The movie begins with this sentence shining on its beginning credits: "Based on Jonathan Swift's immortal tale". But that's not true, as it is very loosely based on Swift's classic. Actually, the plot is this: A man -whose name is Lemuel Gulliver- is being shipwrecked and washes onto a beach near Lilliput, a miniature city with very short and funny people. The Princess Glory of Lilliput and the Prince David of Blefuscu are going to marry, but their fathers make war, because of their argument about which one of their national anthems to be played in the wedding.
Apparently, we only watch a quite lovely romantic comedy caricature of Gulliver's first travel to Lilliput and Blefuscu, which ignores the rest of Swift's book and the most contents of Gulliver's very first travel, especially its thematic statements. This is one of its major weaknesses. The plot's timing, is another notable aspect: Gulliver wakes up for the first time in the 38th minute (exactly in the middle of the movie); and the first act ends in the 48th minute, which is more than 60% of the whole time!
But, the first act's final sequence, where the people of Lilliput are taking care of Gulliver and making him up while singing the lovely song "It's a Hap-Hap-Happy Day", is probably one of the most memorable sequences in the history of animation. There are other lovely and unforgettable sequences: I love the scene where the people of Lilliput are going on the bridge to find "the giant" at night, while we can see the lights of their lanterns and torches through the gaps between the wood boards of the bridge. I love those very lovely and unforgettable kings, King Bombo of Blefuscu and King Little of Lilliput. I love that trio of "dear spies" of King Bombo (Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch) along as Twinkletoes, the funny carrier pigeon. And I love those two lovely neighbours, the old man who always has a big funnel as a hearing aid in his hands and the young man who always gets angry and cry out to him when he can't hear well.
To be honest, the story and its animation form is really lovely, as long as we can ignore Princess Glory and Prince David. They are two serious humans, two serious lovers from our world, but in Lilliputian and Blefuscian sizes. They are quite different from other characters both by form and personality, and they disfigure the whole movie. The idea of merging two national anthems to make a united love song which would unite them and also their nations is nice, but I wonder why the directors of animation insisted on creating those two characters quite different from the other people of Lilliput and Blefuscu, even from their own fathers.
This animation movie, is a lovely unforgettable classic which could be very better.
P.S. That's quite strange to me, that why there are very few female characters in this movie! Actually, except Princess Glory and less than two or three citizens of Lilliput whom we see in less than two or three very short shots, all other characters are men!
P.S. That's quite strange to me, that why there are very few female characters in this movie! Actually, except Princess Glory and less than two or three citizens of Lilliput whom we see in less than two or three very short shots, all other characters are men!