The Gnome-Mobile

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The Gnome-Mobile
Directed by Robert Stevenson, Arthur J. Vitarelli
Produced by James Algar
Walt Disney
Written by Ellis Kadison
Starring Walter Brennan
Tom Lowell
Matthew Garber
Karen Dotrice
Paul Winchell
Richard Deacon
Music by Buddy Baker
Cinematography Edward Colman
Editing by Norman R. Palmer
Release date(s) 1967
Running time 84 min.
Country U.S.
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Gnome-Mobile is a 1967 Disney musical film, directed by Robert Stevenson.

It was based on a 1936 book by Upton Sinclair entitled The Gnomobile. The children, Elizabeth and Rodney, were played by Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber, familiar from their roles as the Banks children in Mary Poppins. The title song, a.k.a. '"The Gnome-Mobile Song", was written by the Sherman Brothers, who were also the songwriters of Mary Poppins.

[edit] Plot summary

The story opens with the children's grandfather, D.J. Mulrooney (Walter Brennan), a well-known executive officer of a vast timber-trading company. D.J., an eccentric and passionate man with a distinctive snore, as well as vast dedication and determination, has bought up a preserve of ancient virgin forest to show his descendants the majesty of the Redwood trees. In order to meet with business clients in Seattle, D.J. takes his personal, customized Rolls-Royce Phantom II on a trip, picking up his grandchildren and taking them to a part of his forest en route. In a brief conversation with his Company Head of Security, Ralph Yarby (Richard Deacon), we learn that the car was purchased after D.J. earned his first $1 million.

In the forest, Elizabeth encounters a gnome called Jasper (Tom Lowell), who is desperately seeking a bride for himself, but cannot find any functional gnome communities remaining. Elizabeth, touched by the trusting gnome, agrees to help him find one. She brings her unbelieving grandfather and brother to the same spot, and Jasper makes a reluctant reappearance. The three are introduced to Jasper's 900-year old grandfather Knobby (also played by Brennan) who, like D.J., is passionate and short-tempered. Knobby harbors immense hatred for humans because of their damage to the livelihood of gnomes, but agrees to go along and seek other gnomes because of Jasper's insistence. As they leave together, the Rolls-Royce is affectionately named "the Gnome-Mobile."

Trouble begins, however, when Knobby discovers that D.J. is responsible for logging. The two elders quarrel until D.J., infuriated, vows to take the two gnomes back to the forest. Jasper and his grandfather are kidnapped by Horatio Quaxton (Sean McClory), a freak show owner, while D.J. is committed to an asylum by Yarby, who has heard about the gnomes and deems his boss insane. Rodney and Elizabeth rescue D.J., who tumbles out of his window and narrowly escapes. The children and D.J. find Quaxton's cabin, rescue Jasper, and leave to find Knobby.

Yarby, on finding that D.J. has escaped, mounts a personal pursuit. His company-owned 1958 Cadillac is literally broken to pieces by the rough going, while the durable Rolls-Royce with D.J.'s skillful and daring driving manages to get away undamaged.

They arrive in the woods to find Knobby delighted with the presence of a thriving community of gnomes. Jasper is disappointed that they are all old men, but is then recognized by a Gnomish elder as "the eligible gnome" to a large number of young females of his race, who then compete in a contest to determine which one will marry him. The bachelor is covered in soap, then set upon by the girls, who try to hold onto him for seven seconds. The one who does, Violet (Cami Sebring), is Jasper's choice from the beginning.

D.J., for his part, gives as a wedding-present the rights to several acres of forest, which become a haven for the gnomes.

[edit] Cast

[edit] External links