Once Upon A Mattress (2005)

the audience applauded

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I fell in love with this cute musical back in the 1960's when it was originally aired on TV in black & white, and loved it again ten years later when it was re-aired in color with only minor cast changes. To the many fans of this beloved play, it is impossible not to compare this new Disney version with the originals.There is much to like. The look of it is wonderful, complete with a Disneyesque rose-framed window at the end, and a castle full of beautiful, anachronistic rooms, and stained-glass windows with a slightly sinister edge to them. Prince Dauntless and the King are likable, sympathetic, engaging people who you root for, and Sir Harry (the knight) and his Lady Larken are both charming and pretty.Inevitably, though, as in all previous made-for-TV versions, certain changes in dialog and action have been made, and several songs are absent. I was a little sorry to see the jester's role so reduced (he had a fine song in the original play and the earliest TV version), but I did find it amusing that the Wizard, usually played as the Queen's lover,is this time only an effeminate court sycophant. The G-rating might have been more appropriate had Harry and Larken been secretly married as they were in the 1960's version, which actually makes more sense considering they have defied a marriage law. Otherwise, Larken's pregnancy would simply be an embarrassment instead of a crime. It would also be more suitable for the children watching this film, which after all is a prime-time Christmas offering. But I saved for last the two starring ladies. Carol Burnett should have been brilliant as the Queen, and in moments her brilliance does come through. But she needed the outrageous brassiness that Jane White once gave the role, and it wasn't quite there. Still, no one else today should play the Queen, if only for the legacy. Carol Burnett forever!I am not at all sure about Tracy Ullman as Princess Fred, though. She was not bad, she just wasn't great. Fred needs to be so much larger than life. She's not just another princess, she's the kind of princess children love because she's a princess they can hope to be like - not the perfect and pretty ladies like Snow White, Aurora, or Cinderella. Ullman is fun, she's cute, but she does not dominate the screen in the same ways that once made Carol Burnett a star. In those days, the bedroom scene was a broadly hilarious climax to a charmingly funny musical. In this production it is amusing, but little more. And for that alone,I was greatly disappointed.Yet in spite of these problems, it was a most enjoyable film. I am surprised that Disney has not tried to market it in their "princess series", but time will tell. It is a nice film that looks good and feels good, and to the generations who do not know the older versions, this one should be very satisfying.

This is the first time I have seen any version of "Once Upon a Mattress". I thought Carol Burnett was wonderful as the domineering, often emotional and sometimes quite evil queen. And she could even sing. Tracey Ullman was outrageously quirky, especially when she tried to go to sleep. She could also be warm and pleasant, and she even had some singing talent--if that was her. Her first musical performance was more funny than anything else. Tom Smothers did quite a good job as the mute king, who could not talk after being cursed. Denis O'Hare also delivered. Zooey Deschanel and Matthew Morrison were very talented singers and did okay at acting. And Michael Boatman was very funny as the Jester, and Edward Hibbert deliciously evil as the Wizard.I would say this was clean enough for most children. I questioned the TV-PG rating until I heard a reference to premarital sex. But unless a child knows where babies come from, this would be meaningless. It might lead the child to ask where babies come from, and of course King Sextimus gave his son a hilarious explanation of the process which never really got to the point. Especially since it was all in mime.There was also a double entendre from Winnifred, but it would go over most kids' heads.I enjoyed the music for the most part. Despite the medieval setting and costumes, a lot of the music sounded like Rodgers and Hammerstein. Winnifred also performed a sultry jazz number that seemed appropriate for a stripper. The dancing and costumes also impressed.I won't say it was a Disney classic, but it was certainly up to the usual Disney standards.

I remember the TV presentation of Once Upon a Mattress in which Carol Burnett was Princess Winifred, and loved it. I also loved Tracey Ullman when she had her innovative show on Fox years ago. There is a magic about her making her really the only choice for a role Carol Burnett owns.It is really perfection to have Prince Dauntless and Princess Winifred middle aged, or at least beyond their first bloom of youth. The plight of the prince seeking a wife is more poignant thinking of him waiting for 10 or 20 years for his mom to approve of a wife for him. Only thing is, Carol Burnett looks too young to have such an old son! It was so nice to have a reprise of the show. Somehow I remember the original as having more songs, at least more something. I wish they would make the original available either on TV or on DVD.

Don't know what "innocent" version of ONCE UPON A MATTRESS you saw in your youth, but this version is even more sanitized than the Broadway show or either of the 2 TV versions.Your problem with "Pre-marital sex": Larken and Harry in the B'way show and 1972 TV version were not married. In the 1964 TV version, they were secretly married to appease the censors."Emphasis on the wedding night sex": the "Man To Man Talk" song between the King and Dauntless also was in the B'way show, and the 1972 TV version."Latent homosexuality": Not a part of the B'way show nor the TV versions, but, hey, what planet are you living on? "Will and Grace" airs in the so-called "family hour" on NBC. And Gay people have always been a part of the entertainment industry. Carol Burnett, on her classic TV variety show, often brought on guest stars who were suspected by the general public to be "known-homosexuals." (I can recall my rather naive mother telling me more than 35 years ago that Rock Hudson was gay.) Carol brought stars like Rock, Jim Nabors, Roddy McDowall, Nancy Walker, and many others onto her show. Carol was and is, in many ways, and honorary "friend of Dorothy." And don't let's talk about Bob Mackie. . .perhaps the greatest costumer designer ever!!!I'm surprised you didn't mention the quasi-incestuous relationship between Agravain and Dauntless, something glossed over in this PC/2005 conservative version. In the original play and 1964 and 1972 TV version the Queen--after manhandling and promising Dauntless that she knows best--actually says (in an aside to the audience) "Oh, God, if I were only 20 years younger." (MY ASIDE: I once saw a production of BRIGADOON at a Christian High School where the 2nd act nightclub scene was changed to a COFFEE SHOP!!! My, how the times have regressed from enlightenment to close-mindedness.BTW--I did like this version, but the earlier versions were better.