El jardín mágico de Stanley

My grandmother bought me this movie many many years ago (I still have it on VHS) and I loved this movie then. The cute plot line and message that you can do anything and be yourself makes it a cute movie for young kids. Compared to some of the movies available out there now, I would definitely show this to my children. There is singing, dancing flowers, and a cute troll to boot!

No, it is not the most sophisticated film, but still a cute one! My only caution is that Gnorga, the Queen, may frighten some children, especially when she is fighting to with Stanley to take the children. Overall, this movie still has a special place in my heart from when I was young.

A Troll in Central Park is not a terrible film. It's just extremely sweet and innocent and this world isn't ready for it. Anyone over six years of age will be embarrassed to watch this - even alone - but that's more of a societal problem. But there are definitely reasons to see this. The animation is amazing, particularly with the children. It's realistic but somehow completely believable in an animated world. And their movements are so fluid and realistic. You can tell every action was acted out and studied meticulously. I really wish this was done more often. The environments also look amazing, especially when the human world comes into play. As for the cute or humorous sidekicks, that's another story entirely. It's probably just a personal bias, but I hate the way Don Bluth designs his more cartoon-y characters. Their personalities aren't any better, ranging from "cute" to marshmallow-peep-flavored-vomit "cute".

Anyone who loved The Secret of NIMH will be shocked to see this film. I mean, how can the same guy who made a progressive, dark and outstanding film be responsible for this? The story is very fairy-tale esquire, like a children's storybook come to life. The villains are more humorous than threatening, the characters spontaneously break into song and dance and everything is whitewashed with cuteness. This is the result of Don Bluth finally giving in to the pressures of Disney, trying to replicate their formula, losing his identity in the process and ultimately falling flat. Luckily, Anastasia would be a healthy step up. But for fans of Bluth's one-hit wonder, it's kind of depressing.

A Great Family Movie. When I was a kid, I Always watched this movie. Stanley is a troll, but he is different from the others. He is Kind. He and his two new friends Rosie and Gus must defeat the Evil Troll Gnorga. The movie is Very well drawn, and the story is just very entertaining, and does spread a good message about having a Greener World. I would recommend this to all young ages, as it is a great tale and is a Must see, but may not be that appealing to older audiences. The characters are Great. Gnorga is Evil, and a great Enemy, and Stanley is a perfect Mood Uplifter, and Gnorga's Husband King Llort is really a kind Troll, but acts evil around her and is treated badly by her. Although some parts of the movie can be a bit scary for younger audiences, the movie is perfect for all.

I got this because my kiddos and I have enjoyed other, better known Don Bluth films, without realizing the negativity surrounding this one. I will say that we could only get the film in DVD, and the picture quality was way below what we've come to expect, even on older films which have not been remastered. The troll is a little bit over the top, it's true, but his general plight of feeling different and being persecuted, in part because of a fear he would influence other trolls, is clearly topical in the early 2020s. The alternation between troll land, a real Central Park, an eerily devastated Central Park ("tornado"), a whacky imaginative world, and New York City, makes the film hard to follow. But the movie does feature one of the best animated cityscapes (complete with Twin Towers) of New York I've ever seen, even if it's "stone" structure is praised by the evil troll queen (an Ursula look-alike, by the way). And, given the troll Stanley's "green thumb" and leprechuan-like appearance, the movie is a good choice before St. Patrick's day (we watched it in early March). Finally, the sequence at the end where the entire city is wrapped in plant growth as Stanley celebrates is priceless and, once again, timely.

This has to be one of the most pointless and boring animated feature films of all time. Don Bluth had directed some stinkers in the past, but this was by far the worst. By the end of the movie, it feels like nothing happened. The animation is a step down from Bluth's previous films, and the character designs and animation are just terribly loose. The only real positives about this are the voice over acting, and the lively musical score, despite only having bad songs.

Stanley the troll (Dom Deluise) is unlike the other trolls. He's more interested in planting flowers and making the world pretty, where the other trolls only want to cause misery. The trolls have black thumbs that turn things to stone, but Stanley has a green thumb for bringing plants to life. When Queen of the trolls, Gnorga (Cloris Leachman), finds out about Stanley being a good troll, she shoots him up in the air, and he lands in Central Park. Meanwhile, a little boy Gus wants his dad to take him to the park, but his dad is busy, so he and his infant sister Rosie go off on their own. They meet Stanley, and go on a stupid adventure with him, while Gnorga is hot on their tail, and for some reason wants them all out of the picture.

Babies will probably have a good time watching this, though some parts may be too scary. Older kids will despise this, unless it has a nostalgia factor to them, which it does to me, and I still hate it. Everything is overly corny, and cheesy and sappy. The plot....heck, what plot. It's pretty much just, little boy and girl go to park, meet troll, he teaches them about imagination, bad troll comes in, chaos ensues. The songs in the movie are really bad, which is weird because the musical score is quite pretty. The voice over acting is actually pretty good, with Cloris Leachman in an almost unrecognizable voice over role, Charles Nelson Reilly doing the same likable voice he'd done in so many other cartoons and Dom Deluise with his normal, over the top voice. Other than the music and voices though, this is an utterly ridiculous movie.

I dislike the beginning, and I downright despise the ending of this sappy kiddie junk that should have had less put into the direction, and more into the writing.

My rating: * out of ****. 75 mins. G.