The Parent Trap Collection

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Director (Parent Trap): David Swift

Cast (Parent Trap): Hayley Mills (Sharon McKendrick, Susan Evers),
Maureen O’Hara (Maggie McKendrick), Brian Keith (Mitch Evers), Charlie
Ruggles (Charles McKendrick), Una Merkel (Verbena), Leo G. Carroll (Rev.
Dr. Mosby), Joanna Barnes (Vicky Robinson)

Director (Parent Trap II): Ronald F. Maxwell

Cast (Parent Trap II): Hayley Mills (Sharon Ferris, Susan Corey), Tom
Skerritt (Bill Grand), Carrie Kei Heim (Nikki Ferris), Bridgette Andersen
(Mary Grand)

The Movies

The Parent Trap is one of the most highly praised and well-remembered
live action films ever made by the Disney studio. Most of the praise for
the film is directed towards the adorable and deserving Hayley Mills,
who, fresh off a hit and an honorary Academy Award with Pollyanna in 1960,
turned around and made another smash in The Parent Trap. The story
is fairly simple, adapted from the German book Das Doppelte Lottchen
by director David Swift.

Mills portrays twins who are separated at birth by their parents, played
by the (incredibly beautiful) Maureen O’Hara and Brian Keith, and taken
to opposite ends of the country and raised without any knowledge of each
other until one fateful summer at camp, where the two girls meet for the
first time, fight like cats and dogs until they discover their true relationship
to each other, then conspire to bring their parents back together. The
girls get new matching hairdos and go home with opposite parents to put
the “trap” in action. With some obstacles, most notably the
pouffy-haired Joanna Barnes as the new girlfriend in dad’s life, the twins
Susan and Sharon triumph in the end and reunite their family. It’s a charming,
timeless movie, carefully and lovingly made with a perfect cast, engaging
songs (most notably “Let’s Get Together”), and groundbreaking
photography. The theme of divorced parents was ahead of its time, and
the sequels and remake that followed it did not need to alter or change
very much to keep the storylines consistent.

The Parent Trap II is obviously not the main attraction for buying
this set. Made in 1986 as a feature for the Disney Channel, it features
Hayley Mills once again playing the duel roles of Sharon and Susan, this
time all grown up. Sharon is a divorcee living with her daughter Nikki
(Carrie Kei Heim) in Florida, while Susan is happily married and living
in California. Nikki meets a new friend, Mary Grand (Bridgette Andersen)
in summer school, who also lives with a single parent. Bill (Tom Skerritt)
is handsome and widowed so the two girls decide to play matchmakers. The
trap sets in when Nikki enlists her Aunt Susan to come help hook Bill,
since she is supposedly cooler and more experienced in sweeping men off
their feet. Of course, by the end of the movie, Bill and Sharon fall in
love happily ever after, but not with out the standard twin confusions
and muddles. The Parent Trap II is mainly interesting to people
who are either big fans of Hayley Mills or Disney Channel movies made
in the 1980s. The movie is pretty dated, with references to heartthrobs
Rob Lowe and Ralph Macchio, interesting fashion choices and that cheap
video tape look of 1980s made-for-TV movies. If none of these aspects
appeal to you, do yourself a favor and skip right to the wonderful bonus
materials on the second disc.

The Goodies

The second disc of The Parent Trap set is devoted to the original
film, with many interesting and in-depth featurettes; curiously, not one
of the bonus features are connected to The Parent Trap II. It’s
not a huge loss, since the original film is far more significant in many
ways. Some of the more notable featurettes include:

The Parent Trap: Caught in the Act (18:43) is a making of featurette
that is notable for including so many recent interviews with the cast
and crew. Hayley Mills, Maureen O’Hara, director David Swift (who was
interviewed shortly before his death) and the Sherman Brothers contribute.
Most interesting are the anecdotes of Walt Disney keeping a close eye
on production and how he endeared himself to everyone on the set as “Uncle
Walt.”

Lost Treasures: Who’s the Twin? (6:00) is a fun interview with Hayley
Mill’s body double and unseen actress Susan Henning-Schutte. The actress
was only seen from the back or the side in the final cut of the film,
and was not credited at all for her contributions. Schutte is one of those
rare personalities who just enjoyed her time on the set with the famous
cast and did not worry that she didn’t get any public recognition. She
was presented with a Duckster (Donald Duck’s version of the Oscar) by
Walt Disney at the conclusion of filming to thank her personally.

Music Magic: The Sherman Brothers (14:42) This dynamic duo reflect on
their long career with Disney, and how The Parent Trap marked their
first feature length film for the studio. It was interesting to note that
they attracted the attention of Walt Disney through their work with Annette
Funicello and the hits they were writing for her before they came on board
at Disney.

Seeing Double (9:17) is a tribute to Ub Iwerks’ groundbreaking use of
film techniques developing split-screen filming and uses of body doubles
to create the illusion of twins. His pioneering work holds up amazingly
well years later, especially compared to the more recent Parent Trap II.

Kimball & Swift: The Disney Years (17:32) is a humorous and touching
featurette with Ward Kimball and David Swift reminiscing about their years
at the Disney Studio as friends and coworkers, filmed against the background
of Kimball’s jaw-dropping model train collection. It includes some wonderful
footage of Kimball in the Firehouse Five, stories of the young animators
in their first studio financed party, and anecdotes about Walt and his
relationship to the writers and artists at the studio.

Audio and Video

The Parent Trap has never looked or sounded better. The music
blends seamlessly with the dialogue, everyone sounds as they should, and
there are no scratches on the soundtrack. The picture is clean and detailed.
The colors are bright. One disadvantage to such a beautiful detailed picture
is how it magnifies the few but noticeable studio shots compared to the
on location sets. Otherwise, no complaints; it looks better than many
movies playing on the Disney Channel this month. Speaking of which, The
Parent Trap II did not wear as well despite being a few decades younger.
Part of the problem is that the film appears to have been made on a much
smaller scale than the original; it’s cursed with the “look”
of a made for TV movie. The sound is fine, however; with no scratches
or pops.

Interface

The interface is organized around Susan and Sharon’s camp bulletin board,
and blends perfectly with the look and theming of the film. Short animated
clips add to the charm and detailing of the interface. The menus are easy
to navigate, but some titles on the main page contain a whole new menu
behind them, so be sure to search through all the titles to find the goodies.

The Final Evaluation

This is a wonderful set for many reasons. Fans who remember when the
original Parent Trap was released in 1961 will be happy to see how well
the story and look of the film has held up for over 40 years. The bonus
features are detailed and will appeal to those interested in technical
aspects of the film, as well as those who just like to hear interesting
anecdotes by some of the all-time Disney greats who were associated with
The Parent Trap, such as the Sherman Brothers, Ward Kimball, David
Swift, Hayley Mills, and Walt Disney himself. While The Parent Trap
II has a very limited appeal, it does nothing to detract from the
care and detailing gone into this set. Most people will enjoy the original
film and head straight to the extras. It’s exciting to see The Parent
Trap in its original glory and know a whole new generation of children
will be able to enjoy it.

DVD Details

• The Parent Trap: 1.75:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 (English)
  
• The Parent Trap II: 1.33:1 Fullscreen (Original Broadcast Ratio)
  
• Dolby Surround (English)
  
  
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; Closed Captioned
  
• Release Date: September 27, 2005
  
• Two single-sided, dual-layered discs (DVD-9s)
  
• Suggested Retail Price:
  $19.99