Bedknobs and Broomsticks

You'll beWITCHED! You'll beDAZZLED! You'll be swept into a world of enchantment BEYOND ANYTHING BEFORE!

1971 • 117 min • Family · Animation · Fantasy

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Synopsis

Three children evacuated from London during World War II are forced to stay with an eccentric spinster. The children's initial fears disappear when they find out she is in fact a trainee witch.

Our family guide

Best from age 6

Movie Knight Score

1041 reviews

100 Reviewers · 2 · 51%
70 Audience · 1039 · 49%

Three evacuated children from WWII London discover their eccentric caretaker is a trainee witch. They join her on a magical quest involving a flying bed, animated knights, and an enchanted spell to help the war effort. The film blends live-action and animation.

Violence & peril: 3/10
Language: 1/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking: 1/10
Romance & sensuality: 1/10
Scary moments: 3/10

Heads up

Some animated battle sequences against soldiers
Brief moments of peril involving a magical struggle
References to orphans and wartime hardships

What it models well

Courage and bravery
Helping others
Teamwork and friendship
Resourcefulness

Talk about it after

The impact of war on children
The importance of magic and imagination
Sacrifice for a greater cause

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

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Top billed cast

Director: Robert Stevenson • Crew: Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi, Ralph Wright, Ted Berman

Trailers & clips

Bedknobs and Broomsticks - 1979 Reissue Trailer

Bedknobs and Broomsticks - 1971 Theatrical Trailer #3

Bedknobs and Broomsticks - 1971 Theatrical Trailer #2

Bedknobs and Broomsticks - 1971 Theatrical Trailer #1

Cinemoments: Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Reviewer notes

Recommended
It's very much in the vein of "Mary Poppins" (1964) this, with a very similar style of live-action and animated sequences used to tell a slightly more menacing story. When three siblings arrive in a rural English village, evacuated from London during the Blitz of WWII, they are placed with the rather eccentric and definitely unwilling "Miss Price" (Angela Lansbury). Things start to look up for all concerned though...
Geronimo1967, TMDB Community

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers
When I was younger, I used to spend a lot of my life alone in a studio with one of those tiny little 15cm TVs you wouldn't be caught dead with nowadays, plugged in to a VCR player, and exactly three movies on VHS. One of those three movies (the best of those three) was _Bedknobs and Broomsticks_. I watched it multiple times a day, every day, for months at a time. A period piece musical that saw orphans and their w...
Ruuz, TMDB Community