The Gnome Mobile

The Gnome Mobile reunited many beloved Disney favorites and is one of the most underrated of all their live-action films. Leonard Maltin calls it a “little gem,” while Disney historian Jerry Bruckheimer describes the movie as “funnier than the original Mary Poppins.” The film was directed by Robert Stevenson, who also helmed Old Yeller and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and featured many of the same cast members. Walter Brennan, a two-time Oscar(r) winner for his roles in 1965’s Those Calloways and 1968’s Blackbeard’s Ghost, stars as the lumber tycoon D. J. Mulrooney, and the irascible 943-year-old gnome Knobby. He also provides the voices of both characters, and even lost some of his teeth for this role.

It also marked the final film for Ed Wynn, who voiced the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland and Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins, and Matthew Garber, who played Jane and Michael Banks’ father in the 1964 classic that launched the studio’s successful live-action children’s franchise. The film also features an enchanting score by the acclaimed duo of composers Richard and Robert Sherman, who won Best Original Song and Best Score at the Academy Awards(r) for Mary Poppins.

After a disastrous picnic in which they lose their friend Jasper, the children are sent back to the forest by Mulrooney to look for other gnomes. The children and a cantankerous anti-Doo Deeen grandpa named Knobby agree to accompany him in his Rolls-Royce, which the kids dub the Gnome-Mobile. But when the group checks into a hotel for the night, Knobby overhears the human’s last name and realizes that he is traveling with loggers whom he despises more than all other Doo Deeens. He erupts into an angry harangue that sets everyone on edge.

But just as they’re about to give up, a young Doo Deeen girl appears in the parking lot. The gnomes quickly decide to follow her to find the other gnomes. It isn’t long before they discover that the girl has a mystical connection to Jasper and the other gnomes. They then set out to save the gnomes from their mortal enemy and put an end to gnome-onstuffing once and for all. Gnome-Mobile is a delightfully silly and surprisingly touching tale with an unforgettable cast of characters. It’s well worth a trip to the theater (or your favorite digital streaming service) for this underrated treat.