Electric Shadow

Bedknobs & Broomsticks Reissue


There really aren't nearly enough musical adventure films for children that feature Nazis. The new "Enchanted Musical Edition" of Bedknobs and Broomsticks from Disney features the same cut and transfer as the 30th Anniversary Edition from 2001, but it includes new extras. The cut is the 139-minute "restored version" that's longer than the one many became familiar with on VHS, which clocked in at arounf 90 minutes. The cover art is also vastly-improved. The original art made it look like a cartoon soccer movie.

Similar to the recent re-release of Pete's Dragon, the centerpiece extra on here is a featurette covering special effects called The Wizards of Special Effects [8:07]. It isn't very long and isn't very well-served by the synergistic hosting done by some girl from The Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place. Much more interesting is Music Magic: The Sherman Brothers [11:27], which features the present-day composers of the music in Bedknobs, who also did the music in Mary Poppins. The "A Step in the Right Direction" Reconstruction [3:48] features production stills accompanied by Angela Lansbury's recorded vocal track for a song deleted from the film. The footage has been completely lost, but this is a pretty good look at what the number was supposed to be like. David Tomlinson's "Portobello Road" Recording Session [1:01] is a very brief clip of footage taken when they recorded one of the better-known numbers in the movie. Four Trailers are also included, and all are full of 60's Disney nostalgia.