I'm Hans Christian Andersen...

I have very vague but definite memories of watching "Hans Christian Andersen," - the 1952 musical directed by Charles Vidor - when I was very young. For some reason I really took to Danny Kaye's portrayal of the classic Danish fairy tale author. I have a feeling it had a lot to do with his singing voice. You see, though I do like movies a lot, my first and best love has always been music. (Maybe I'll go into why I'm not writing a music blog at some point, but not right now).

Hans Christian Andersen (1952)

I had all but forgotten about this movie for decades, until I saw a used copy of the Blu Ray for sale at my local entertainment store a few months ago. I picked it up and just a shadow of a warm memory came back to me. On the strength of that memory, I bought the Blu Ray and put it on my shelf at home. I decided to watch it last night. About 20 minutes in, I realized at least part of what that warm memory must have been. Danny Kaye, as Hans, sees an inchworm on a flower outside a schoolhouse and starts singing a short little tune about the creature.

I immediately remembered the tune, and a swell of emotion that only music ever elicits in me rose in my chest. I've had that little tune in my head for 35 years without remembering where I heard it or where it came from. To be fair, I'm pretty sure my mom also used to sing it to me. Now that I think about it, I seem to have a memory of my dad singing it too. They both love music as well, so it shouldn't be surprising. I'll have to ask them about it.

That experience of being reminded of something so pure and warm long buried in my psyche is just one of the reasons I like movies so much. That experience alone was worth the $15 and two hours I spent on the movie. And that's probably a good thing, because the rest of the movie...wasn't great. Not terrible either, just not great.

Don't get me wrong, it has it's moments. Danny Kaye's Hans really is a likeable protagonist, though I think most modern audiences would find his touchy-feely relationship with his young apprentice and the school children in the village a little off-putting. But that's less a criticism of the film than a sad commentary on the necessity of caution regarding inappropriate treatment of children in modern life.

Modern audiences (including myself) are also not used to long stretches of ballet dancing in movies, with no dialogue or even lyrics in the music. I didn't time it, but Hans' imaginary staging of The Little Mermaid ballet had to be at least 10 minutes. I could appreciate the skill and beauty of the dancers and the choreography, but...I don't need to see it again.

The strongest aspect of this movie is it's music. In addition to "Inchworm," Kaye sings "Thumbelina," "Anywhere I Wander," and the ubiquitous "I'm Hans Christian Anderson," through which he introduces himself about 50 times throughout the film. It gets a little old, but I have to admit it's catchy.

It should be noted that the story in the film bears almost no resemblance to the real Hans Christian Andersen's actual life. As the film's opening sequence admits, the story is meant to be a fairy tale, like the ones Andersen write himself. As such, it is uncomplicated and uncontroversial. It ignores many more complicated aspects of Andersen's real life, in the same way that The Andy Griffith Show, set in the 1960's in North Carolina completely ignores race. It is a "feel-good movie." I think such things have their place, especially in children's entertainment, but I wouldn't want a steady diet of them. But I'm glad I was reminded of "Inchworm."