Search - The Three Lives of Thomasina on DVD

Paul Gallico's enduring classic turned into a Disney classic

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 12/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Paul Gallico's charming little story "Thomasina" is turned into an equally lovely little Disney film from 1964 directed by Don Chaffey ("Greyfriars Bobby"). Veterinarian Andrew MacDhui (Patrick McGoohan) is a widower who is raising his young daughter Mary (Karen Dotrice) in Scotland in 1912. Andrew has no empathy for the townsfolk who love their pets and when Mary's beloved cat Thomasina is injured he quickly decides the animal should be killed. Mary is distraught and Andrew simply cannot understand why the logic of the situation is not clear to the girl. Mary and her friends prepare an elaborate funeral for Thomasina, at which point Lori MacGregor (Susan Hampshire) shows up. The children think she is a witch, but in truth she lives in the woods and nurses injured animals back to health using love and common sense. Lori recognizes the cat is not dead and takes it home to help it recover, during which time Thomasina goes to Cat Heaven in a marvelously fanciful sequence. Andrew has a bad reputation with the locals because he killed his daughter's cat and they start taking their pets to Lori. Andrew finally goes to see her and is not so busy being impressed by her healing skills that he fails to fall in love with her. But then Mary sees Thomasina walking outside her house and chases after her in a driving storm and ends up catching pneumonia. The doctors hold out no hope to the frantic Andrew, and Lori tells him that only he can help Mary recover using the power of love.Lots of Disney movies have a cold-hearted adult transformed into a human being, and "The Three Lives of Thomasina" is one of the best of this type of film, even better than "Pollyanna. " This is mainly because it has the virtue of a first-rate cast, from McGoohan, Hampshire and Dotrice as the three principles to Finlay Currie and Laurence Naismith standing out in the supporting cast. Elspeth March supplies the voice of Thomasina, who gets to comment on the action from time to time, and Matthew Garber, who went on with Dotrice to play the kids in "Mary Poppins," also has a small role. But at the heart of this film is Paul Gallico's endearing fable. I think this is just a nice little film and I am not even a cat person."

FEY SCOTTISH TALE

scotsladdie | 11/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I remember watching this little gem on television in Concord, California around 1964! I loved this film as a child and just got my kids the video last night for a peek after some 37 (!) years. It's every bit as charming as Disney's earlier GREYFRIAR'S BOBBY (with Donald Crisp), and, thanks to a strong cast led by Patrick McGoohan and Susan Hampshire, infinitely more enjoyable! The film tells the story of a Scottish veterinarian Andrew MacDhui and daughter Mary, whose affection for a beautiful cat named Thomasina comes between them. When the cat is seriously injured, Mary's father "puts the cat to sleep" but Thomasina is disovered by Lori MacGregor, who nurses the cat back to health. Her love and understanding finally reunite father and daughter in the touching climax. Although the film wasn't a huge box-office success, it was considered one of the best foreign productions released by the Disney studio in the sixties."

A WONDERFUL children's movie the whole family will enjoy!

Lawrance M. Bernabo | 11/01/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the story of a little girl who loses her beloved cat, Thomasina, because her widowed veteranarian father refused to treat it, seeing "pets" as easily replacable. Enter the mysterious beautiful "witch" in the glen who takes in hurt animals and nurses them back to health, trusting in God and love to do the healing her hands cannot. This movie is not only a well done, entertaining story for all ages but it teaches a very valuable lesson we'd all do well to heed. I rated the movie itself a 5 but the scale does not go high enough to rate it's message. An excellent gift for children. God bless END"

Yea! Great film and Disney released the DVD in Widescreen!

Dave from Central CT | USA | 07/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally. Here's a great Disney film that the studio has wisely chosen to release on DVD in a widescreen version. The letterboxing is correctly mild (1.66:1), and is SO WELCOME after, sadly, Disney has released so many of its classics from this era in crappy full-screen cropped versions. Thanks, Disney, for this DVD. Please keep releasing films in their correct aspect ratios..."