Swiss Family Robinson was released by Walt Disney Pictures on December 21, 1960.
Director: Ken Annakin
Swiss Family Robinson cast: Dorothy McGuire, John Mills, James MacArthur, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran, Janet Munro, and Sessue Hayakawa
Of all the many live action films that the Walt Disney Company produced during their golden age (Walt’s lifetime), in my mind, two stand out above all the others – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Swiss Family Robinson. Mr. Disney chose these two projects to push beyond the limits of what a Disney film generally was at the time. And what was a Disney film? Well, they were films made specifically for children, and of course, his “children of all ages.” They were tailored to appeal, primarily, to a demographic notoriously short on patience and attention span. Therefore, the plots moved quickly, the action took precedence over character development, the color was extra-bold, and they concluded around the 90-minute mark. This was the standard Disney formula, and it worked very well.
This low-budget, high concept Disney formula, which also relied on the use of classic stories that were well into the public domain (Treasure Island, Robin Hood, Rob Roy, etc.), had worked so well for Mr. Disney that, by 1954, he thought he the time was right to tackle the sort of big-budget spectacles that the major studios were turning out. And so, for his next live-action feature, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Disney pulled out all the stops with a huge budget, a topflight cast, exotic locations, and an extended running time of two hours and seven minutes.
But the production was plagued with problems from start to finish, which ran the budget up to nine million dollars, making it the most expensive film ever made at the time. Had the film flopped, it would have bankrupted the studio, and there never would have been a Swiss Family Robinson. But, of course, we know that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea turned out to be a mammoth hit. However, the experience of having come so close to losing it all (Disneyland included) rattled Mr. Disney so much that he would let six years pass before he would attempt another project of such size and scope.
Swiss Family Robinson was Mr. Disney’s second foray into the world of big-league film making. Once again, he stuck his neck way out with another huge production costing millions (when millions were still considered real big money), struggled with another exotic, but very difficult location (the west Indian island of Tobago), and came up with a film that ran for a full two hours and six minutes, allowing for more character development, which gave the film a little more scope than the usual Disney hustle. And once again, the huge risk paid off. Swiss Family Robinson was a major box office smash.
Like most of the Disney films of the “Walt era” I first encountered this offering in my pajamas, in the back seat of the Pontiac, at the Campus Drive-in, and was completely entranced. Walt may have tinkered with the formula a bit, but it was still a Disney film, which meant the action moved at a brisk pace, there was a kid for the kids to relate too, more exotic animals than people, an amazing treehouse (what kid wouldn’t want one of those in the backyard?) a bunch of scary looking, but ineffectual pirates, and it concluded with a happy ending – the kid got to stay on the island! Unlike many of the other Disney films, this film, along with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, was so memorable that I presented it to my own two boys decades later and got the same, very positive, reaction.
The script is based on a novel by Swiss author Johann David Wyss, and published in 1812, which places it squarely into the golden age of the south seas adventure genre of the early 19th century that I covered in Cpop’s Polynesianism section on page 134. It’s a family edition of the standardized civilization escape fantasy. And, like all escape fantasies of the period, there’s a beautiful island that provides everything one might want, all within easy reach, without any of the unpleasantness that would certainly happen to real people in a similar, real life, situation.
The film was shot on the beautiful, west Indian island of Tobago, which provided all the lush greenery one could ask of an island paradise, but none of the exotic animals called for in the script. So, the filmmakers had to bring their own menagerie collected from three continents. Today, animal rights groups would lose their minds over what went on during this shoot. How they orchestrated the tussle between the two Great Danes and the Bengal Tiger, with no apparent damage to either, is beyond comprehension, but that’s how they use to do it back then. Every animal in this movie is real, including the twenty-foot-long boa constrictor that James MacArthur wrestled with in a river!
The famous architectural set piece, the Swiss family Robinson treehouse, was also a real three-story treehouse, built by the crew, in a monkeypod tree. Though some interior scenes were shot on a soundstage, all the exteriors were done in, on, and around the treehouse, which became an attraction at Disneyland in 1962. At the time, I believe I remember hearing rumors that it was the original treehouse from the movie. But it turned out that the movie treehouse was left behind by the Disney people at the request of the locals who used it as a tourist attraction until it was destroyed by a hurricane a few years later.
Story wise, the youngest boy plays with his animals (a baby elephant, a monkey, a snapping turtle, and two Great Danes), the two older boys sail a canoe around the island in search of civilization (and end up rescuing a damsel in distress), and mom and dad worry over how to extricate themselves from paradise. And then, right in the middle of an exciting zebra, donkey, ostrich, elephant race, pirates come ashore demanding the return of their valuable hostage (the damsel in distress). But, despite the upscale presentation, it’s still a Disney film, and in Disney films, even a shipload of nasty pirates is no match for a family of six equipped with coconut grenades, paper logs, a tiger in a trench, and a battery of rapid-fire muskets. After taking a well-staged bruising, the invaders are sent scurrying out to sea at the site of a British ship closing in for the kill. In the end, the older kids go off to find their way in the world, and mom, dad, and the young elephant jockey, stay on the island.
The film is generally well-regarded, and the only criticism I’ve ever heard is of the performances, which I believe to be a little misguided. Swiss Family Robinson is now 61 years old, and acting styles have changed since then. But considering the type of film it is (an adventure film skewed to appeal primarily to the children) I consider the performances to be very well tailored to the demands of the material. After-all, there’s a reason why Brando didn’t do Disney! From the youngsters (Kevin Corcoran, Tommy Kirk, Janet Munro, and James MacArthur) to the legends (Dorothy McGuire, Sir John Mills, and Sessue Hayakawa) I believe the performances hit the mark, as did the film overall – it’s a fun one. So just sit back and enjoy (with your own children, if possible) some good old-fashioned escapism courtesy of Mr. Walter E. Disney and company.
Here is a Link to an excellent documentary (on YouTube) on the making of Swiss Family Robinson