Bedknobs and Broomsticks [G]

Miss Price is an amateur witch who reluctantly takes in three precocious orphaned children to live with her. When a certain spell she requires for the war effort doesn’t arrive, she bewitches a bed to fly her to London to track down Professor Brown and get that spell. Taking the kids along for the ride, Miss Price is dispirited to find that Professor Brown is a fake magician and he does not have the one spell that she needs. Joining forces with Professor Brown, the hunt begins for this most crucial spell. 

Nursing a sore stomach from a mild case of food poisoning, I was feeling pretty dismal and sorry for myself this afternoon. So I whacked on Bedknobs and Broomsticks and soon forgot all about my sore tummy. It’s one of those classic films that certain memories are attached to. Whenever I watch it, it feels like I’m back in my old house, rugged up on a really dismal rainy afternoon with a cup of hot chocolate on one side and my grandmother on the other. No matter what mood I’m in, Bedknobs and Broomsticks has the power to warm me up and make me feel safe and untroubled. Love it. 

Eglantine Price is an amateur witch with a plan to assist the war effort. But her plan is interrupted when she is asked to take in three orphaned children from the city. Keeping her being a witch a secret, she reluctantly takes in the kids and provides them with food and a nice warm bed. During an escape attempt, the children discover Eglantine’s true identity and make a pact with her to not spill her secret. In return for their silence, Eglantine gives them a travelling spell that causes the bed in their room to be able to fly them anywhere they want to go. Things go from bad to worse when Eglantine receives a letter explaining that she will not be receiving the spell she needs for her plan to help the war effort. Desperate to get this spell, Eglantine takes the kids on a bed ride to London to track down a Professor Brown who might have the spell she needs. Eglantine is dispirited when she discovers that professor Brown is just a street magician and does not have the spell she requires. Dragging the kids and Professor Brown along for the ride, Eglantine begins a furious hunt for this one crucial spell. 

The DVD of Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a restored and remastered version, which is both a positive and a negative. There are wonderful new musical sequences, extended scenes and new songs, but sometimes the dubbing of the voices is a little off, out of sync with the actors’ mouths and quite often obviously different voices. Aside from that the film is just as good as ever. It’s filled with wonderful songs, slapstick comedy, live actors working with animated animals, and possibly the best battle ever put on screen. The battle at the end is my absolute favourite part, all the ancient suits of armour fighting the Germans. 20 years old and I still get excited when the suits of armour take on a life of their own and march into battle. 

Starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a timeless classic filled with songs, magic spells, talking animals, and memorable characters. A perfect family film for a rainy afternoon.