I wanted to like this film....

I wanted to go so far as to say, "This was BETTER than Wizard of Oz!" because I like that feeling of being "in on something" that most people are not.

But this was just a very blatant Wizard Of Oz rip-off, nothing more. All the way down to the moral of Wizard's story that "You don't need to look any further than your own backyard" for your heart's desire. In The Blue Bird, Shirley Temple realizes the blue bird she has been searching for has been right there at home the whole time... SIGH. Cheesy. Same thing, different wording.

I will give The Blue Bird points for very abstract imagery and ideas. The childrens' visit to the deceased grandparents is a good example. I think the idea of people who have died only being alive when someone loves and thinks of them quite poignant. When the children leave, it gets dark and the grandparents go back to sleep. When the grandchildren are focused on them, they are in a perpetual Groundhog Day, living the image of themselves that the children remember.... I'll bet if I had seen this movie as a child, that would've been implanted on my brain, for better or for worse.

The unborn children scene was great. Some faiths do believe our lives are "planned" before birth, so I love that concept...

Those couple of scenes make it worth watching once. But the script wasn't great, it almost seemed hurried in ways, not enough of any sort of a climax. No characters you really fall in love with, the way you fall in love with the characters in The Wizard Of Oz. And what's with the names? Myltyl and Tyltyl? Jesus... I certainly didn't miss anything by not seeing it in childhood. It's definitely not anything I feel is a "must-see" for my children while they're young, either. (In fact, I feel like it could implant odd impressions on them about life and death I'm not sure I want them to have. lol)

All in all, glad I saw it once. Only worth owning if you're a fan of Shirley Temple, or one of the other actors, and need to own everything they're in.