Top 1. 0 movies starring toys that come alive The Toy Story triumvirate will reign supreme among stories of toys coming to life and its hard to imagine any single film or series that uses the premise of living playthings ever besting the perfect trio of movies. But having given the hat trick fair praise, the toys in Andys room werent the first to walk and talk under their own control, and other stories feature toys springing to life when their owners arent around or by the power of dreams and wishes, the magic of midnight or, in one case, the might of military grade munitions chips. So, if you still have room for more childhood toy fantasies and adventures beyond Woody, Buzz and their crew, we offer these additional movie choices old and new. Babes In Toyland aka March Of The Wooden Soldiers 1. This is only the first among four titles here that feature soldiers as the main animated childhood objects of attention. Theyre a popular theme, the tin type being the action figures of their era, and perhaps allowing their adventures to be a bit more daring than the average toy. This is one of the oldest of our film examples. Its a version of Victor Herberts 1. Babes In Toyland, well known to Americans, as it airs annually in almost every state either on Thanksgiving or during the Christmas holidays. Its greatest draw is in the starring roles of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee, employees of Santas workshop. Their hopes of raising the mortgage money for Mother Widow Peep are dashed when their boss finds out theyve made a mistake and instead of making 6. Although these soldiers dont technically come to life, they do come to the rescue when the Bogeymen attack Toyland and Stannie and Ollie are redeemed. And any soldiers who can fight the gnarly bogeymen deserve to be here. The few songs may be a bit saccharine, but theres so much charm, plus Laurel and Hardy, that the film has remained a favourite all these years. It also has the ingenious casting of a real monkey in a mouse suit who looks remarkably similar to a mouse named Mickey, and an impressive for its time stop motion animation sequence as the soldiers head out to do battle with the Bogeys. The Steadfast Tin Soldier Fantasia2. Our second soldier entry, this is the tale of a solider with only one leg who falls in love with a ballerina whos posed en pointe, leaving the soldier to believe she too has just one leg. Have you ever actually considered how the mechanics of having sex with a fishperson mermaid or otherwise might actually work Guillermo del Toro certainly has, and. After six episodes that have been incredible, infuriating, revealing, confusing, and epic, last nights Game of Thrones finale had a great many things to answer for. The Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, first published in 1. In the original story, the soldier falls from a table and goes on adventures before returning to the playroom where hes thrown by a young boy into a fire, melting into the shape of a heart. Romantic Movies 2009 Barbie In The Nutcracker ' title='Romantic Movies 2009 Barbie In The Nutcracker ' />And the ballerina, made of paper, gets blown to his side and perishes with him, with only her metal spangle remaining. Its quite a bleak, romantic ending for small children, and a 1. Ub Iwerks cartoon short version even has the soldier facing a firing squad before burning in the flames. As if simply frying wasnt enoughAn alternate and happier ending features in Fantasia 2. Jack in the box and he and the ballerina live happily ever after. Of course. The story uses a motif well see again, as the toys in the playroom come to life at the stroke of midnight. Nutcracker 1. 98. The nutcrackers story, written by ETA Hoffman The Nutcracker And The Mouse King in 1. Tchaikovsky and first danced in 1. Since that time there have been numerous adaptations on the story of toys again, mostly soldiers coming to life to defend young Clara from an army of mice on Christmas Eve. Dancers including Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov have performed the story of the Nutcracker. So have Macaulay Culkin and Barbie. Our favourite is the 1. Maurice Sendak, probably best known for Where The Wild Things Are. Additional to the familiar theme of animated soldiers, the production also employs the stroke of midnight to kick off the action, and even if youre not a fan of ballet, each set looks like a scene thats danced off the pages of a Sendak picture book. OBjy3kB.jpg' alt='Romantic Movies 2009 Barbie In The Nutcracker ' title='Romantic Movies 2009 Barbie In The Nutcracker ' />A very brief bit of narration by Julie Harris makes this version more accessible to the younger fans in the family. Small Soldiers 1. Unlike our hero soldiers above, half of the toys in Small Soldiers pose the biggest threat to their owners, when ordinary action figures are given X 1. The Commando Elite fight the peaceful monster Gorgonites and any humans who get in their way. Despite a raging war scene, this film may be one of the least frightening here, as the action is always infused with humour and the combination of live actors and animated toys lessens the threat to manageable proportions. It also makes this film as much fun for adults as for the kids. When the two leagues of action figures are imbued with critical thinking skills, the Commando Elite go A Team on the Gorgonites, who prefer hiding to fighting. Highlights of the Joe Dante directed film are when the soldiers arm themselves with whatever they can get their hands on, with everyday objects in the garage becoming warring weapons, and the Frankensteinesque scenes where Gwendy fashion dolls are mutilated and brought to life, all to a Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack, with a great use of War, and a Spice Girls track used as psychological torture. The animatronic design and effects no doubt made more complicated by human beings and animals also in the scenes are by the late, great Stan Winston, which all adds up to a very worthy romp and inclusion here. The Mouse And His Child 1. Based on a 1. 96. Russell Hoban novel for children, The Mouse And His Child is an animated adventure of father and son wind up toys, attached at the hands and built to dance in circles. The story uses the enchanted midnight hour to bring the pair and the rest of the toyshop to life, where they meet other clockwork characters and learn the strict rules of their existence, including no crying. When theyre knocked to the floor and discarded, the Mouse and his Child try to reunite with the seal and elephant. Download Urs Hd. All they want is to become self winding, and not rely on someone turning their key to advance in the world, and to form a little family of their friends. On their travels they meet a villainous rat, Manny, who abducts broken clockwork creatures and makes them slavishly forage for food for him. They have miserable lives and, whats worse, if they complain or shirk their work, Manny has them ripped apart and dismantled into spare parts. This is quite an upsetting situation for children and, at one point, the father and son face the same fate, although they enjoy a happy ending with the help of a psychic frog and mechanically inclined muskrat, defeating the rats, finding their friends, and becoming self winding individuals. Although the slightly awkward animation makes the film appear directed at young children, the story touches on philosophical themes that are explored further in the book. But the movie features a great cast of actors Peter Ustinov, Cloris Leachman, Sally Kellerman, Andy Devine, John Carradine and Bob Holt voicing the characters, which are all quite cute. Unfortunately, this may be a hard film to track down as it was only available on VHS. The Indian In The Cupboard 1. Another film based on a much loved childrens book, The Indian In The Cupboard is the first in a series by Lynne Reid Banks. The film, directed by Frank Oz, is all live action and tells the story of Omri, whos given an old cabinet and key for his birthday and discovers that the combination breathes life into anything put into the cabinet. Being a modestly sized cabinet, he tries the small toy figures in his closet. The first, Little Bear played by Litefoot, a Native American, is a much better live companion than other attempts, including Robo. Cop, Darth Vader and a dinosaur. Through a series of events in which he also makes a plastic cowboy live David Keith as Boo hoo Boone, injuries occur and its here where the first real worry is visited amongst the adventures.