Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

July 20, 2018

Since we've finished up the Disney and Pixar animated films, let's return to some live-action films that have a presence in the parks, beginning with Swiss Family Robinson.

The Movie:

Swiss Family Robinson is an adventure film directed by Ken Annakin. It was filmed on the island of Tobago in the Caribbean and is the first Disney movie shot in Panavision. The stars of the movie include Oscar-winner John Mills, Oscar-nominee Dorothy McGuire, a pre-Hawaii Five-0 James MacArthur, and Disney regulars Janet Munro, Tommy Kirk, and Kevin Corcoran. Swiss Family Robinson received positive reviews and was the highest grossing movie of 1960, beating out other popular films such as Psycho, Spartacus, and Exodus.

Swiss Family Robinson is based on the novel by Johann David Wyss. The movie, set in the early 19th century, begins with the Robinsons (William, Elizabeth, and their three sons Fritz, Ernst, and Francis) on a ship headed to New Guinea that is chased into a storm by pirates. The crew abandons the ship, which is then stranded on the rocks just off an uninhabited island. The Robinson family makes their way to the shore, setting up camp. They realize that they may be on the island for a while, so William and the two older boys return to the ship to salvage everything they can. The three then construct a treehouse for the family. Some time later, Fritz and Ernst set out to explore more of the island. They once again encounter the pirates, who have captured a ship and are holding the captain and his cabin boy captive on the beach. The two boys rescue the cabin boy, who is actually the captain's granddaughter Roberta in disguise. The three make their way back to the treehouse, and the Robinsons begin to prepare for the return of the pirates.

Swiss Family Robinson is a classic Disney movie. Though it might seem quaint by modern movie standards, the film is still very enjoyable. It helps that there is so much acting talent on the screen to carry the movie. That's really the key to the movie, since the plot is pretty light. Sure there are a few dated effects, but overall the movie still holds up well.

The score was written by British composer William Alwyn, who also composed a variety of classical music, and his work here is good. The movie's credited song is "My Heart is an Island," written by Terry Gilkyson, but there are actually two other songs in the movie. One is "O Christmas Tree" which is sung by the family to celebrate the holiday. The other is "Swisskapolka," a lively organ tune played by Elizabeth while the others dance. This song was written by Buddy Baker, with lyrics by Bob Jackman (though in the movie the song is purely instrumental). This is the song that plays in the attraction at the Disney parks.

Presence in the Parks:

Swiss Family Robinson is the basis of the classic Adventureland attraction Swiss Family Treehouse, a walkthrough based on the one in the movie. The original opened in Disneyland in 1962, and operated until it was rethemed for Tarzan in 1999. The attraction is still found in three other parks, the Magic Kingdom at WDW (opened with the park in 1971), Disneyland Paris (opened with the park in 1992), and Tokyo Disneyland (opened 1993, a decade after the park opened).