Jack And The Beanstalk
Trailer · Background Material · Pictures · Official Site · Flyer [519 KB]
directed by: Gisaburo Sugii
produced by: Katsumi Furukawa
English language version: Walt Disney Studios
running time: 95 mins.
Synopsis:
Jack, a poor farm boy, is sent to town by his widowed mother to sell their only possession... a cow who no longer gives milk. Along the way, he encounters a wily musician who tricks him into trading the cow for five "magic" beans. Jack's outraged mother throws away the worthless beans. But during the night, they sprout into a beanstalk, reaching as high as the heavens. Jack climbs the stalk, accompanied by his faithful hound dog, Crosby.
Emerging through the clouds, he comes upon an imposing castle and meets beautiful Princess Margaret, who has been enchanted by Hecuba, the wicked witch. Under the influence of magic, the princess believes she is in love with Hecuba's son, a dim - witted, evil tempered giant named Tulip. With the help of the castle's inhabitants - people transformed into mice by the scheming Hecuba - Jack is led to the castle's fabulous treasure trove. He sets a daring plan to silence the giant's talking harp, free the lovely princess, destroy Hecuba's power and return home with the giant's wealth, including a magic goose which lays golden eggs.
About the picture:
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK is one of the most exuberant, enchanting, animated feature-lenght movies in years. Drawn from the traditional tale by the Brothers Grimm of a boy whose "worhtless" beans take him to a magic kingdom in the sky.. JACK mixes rainbow artistry, bright new songs and an overflowing imagination. The story starts in time-honored fashion. Gullible young Jack swaps the family heifer for a handful of beans (thrust on him by a marvelously menacing music peddler.) But once the beans sprout - and Jack clambers skyward - the fun and fantasy take a fresh turn. The giant is a bumbling, stumbling, romantic oaf named Tulip who's so ugly, he's beautiful. His mother, who rules the cloudtop realm, is the wickedest witch since Dorothy was Ozified. There's a golden lyre who's no liar; some wonderfully woebegone mice; and a beautiful princess...enchanted of course. Thanks to the films's sly humor and such brilliantly animated sequences as Tulip's ghostly wedding and Jack's dizzying descent down the stalk, grown-ups will find as much fun in JACK as children. In the United States, JACK (G-rated) was broadcasted with a lot of success by CBS.
