The Great Land of Small Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Great Land of Small Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 29, 2024

In the realm of family entertainment, 1986’s “The Great Land of Small” is one of the stranger offerings. The Canadian production is listed as “Tales for All #5” in the series, with producer Rock Demers aiming to provide young viewers with some big screen magic. What’s actually in “The Great Land of Small” is something more bizarre than simple escapism, with director Vojtech Jasny working with a painfully tight budget to realize an odyssey into a magic land inhabited by Cirque du Soleil and a Madball-like monster known as “Slimo.” Creativity tries to break through monetary issues, but Jasny can’t win this war, often resorting to padding to fill the run time, while the general atmosphere of the endeavor is reminiscent of an episode of “Barney & Friends.” To generate the wonders of fantasy is the goal of the production, but what’s here isn’t enchanting.

Linda (Lorraine Desmarais) is an acrobatic performer and mother to Jenny (Karen Elkin) and David (Michael Blouin). Electing to move to Quebec to stay with her parents, Linda has to drag her kids along with her, but the siblings soon visit strange happenings in the woods, meeting Fritz (Michael J. Anderson), a visitor from The Great Land of Small who’s out to test humans with his magic bag of gold dust while armed with five spells. Unfortunately, the bag has fallen into the wrong hands, with local hunter Flannigan (Ken Roberts) taking possession of powerful magic he doesn’t understand. Jenny and David elect to befriend Fritz, protecting him from harm, soon joined by Mimmick (Rodrigue Tremblay), a local man aware of magical worlds, and they gain access to Fritz’s home, meeting acrobatic inhabitants as they figure out a way to stop Flannigan from causing mass destruction.

What “The Great Land of Small” offers is an early look at Cirque du Soleil, with Linda part of an acrobatic unit, juggling performance with parenthood, and the feature highlights her abilities before it settles into a story. For fans of the company, it’s something to see, while viewers are soon sent into rural Quebec to understand what’s going on with Fritz, who’s a visitor on a mission to test humanity, eventually hunted by Flannigan. Battle for control of the gold dust bag appears to become the central crisis of the movie, but “The Great Land of Small” isn’t fully committed to the idea, more interested in Fritz’s experience with David and Jenny. The trio argue quite a bit, and Fritz gets his first sampling of soda, surviving a burping challenge. There’s some discussion of magic, with non-believers unable to see the visitor, and he’s just fine bringing the kids to his homeland via a rainbow portal, though he knows the siblings won’t be able to return. Fritz is kind of a jerk.

The rules of “The Great Land of Small” are hazy, creating some confusion along the way, but nothing really feels thought out in the picture. Instead, there’s plenty of oddity, including the arrival of Keeper and his human-like dog, Munch, who’s out to help the kids in this “inner space” area. And there’s Slimo, a monster capable of transforming residents into creatures of some sort. Fritz’s homeland looks like a cult, and Jasny doesn’t have the time or money to manufacture something epic, leaving “The Great Land of Small” underwhelming as spectacle. However, plenty more acrobatics are presented for all the trapeze enthusiasts out there.

The Great Land of Small Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "The Great Land of Small" is listed as "Scanned and restored from the 35mm original camera negative by Elephant." The viewing experience retains softer cinematographic choices, but detail is appreciable, exploring the depths of the rural locations and the textures of fantasy costuming. Skin particulars are also accessible. Interiors retain a look at decorative additions. Color delivers a strong sense of greenery as the action visits a forest, and period style carries secure primaries. Great Land of Small action brings out more varied hues, and rainbow activity is distinct. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Compression largely holds together. Source is in good condition.

The Great Land of Small Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Two audio options are available for "The Great Land of Small," offering English and French 2.0 DTS-HD MA mixes. Dialogue exchanges remain intelligible, handling performance choices, which are quite broad at times. Scoring supports with decent instrumentation and emphasis. Soundtrack selections are also defined, with clear vocals. Sound effects are appreciable.

The Great Land of Small Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (10 pages) contains essays by Marc Lamothe and Rodrigue Tremblay.

• Commentary #1 features film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth.

• Commentary #2 features "The New World Pictures Podcast."

• "Small Actors, Big Roles" (16:31, HD) is a dual video conference interview with actors Karen Elkin and Michael Blouin, who recalls their careers at the time of production, sharing their audition stories, working hard to take part in the "The Great Land of Small." Memories of director Vojtech Jasney and producer Rock Demers are shared, with the latter's sense of kindness and support making the shoot easier for the actors. The presence of Cirque du Soleil is remembered, along with the co-starring experience for Elkin and Blouin, with the latter a little kid and acted like it at times. The production event is detailed, with the children enjoying time with live animals, and the feature's cool reception is analyzed.

• "The Great Land of Effects" (10:14, HD) is a video conference interview with effects producer Pascal Blais, who charts the beginning of his career, developing a reputation in the world of commercials. Growing in stature in the Canadian film industry, Blais and his company were hired for various projects, including "The Great Land of Small." Admitting he didn't have much to do with the feature, the interviewee does celebrate his co-workers and highlights his own business responsibilities at the time. Blais closes with some words on 1999's "The Old Man and the Sea," which won an Academy Award.

• "Animating in the '80s" (9:03, HD) returns to effect producer Pascal Blais, who offers a highly technical overview of the production process used to create animation during the era.

• "Beyond Vaudeville" (27:03, SD) is "Episode 38" of the cable access show (music and clips have been removed due to copyright complications), and things are incredibly weird. Joining the crew is "The Great Land of Small" star, Michael J. Anderson, who works on some skits, sings a song, and remains on the panel as Lew Anderson (aka "Clarabell the Clown") stops by to share memories of his television heyday.

• Archival Interview (25:59, HD) is a 1988 discussion of personal experiences, career achievements, and creative intent with director Vojtech Jasney.

• Vojtech Jasney Films (HD) include 1969's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (15:53) and 1949's "It's Not Always Cloudy" (68:18).

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:31, HD) is included.

The Great Land of Small Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Great Land of Small" means well, trying to be magical for young viewers. It just goes too far at times, offering dialogue that underlines perfectly understood screen actions (maybe toddlers are the key demographic here), and additions, such as the antics of Mimmick and his horse pal Merlin, are baffling at times, resembling ideas hastily thrown into the movie to help it reach a sellable run time. The "Tales for All" series has definitely release better pictures, with "The Great Land of Small" missing its intended sense of wonder, leaving the target demographic with a film that almost feels unfinished, lacking a critical level of adventuring.