WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY, THE: ONCE UPON A MATTRESS (TV)
Summary
One of this series of Disney movies presented under the umbrella title "The Wonderful World of Disney." This made-for-television film is an adaptation of the 1959 Broadway comedy musical based on the classic fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea." The program begins as young Molly wanders around Disneyland searching for her favorite princess, and she runs into Carol Burnett, who offers to tell her "the whole grown-up story." Once upon a time, "Many Moons Ago," the scheming Queen Aggravain designs a series of impossible trials to test potential brides for her son, Prince Dauntless, having decreed that no one in the kingdom may marry until he does. After yet another would-be princess fails, Dauntless wonders if his mother truly wants him to ever marry, but she tells him that he must wait and wed someone suitable and of royal blood. Elsewhere, Lady Larken and her beloved Sir Harry bemoan the fact that they cannot yet be married, but the steadfast Harry refuses to break the law. However, Larken then reveals that she is pregnant, and Harry realizes that she will have to leave town if he does not marry her soon. He vows to find a bride for Dauntless and return to Larken "In A Little While," and though Aggravain initially tells him that there are no suitable girls left for her son, he declares that he will travel far away into dangerous territory to bring back a proper princess, and she allows him to go.
Harry returns after some time with a potential bride in tow, and everyone is shocked when the scrappy, outspoken Princess Winnifred swims the moat and climbs over the castle wall. She admits to the watching crowd that she is "Shy" and searches for her husband-to-be, and though Dauntless is charmed, Aggravain declares that she is highly unsuitable, and she prepares to head back to her home in the swamp. Harry arrives late and declares that Winnifred is a true princess, however, and Dauntless convinces his mother to test her as she did the other women. Dauntless explains the situation to Winnifred, though she feels that he should marry whom he likes, and Aggravain plots to create an unbeatable test. Larken is surprised when she meets Winnifred and complains to Harry that she will never be allowed to marry Dauntless, and they argue when he again refuses to break the rules. Aggravain and her Wizard sidekick decide to test Winnifred's "Sensitivity" by placing a tiny pea underneath twenty mattresses and sedating her, claiming that a real princess would still be able to feel it. Winnifred meets Dauntless' father, the mute King Sextimus, and the Jester explains that he is under a curse that will only be broken "when the mouse devours the hawk." Dauntless attempts to make Winnifred comfortable in the castle and asks about her homeland, and she tells him all about "The Swamps of Home."
Aggravain is annoyed to see Dauntless and Winnifred bonding over a game of croquet and tells them that she has planned a ball for that evening to "celebrate" Winnifred's arrival at which they will perform "the Spanish panic," an infamously complex and exhausting dance. The dance soon gets underway and everyone begins collapsing from the effort, though Aggravain's plan backfires and Winnifred is not at all tired. She and Dauntless wonder about the upcoming test, and when she performs an impressive feat of strength, he falls for her completely and shares his feelings for his "Fred" in a "Song of Love." Larken is caught watching as the twenty mattresses are brought in and is thrown into the dungeon, and Winnifred attempts to study for the test, struggling mightily with math and history questions. She reads through other romantic fairy tales, noting that those characters all had outside help and wondering how she will get her own "Happily Ever After." She finds Larken in the dungeon and lets her out, urging her not to run from a fight, but the Wizard whisks her off to her bedchamber before Larken can explain about the test. At the same time, Dauntless seeks out Sextimus, curious about his own impending wedding night, and Sextimus attempts to give him an overdue "Man-to-Man Talk" in pantomime, though Dauntless has difficulty grasping the concepts.
Harry offers to run away with Larken, but she says they must stay and fight back, and he decides to cheat after all, fantasizing about their upcoming wedding and idyllic honeymoon in "Normandy." The Wizard presents Aggravain with the tiny pea, and the Jester finds Larken and Harry and explains that the King wants to help. Aggravain muses about delaying Dauntless' wedding indefinitely, determined to keep "That Baby of Mine" to herself, and then presses a sleeping draught on Winnifred and brings in an annoying bird to sing a "Nightingale Lullaby" to her. Winnifred climbs up onto the twenty mattresses but finds the bed impossibly uncomfortable and, desperate for sleep, begins to count sheep. In the morning, Aggravain tells a crushed Dauntless that the test has already happened and that Winnifred has presumably failed, but Winnifred then slouches in and reveals that she did not sleep at all, and Dauntless is thrilled to realize that they may now marry. Aggravain attempts to interfere again and Dauntless finally stands up to her, and the Jester realizes that "the mouse" has defeated "the hawk" and broken the curse, meaning that Sextimus can now speak and Aggravain cannot. Dauntless hurries off to plan the wedding and Larken and Harry, now able to marry as well, reveal as a "Finale" that they cheated the Queen's test by stuffing Winnifred's mattresses with weapons and other sharp metal objects. The couples finally marry, and everyone lives happily ever after. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: December 18, 2005 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:59:50
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:88066
- GENRE: Musical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Musical; Comedy; Fairy tales
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1997-2008
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Alka-Seltzer Plus cold medication
- TV - Commercials - Alliance to Save Energy
- TV - Commercials - American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
- TV - Commercials - Black & Decker dust-buster
- TV - Commercials - Boys & Girls Clubs of America
- TV - Commercials - Burlington Coat Factory stores
- TV - Commercials - Campbell's soups
- TV - Commercials - Capital One credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Claritin-D cold and allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
- TV - Commercials - Discover credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Energizer batteries
- TV - Commercials - Febreeze Downy laundry softener
- TV - Commercials - Flonase allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Folgers HomeCafe cappuccino
- TV - Commercials - General Mills Chex Party Mix
- TV - Commercials - Ghirardelli chocolates
- TV - Commercials - Glade scented oil candles
- TV - Commercials - Go Girl Go! Women's Sports Foundation program
- TV - Commercials - Habitat For Humanity
- TV - Commercials - Hallmark Gold Crown stores
- TV - Commercials - JCPenney stores
- TV - Commercials - Johnson & Johnson baby products
- TV - Commercials - Kay Jewelers
- TV - Commercials - Lowe's stores
- TV - Commercials - March of Dimes association
- TV - Commercials - MasterCard credit cards
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants Arch gift cards
- TV - Commercials - NFL Youth Football website
- TV - Commercials - Nasonex allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Nexium heartburn medication
- TV - Commercials - Nikon digital cameras
- TV - Commercials - Outback Steakhouse restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Pampers baby wipers
- TV - Commercials - Payless ShoeSource stores
- TV - Commercials - Pier 1 Imports stores
- TV - Commercials - Puffs tissues
- TV - Commercials - Quaker Oats cereals
- TV - Commercials - Reddi-Wip whipped cream
- TV - Commercials - Royal Caribbean cruise lines
- TV - Commercials - Save the Children charity services
- TV - Commercials - T-Mobile cellular services
- TV - Commercials - The Anti-Drug campaign
- TV - Commercials - The Foundation For a Better Life
- TV - Commercials - Theraflu cold relief
- TV - Commercials - Triaminic cold medication
- TV - Commercials - United States Postal Service
- TV - Commercials - Verizon Wireless cellular services
- TV - Commercials - Visa check cards
- TV - Promos - "According to Jim"
- TV - Promos - "America's Funniest Home Videos"
- TV - Promos - "Cheaper By the Dozen 2" motion picture
- TV - Promos - "Dancing With the Stars"
- TV - Promos - "Desperate Housewives"
- TV - Promos - "Emily's Reasons Why Not"
- TV - Promos - "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
- TV - Promos - "George Lopez"
- TV - Promos - "I'll Be Home For Christmas"
- TV - Promos - "In Justice"
- TV - Promos - "Kronk's New Groove" home video
- TV - Promos - "Must Love Dogs" home video
- TV - Promos - "Once Upon a Mattress" home video
- TV - Promos - "The Bachelor: Paris"
- TV - Promos - ABC Family "25 Days of Christmas" lineup
- TV - Promos - Barbara Walters "Heaven" special
CREDITS
- Marty Tudor … Executive Producer
- Carol Burnett … Executive Producer
- Marc Platt … Executive Producer
- John Peter Kousakis … Producer
- Janet Brownell … Co-Producer, Writer
- Tracy Hillman … Associate Producer
- Kathleen Marshall … Director, Choreographer
- Mary Rodgers … Music by
- Danny Troob … Music by
- Ken Welch … Music by
- Mitzie Welch … Music by
- Michael Kosarin … Music by, Conductor
- Marshall Louis Barer … Lyrics
- Jay Thompson … Librettist
- Dean Fuller … Librettist
- Carol Burnett … Cast, Queen Aggravain
- Tracey Ullman … Cast, Princess Winnifred
- Denis O'Hare … Cast, Prince Dauntless
- Tom Smothers … Cast, King Sextimus
- Matthew Morrison … Cast, Sir Harry
- Edward Hibbert … Cast, The Wizard
- Michael Boatman … Cast, The Jester
- Zooey Deschanel … Cast, Lady Larken
- Jennifer Copping … Cast, Lady Rowena
- Topaz Hasfal … Cast, Lady Merrill
- Cailin Stadnyk … Cast, Lady Lucille
- Michelle Harrison … Cast, Princess #12
- G. Michael Gray … Cast, Lookout
- Scott Augustine … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Paul Becker … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Jordan Cable … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Stephenos Christou … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Stephen Findlay … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Omar Forrest … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Ryan Gifford … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Paul Huck … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Michael Jackson … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Dani Jazzar … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Michel Lafleche … Cast, Dancing Knight
- David Lopez … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Craig Ramsay … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Matthew Rossoff … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Martin Samuel … Cast, Dancing Knight
- Linda Ayentes Bernath … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Brittany Gray … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Lisa Ho … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Karla Jang … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Victoria Lamond … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Melanie McInenly … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Andrea Ramolo … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Ayanna Sealey … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Sherisse Springer … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Debbie Timuss … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Tara Wilson … Cast, Dancing Lady
- Robyn Wong … Cast, Dancing Lady