Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
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84% of critics liked it
(19 reviews) -
71% of users liked it
(40,953 ratings)
None of the many cinemadaptations of Johan Wyss' The Swiss Family Robinson are as relentlessly enjoyable as this 1960 Disney feature. The film wastes no time getting down to business, with the shipwreck of the Robinson family occurring as the credits flash across the screen. Fashioning a raft,… More None of the many cinemadaptations of Johan Wyss' The Swiss Family Robinson are as relentlessly enjoyable as this 1960 Disney feature. The film wastes no time getting down to business, with the shipwreck of the Robinson family occurring as the credits flash across the screen. Fashioning a raft, the family heads to a lush tropical island. While the mother (Dorothy McGuire) isn't too happy about being a castaway, the father (John Mills) and the sons (James MacArthur, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran) are thrilled at the prospect of carving out a new life for themselves. In short order, the industrious Robinsons have constructed a treehouse with all the creature comforts and "utilities" of their home in Switzerland. Later on, the little party is joined by Janet Munro, the daughter of a sea captain who has been captured by pirate Sessue Hayakawa and his band. After a series of adventures calculated to arouse the envy of every man, woman and child in the audience, the film comes to a rousing conclusion as the Robinsons resourcefully fend off Hayakawa and his pirates with a variety of jerry-built booby traps. A box-office winner to the tune of $30 million, The Swiss Family Robinson proved beyond doubt that Disney's decision to emphasize the humor and adventure of the Wyss original, while downplaying the sociopolitical undertones, was a sound one. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ken Annakin
- Written By
- Lowell S. Hawley
- Genres
- Action & Adventure, Kids & Family
G,
- In Theaters
- Dec 21, 1960 Wide
- On DVD
- May 7, 2002
- Studio
- Buena Vista Pictures
Critic Reviews
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, TIME Magazine
The Swiss Family Robinson, like most of Walt Disney's screen versions of the children's classics, is good Disney and bad culture.
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Howard Thompson, New York Times
It's hard to imagine how the picture could be better as a rousing, humorous and gentle-hearted tale of family love amid primitive isolation and dangers.
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Brian Costello, Common Sense Media
Mild peril, dated animation in tale of island survival.
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Common Sense Media Editors, Common Sense Media
Good intro for kids reluctant to watch old movies.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
There's something for everybody in this Disney's live action adventure made for the entire family, which may explain why it was the most commercially popular film of 1960.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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John Mills
as Mr. Robinson
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Dorothy McGuire
as Mother Robinson
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James MacArthur
as Fritz Robinson
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Janet Munro
as Roberta
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Sessue Hayakawa
as Pirate Chief
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Tommy Kirk
as Ernst Robinson
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Cecil Parker
as Capt. Moreland
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Kevin Corcoran
as Francis Robinson
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Andy Ho
as Auban
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Milton Reid
as Big Pirate
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Larry Taylor
as Pirate
