The Three Lives of Thomasina Movie Review (1963)

If I had ever heard of this movie before this project, it would solely have to do with the fact that the main child and one of her friends would later be Jane and Michael Banks in Mary Poppins. And so because of that, I was excited to see this movie to see their earlier performance together. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.

A Brief Summary

(Taken from D23)

Thomasina, a big, four-year-old ginger cat, comes to live with widowed veterinary surgeon Andrew MacDhui and his five-year-old daughter Mary, in a little village in Scotland. When the cat is hurt, Andrew “puts her to sleep.” Mary is so heartbroken she accuses her father of killing her beloved pet. So far as Mary is concerned, her father is dead, too. But Thomasina has not died. She has been discovered, still breathing, by Lori MacGregor, a beautiful but mysterious young woman who loves animals and has an almost supernatural ability to cure their ills. Lori brings Thomasina back to life, eventually brings Andrew and little Mary together again, and becomes Andrew’s wife and mother for the little girl. But it is really Thomasina, home again with the MacDhuis, who rules the family.

What works

• The monologue Thomasina gives at the beginning does provide a satisfying picture of the MacDhui family. It establishes the characters pretty well in the household.
  • Even if Thomasina didn’t narrate (which she doesn’t do all the time, but periodically throughout the movie), it’s pretty easy to follow along and to grasp the characters’ personalities.
• I like that Lori (the ‘mad witch’ at the glen) doesn’t care about labels and even plays along when townfolk are watching
• I really like Mary’s friends. They really care about her, helping her find Thomasina, even going so far as to plan and execute a proper funeral for Thomasina including bagpipes and a ‘professional crier’. A much more enjoyable group of children than in Greyfriars Bobby.
• Angus is a fabulous and reasonable human being.
  • Angus very subtly (subtly/not subtly) playing matchmaker between Lori (the ‘witch’) and Mr. MacDhui
  • The conversation between Angus and Mary on the stairs was beautifully bittersweet. Through gentle questioning from Angus, he’s able to figure out the depth of Mary’s depression (figure out enough, that is)
    • The first viewing I did of this for the DFP was also the first time I had ever watched it. I was surprised at the depth, at how Mary’s depression is portrayed. I do love this look at mental health/depression with Mary’s reaction to Thomasina’s death. Much deeper and darker than I was expecting. That she replaces her dad with Thomasina in the description of Thomasina’s funeral said so, so much. But it was such a good scene. One of my favorite scenes (one of my only favorites) from the movie.
• The pacing throughout this movie was slow and steady which worked with this storyline.

What may or may not work

• What purpose, really, does Thomasina’s narration provide? Other than the quick catch-up at the beginning regarding the MacDhui family, I think her narrations could be taken out AND that the movie would still remain relatively intact.
• Maybe it’s because Karen Dotrice and Matthew Gerber are in this (as Mary MacDhui and Geordie, as well as Jane and Michael Banks later on) but I was getting strong Mr. Banks/Mr. MacDhui vibes going. Both have similar character arcs/personalities (though MacDhui’s arc wasn’t executed as well as Mr. Banks’ was).
• “It was wounded, infected with tetanus. I did what was right.” (Mr. MacDhui when describing putting down Thomasina)
  • I get that he’s gone cold due to his wife’s passing (and that he wanted to be a doctor, not a vet) but still.
• Lori is kind of a flat character. I like her but there’s not really much depth to her. She’s not quite a cookie-cutter character but she’s close. Almost a plot tool in how her character and purpose is carried out.
• Though I do like the friends, their quickly spreading the rumor that ‘MacDhui’s an animal murderer’ was a lot.
• Having the gypsies’ arrival was kind of odd. Like it worked but it was so quick. I think they could have cut the gypsies’ scenes completely, reworked it a little bit, and still have a reasonable-ish plot.
• The fact that Thomasina has an inner monologue about revenge against MacDhui versus the lessons she learned during her 2nd life with Lori was totally unnecessary.
• No notion of how much time passes at the end of the movie but Thomasina is now on her ‘3rd’ life and Lori/MacDhui get married.
  • The cookie-cutter Disney couple that literally only gets together because the script says to.

Honorable Mentions

• I don’t even know what to say. The opening credits song alone is already promising me a trip to a 1960s crazy town. 
• Thomasina is the narrator which cracks me up to no end. The story itself would have been fine without her as the narrator, but the narrations were so cheesy and funny.
  • “Yes, I am Thomasina. This story is all about me.”
    • There’s a polite, almost condescending tone (that I swear she speaks in always), as well as a mix of narcissism and melodrama that really has me chuckling anytime she’d speak.
      • “They started off by calling me Thomas but when they got to know me better, they changed that to Thomasina.”
  • “although I had to be murdered first.”
    • oh laws. I think
• Mary winks at Thomasina, “You know”
  • Thomasina winks back. ‘Yes, I knew’.
• Thomasina’s journey to ‘cat heaven’ (if that’s what it’s supposed to be called) after her ‘murder’ is the trippiest thing I’ve ever seen in a while (and certainly trippier than any Disney movie scene I’ve seen yet)
  • The fact that even Bast, the cat goddess, makes an appearance. 
• Thomasina’s grave marker: “Here lies Thomasina, 4 years old, Foully murdered, sleep sweetly sainted freind.” (spelled exactly as in the movie)
• “No, you’re not, I’m the oldest and I’ve come prepared.” – Hughie to Jacob (?) right before the funeral
• “I wasn’t important anymore…Now I know how a king feels in exile.” Thomasina is killing me. The self-important remarks crack me up (and remind me of many a cat meme)

Side Questions

• So how does she go from her 2nd life to her 3rd life? She didn’t die, so how does that work? The only difference is that she got back her memories from the 1st life. 

Would I watch this movie again?

• If I were with friends, I would totally watch this again. But on my own? It had good moments but overall it was an ordinary movie, nothing that really recommends itself for frequent viewings.

If you’ve seen The Three Lives of Thomasina, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

Rewind to the beginning of the Disney Film Project

Skip back to the previous film with The Sword in the Stone

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