The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina

The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina is a 2002 direct-to-video animated film directed by Glenn Chaika. Its running time is 74 minutes. Produced by Hyperion Pictures and Miramax Films, the film was distributed by Buena Vista Home Video.

One of the few direct-to-video Disney releases that is not a sequel or a compilation of TV episodes, the film unites two diminutive characters from folklore in an original adventure.

Plot
After being raised by a normal-sized man, tiny Tom Thumb (voiced by Elijah Wood) sets out to find others of his diminutive stature. He happens upon Thumbelina (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a former circus performer, who is not only his size and age, but is also looking for others like her. But just as they meet, Thumbelina is taken prisoner by the comically sinister Mole King (Peter Gallagher), who wants to make her his bride.

Cast

 * Elijah Wood - Tom Thumb/Prince Horace
 * Jennifer Love Hewitt - Thumbelina/Princess Maya
 * Peter Gallagher - Mole King
 * Jon Stewart - Godfrey
 * John Patrick White - Daniel
 * Rachel Griffiths - Albertine Sparrow
 * Robert Guillaume - Ben
 * Jane Leeves - Margaret Beetle
 * Alexandra Boyd - Bertha Beetle
 * Emma Samms - Shelley Beetle
 * Esai Morales — Vergas Mouse
 * Yvette Freeman — Leola Mouse
 * Michael Chiklis - Roman, Thumbelina's Father
 * Bebe Neuwirth - Thumbelina's Mother
 * Jack Johnson - The Bug Collector
 * Brad Kane - singing voice of Tom Thumb

Production
The film is copyrighted 1999 but was not released until 2002. It was distributed internationally to Italy, where it debuted on 75 screens in 2004, earning €23,531 in its initial week of release.

Reception
The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina has a 4.8 rating (out of 10) among Internet Movie Database users. Customer reviewers on Amazon.com praised the voice work of Elijah Wood and Jennifer Love Hewitt (as well as her singing), but complained about the often flat animation.

Kimberly Heinrichs of Amazon.com described the film this way: "The animation is a little flat, the songs fairly drippy, but the voice casting is stellar ... and the underdog story line will appeal to the kids." On the other hand, Kevin Lee of DVD Verdict found the film "guilty", writing "Walt Disney is being held in contempt of this court for The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina. This is simply not up to the usual standards of the Mouse House."

Awards
The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina won a 2003 Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in the Direct to Video category. In addition, the film was nominated for a 2003 DVD Premiere Award (administered by the DVD Exclusive Awards) in the categories of Best Animated Character Performance (Elijah Wood) and Best Animated DVD Premiere Movie.