Bedknobs And Broomsticks (Disney)
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Music By Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman
Lyrics By Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman
Based on: the book "The Magic Bedknob" by Mary Norton
Type of Musical: Movie
Opened: Movie (1968)
Synopsis
England, The Autumn of 1940.
In the midst of the continuous German blitz of London, three Cockney waifs are left orphaned and homeless. Through the Civil Defence Ministry they are evacuated to Pepperinge Eye, a tiny coastal village defended by a detachment of relics left over from World War I, the home guard.
Upon arrival, they are placed in the home of Eglantine Price, a maiden lady with whom the children have one thing in common - a mutual dislike. The stand-off exists until the children discover a peculiar fact about their hostess - she's a witch. Actually Eglantine is only half a witch, an apprentice as it were, taking a correspondence course in sorcery from the Emelius Browne College of Witchcraft.
Though only an amateur, Eglantine is working on a special spell that she hopes will save England from the Jerry blight that seems imminent. It's called Substitutiary Locomotion and, if worked right, will send uniforms to war without humans inside.
With an eye to their own well-being, the children dabble in a touch of blackmail by trading their silence of her activities for a spell. Having no recourse, Eglantine gives them a magic bedknob, a bedknob that , when placed on an old four-poster, will fly them anywhere they want to go.
This arrangement works out fine until Eglantine gets a letter informing her that the Emelius Browne College of Witchcraft must close its doors because of the general wartime circumstances. Needing her next scheduled lesson to complete her work on Substitutiary Locomotion, Eglantine coerces the children to use the magic bedknob to fly her to London and a meeting with Browne. In less than a flash, they are transported to the street where Browne keeps "shop." Unfortunately, Eglantine soon finds that her teacher is nothing more than an inveterate con man who has been taking her lessons out of an old book he had found. The real reason he had to close his school was that he only had half the book. The other half belongs to an unscrupulous marketplace called Portobello Road.
Gathering together the children and Emelius, much against his will, Eglantine takes off for Portobello Road. After a harrowing experience with the Bookman, who wants the secret for his own nefarious schemes, Eglantine finds that the one item needed to make the spell work is a mystic stone, existing in the legendary land of Naboombu ... a place where animals are smarter than humans.
Once again climbing aboard the bed, they head for Naboombu. The trip takes them into the depths of the sea and a turn with some of the scaled inhabitants of the languid world. When they finally arrive at Naboombu, they see the legend is true; people are looked at as lesser creatures, and the animals are supreme and reigned over by the king of beasts - a lion, who has the mystic stone hanging around his neck.
While officiating a soccer game, played by two rival animals teams, Emelius, true to his dubious reputation, lifts the stone from the King. Mounting the magic bed the group manages a narrow escape.
Their return to Pepperinge Eye comes none too soon since that very night the Germans land a probing force from a submarine. Having no time to properly set up the spell, Eglantine is forced to use the ancient artifacts of the local historical museum as her troops.
She mounts her witches' broom, activates centuries of medieval battle flags, swords, lances, maces, armour, catapults, rams and other weapons from the past, casts her spell, and leads them against the Germans. Heading her "shell" army, Eglantine turns the tide and pushes the frightened and confused Germans back to the sea.
For this act, Eglantine becomes a heroine, the children find a new home and Emelius, now in love with her, decides to give up his life of shamming and joins the British army to help the cause.
Song List
- Overture
- The Old Home Guard
- The Age Of Not Believing
- Eglantine
- Portobello Road
- Portobello Street Dance
- The Beautiful Briny Sea
- Substitutiary Locomotion
Cut Songs
- Don't Let Me Down
Songs Converted From Original Score To Incidental Music
- A Step In The Right Direction
- With A Flair
Cast List
Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jeffe, John Ericson, Bruce Forsyth and Tessie O'Shea
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Added: Sun May 15 2005
Last Modified: Wed Nov 15 2006