1. MaryS

   10

   FANTASTIC! It was great to see it redone, especially with Carol Burnett as the Queen. The entire production was a joy.

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2. JACKG

   4

   A delightful show has been Disney-ized, removing all irony, shtick and half the score. Well at least it's better that the awful Sara Jessica Parker revival that reviled Broadway a few seasons back.… Expand

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3. BobW

   3

   Once again, Disney thinks it knows best... and as usual, it doesn't! "Mattress" is a classic. It is a fast paced, almost insane romp through a children's fairy tale, the way it REALLY happened [aka: The adult version] Yet, it can work quite well for children too, but not this version. The casting was great: Ullman made Winnifred her own, as did Burnett as the queen, each wisely chosing their own route rather than try to out do the original actress. Tommy Smothers was great and his little yo-yo- bit worked, but if I was casting, I'd have gone with one of the two best living mimes today: Marcel Marceau or the brilliant Bill Irwin. The score still stands up, and the musical department did a terrific job of "updating" the sound. So why such a low rating? THE BOOK! Why re-write what was already successful on Broadway? The original book was fast paced, corny, and magnificent. Here the writer heavy-handedly spell out everything twice over, add "depth" that isn't needed, and so slow down the pace, it's a torture. Why cut "Opening For A Princess" which tell the whole setup in 3 fun minutes, and replace it with dull dialog that takes twice as long? Why change Harry from a simple "Sir" to some "totally honest" L'il Abner wannabe? Why add a whole "dungeon scene" which adds nothing, and forces you to cut "Very Soft Shoes" to save time? I wish they'd re-release either or both TV "originals" [I have the '64 monochrome release, which takes the same amount of time, yet is far more enjoyable!] The NY Times critic said she thought this remake was great, and she thought it would be hard to get kids to watch the "original." Well, I doubt she's even SEEN the original. If she had, she'd have never made such a statement. I watched this remake with friends and panned it. They couldn't understand why, then I popped in my old tape. They all went "Oh! ...yes!"… Expand

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