Part of the joy of Christmas is all the surprises that come with it. What neat things will I find in my stocking as I sneak downstairs to look in it? What will be in the next present that I open? Will I or won't I glimpse Santa sneaking around my living room? The greatest surprise of all is realizing that the little babe born in the manger he is sleeping in is really the creator of the cosmos.
The Parent Trap is like Christmas. It brings smiles, joys and surprises. Imagine going away to summer camp when you discover someone who looks exactly like you standing in the lunch line. Who are they? And why do they have your face? You mean we have the same birthday? You mean we have the same parents? WERE SIBLINGS!!! What would you do in a situation like this? Why switch places with your newly discovered sibling of course.
This film has as much intrigue as a James Bond film and as much mystery as an Agatha Christie novel, as the twins plot to get their divorced parents back together. It's great to have a film so blatantly say 'Divorce Really Sucks (the life out of families) And the Sixth Sense style surprises continue to show up throughout the film as the parents and those in the households on each side of the continent realize that the person they thought was one twin really was the other one.
Sometimes when the revelation is revealed in a story, the interest level seems to flatten in the storyline, but not in this film. It maintains a high level of interest throughout the cinematic experience. It's also interesting to note that in that the high quality special effects that were used in the picture were done in an age before computers were as sophisticated as they are today. It is really convincing that there are two Hayley Mills on the screen at the same time. I once shot the same person on tape using two different hair styles and made it look like she was talking to herself as a different person. It's way cool to do if you know how to do that sort of thing. I also shot myself doing the 'Who's on First' routine.
Despite this wonderful use of film trickery, my wife, who has a twin sister, thought it must be sad for young Hayley to work alone, talking to her self on screen.
The movie has few flaws if any. At times I had trouble telling the two characters apart but that may be me and is not enough to mention as a real flaw. Some of the characters smoke cigarettes in plain view of children. I mean the horror of it. Overall I think cigarettes stink and are bad for children but I am not a smoking Nazi who would sponge all cigarettes from older films. There are some who would actually do this.
Another neat little thing is how they talk about sexuality without actually talking about it. The innocence of a family friendly film is still intact with the reality of the meaning of sexuality and martial love weaved into the seams of the film. All of the actors are a delight to spend two hours with especially Hayley and the guy who played the minister. You also get to witness Hayley kicking the crap out of herself. It's rare you see a good girl fight on film. It's sexist that only men kick the crap out of each other and never women.
Part of the reason I loved this film as much as I did in my reviewing of it, is because I was impressed and pleased that Disney could produce such a high quality, mature looking film. This film is not just good for Disney, its' a good film in general. Any Disney slapstick happens as a result of the story and not as a result to just get laughs.
This is not worth a rental, it's worth buying and keeping and sharing with loved ones. Rent it by all means if you don't have the money to buy it. This film is Pure Movie Magic. Disney Gold: A warning: Don't be tempted to watch the sequel that is on the same DVD disc, it's bad as the original is good. If the original is Charismas, the sequel is Tax Day eve.
The remake however (1998) is worth checking out. It’s a very good remake and is worth watching and contrasting.
The movie is based upon the 1949 novel Lottie and Lisa (original German title: Das doppelte Lottchen "The double Lottie”) by Erich Kästner
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