With a Flair facts for kids

"With A Flair" is a fun song from the 1971 Walt Disney movie, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. It was written by the famous songwriting team, Robert and Richard Sherman. The song is sung by actor David Tomlinson in the film.

Even though David Tomlinson sang it, the song was originally cut from the movie when it first came out. For many years, it was thought to be lost. But then, 25 years later in 1996, the movie was put back together. "With A Flair" was added back into the film for this special version. It also appeared on the movie's original music album in 1971.

The Story Behind the Song

The Sherman Brothers wrote about "With A Flair" in their book, Walt's Time. They were very happy that Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson joined the movie. David Tomlinson had also been in Mary Poppins as Mr. Banks.

The songwriters felt David Tomlinson was great at both comedy and serious acting. He once said that a "clown does funny things" but a "comedian does things funny." This means a comedian makes ordinary things seem funny.

Emelius Browne's Magic Act

In "With A Flair," David Tomlinson's character, Professor Emelius Browne, tries to sell fake magic tricks on the street. The Sherman Brothers asked their friend, Milt Larsen, to help create a funny magic act for the scene. Milt Larsen is an expert in magic and comedy writing.

Milt Larsen taught all the magic tricks to David Tomlinson. Milt even had a small part in the movie. He played a person who gets a hat full of milk spilled on his head! Sadly, when Bedknobs and Broomsticks first came out, the whole "With A Flair" scene was cut. Only a short moment of Milt Larsen covered in milk was left in the movie.

Awards and Recognition

Another song from Bedknobs and Broomsticks, called "The Age of Not Believing", was sung by Angela Lansbury. This song was nominated for a Best Song Oscar. An Oscar is a very famous award for movies.

The entire musical score (all the music in the film) for Bedknobs and Broomsticks was also nominated for an Oscar that year. These two nominations were the fourth and fifth Oscar nominations for the Sherman Brothers.

• The special 1996 version of the film was also the first time the movie was heard in stereo sound. Stereo sound makes music sound richer, like it's coming from different directions. Even though the music was recorded in stereo, the movie was first released with only mono sound.

See also

In Spanish: Bedknobs and Broomsticks para niños