Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

Let's be realistic.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

An absolutely stupid, corny story with terrible bad acting and the most annoying movie character ever (played by Kevin Cocoran). John Mills, a mediocre actor at best, was OK here as the father but that awful third-rate actress Dorothy Macguire was just terrible as his wife. Like most Disney crap, the whole thing is too Americanized. The "acting" by James Macarthur and Tommy Kirk is absolutely awful. Kirk was later fired from the Disney company for sexually abusing an underage boy. How he did not serve time in jail I do not know. Janet Munro sticks out like a sore thumb and the idea of this twenty-something woman with large breasts being mistaken for a young boy is absolutely stupid beyond belief. Thankfully this crap could never be made today, not least because of the way the animals are treated.0/10.

I just downloaded this movie the other day, and really enjoyed this movie, it was good to see James Macarther(Hawaii 5-0 fame) I saw this once back in the 80s and only seen parts of it, but yesterday I got to see it all the way through, it is an awesome movie, the only spot I thought was a little cheesy was James Macarther and Tommy Kirk found the kid under the headband was a girl!!!!!1lololol I was dumb founded, I found myself talking to the t.v Hey guys you mean to tell me you just now figured that out?!!!!! I figured it out when her James& Tommy were running away from the Chinese pirates, going up the hill, I mean come on guys you cant see a woman when you see one???!!!!!!!!! and even THAT was hillariouse! I highly recommend Swiss family Robinson,Michael Smith

I still love this movie with all its faults. I first saw it around the time of its original release and just loved it. I have seen it countless times and it always entertains me. It is not great art but it does what it does well. John Mills is his usual dependable self as the father and Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran reprise their brother double act that we saw in Old Yeller et al. (a shame that Kirk's career was blighted by his sexuality-shame on you Disney!). I notice a lot of reviewers are concerned about the animals in this film but being Disney I am sure none was harmed.... etc. It is an enjoyable, improbable adventure story that appeals to all ages, so suspend your disbelief and just go with it.

I used to watch this movie as a child and I enjoyed it. As a school teacher I recently had the opportunity to use the novel in my classroom. As a culminating activity we are watching this movie. Anyway, seeing it from this perspective puts things a little different.First of all the family is not named Robinson...the title was given as a reference to Robinson Crusoe. People complain of the ludicrous compilation of animals and the unlikely events...well that is how the novel was written. In fact the novel goes much further in its extremism. My biggest complaints come from the way that the movie departs from the novel. Eliminating the son named Jack was an odd choice from the start. They accelerated the pace of necessity since it is a movie and cannot contain as much as the novel but reordering events or making the mother (who in the novel was quite capable and contributed just as much to the family as everyone else) into a 1960's movie era helpless female did not serve the plot well. Turning Francis into the whiny little boy on screen just makes me want to pull my hair out. The overall spirit of the film is in line with the novel however and it is not a horrible movie to watch, it is actually enjoyable to watch. The value of this movie increases when I use it in the classroom because it opens up a lot of dialog comparing it to the novel and it really gets the students back into the book and trying to read for further understanding. On the whole it is a good classic Disney movie...it hearkens back to a time when Disney didn't totally screw things up (can we say Pocahontas?)...I'd recommend it, especially for young boys.