Faerie Tale Theatre - Jack and the Beanstalk (1983) Review

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(More customer reviews)Many years ago, the actress Shelley Duvall created and co-produced a series for Showtime Television called Faerie Tale Theatre. The quality of most of these stories are first-rate and feature many stars of the 1970's and '80's, quite a few of whom are still working today.
This is one of the worst movies in Faerie Tale Theatre's largely ingenious stable of titles. The impressive list of stars in this, including Elliott Gould, Jean Stapleton and Katherine Helmond are wasted on a meandering, silly script that falls far short of the creativity it was attempting.
Elliott Gould's Giant is written as extremely dumb, hearkening to the caveman stereotype and immediately short-circuiting any potential suspense in the rivalry between he and Jack. Mr. Gould is such a fine actor that I wish Faerie Tale Theatre had utilized the inventiveness evident in so many of their other productions, and made the Giant smart. This would make him a worthier adversary for Jack, and increase audience enjoyment of the story.
Jean Stapleton is similarly hampered by a script which eliminates the actress's intelligence and simply makes her Giantess a kinder version of her brutish husband. Utilize as many of the gifts that the actors possess. Trust them and the original tale rather than let misguided alterations ruin a fine story.
Katherine Helmond is extremely good in this as Jack's Mother. So good, in fact, that a decision could have been made to mute a forgettable Dennis Christopher, and make her the center of the story. That may seem like a stretch, but I guarantee you that the overall results would have been better.
Overall, though, she cannot save a rare misfire in the vaunted Faerie Tale Theatre series. I do recommend seeing this, as part of the series. However, do not start with this, as it will ruin your mood for what is really a classic series.

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A boy sells the family cow for five magic beans which, when planted, grow into a tremendous beanstalk and lead him to a place in the clouds where a giant lives surrounded by gold.

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Shelley Duvall Bedtime Stories 4 Disc Complete Set Review

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(More customer reviews)Sad, but true, there was heretofore no information about the actual contents of this DVD set. It goes as follows:
Disc One: 6 Stories-75 minutes------
Elbert's Bad Word by Ringo Starr / Weird Parents by Bette Midler / Little Toot and the Loch Ness Monster by Rick Moranis / Choo Choo by Bonnie Raitt / Elizabeth and Larry by Jean Stapleton / Bill and Pete by Dudley Moore
Disc Two: 7 Stories-75 minutes------
Blumpoe The Grumpo Meets Arnold the Cat by John Candy / Millions of Cats by James Earl Jones / There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Michael J. Fox / There's an Alligator Under My Bed by Christian Slater / There's Something in My Attic by Sissy Spacek / Patrick's Dinosaurs by Martin Short / What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs by Martin Short
Disc Three: 6 Stories-78minutes------
Tugford Wanted To Be Bad by Steve Martin / Little Penguin's Tale by Candice Bergen / Moe The Dog in Tropical Paradise by Richard Dreyfuss / Amos, The Story Of An Old Dog and His Couch by Morgan Freeman / My New Neighbors by Billy Crystal / Rotten Island by Charles GrodinDisc Four: 7 Stories-105 minutes------
The Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings by Shelley Duvall / Katy No-Pockets by Mary Steenburgen / Bootsie Barker Bites by Rhea Perlman / Ruby The Copycat by Shelley Long / Aunt Ippy's Museum of Junk by Kathy Bates / Uncle Wizzmo's New Used Car by Ed Begley, Jr. / The Christmas Witch by Angela Lansbury
Naturally these are read by, not authored by the various actors and actresses. The books chosen are not all time-worn children's classics, many are much more recent than Millions of Cats. I probably read only a fifth of these titles to my own children, which were read to constantly. However, parents and children love these DVD stories. Parents will get a kick out hearing John Candy, Steve Martin, and Angela Lansbury tell the stories. It is far preferable to read to a child on your lap for many reasons. But, these renditions are good for the times when someone has to get dinner on the table or nurse a sick cat. It will heighten the child's appreciation of books in general and, I believe, help encourage many to become good readers.


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First-time available on DVD. Winner of PARENTS CHOICE AWARD from TV GUIDE. Winner of the National Academy of Cable Programming Cable Ace Award for OUTSTANDING CHILDREN S PROGRAMMING. 26 Enchanting Animated Stories of the Award-Winning Children's Series, Bedtime Stories. The complete collection on 4 discs that can be enjoyed by the entire family. This delightfully animated series is based on best-selling picture books instantly recognized by parents and their children. Sparkling with brilliant animation and celebrity narration from a superstar line-up. This series is hosted and produced by Emmy nominee Shelley Duvall, widely recognized for such landmark entertainment as the award-winning Faerie Tale Theatre.

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