects that are the only real negative about the film, but the same can't be said for the DVD release, as it lacks any extras whatsoever and is presented in a full screen format. It's hard to say if this is a matted print or an open matte print, but it clearly is not the theatrical "widescreen" presentation, and one would hope for at least the theatrical trailer and maybe some bonus features that could be used on multiple Disney releases (at least), like a Hayley Mills or Sherman Brothers featurette, or one of those Disney yearbook montages. Alas, this one was released bare bones, but it still deserves a place on every DVD shelf for anyone who appreciates classic Disney and family adventures. br / br /Also recommended: Disney's Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Island at the Top of the World, Shipwrecked, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. And for more Disney Hayley Mills: The Parent Trap, The Parent Trap 2, Pollyanna, Summer Magic, Moon Spinners, and That Darn Cat. br / br / br /

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Improbable but fun, 2010-05-28
Loosely based on Jules Verne's little-known Captain Grant's Children, aka In Search of the Castaways: The Children of Captain Grant (Forgotten Books), this film will seem primitive to viewers who've grown up on digital SFX and the magic of George Lucas, but for its time it was a notable effort. In Glasgow in 1858, 14-year-old Mary Grant (Hayley Mills) and her younger brother Robert (Keith Hamshire) have been contacted by a French geographer, Prof. Jacques Paganel (Maurice Chevalier), who claims to have removed from the stomach of a shark a bottle containing a message from their father, a sea captain thought lost three years before. Mary, who has never stopped believing that Capt. Grant is alive, resolves to confront Lord Glenarvan (Wilfrid Hyde-White), the owner of the shipping line to which Grant's "Britannia" belonged, and beg him to initiate a search. With the help of the nobleman's 17-year-old son John (Michael Anderson, Jr.) she succeeds in persuading him, and the quintet set off aboard Glenarvan's new steam yacht on a voyage that takes them from Scotland to the coast of Chile to New Zealand and involves them in a series of improbable but thrilling adventures with an earthquake, a giant condor, a flood, a jaguar, hostile Maoris, and a silky-smooth gentleman pirate (George Sanders) and his band. br / br /The movie relies heavily on miniatures, process shots, blue-screen, and other devices since become obsolete, but it does keep moving at a good brisk pace, and the suspense hardly lets up from the beginning. There's also plenty of good clean humor, and Chevalier (who was 74 at the time) is a total delight; he even gets to sing a couple of songs. Kids will accept it at face value, and adults can enjoy it too with a little suspension of disbelief.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Disney's Insult to Fans: Pure Evil, 2009-12-24
What does Disney have against it's customers anyway???!!! This is a GREAT!!! film (in fact it is my favorite film of all-time, but like "Son of Flubber" and other Disney movies they give us a full-screen version instead of the widescreen version seen in theatres. This is an INSULT!!! br / br /Come on, Disney, get your act together or I'll petition Obama to create a new "Axis of Evil" list, with you as number One!!

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Disney film with a great cast, 2009-12-17
This film is too long but still fun to watch. More like a Perils of Pauline serial than a single story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

In Search of the Castaways, 2009-08-10
I love Hayley Mills movies and was delighted that I was able to get this movie on DVD. I have many of her movies on VHS and want to slowly turn those into DVDs. I would highly advise anyone who is a Hayley Mills fan to add this to your collection. Added bonus that it also has Maurice Chevalier in the movie. What more could you ask for in a good family movie.