Bedknobs and Broomsticks

'''Bedknobs and Broomsticks''', 1971 Walt Disney movie

During WWII, children from London are being evacuated, and assigned temporary quarters with villagers.  Miss Eglintine Price (Angela Lansbury) a slightly eccentric lady, has a large home in a county village, where she lives alone and so she is assigned, by the postmistress the three orphans, Carrie, Charles and Paul Rollins.  The village priest (Roddy McDowell) has an interest in Miss Price, but possibly more-so in her wealth. The postmistress doesn't appear to like him.  Watch it on Youtube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM5kqyXW2mE Part 1]

Now the priest shows up wanting to pay a call on Miss Price, but she shuts him out.  She is more interested in going to London to see Professor Brown, for her final spell.  She must go immediately, so they will use the traveling bed.  Now Miss Price sings!  Then Miss Price and the three children all go flying in the magic bed to London.  Watch it on Youtube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S4Y-zoXHZU&feature=related Part 4].

There's a bunch more dancing about.  The vendors all close-up shop and then the sinister-looking fellow pulls a knife on our group.  They are ordered to go see "The Bookman".  He, it turns out, has the other half of the book, but when they exchange their halves they discover the magical spell is not actually '''in''' the book.  But the book tells that the spell is on a magical '''Star of Astoroth''' which is missing.  Astoroth it turns out kept animals, which eventually rebelled against him, took a ship and sailed to the Isle of Naboombu, evidently taking the star-medallion with them.  The Bookman threatens Paul to try to get him to give-up this book, but instead they all escape on the traveling bed. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNSyicS-xgk&feature=related Part 8].

While the Professor is helping the King on with his robe, the Professor pulls a switch exchanging his referee's whistle for the King's medallion star, which he hands behind his back to Miss Price.  Our group then hurries back to the bed, while the Lion just realizes that the star is missing.  He rushes after them, but Miss Price turns him into a white rabbit.  They then return to her country home, where she wishes to experiment with the spell by casting it on the Professor's empty shoes.  But the star with the magic words on it has vanished. The Professor now goes for provisions at the village, where the postmistress pries and tries to give him a push to marry Miss Price.  At this time the priest walks in, overhearing the end of this exchange, and is jealous.  The postmistress takes some glee in needling the priest about it.  Now it turns out the missing magical words were in Paul's cartoon book all the time.  But when she tries them, they don't work.  The missing part is that the Professor had been switching things about with the other spells, so he tries here as well.  And we get another rather silly song.  Then the shoes start dancing by themselves.  [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRssvnIQOlI&feature=related Part 11].

The spell gets out of hand with all manners of clothing taking on life and dancing about and getting into mischief.  The priest shows up and gets attacked by a nightgown, then goes hurrying off.  Then they all behave in a silly manner for a few moments.  The postmistress shows up, pushing Miss Price into an awkward moment where she has to confess that she now wants the children to stay, and they all want the Professor and her to marry.  The Professor though, apparently with cold feet, makes to return to London.  Now we get another song from Miss Price.  [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM1fCOsoohQ&feature=related Part 12]