In Search of the Castaways

UPC: 786936208368

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: G   Contains:[Excellent For Children]

Summary: Based on Jules Verne's novel Captain Grant's Children, In Search of the Castaways stars Hayley Mills and Keith Hamshere as the children of long-missing ship's captain Jack Gwillim. By chance, a note stuffed in a bottle comes to the attention of the kids and professor Maurice Chevalier; the note contains the fragment of a map, which suggests that Gwillim is somewhere in South America. Only after enduring a series of life-threatening adventures do Chevalier and the kids discover that they should have been in New Zealand all along! Once they're finally in the correct corner of the world, our protagonists are bedeviled by gunrunner George Sanders, the fellow who'd set the captain adrift. With the help of Wilfrid Brambell, a looney ex-crew member of the captain's (and the fellow who sent the bottled message), Chevalier, Mills and Hamshere are finally reunited with Gwillim--and as a bonus, Mills has found a boy friend, played by Michael Anderson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Children's/Family

Features: ccDolby Digital Mono sound
Full screen (1.33:1)

In Search of the Castaways

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 05/03/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 98 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Opening Credits/Note in a Bottle [12:11]
2. To South America! [7:12]
3. Climbing the Mountain [5:34]
4. Earthquake [9:06]
5. A New Friend/The Flood [10:43]
6. A Jaguar and a Fire [10:04]
7. "Keep Looking" [5:03]
8. The Truth About the Britannia [12:21]
9. Captives [15:49]
10. Captain Grant/The End [10:17]

Craig Butler

The opening credits of In Search of the Castaways tell the audience that this is a "fantasy adventure," and that turns out to be pretty accurate. The fantasy label at least prepares the viewer for some of the larger credibility gaps that pop up along the way. Those that deal with plot points (e.g., the unbelievably fortunate timing of a waterspout that douses a deadly fire, the ability of one character to immediately determine how to make a volcano erupt) are somehow more palatable than the ridiculously carefree manner with which the characters greet such dangerous situations as an earthquake atop a mountain ledge or the resulting slide down an icy slope. Fortunately, the film has some genuine thrills that more than make up for the silliness (and cutesiness) that runs through the script. The quality of the special effects is variable; there are some very poor matte shots involving various people running from one disaster or another, but there are also some quite convincing (and at times breathtaking) effects. Castaways has a lovely cast, with Hayley Mills in fine form, whether falling in love or falling down a slope. If Maurice Chevalier and Wilfrid Hyde-White go over the top, they still have charm, and George Sanders's understatement counteracts them nicely. In smaller roles, Antonio Cifariello and Wilfrid Brambell make strong impressions as a stolid Indian and a not-so-crazy lunatic. Advances in screen technology may have reduced Castaways' impact, but most children will still find it entertaining -- as will those parents willing to meet it halfway. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Mark Dignam  Actor 
David Spenser  Actor 
Milo Sperber  Actor 
Barry Keegan  Actor 
Michael Wynne  Actor 
Andrea Malandrinos  Actor 
Roger Delgado  Actor 
George Murcell  Actor 
Jack Gwyllim  Actor 
Norman Bird  Actor 
Maxwell Shaw  Actor 
William Alwyn  Composer (Music Score) 
Walt Disney  Producer 
Lowell S. Hawley  Screenwriter 
Robert Stevenson  Director 
Maurice Chevalier  Actor 
Hayley Mills  Actor 
George Sanders  Actor 
Wilfrid Hyde-White  Actor 
Michael Anderson, Jr.  Actor 
Antonio Cifariello  Actor 
Wilfrid Brambell  Actor 
Keith Hamshere  Actor 
Ronald Fraser  Actor 
Inia Te Wiata  Actor 

Country: UK,USA