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Once Upon a Mattress: Season 1
  • Network: ABC
  • Series Premiere Date: Dec 18, 2005
  • Season #: 1
Metascore
55 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15
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  1. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: J. Wynn Rousuck
    90
    Surely one of the most delightful examples of televised family entertainment this holiday season.
  2. Newsday
    Reviewed by: Verne Gay
    90
    This version is a triumph.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Alessandra Stanley
    80
    The remake has everything that those earlier versions had and something more: Tracey Ullman and Carol Burnett together and at each other's throats.
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Doug Elfman
    75
    That cast and the sweet but not disgustingly sugary direction uplift "Mattress" from what could have been a merely not-horrible event.
  5. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    75
    Like watching "The Carol Burnett Show: The Next Generation."
  6. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    60
    While the performances are first-rate, and the film is never less than enjoyable, it doesn't quite take off.
  7. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Christopher Rawson
    60
    A pretty family entertainment, lit by Ullman's energy and just small flashes of the Burnett we love.
  8. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Adam Buckman
    50
    Not that it's not a nice show, but it is precisely the kind of production for which the word "corny" was probably coined.
  9. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Robert Bianco
    50
    Nothing works very well in this elaborate but leaden production, which seems more interested in Bob Mackie's costumes than in the characters they clothe.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Melissa Rose Bernardo
    50
    Why was the tired Tracey Ullman tapped to star in this candy-colored adaptation of the fairy-tale stage show? [16 Dec 2005, p.77]
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  11. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Marilyn Moss
    40
    Even the combined deadpan cynicism -- at its very best -- of Carol Burnett and Tracey Ullman can't overcome the extreme sweetness of this "Once Upon a Mattress."
  12. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Storm
    30
    It's worth the effort, at least for a little while, to watch Burnett, at 72, fume and foam in her fantastic Bob Mackie costumes. But Ullman has almost no panache in the princess role, and Smothers, silenced by a curse for 99 percent of the program, doesn't rise above a cute cartoon.
  13. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    30
    This overly broad storybook project feels painfully dated.
  14. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    30
    The production doesn't engage the ears, the eyes, or the laugh muscles. It engages only the snooze button.
  15. San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa Times
    Reviewed by: Charlie McCollum
    20
    While it's always good to see Burnett, something has gone seriously awry with this new version.
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User Reviews

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User Score
4.7 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 16
  3. Negative: 9 out of 16
  1. KenS
    0
    It isn't the Wonderful World of Disney that I grew up on. I quickly turned it off when I realized the lady was singing about her bastard child. It isn't the thing I want to discuss with my young daughter. As a Disney stockholder it was an embarassment.… Full Review »
  2. ElyceH
    7
    How glorious to see the immensely talented Tracey Ullman play a delightful part that befits her singing and dancing talent. And Burnett and Smothers were wonderful to watch. It felt like a family reunion! The show itself, well, is, as some critics in the press have said, "corny." But for Disney it was delightful. And I defy parents to tell me their young children actually GOT any of the ribald humor. Please.… Full Review »
  3. JosephM
    9
    Charming and lovely adaptation.
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