I've today watched Babes in Toyland (that throughout the decades has come to be more widely known as March of the Wooden Soldiers) for my first time since I think either the 1970s or '80s. A few thoughts/opinions follow.

First of all, I've always, even when a kid, found The Three Pigs in this 1934 nursery rhyme characters fantasy film to look and seem decidedly creepy. Ditto the various other "animals".

Second, actor Henry Brandon, who was only 22 years old at time of filming, certainly does look and seem entirely convincingly like around triple that age in this. Brandon, as villain Silas Barnaby, is a number of times shown in semi-closeup, and one can see the credible aged effect is achieved surprisingly simply via just grey wig, make-up, costume, and acting.

It's good to see little-person John George (real name Tufei Filhela; I researched him in old documents a few years back) has a noticeable role as Barnaby's minion. I'm a longtime fan of George's memorable work in various Silent films.

This old-school children's classic is in large part dull when viewed in 2023 in adulthood, yet nonetheless is charming and rather endearing. The dramatic bogeymen climax (especially the scenes thereof showing child abductions) would I think prove terrifying to most kids. I don't at all recall seeing that part during my early years, therefore perhaps it got edited out, otherwise down, for the film's annual t.v. airings in syndication during the Thanksgiving to Christmas holiday season, which was when I used to see March of the Wooden Soldiers turn up.

Incidentally, following is some of what Wikipedia says about the movie:

Critics' reviews were positive. Andre Sennwald of The New York Times called the film "an authentic children's entertainment and quite the merriest of its kind that Hollywood has turned loose on the nation's screens in a long time." Variety proclaimed it "a film par excellence for children. It's packed with laughs and thrills and is endowed with that glamour of mysticism which marks juvenile literature."....Film Daily called it "delightful musical fantasy" and "dandy entertainment". The Chicago Tribune review read: "It's been many a long day since I've had so much pure (and I MEAN pure!) fun as I had watching this picture".

Babes in Toyland...was also popular at the box office....(I)t was re-released several times....

Please check out the following list of titles and celebrities I've created TMDb threads for: https://www.themoviedb.org/list/118052