Product Description

Based on the acclaimed Broadway musical, an all-star cast brings a beloved fairy tale to life in Disney Presents ONCE UPON A MATTRESS. Queen Aggravain (Carol Burnett) sabotages the efforts of every young princess who hopes to marry her son, Prince Dauntless (Denis O'Hare) -- and no one else can settle down until he does! Honorable Sir Harry is determined to marry the lovely Lady Larken (Zooey Deschanel), so he sets off for faraway lands and returns with an unlikely candidate: Princess Winnifred from the swamps (Tracey Ullman). It's love at first sight for the Prince, so the Queen sets about planning her most difficult challenge yet. The palace is filled with merriment and mischief while everyone wonders, will Princess "Fred" pass the Queen's test?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8912 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2005-12-20
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
The playful 2004 television version of Once Upon a Mattress brings everything full circle for Carol Burnett, who played klutzy Princess Winnifred, would-be fiancee of royal mama's boy Prince Dauntless, in the original 1959 Broadway cast production of the musical (as well as 1964 and 1972 television adaptations). In the new show, Burnett now essays the role of Dauntless's control-freak mom, Queen Aggravain, and is very funny in the part. An Oedipal nightmare, Aggravain is in no hurry to let the prince act his adult age, chasing off prospective wives (and queens-in-training) by putting them through unbeatable tests. Along comes Winnifred (Tracey Ullman, who manages the physically demanding role quite nicely), who turns the kingdom on its head with her goofy charm, sets Dauntless's heart aflame, and poses a serious threat to Aggravain's plans. The fun supporting cast in this tuneful take on "The Princess and the Pea" includes Tom Smothers as King Sextimus, the mute monarch who manages to impart wisdom, Zooey Deschanel as pregnant Lady Larken, who helps bring Winnifred to the castle, and Denis O'Hare (21 Grams) as the boyish Dauntless. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Why? But I'm Glad...
My first question is Why? Why bother going to such expense and effort to bring this old chestnut to the screen (TV, that is)? It was never a GREAT musical to begin with. But on the other hand, I'm glad they did, because, as a former musical director, I have conducted and played this show several times. The last time was over 30 years ago, so it was wonderful to see and hear it again after all this time.

There have been complaints that the songs aren't memorable. (One reviewed didn't like them so he/she fast-forwarded through them. That's a wonderful way to get to know a song!) The songs are indeed memorable, and quite tuneful. Mary Rodgers, Richard's daughter, did a wonderful job...better, in fact, than her father was doing about that time. And the lyrics are very clever. "Sensitivity" in 5/4 time is a tour-de-force of writing and performing. I was sorry they cut "Very Soft Shoes," the jester's song. And "An Opening for a Princess." I missed that, too.

The casting was either good or inspired...mostly. Matthew Morrison and Zooey Deschanel as the young lovers are rather wimpy, to the point of who care if they get married or split or what. But just about everyone else was magnificent. The jester (Michael Boatman) was too good to have had "Very Soft Shoes" taken from him. Tom Smothers, a real treat, was wonderful to watch. His pantomime and facial expressions were delightful. Denis O'Hare grew on me. Not being a TV freak, I wasn't familiar with him. Tracey Ullman was fine, if a little long in the tooth for the part. (Then again, one of the productions of the show I did starred Imogene Coca in the part, and she was in her 60s then!) As for Carol Burnett, she was fantastic, totally over the top! She graduated from the princess to the queen perfectly. (Imogene should have had such luck!) Unfortunately, a song was added for her, which did nothing to distinguish itself other than quote Winnifred's "Happily Ever After," a theatrical no-no. (Fred's song was a soliloquy. How or why would the queen sing the same thing?)

The production values were very high. Bob Mackie's costumes for Carol were breathtaking...and hysterical!

In all, though the show is dated, it's part of musical history and let's wish that more classics would get this treatment. (How about SHE LOVES ME for a start, guys?)

LESS THAN REGAL BUT WINNING JUST THE SAME
Just watched this on the TV special ahead of the release of the DVD and while the show was entertaining it had some short-comings principally in dropping numbers such as "Yesterday I Loved You" which was sung by the young lovers. In its place they sang a shortened version of "Normandy" which was not their number in the first place. "Very Soft Shoes" a minor show-stopper for the jester was missed and "Many Moons Ago" and "An Opening for a Princess" were reduced to bits. The score that was retained was edited but the songs still entertain. The cast was well chosen and Tracy Ullman was brave taking on a role forever identified as Carol Burnetts' who camped it up in high style as wicked Queen Aggravain for this special. Tracy was good and funny but her singing lacked the lung power of Carol Burnett especially the way Ms Burnett belted out "Happily Ever After" and "Shy" Denis O'Hare made an appropriate woe-be-gone Prince Dauntless and Matthew Morrison sang well as Sir Harry. If this show had been made for HBO maybe they could have retained the entire show instead of being constrained by the endless parade of commercials on network Tv. As is the show was still a lot of fun and the funniest line came when Lady Larkin tells Sir Harry she is expecting his baby and Sir Harry replies, "You can't be blamed you had a moment of weakness"

Princess Shy
This production of Once Upon a Mattress makes you wonder why Tracey Ullman hasn't been on Broadway until now. She makes the show, in spite of the fact that the role is for a younger woman. For that matter, why aren't there more musical roles for women over forty? The only one I can think of is Mamma Mia. Judging by the popularity of Mamma Mia, it seems as if there is a considerable audience for such shows.

The DVD version of Once Upon a Mattress is fun to watch, but I can't help thinking that I might have been disappointed if I'd paid Broadway prices for a ticket. The only memorable number in the show was Ullman's opening tune "I'm Shy." On the other hand, the DVD includes a few extra features that you may enjoy. There's a short about the 1959 production that starred Carol Burnett as Princess Winifred, as well as two split-screen musical numbers comparing the rehearsals with the full-dress version.