Richard M. Sherman (1928–2024)

"This is the story of Cinderella, done as a '60s style musical. I wasn't at all sure what to expect, but it was extremely well done. Gemma Craven stars as Cinderella; rather an angry one at first, but as she becomes more and more of a drudge after the death of her father, she becomes sweeter and move loving.

Richard Chamberlain is an excellent fed-up prince, determined to marry for love rather than to suit his father's political aims. I do find it slightly bizarre when a scene suddenly show more breaks into song and dance, then returns to normal as if nothing had happened, but it worked actually well, with some clever dance routines and songs which were almost reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan in places.

The real star, for me, however, was the Fairy Godmother, played by Annette Crosbie. She appears when needed, but is obviously very over-worked due to an extreme shortage of Fairy Godmothers. There was even a kind of logic to the whole idea of Cinderella's dress and carriage disappearing at midnight, although it was never explained how she managed the long journey home - nor why her glass slippers remained.

There's nothing deep in this film, and one or two of the songs were a bit dull towards the end, but it was an enjoyable and relaxing way to spend an evening. show less

I love “It’s a Small World” by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. I love how the book discusses opposites throughout. For example, “A world of laughter, a world of tears.” I think that by including these opposites the book truly shows how diverse the world is. The central message of this book is that the world contains so much and we as humans share so many different feelings and things, but throughout all that the world contains and everything we share in it, it is still show more small. I also think that the illustrations do a great job of portraying the feelings that the characters feel in the book. For example, on the page which talks about our fears, there are three children with wide mouths and open eyes and an arrow in their hand. The facial expressions that they are making on this page and the arrow that they are holding show that they are scared. This book not only has great illustrations and references to opposites, but it also contains repetition. Throughout the book, the phrase, “It’s a small world,” is repeated. This repetitions places emphasis on the central message of the story (the world is small despite all that it contains). Finally, I liked how the language of the book follows a rhythmic pattern. Every other page rhymes with each other. For example, the lines “A world of tears” and “A world of fears” rhyme. Having every other page rhyme makes the book that much more enjoyable to read in my opinion. show less

Good actors who can sing and dance, but it's composed so-so routines, clichéd plot, and bland dialogue.

Walt's Time - From Before to Beyond by Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman. 1998, 252 pages.

The Sherman Brothers need little introduction to Disney fans. Prolific composers of music for films and theme park attractions, they have written some of the most memorable songs in Disney history.



This book, which looks at their long career, finally saw the light of day after the Sherman Brothers met Bruce Gordon and Dave Mumford. Just like The Nickel Tour, publishers felt that there was no show more commercial appeal in this book. Bruce and David had self-published The Nickel Tour and thought that they could do the same with Walt's Time. The Sherman Brothers, after shopping the book around since 1981, had worked with Jeff Kurtti to have a majority of it written. Bruce and Dave met with Jeff and they agreed to self-publish. The Sherman Brothers were thrilled to work with Bruce, David and Jeff.

The book was created to resemble a scrapbook of their career. It starts with their first day on the Disney lot where they land the title song for the Parent Trap while auditioning a song for the Horsemasters. It then launches through the highlights of a majority of their Disney work. The middle section is dedicated to their father, Al and looks at everything that he published and his successes. During the section on their father, they look at their family history and how Al Sherman influenced his children. It is obvious from Walt's Time that the Sherman Brothers were profoundly influenced by their father and Walt Disney. When the brothers speak of either man, the text is filled with love, gratitude and wonder.

The third section details more of their work with the Disney Company, before and after Walt's passing. It also looks at the body of work they have done since leaving the company. Stage productions, theatrical work and animated films make up the bulk of their work in the '70's, 80's and 90's.

The Brothers spend a lot of time discussing their interactions with Walt Disney and how Walt was an amazing and optimistic person. The song There's a Great, Big Beautiful Tomorrow was inspired by Walt Disney. Their proudest moments include It's a Small World and Mary Poppins. They wrote the songs for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang after receiving Walt's blessings to work on the outside project. Albert Broccoli (producer of the Bond movies) also owned the rights to Fleming's children's novel about the car. Broccoli brought the idea to Walt, who declined saying he had too much on his plate and wanted more creative control. After the success of Mary Poppins, Broccoli gathered most of the creative team that had worked on Mary Poppins. The Brothers were also involved with two of the biggest animated films of the 60's as well: The Jungle Book and Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.

Obviously, the Sherman Brothers' influence has been felt greatly in the theme parks. The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room, Magic Highways, Magic Journeys, Makin' Memories, Astuter Computer Review, the Best Time of Your Life and Miracles From Molecules.

Looking at everything the Sherman Brothers have done is a tad bit overwhelming!

Bottom Line: I enjoyed this book and was completely astounded by how prolific the Sherman Brothers actually are. The book is designed beautifully and features awards, personal recollections and photos from every period of their career (just like a scrapbook!). This is book is clearly for music fans, fans of the Sherman Brothers and fans of Disney films from the 1960's. show less