The Parent Trap

Double your pleasure with this two-disc edition of Disney's rollicking 1961 comedy starring Hayley Mills in a dual role as mischievous twin sisters. Separated at birth, the unwitting girls are reunited at a summer camp. Rivals initially, the pair team up to bring their estranged parents (Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara) back together. Complicating their scheme is Joanna Barnes as dad's gold-digging fiancée. Something of a departure for Disney, The Parent Trap--to paraphrase Star Wars--flirts with the "dark side" thematically, but kids will get a kick out of the slapstick sequences, including an escalating war of practical jokes, and the climactic camping trip in which the twins get the best of their rival. Mills and director David Swift provide fond audio commentary on disc one, which also includes the Disney cartoon Donald's Double Trouble. Disc two contains segments about the making of the film, the groundbreaking special effects that allowed Mills to act opposite herself, and a profile of Oscar-winning songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman, who contributed the hit song, Let's Get Together. Susan Henning, Mills's uncredited body double, also graciously gets her due. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)[DVD Review—Oct. 4, 2005—Walt Disney, 2 discs, 158 min., G, $19.99—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1961's The Parent Trap sports a nice looking transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. DVD extras are similar to those on the first release (although minus the audio commentary, but including an interview with famed Disney animator Ward Kimbal, and a “Seeing Double” featurette). The big addition here is the previously unreleased 1986 The Parent Trap II, a lackluster TV movie sequel. Bottom line: if you own the first release, you don't need to add this one.]