"Wonderful Disney Classic"
"Swiss Family Robinson" Revoles around a family of five, Who are on thier way to new country. When thier ship becomes wrecked they make a, unique and unusual styled raft, to go to the closests land near them. When they realize the land on which they are occupying is infact an island filled with exotic animals and scenery. They decide to build a very cool treehouse for a temporary home. The movie goes on to how they are going to defeat the pirates which they believe sank their ship. This is a wonderful movie the whole family will enjoy. (Especially if someone in your family is a fan of exotic animlas.) This is definatly a film to purchase.

I want to be a castaway too
This is a reveiw of the VHS version. No one ever made such a fun experiance out of getting shipwrecked on a deserted island. What a movie, and Disney has done a great job of remastering the original movie. It looks new again.

Originally released in 1960, the film returned to theatres 4 times in later years due it's popularity with the public. This is absolutely one of the most fun family films the Walt Disney Studios ever made. There is truly something for everyone... comedy, action, adventure, drama, romance, and suspense. Even at 126 minutes in length, it neve feels too long. The story is - Starting in the aftermath of a shipwreck, the Swiss family rebuilds their life on an uncharted tropical island. They use the wealth of ships salvage in livestock, tools, guns, furniture, wood, and more to build a safe home in the trees, complete with running water and other conveniences. The mother and father begin an ideal existence with their 3 boys aged 9, 16, and 18. They capture and train wild animals and learn to harvest local food. The youngest boy is a wonder with animals, and this brave little rascal even captures a baby elephant. The menagerie leads to a famous scene where a zebra, ostrich, dog, and elephant carry riders in a race. But one day the older boys decide to take a canoe and survey the rest of the huge island. They stumble across pirates that are attacking the crew of a ship, and rescue the captain's daughter, bringing the wrath of the pirates on them since they are discovered. Returning to their home on the other side of the island, the family tries to hide their location. Evnetually they are found out but trick the pirates into leaving with a few bluffs. They know the pirates will return again so the castaways build fortifications, weapons, and traps to help them to oppose the large numbers of pirates they expect soon in a final climactic battle.

Directed by Ken Annakin, the movie was filmed on location on the Caribbean island of Tobago. Mr. Disney had high hopes for this movie and had done extensive planning and design in advance of filming. While the production went way over budget for a total cost of $4 million, Walt did not get upset with his production team at the time since the film was looking to be success when he reviewed clips from the set. As it turned out, with subsequent theatre releases, television, and video airing, the film has turned out to be one of the top-grossing films from Disney.

The tropical scenery is spectacular as they filmed all over the island; waterfalls, forests, grass plains, flowers, beaches, cliffs, mountains, oceans, streams, and much more. Contributing a tremendous amount to the exotic locale of the movie are animals, pirates, ships, and a tree house to beat all tree houses ever made. Similar to the role the submarine "Nautilus" filled in the earlier film "20,000 Leagues Below the Sea", the tree house becomes a star in it's own right. The wonderful and inventive home designed by the castaways and from the ships salvage is incredible to behold.

Featuring a wonderful cast and crew assembled by Walt himself, Mr. Disney liked to stick with actors he knew could relate to a broad audience. Most of the actors in this film appeared in other Disney movies over the years, many times with other actors from this film. The principles are Hayley Mills (Pollyana, Parent Trap, That Darn Cat, Summer Magic, In Search of the Castaways, The Moon-Spinners), Dorothy McGuire (Old Yeller, Summer Magic), John Mills (did not appear in other Disney movies, but was Hayley's real life father), James MacArthur (Light in the Forest, Third Man on the Mountain, Kidnapped), Kevin Corcoran (A Tiger Walks, Savage Sam, Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Bon Voyage, Babes in Toyland, Toby Tyler, Pollyanna), Tommy Kirk (Probably the most active of all with Savage Sam, Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Moon Pilot, Bon Voayage, Son of Flubber, The Absent-Minded Professor, Misadventures of Merlin Jones, The Monkeys Uncle, Babes in Toyland), and Janet Munroe (Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Third Man on the Mountain). Most of these actors also appeared in movies for the Disney television series as well.

I highly reccommend, but make sure you also consider at the "Vault Disney" version of this film on DVD, it is loaded with hours of extras!

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY...
You can't get much more wholesome than this. This film definitely has the Disney stamp all over it. The Swiss Family Robinson are on their way to New Guinea. Chased by pirates on the high seas, their ship runs up against a reef, and they find themselves shipwrecked by a deserted tropical island. They manage to get themselves and all their belongings and animals ashore, intact and none the worse for wear.

The mother, played by the lovely Dorothy McGuire, is always clean, perfectly groomed and coiffed. The father, played by the wonderful English actor, John Mills, is positively cheerful the entire film. Talk about optimism. His three sons, played by the hunky James MacArthur, the adorable Tommy Kirk, and the cute-as-a-button Kevin Corcoran, work tirelessly to make their new home into an island paradise.

In record time, they build a multi-level house to die for, high up in the trees. Somehow, they manage to get a pipe organ off the wrecked ship, ashore, and up into their multi-level tree house, so that they can sing Christmas Carols at the appropriate time. Kevin Corcoran even has a baby elephant for a pet, and they parade around their sculpted lawn which is surrounded by what appears to be a manicured, English country garden.

After a while, two of the boys set out on a home made sail boat to check the terrain around the island. They discover yet another casualty of the pirates' onslaught, delightfully played by Janet Munro. The two older boys are sweet on her, which causes a little fun loving tension. All is well, until the pirates come a-calling on the island, and all you know what breaks loose. Never fear. Rescue is on the way.

Who in their right mind, however, would ever want to be rescued from this magical island, where nothing can possibly go wrong, and everyone loves each other? Pure Disney fantasy, this film is a lot of fun to watch and, better yet, can be enjoyed by the whole family.