
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 31, 1994                   TAG: 9403300063
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NOT DISNEY, BUT THE KIDS WON'T CARE

"Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina" is a fine animated fairy tale for pre-schoolers and other young moviegoers.

Compared to such recent Disney hits as "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast," this one is nothing special, but that didn't bother the crowd at a recent preview. There was almost no running in the aisles. The general levels of audience noise and squirminess were low. The kids were entertained. If the adults were a little bored and restless, so what?

The story concerns a girl no bigger than a thumb (voice of Jodi Benson) and her romance with Cornelius (Gary Imhoff), prince of the fairies. The path of true love never runs smooth and so the couple finds many obstacles in their way. Those include Mrs. Toad (an energetic Charo) who wants Thumbelina to star in her stage show and marry her son; Mr. Beetle (Gilbert Gottfried) who also wants to exploit Thumbelina's voice; and the miserly Mr. Mole (John Hurt) who thinks the girl would be a suitable bride.

Writer-co-producer-director Don Bluth is also responsible for "An American Tail," "All Dogs Go to Heaven" and other popular feature-length cartoons. Here, his visual style is close to the Disney approach as seen in "Snow White" and "Peter Pan" - detailed, idealized backgrounds; realistic human characters and caricatured animals. Barry Manilow's songs are unobtrusive.

Working within the context of a conventional fairy tale, the film delivers a timely message to its impressionable audience, particularly little girls: Everyone, no matter how large or small, should make decisions for herself or himself. This is a movie, not a sermon, so the point is made gently but no one's going to miss it.

The feature is preceded by a well-made but pointless short cartoon, "I'm Mad," starring the Animaniacs. Again, the kids seemed to love it.

Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina *** (for kids)

A Warner Bros. release playing at the Salem Valley 8, Valley View Mall 6. 88 min. Rated G.

by CNB