Doctor Gulliver, despite the protestations of his fiancé, signs onto a ship heading to India. I probably don’t need to go into the plot synopsis of this one too deeply, but needless to say, Gulliver finds himself both in the land of tiny people entitled Lilliput and the land of giant people entitled Brobdingnag, the latter where he is reunited with his fiancé. Unlike the cutesy and cloying Fleischer Brothers animated adaptation from 1939, this filming of Jonathan Swift’s classic at least includes nods to social satire. Most today will want to watch it due to the Ray Harryhausen creations, but unfortunately, the stop-motion genius’s work is only on display briefly in only two scenes, being a giant squirrel and alligator who menace Gilligan. The film is a lush and colorful fantasy, ultimately unessential but harmless viewing.
Teenage Frankenstein: Cinematic Journeys, Personal Obsessions 