I have been paying for Disney+ pretty much since it launched and all I have used it for is to rewatch Star Wars. Well, that and it meant I could also watch 'Tangled' (2010) and 'Moana' (2016) for these reviews. One benefit of having Disney+ however is that I do always have that option just to go in and watch some older films that, let's face it, I would never have watched without the platform. One film to come out of this is the one I am reviewing today, 'Swiss Family Robinson' (1940). For such a famous story I am sad to say I knew nothing about it going in, showing how much of an uncultured swine I am. And so, like many people, it was Disney who would hold my hand as I took my first steps into this new world (I think I am going mad, send help). The film is set during the Napoleonic wars and follows the Robinson family consisting of the father, William (Thomas Mitchell), the mother, Elizabeth (Edna Best) and their 4 sons, Jack (Freddie Bartholomew), Ernest (Terry Kilburn), Fritz (Tim Holt) and Francis (Bobbie Quillan). Disappointed with how his sons are choosing to live their lives, William uproots the family and they set off for the colonies. Their ship is wrecked on the journey and they find themselves marooned on an island and having to learn to fend for themselves.
This is a bit of a bizarre film. Throughout the whole runtime, I couldn't get a grasp on what it was trying to do. But there are somethings throughout the film that did impress me. Firstly I think the performances are pretty solid. There is one performance that grated on me, and that came from Terry Kilburn as Ernest. I found his character particularly annoying with just how over the top joyful and emotional he is. I think this is more a character problem than a problem with his performance but still. The best performance came from Thomas Mitchell as William who plays the father figure well being assertive, supportive, and loving, but he also captures the emotions of a man who is questioning the decisions he made. The films biggest strength is in its production design, especially once the family gets to the island. From the costumes to the sets you are completely sucked into the world. The sets on the island are great. Not only are they quite creative in their design but the whole time I felt like this was a real island and not just made up of sets. It also made me want to go and spend time in this cabin that they have built for themselves on this island. There is one moment in the film which was funny in how fake it was and this is when Ernest is bitten by a spider. Honestly, this spider looks horrendous, I don't even think it had 8 legs. But for the most part, the film looks great, especially for the time and it easily the greatest strength of the film. Unfortunately, it may be the only real strength of the film.
Some films just feel old. Now, of course, this film is old, 80 years old in fact. But it feels so much older than other films that came out the same year as this, and it does get a little distracting. It may be harsh to criticize the film for this, and yeah it is, but it did affect my viewing of the film in some way. Maybe I only even noticed this because I found the film kind of boring. The basic premise of the film is fine, but the problem i that once the family land on the island it effectively just becomes a series of scenes where the family learns to live on the island. This would be fine, but the issue is that they seem to be perfectly adapted to living on this island immediately. There is almost no kickback against the father and they all seem perfectly willing to dive into island life despite being very much against the idea of leaving their home at first. This means that there is very little conflict to get invested in throughout the film. The only person who is against the idea completely is Elizabeth, the mother. But even this conflict flitters in and out of importance, seemingly being resolved and restarted 4 or 5 times throughout the runtime. This problem becomes especially apparent with the ending of the film which doesn't seem to fit what the film was going for at all. This lack of conflict meant that I was just not invested in what was going on in the film at all and just felt bored throughout.
'Swiss Family Robinson' is a film that I just could not get my head around. The whole narrative is both super simple and yet none existent to the point where almost nothing of any real consequence happens after the first 20 minutes. Yes the production design is superb throughout and I was fully bought into the world of the film, but I was never able to buy into the emotion or story of the film. Although I did love the overall world look of the film this does not mean that the film is worth your watch. Without an emotional narrative to buy into it just becomes an hour and a half of nice-looking sequences with no substance. I wouldn't bother with watching this one, its mostly a waste of time.