A bit heavy on message and somewhat light on entertainment value

Rating: 6/10 (7 May 2006)

I can't say for sure how many times I've seen this film... and perhaps "seen" is the wrong term. I watched it a few times, and from then on, it became kind of "background noise". One belonging in a select group consisting of movies that I kinda-sorta like... but I cannot put upon myself to sit through all of, so I simply put it on to listen to while I do other things... and occasionally glance at. Some of these films I've seen too many times, some I just only really like scenes of... not sure which one this is. Possibly both. Anyway, having had it on as background noise for so long, I, again, couldn't fully agree with the idea of watching it. Not truly watching it. Not sitting down and concentrating on it. Still, I gathered enough to comment on the film as a whole. Something I realized was that the basic plot and the way it develops never truly stuck with me... something unusual for the background noise movies. Usually, that is only the case with movies I've watched once or twice and decided was just too bad to give one more chance... even as background noise. And even then, it's a seldom occurrence. But it's the case with this one. I simply can't recall it from one "viewing" to another. Something that truly surprised me upon this time(since I have far more politically and socially aware since the last time I watched it) was the message and how much of the film it really takes up. And I also kind of noticed... this is not a pleasant film. This is not for children. I kid you not, I can think of teenagers who would be frightened by the ideas put forth by this movie(mind you, rather ignorant and easily affected teenagers, but still). This is a movie that very strongly advertises individualism and opposes totalitarianism... views that I can only agree with this films opinion on, but here, they just seem painfully heavy-handedly presented here. Not much room for free thought(ironic, since that is the very thing the film advocates) about the subject. The plot is fair. The acting is nice, and the actors all play characters reminiscent of what they often, if not usually, play... which makes for some entertainment for those of us old enough to know them. Again, this is really not a family/children's film. The humor is decent enough... however, half of it is for those too young to see it, the other half is for those of us who are old enough to know everything it tells us and who will most likely find it too simple. The animation is dated, and has been pretty much(at the very least) since the film came out. The soundtrack is fair, with a few decent tunes. Doris Day performs the credits song, one so insipid and daft and yet annoyingly catchy, you find yourself humming it and being irritated at the discovery. All in all, there's just not anything to watch this film for... except for the admittedly good references to other frequent roles of the cast. I recommend this to big fans of the actors and virtually no one else. 6/10