In Search of the Castaways

Director: Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson

Overview

In this Disney film, based on Jules Verne's novel Captain Grant's Children, the children of long-missing ship's captain Jack Gwillim and their professor friend are given a note stuffed in a bottle; the note contains the fragment of a map, which suggests that Gwillim is somewhere in South America.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/03/2005
UPC:	0786936208368
Original Release:	1962
Rating:	G
Source:	Walt Disney Video
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00

Special Features

Closed Caption;Dolby Digital Mono sound; Full screen (1.33:1)

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Maurice Chevalier	Prof. Jacques Paganel
Hayley Mills	Mary Grant
Wilfrid Hyde-White	Lord Glenarvan
Michael Anderson Jr.	John Glenarvan
George Sanders	Thomas Ayerton
Antonio Cifariello	Thalcave
Keith Hamshere	Robert Grant
Wilfrid Brambell	Bill Gaye
Jack Gwillim	Capt. Grant
Ronald Fraser	Guard
Inia Te Wiata	Maori Chief
Norman Bird	Senior Yacht Guard
Michael Wynne	Crooked Sailor
Milo Sperber	Crooked Sailor
Barry Keegan	Irish Claimant
Andrea Malandrinos	Actor,Crooked Sailor
George Murcell	Ayerton's Assistant
Mark Dignam	Rich Man at Yacht party
Roger Delgado	Patagonian Prisoner
Maxwell Shaw	Sailor
David Spenser	South American Guide
Michael Anderson	John Glenarvan

Technical Credits

Lowell S. Hawley

Robert Stevenson	Director
Lowell S. Hawley	Screenwriter
Walt Disney	Producer
Peter Ellenshaw	Special Effects
Sydney Pearson	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

The opening credits of In Search of the Castaways tell the audience that this is a "fantasy adventure", and that turns out to be pretty accurate. The fantasy label at least prepares the viewer for some of the larger credibility gaps that pop up along the way. Those that deal with plot points (e.g., the unbelievably fortunate timing of a waterspout that douses a deadly fire, the ability of one character to immediately determine how to make a volcano erupt) are somehow more palatable than the ridiculously carefree manner with which the characters greet such dangerous situations as an earthquake atop a mountain ledge or the resulting slide down an icy slope. Fortunately, the film has some genuine thrills that more than make up for the silliness (and cutesiness) that runs through the script. The quality of the special effects is variable; there are some very poor matte shots involving various people running from one disaster or another, but there are also some quite convincing (and at times breathtaking) effects. Castaways has a lovely cast, with Hayley Mills in fine form, whether falling in love or falling down a slope. If Maurice Chevalier and Wilfrid Hyde-White go over the top, they still have charm, and George Sanders's understatement counteracts them nicely. In smaller roles, Antonio Cifariello and Wilfrid Brambell make strong impressions as a stolid Indian and a not-so-crazy lunatic. Advances in screen technology may have reduced Castaways' impact, but most children will still find it entertaining -- as will those parents willing to meet it halfway.