Swiss Family Robinson

UPC: 786936143836

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: G   Contains:[Child Classic]

Summary: None of the many cinemadaptations of Johan Wyss' The Swiss Family Robinson are as relentlessly enjoyable as this 1960 Disney feature. The film wastes no time getting down to business, with the shipwreck of the Robinson family occurring as the credits flash across the screen. Fashioning a raft, the family heads to a lush tropical island. While the mother (Dorothy McGuire) isn't too happy about being a castaway, the father (John Mills) and the sons (James MacArthur, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran) are thrilled at the prospect of carving out a new life for themselves. In short order, the industrious Robinsons have constructed a treehouse with all the creature comforts and "utilities" of their home in Switzerland. Later on, the little party is joined by Janet Munro, the daughter of a sea captain who has been captured by pirate Sessue Hayakawa and his band. After a series of adventures calculated to arouse the envy of every man, woman and child in the audience, the film comes to a rousing conclusion as the Robinsons resourcefully fend off Hayakawa and his pirates with a variety of jerry-built booby traps. A box-office winner to the tune of $30 million, The Swiss Family Robinson proved beyond doubt that Disney's decision to emphasize the humor and adventure of the Wyss original, while downplaying the sociopolitical undertones, was a sound one. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Adventure

Features: Audio commentary with Ken Annakin, Tommy Kirk, James MacArthur, and Kevin Corcoran
Original theatrical animated short, "Sea Salts"
"Adventure in the Making"
Conversations with James MacArthur
"Pirates!"
"Swiss Family Treehouse"
Production archives
1960 Disney studio album
Spanish-language track
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
THX-certified, THX Optimizer
Widescreen (2.35:1) original aspect ratio enhanced for 16x9 televisions

Swiss Family Robinson

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 05/07/2002

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, THX THX-Certified Mastering

Runtime: 126 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Swiss Family Robinson
1. Opening Credits
2. Rafting to Shore
3. A New World
4. Better To Use Your Head
5. Can I Keep the Elephant?
6. Treetop House
7. Everything We Need
8. Sailing Around the Coast
9. Pirates
10. A Girl!
11. Dangerous Route
12. Merry Christmas
13. Defense System
14. Shooting Lesson
15. Francis Gets His Tiger
16. The Pirates Return
17. No Deal
18. A Change of Plans

Michael Betzold

One of the most popular family adventure stories of all time is this novel by Johann Wyss about a shipwrecked nineteenth-century family's survival on a desert island. Filmed on a low budget for RKO in 1940, it was redone by Walt Disney 20 years later in typically pleasing Disney style. Combining charm, suspense, and ingenuity, The Swiss Family Robinson became a popular and enduring film. It was produced in Great Britain and starred the fatherly British actor John Mills as the Robinson patriarch. Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran were among the young actors who used the film as a springboard to careers in film and television. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Cast and Crew: William Alwyn  Composer (Music Score) 
Bill Anderson  Producer 
Ken Annakin  Director 
Lowell S. Hawley  Screenwriter 
John Mills  Actor 
Dorothy McGuire  Actor 
James MacArthur  Actor 
Janet Munro  Actor 
Sessue Hayakawa  Actor 
Tommy Kirk  Actor 
Cecil Parker  Actor 
Kevin Corcoran  Actor 
Andy Ho  Actor 
Milton Reid  Actor 
Larry Taylor  Actor 

Country: UK,USA