This next film takes us back to the Scottish Highlands with, amongst other things, a quest to recover a stolen inheritance. 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
After the passing of his father, David Balfour sets off to deliver a letter to his previously unknown uncle and discovers that he is the rightful heir to the house and lands of Shaws in Scotland. But his greedy uncle tries to kill him to keep the inheritance for himself and after a failed first attempt, successfully sells him off to a ship captain heading for the Carolinas. He befriends Alan Breck Stewart while onboard and meets up with him after a shipwreck ends his voyage trip. With narrow escapes and a chase through the Highlands, Alan helps David face his uncle once again and claim his inheritance. Includes an assassin, British soldiers in funny military hats and a man who lost his shoes because he was not a nice person.
What works
- I really liked the storyline better than I thought I would. Each new conflict was woven to the story so well that I went along for the journey without questioning really what was going on. And it maintained a pretty decent pace throughout which kept me interested in continuing on.
- Ebenezer (David’s uncle) was pretty great as the main antagonist. He was crotchety, scheming and could put Ebenezer Scrooge to shame with how tight-fisted he is about money.
- Also, Ebenezer’s reaction when David survives his first murder attempt was priceless. I too would have switched to having him kidnapped as well after that. Less mess to clean up.
What may or may not work
- David was not the greatest protagonist to watch. He was snobby and had this “I’m Scottish but British is best” attitude that was driving me up the wall. If it wasn’t for the fact that I knew he was the good guy and it did suck that he had been kidnapped, I really wouldn’t have cared if he had made it back to claim his inheritance. There was some growth by the end of the movie but it was barely more that a little bit. He wasn’t bad, I just didn’t feel much sympathy for him because of his personality.
Honorable Mentions
- The use of the 1-word title “Kidnapped” for the movie versus the full original title: Kidnapped: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: How he was Kidnapped and Cast away; his Sufferings in a Desert Isle; his Journey in the Wild Highlands; his acquaintance with Alan Breck Stewart and other notorious Highland Jacobites; with all that he Suffered at the hands of his Uncle, Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws, falsely so-called: Written by Himself and now set forth by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- Otherwise known as the highlights reel of the movie.
- Peter O’Toole had his feature film debut as Robin MacGregor (son of Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue, so yay for tie-ins). His appearance was super short, maybe around 2 minutes of actual screentime, but his appearance led to a battle of the bagpipes
- Favorite Quotes:
- David-“Will you leave me no candle?” Ebenezer-“Did nobody ever tell you that a candle costs money?“
- Mr. Campbell-“Well Davey, are ye sorry to leave this place? David-“I could answer that, Mr. Campbell, if I knew where I was going and what was likely to become of me” (ah, poor David, what you have yet to experience)
- David-“But I’m no Jacobite or no rebel, but I was born a true-blue Whig.” (very smug about it too) Man rowing – “Well, we can none of us help what we were born.” David was shut down for sure after that reply. I snickered every time I heard that reply (and rewatched that scene a few times just to listen to it).
Side Questions
- Wait, so how rich was David at the end of the movie? How much was the estate worth? Ebenezer lived just above the poverty line, but David at the end is wearing a proper new outfit.
Would I watch this movie again?
- Yeah, sure. Minus my annoyance at David, the movie itself was decent. It wouldn’t be one that I would own, but I would be fine renting it again if I was in the mood for an older Disney movie.
If you’ve seen Kidnapped, 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 Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus
Fast Forward to the next film with Pollyanna
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