The Parent Trap facts for kids

Theater poster

The Parent Trap is a fun movie from 1961 made by Walt Disney Productions. It stars Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, and Brian Keith. In the movie, Hayley Mills plays two different girls who are actually twin sisters! These twins meet by chance and then try to get their parents, who are divorced, back together again. The movie is based on a book called Lottie and Lisa (Das Doppelte Lottchen) by Erich Kästner.

The Story of The Parent Trap

The movie begins with two girls, Sharon McKendrick and Susan Evers, meeting at a summer camp. They look exactly alike, but they don't know each other. At first, they don't get along very well. They even play pranks on each other!

Discovering the Secret

After a while, the camp counselors make them stay together in a cabin. This helps them talk and get to know each other. They soon find out a huge secret: they are twin sisters! Their parents, Mitch Evers and Maggie McKendrick, got divorced when the girls were babies. Each parent took one twin to raise.

The Big Plan

Sharon lives with her mom, Maggie, in Boston. Susan lives with her dad, Mitch, in California. The twins decide they want their parents to fall in love again. They come up with a clever plan to switch places. Sharon will go to California to live with her dad, pretending to be Susan. Susan will go to Boston to live with her mom, pretending to be Sharon.

Tricky Situations

The girls have to learn everything about each other's lives. They practice how to act and talk like the other twin. This leads to many funny and tricky situations. They hope their parents will notice something is different and realize they miss each other.

Getting Parents Back Together

The twins' plan works! Their parents eventually find out about the switch. They are surprised but also happy to see both their daughters together. The movie shows how the twins try to make their parents spend time together. They hope this will help their parents remember why they loved each other.

Who Was In The Movie?

The movie has a great cast of actors who made the story come alive.

Hayley Mills as the Twins

The main star is Hayley Mills. She plays both Sharon McKendrick and Susan Evers. This was a very special role because she had to act like two different people. The filmmakers used clever camera tricks to make it look like she was on screen with herself. Hayley Mills was very popular in Disney movies at this time.

The Parents

Maureen O'Hara plays Maggie McKendrick, the twins' mother. She is a strong and loving mom. Brian Keith plays Mitch Evers, the twins' father. He is a charming and kind dad. Their performances make you believe they were once a happy couple.

Behind the Scenes

The Parent Trap was a big success for Walt Disney Productions.

Awards and Recognition

The movie was very popular. It was even nominated for two Academy Awards. These awards were for "Best Sound" and "Best Film Editing." This shows how well the movie was made.

From Book to Screen

The story comes from a German book called Das Doppelte Lottchen (which means The Double Lottie). It was written by Erich Kästner. The book was first published in 1949. The movie changed some things but kept the main idea of twin sisters trying to reunite their parents.

Did You Know?

Here are some interesting facts about The Parent Trap.

• The movie was shown on television many times after it came out.
• Three television sequels were made. These were new stories about the twins and their family.
• The original movie was remade in 1998 with Lindsay Lohan playing the twins. This newer version was also very popular.

See also

In Spanish: The Parent Trap para niños