Babes in Toyland (1934 film) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Babes in Toyland
Theatrical release poster (1934)
Directed by	Gus Meins Charles Rogers
Produced by	Hal Roach
Screenplay by	Frank Butler Nick Grinde
Starring	Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy Charlotte Henry Felix Knight Henry Kleinbach Florence Roberts Virginia Karns
Music by	Victor Herbert Glen MacDonough Harry Jackson (score)
Cinematography	Francis Corby Art Lloyd
Editing by	Bert Jordan William H. Terhune
Studio	Hal Roach Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Loew's, Inc.
Release date(s)	November 30, 1934
Running time	78 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Babes in Toyland is a fun musical Christmas film from 1934, starring the famous comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It's also known by other names like March of the Wooden Soldiers. The movie is based on a popular musical play from 1903 by Victor Herbert.

The film was made by Hal Roach and directed by Gus Meins and Charles Rogers. It was originally filmed in a special brown-and-white style called Sepiatone. Even though it uses characters and songs from the original play, the movie tells a completely different story. The whole adventure takes place in a magical place called Toyland, where Mother Goose and other well-known fairy tale characters live.

Story of Babes in Toyland
Characters and Cast
Songs in the Film
Different Versions of the Film
Images for kids
See also

Story of Babes in Toyland

Ollie Dee and Stannie Dum

The story follows two friends, Stannie Dum (Stan Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy). They live in a giant shoe with Mother Peep, Bo Peep (Charlotte Henry), and many other children.

Barnaby's Evil Plan

The evil Silas Barnaby (Henry Brandon) owns the mortgage on their shoe. He wants to marry Bo Peep! Barnaby tells Mother Peep that if Bo Peep doesn't marry him, he will take their home. Mother Peep refuses, but she worries about how to pay the mortgage.

Ollie offers his savings, but Stannie has already spent it on "peewees." These are small wooden toys that fly when hit with a stick.

Trouble at the Toymaker's

Stannie and Ollie go to their boss, the Toymaker, to get money. But Stannie has made a huge mistake! He was supposed to make 600 small wooden soldiers, but he made 100 giant ones instead. One of these huge soldiers accidentally wrecks the toy shop. Because of this, Stannie and Ollie get fired without any money.

A Tricky Wedding

The friends try to sneak into Barnaby's house to steal the mortgage papers. But they get caught and are arrested. Barnaby says he'll drop the charges if Bo Peep agrees to marry him. She sadly agrees, but Ollie still gets dunked in a "ducking stool" as punishment.

At the wedding, Ollie has a clever plan. After the vows, but before the kiss, Ollie asks Barnaby for the mortgage as a wedding gift. Ollie tears it up! Then he lifts the bride's veil to show... Stannie! Stannie was wearing Bo Peep's wedding dress! Bo Peep is now free, and the mortgage is gone.

Barnaby's Revenge and Bogeyland

Barnaby is furious. He decides to frame Bo Peep's true love, Tom-Tom (Felix Knight). Barnaby kidnaps Little Elmer, one of the Three Little Pigs. Then, he plants fake evidence, like sausage links, in Tom-Tom's house.

Tom-Tom is put on trial, found guilty, and sent to Bogeyland. This is a scary place where "bogeymen" live. People sent there never return. A brave Bo Peep follows Tom-Tom to Bogeyland.

Saving Toyland

Publicity still

Meanwhile, Ollie and Stannie find clues that Barnaby framed Tom-Tom. They discover the "sausage links" were made of beef, not pig. They also find the kidnapped pig alive in Barnaby's cellar!

Barnaby escapes to Bogeyland through a secret passage. Stannie and Ollie follow him. In Bogeyland, Bo Peep finds Tom-Tom and tells him about Barnaby's trick. Barnaby finds them and fights Tom-Tom. An angry Barnaby then summons an army of Bogeymen!

The bogeymen chase Bo Peep and Tom-Tom. They meet Stannie and Ollie, and together they escape back to Toyland. Barnaby leads the bogeymen in an invasion of Toyland.

The March of the Wooden Soldiers

Ollie and Stannie tell their story to Old King Cole (Kewpie Morgan). Suddenly, two bogeymen open the main gate, and the army attacks Toyland! Ollie and Stannie hide in the toy shop.

They find boxes of darts and use them to fight back. Then, they realize they can use the wooden soldiers! The giant soldiers march out of the shop in an amazing stop-motion animation scene. The soldiers attack the bogeymen with their bayonets.

Barnaby is defeated and trapped under blocks that spell "rat." The bogeymen are chased back to Bogeyland. To celebrate, Stannie and Ollie decide to fire a cannon full of darts at the retreating bogeymen. But Stannie aims the cannon backward, and Ollie gets covered in darts! The film ends with Stannie pulling them out one by one as Ollie makes funny faces.

Characters and Cast

Virginia Karns as Mother Goose
Charlotte Henry as Bo-Peep
Felix Knight as Tom-Tom
Florence Roberts as Widow Peep
Henry Kleinbach as Barnaby
Stan Laurel as Stannie Dum
Oliver Hardy as Ollie Dee
Pete Gordon as The Cat and the Fiddle (uncredited)
Angelo Rossitto as Elmer the Pig (uncredited)
Zebedy Colt as Willie the Pig (uncredited)
Payne B. Johnson as Jiggs the Pig (uncredited)
Billy Bletcher as the Chief of Police (uncredited)
William Burress as the Toymaker (uncredited)
Russell Coles as Tom Tucker (uncredited)
Alice Dahl as Little Miss Muffet (uncredited)
Jean Darling as Curly Locks (uncredited)
Johnny Downs as Little Boy Blue (uncredited)
John George as Barnaby's Minion (uncredited)
Sumner Getchell as Little Jack Horner (uncredited)
Robert Hoover as Bobby Shaftoe (uncredited)
Alice Moore as the Queen of Hearts (uncredited)
Kewpie Morgan as Old King Cole (uncredited)
Ferdinand Munier as Santa Claus (uncredited)
Charley Rogers as Simple Simon (uncredited)
Tiny Sandford as Dunker (uncredited)
Marie Wilson as Mary Quite Contrary (uncredited)

Songs in the Film

The movie is a musical, so it has several songs from the original stage play. Even though the film is only 78 minutes long, it includes six musical numbers.

The songs featured are:

"Toyland" (at the beginning)
"Never Mind Bo-Peep"
"Castle in Spain"
"Go to Sleep (Slumber Deep)"
"March of the Toys" (an instrumental piece, meaning no singing)

An instrumental version of "I Can't do the Sum" is also heard during Laurel and Hardy's scenes. Another song, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?", appears as an instrumental during the Three Little Pigs part.

Most of the songs are sung by Bo Peep and Tom-Tom. Laurel and Hardy don't sing, but they do a memorable dance and march to "March of the Toys."

Different Versions of the Film

1950 re-release poster for Babes in Toyland (1934)

The original 79-minute film is still protected by copyright. However, in 1950, a shorter 73-minute version was released. This shorter version was called March of the Wooden Soldiers.

Some parts were cut from this shorter version, like the beginning of "Toyland" and the entire "Go to Sleep (Slumber Deep)" song. Also, a scene where Barnaby tries to kidnap Bo-Peep and his fight with Tom-Tom were removed. Because of how it was released, many people thought March of the Wooden Soldiers was free to use, but it's actually still connected to the original film's copyright.