Gulliver's Travels (1939)

 

Gulliver’s Travels is a charming animated adaptation of Jonathan Swift’s famed novel. Well, actually it’s an adaptation of a portion of Swift’s book, the section where Lemuel Gulliver’s ship crashes near Lilliput, an island of tiny people. This film version was the first feature-length film released by the Fleischer Studios, who were best known for such cartoon characters as Popeye the Sailor and Betty Boop and who were clearly trying to compete with the Disney studio’s just-released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Fleischer film begins in 1699 with a spectacular sequence involving the wrecking of Gulliver’s ship. The rolling sea and the crashing waves and the other elements of the storm are rendered beautifully. In fact, the entire film is drawn in such rich colors and with such careful attention to detail. For example, when the very small denizens of Lilliput are crossing a covered bridge, the light shines through the cracks between the boards. The film also features some nice comic moments, such as when the Lilliputians attempt to tie up Gulliver while he is unconscious on the beach after the shipwreck. How does he not wake up during all of the random activity that’s taking place on his actual body? The main or central plot involves a struggle between the kings of Lilliput and Blefuscu. They’re trying to arrange a marriage between Princess Glory of Lilliput and Prince David of Blefuscu, two impossibly good-looking young people who can’t help but be in love with each other (or seem to keep their hands off of each other), and everything is going well until they fight over which traditional song will be sung at the wedding. King Little of Lilliput prefers “Faithful,” the song that his people sing, and King Bombo of Blefuscu wants “Forever,” the song of his people. Inexplicably, this dispute leads to Bombo declaring war on Lilliput. I guess music is a big deal to the people on these small islands. Gulliver winds up being the savior here, as expected, interceding when Bombo’s ships attempt an assault on Lilliput. He also saves the princess and prince even though the prince is almost killed from the attempted use of Gulliver’s “Thunder Machine” (a pistol). You expect a happy ending in an animated film from this era, and so it’s comforting to see Gulliver sailing off into the sunset at the movie’s end in a boat that the Lilliputians have built for him. Perhaps there could have been a sequel involving the other sections of the novel that weren’t included in this film version. Gulliver’s Travels is also quite the musical film, featuring a series of fun songs, my favorite being “All’s Well,” sung by the town crier who discovers the “giant” on the beach. Another favorite is “It’s a Hap-Hap Happy Day,” performed by the residents of Lilliput while they are, um, grooming (?) Gulliver, making him more presentable after the shipwreck. It seems like the film skipped over quite a few elements involved in getting a man dressed and ready for meeting a king, but that’s probably best given the intended audience. The merging of “Faithful” and “Forever” into one song called, unsurprisingly, “Faithful Forever” – is not a particularly inspired choice even if it was nominated for the Oscar, but if it keeps the peace and everyone can be reunited as a result, so be it.

Oscar Nominations: Best Original Score and Best Original Song