- Actors: Carol Burnett, Brittany Gray, Tracey Ullman, Denis O'Hare, Zooey Deschanel
- Directors: Kathleen Marshall
- Writers: Dean Fuller, Janet Brownell, Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer, Mary Rodgers
- Producers: Carol Burnett, Marc Platt
- Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language English
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.78:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: Touchstone / Disney
- DVD Release Date: 20 Dec 2005
- Run Time: 90 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- ASIN: B000ATQYVK
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 63,096 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details |
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A long time ago in a kingdom far away, or something like that, there lived Prince Dauntless (Denis O'Hare). His one desire is to marry, but his mother (Carol Burnett) has no desire to see her only son married, so she has devised a series of tests that any bride-to-be must pass before she marry the prince. Officially, they are to keep the bloodline pure by making sure Dauntless marries only a true prince. Of course, they are so hard that no person would ever be able to pass them.
The prince's unmarried state also weighs heavily on the rest of the court, for the queen has decreeded that no one may marry before the prince does.
This especially hits close to home for Lady Larkin (Zooey Deschanel) and Sir Harry (Matthew Morrison). Not only have they fallen in love, but they are expecting. In order to keep Lady Larkin from being exiled in shame, Harry heads out to find the perfect princess.
Who he comes back with is Princess Winnifred (Tracey Ullman). At first glance, she seems to be the worst princess yet with her brashness and klutziness. The Prince is immediately smitten with her, but the queen devises her most fiendish plan yet. A true princess would notice a pea hidden under a pile of mattresses, right? Will the Prince ever get married?
I've heard of this musical for years, but had never seen it until this version came out. It's a fun retelling of the classic fairytale of "The Princess and the Pea." Humor abounds and I laughed the entire way through. Carol Burnett originated the roll of Princess Winnifred, but here she really digs her teeth into the roll of the queen, making her appearances on screen very memorable. Tracey Ullman also steals scenes are Winnifred.
There were a few things that put me off a little. Most noticeably, the prince and princess are much older then I thought they would be. It adds a creepiness to the relationship between the prince and the queen. The song "Man to Man Talk," while not having anything offensive in it, will certainly lead to questions from curious kids who don't know about the "facts of life." I was surprised it was present in a musical always marketed toward families.
Of course, the thing that makes or breaks a musical is the musical numbers. There were several memberable songs here, most notably "Shy," which Tracey Ullman does an excellent job belting out. Her "Happily Ever After" was a nice tender song while "Song of Love" is very funny. With the exception of the wonderful "Spanish Panic," the dance numbers weren't quite as inventive as I would have liked, but they were enjoyable as well.
Rushed out after the movie ran on TV, the DVD has only a couple behind the scenes featurettes to its credit. Nice, but nothing to get excited about.
Since I have never seen another version, I can't compare this to other portrayals and have no opinion on songs that got left out of the show. While not a perfect musical movie, it will entertain for an hour and a half.
The prince's unmarried state also weighs heavily on the rest of the court, for the queen has decreeded that no one may marry before the prince does.
This especially hits close to home for Lady Larkin (Zooey Deschanel) and Sir Harry (Matthew Morrison). Not only have they fallen in love, but they are expecting. In order to keep Lady Larkin from being exiled in shame, Harry heads out to find the perfect princess.
Who he comes back with is Princess Winnifred (Tracey Ullman). At first glance, she seems to be the worst princess yet with her brashness and klutziness. The Prince is immediately smitten with her, but the queen devises her most fiendish plan yet. A true princess would notice a pea hidden under a pile of mattresses, right? Will the Prince ever get married?
I've heard of this musical for years, but had never seen it until this version came out. It's a fun retelling of the classic fairytale of "The Princess and the Pea." Humor abounds and I laughed the entire way through. Carol Burnett originated the roll of Princess Winnifred, but here she really digs her teeth into the roll of the queen, making her appearances on screen very memorable. Tracey Ullman also steals scenes are Winnifred.
There were a few things that put me off a little. Most noticeably, the prince and princess are much older then I thought they would be. It adds a creepiness to the relationship between the prince and the queen. The song "Man to Man Talk," while not having anything offensive in it, will certainly lead to questions from curious kids who don't know about the "facts of life." I was surprised it was present in a musical always marketed toward families.
Of course, the thing that makes or breaks a musical is the musical numbers. There were several memberable songs here, most notably "Shy," which Tracey Ullman does an excellent job belting out. Her "Happily Ever After" was a nice tender song while "Song of Love" is very funny. With the exception of the wonderful "Spanish Panic," the dance numbers weren't quite as inventive as I would have liked, but they were enjoyable as well.
Rushed out after the movie ran on TV, the DVD has only a couple behind the scenes featurettes to its credit. Nice, but nothing to get excited about.
Since I have never seen another version, I can't compare this to other portrayals and have no opinion on songs that got left out of the show. While not a perfect musical movie, it will entertain for an hour and a half.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
82 reviews
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Why? But I'm Glad...
15 Jun 2006
Format:DVD
My first question is Why? Why bother going to such expense and effort to bring this old chestnut to the screen (TV, that is)? It was never a GREAT musical to begin with. But on the other hand, I'm glad they did, because, as a former musical director, I have conducted and played this show several times. The last time was over 30 years ago, so it was wonderful to see and hear it again after all this time.
There have been complaints that the songs aren't memorable. (One reviewed didn't like them so he/she fast-forwarded through them. That's a wonderful way to get to know a song!) The songs are indeed memorable, and quite tuneful. Mary Rodgers, Richard's daughter, did a wonderful job...better, in fact, than her father was doing about that time. And the lyrics are very clever. "Sensitivity" in 5/4 time is a tour-de-force of writing and performing. I was sorry they cut "Very Soft Shoes," the jester's song. And "An Opening for a Princess." I missed that, too.
The casting was either good or inspired...mostly. Matthew Morrison and Zooey Deschanel as the young lovers are rather wimpy, to the point of who care if they get married or split or what. But just about everyone else was magnificent. The jester (Michael Boatman) was too good to have had "Very Soft Shoes" taken from him. Tom Smothers, a real treat, was wonderful to watch. His pantomime and facial expressions were delightful. Denis O'Hare grew on me. Not being a TV freak, I wasn't familiar with him. Tracey Ullman was fine, if a little long in the tooth for the part. (Then again, one of the productions of the show I did starred Imogene Coca in the part, and she was in her 60s then!) As for Carol Burnett, she was fantastic, totally over the top! She graduated from the princess to the queen perfectly. (Imogene should have had such luck!) Unfortunately, a song was added for her, which did nothing to distinguish itself other than quote Winnifred's "Happily Ever After," a theatrical no-no. (Fred's song was a soliloquy. How or why would the queen sing the same thing?)
The production values were very high. Bob Mackie's costumes for Carol were breathtaking...and hysterical!
In all, though the show is dated, it's part of musical history and let's wish that more classics would get this treatment. (How about SHE LOVES ME for a start, guys?)
There have been complaints that the songs aren't memorable. (One reviewed didn't like them so he/she fast-forwarded through them. That's a wonderful way to get to know a song!) The songs are indeed memorable, and quite tuneful. Mary Rodgers, Richard's daughter, did a wonderful job...better, in fact, than her father was doing about that time. And the lyrics are very clever. "Sensitivity" in 5/4 time is a tour-de-force of writing and performing. I was sorry they cut "Very Soft Shoes," the jester's song. And "An Opening for a Princess." I missed that, too.
The casting was either good or inspired...mostly. Matthew Morrison and Zooey Deschanel as the young lovers are rather wimpy, to the point of who care if they get married or split or what. But just about everyone else was magnificent. The jester (Michael Boatman) was too good to have had "Very Soft Shoes" taken from him. Tom Smothers, a real treat, was wonderful to watch. His pantomime and facial expressions were delightful. Denis O'Hare grew on me. Not being a TV freak, I wasn't familiar with him. Tracey Ullman was fine, if a little long in the tooth for the part. (Then again, one of the productions of the show I did starred Imogene Coca in the part, and she was in her 60s then!) As for Carol Burnett, she was fantastic, totally over the top! She graduated from the princess to the queen perfectly. (Imogene should have had such luck!) Unfortunately, a song was added for her, which did nothing to distinguish itself other than quote Winnifred's "Happily Ever After," a theatrical no-no. (Fred's song was a soliloquy. How or why would the queen sing the same thing?)
The production values were very high. Bob Mackie's costumes for Carol were breathtaking...and hysterical!
In all, though the show is dated, it's part of musical history and let's wish that more classics would get this treatment. (How about SHE LOVES ME for a start, guys?)
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
LESS THAN REGAL BUT WINNING JUST THE SAME
19 Dec 2005
Format:DVD
Just watched this on the TV special ahead of the release of the DVD and while the show was entertaining it had some short-comings principally in dropping numbers such as "Yesterday I Loved You" which was sung by the young lovers. In its place they sang a shortened version of "Normandy" which was not their number in the first place. "Very Soft Shoes" a minor show-stopper for the jester was missed and "Many Moons Ago" and "An Opening for a Princess" were reduced to bits. The score that was retained was edited but the songs still entertain. The cast was well chosen and Tracy Ullman was brave taking on a role forever identified as Carol Burnetts' who camped it up in high style as wicked Queen Aggravain for this special. Tracy was good and funny but her singing lacked the lung power of Carol Burnett especially the way Ms Burnett belted out "Happily Ever After" and "Shy" Denis O'Hare made an appropriate woe-be-gone Prince Dauntless and Matthew Morrison sang well as Sir Harry. If this show had been made for HBO maybe they could have retained the entire show instead of being constrained by the endless parade of commercials on network Tv. As is the show was still a lot of fun and the funniest line came when Lady Larkin tells Sir Harry she is expecting his baby and Sir Harry replies, "You can't be blamed you had a moment of weakness"
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Princess Shy
24 Dec 2005
Format:DVD
This production of Once Upon a Mattress makes you wonder why Tracey Ullman hasn't been on Broadway until now. She makes the show, in spite of the fact that the role is for a younger woman. For that matter, why aren't there more musical roles for women over forty? The only one I can think of is Mamma Mia. Judging by the popularity of Mamma Mia, it seems as if there is a considerable audience for such shows.
The DVD version of Once Upon a Mattress is fun to watch, but I can't help thinking that I might have been disappointed if I'd paid Broadway prices for a ticket. The only memorable number in the show was Ullman's opening tune "I'm Shy." On the other hand, the DVD includes a few extra features that you may enjoy. There's a short about the 1959 production that starred Carol Burnett as Princess Winifred, as well as two split-screen musical numbers comparing the rehearsals with the full-dress version.
The DVD version of Once Upon a Mattress is fun to watch, but I can't help thinking that I might have been disappointed if I'd paid Broadway prices for a ticket. The only memorable number in the show was Ullman's opening tune "I'm Shy." On the other hand, the DVD includes a few extra features that you may enjoy. There's a short about the 1959 production that starred Carol Burnett as Princess Winifred, as well as two split-screen musical numbers comparing the rehearsals with the full-dress version.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
