Family Fun Saturday - Rumpelstiltskin (1987)

The Cannon Group, 1987
Starring Amy Irving, Billy Barty, John Moulder-Brown, and Clive Revill
Directed by David Irving
Music by Max Robert; Lyrics by Max Robert and others

This was the first of the musical fairy tales B-movie producers Cannon Group made in the late 1980's. It's also pretty much the only one that hasn't been heavily adapted into other media, especially here in the US, which makes it a little more unique among the group. How does the story of a young woman whose father's boast and her own rash promise ends with her running afoul of a gold-hungry king and mischievous dwarf look today? Let's head to the underground home of said dwarf as he prepares his dinner and find out...

The Story: Katie (Irving) the miller's daughter spends her days dreaming of someday becoming the wife of a prince and living in luxury as the Queen. Her father (Robert Symonds) boasts constantly of her great beauty and cleverness. One day, he rashly claims to a group of fine nobles passing on horseback that Katie is so talented, she can spin straw into gold. Katie can do no such thing, but the greedy and gold-obsessed King Mezzer (Revill) is so desperate for more to add to his treasury, he forces her to spin gold or lose her life. Katie is helped three times by a strange little man (Barty) who asks for increasingly precious things. The third time, hoping to marry the handsome Prince Henry (Moulder-Brown), she rashly promises she'll give up her first-born child.

She comes to regret this a year later when the dwarf comes to collect a year later. He tells her that she has to find out what his name is, or he'll take the child. It's up to Katie and her mute servant girl (Yael Uziely) to learn the true identity of the magical man and save the little prince from becoming his slave.

The Song and Dance: As the first of the Cannon Tales, it actually comes off pretty well. They manage to get around some of the notorious cheapness of the production by frequently filming outside, and the costumes look like something from out of a storybook. Irving and Barty come off by far the best as the peasant lass who's a lot tougher than she appears and the wicked little dwarf who has ulterior motives behind his desire to help her. Revill's obviously having a great time as the gold-mad king, too. And at the very least, Irving does have a genuinely good voice and Moulder-Brown sounds pretty good as well.

Favorite Number: Barty kicks things off well in his underground lair with his explanation as to why he performs his mischievous tricks and what he wants in "My Name Is Rumpelstiltskin." Katie sings of what will happen "When I am Queen of the Castle" as she does the wash against a pastoral, woodsy backdrop. Katie and Henry hope against hope that she'll find a way to spin that straw into gold in "I Need a Miracle." Revill chews every bit of the cheap scenery in his solo "I'm Greedy" as he simply explains why he loves gold so much.

Trivia: This is a bit of an Irving family affair. Director David Irving is Amy's brother, the Queen Priscilla Pointer is her mother, and Symonds, who plays the miller, is her stepfather.

What I Don't Like: First and foremost, the tinny synthesizer background score doesn't suit the fairy-tale story and undermines the fantasy feel they're going for. Though the cheap sets aren't as obvious as in Beauty and the Beast, it's still a low-budget production. The gold strands look like the painted straw they probably are, the indoor sets are dull and often poorly-lit, and the special effects are mostly slow-mo and smoke. The second half, where she's looking for the dwarf's name, seems a bit rushed, especially given we don't see Katie until almost fifteen minutes in.

The Big Finale: Surprisingly charming adaptation is worth checking out for fantasy-crazy young girls and lovers of fairy tales who are willing to look past the low-budget production.

Home Media: Same deal as Beauty and the Beast. It's out of print on DVD but can currently be found streaming for free on Tubi.

DVD
Tubi