The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T was produced at the tail-end of the Technicolor era, having the distinction of being one of the last films produced in the three-strip format. Like many other Technicolor films, Dr. T is a musical, with a lot of absurd, expressionistic touches in its set design.
It is also entirely a dream, and at the end none of it matters.
To explain why Dr. T fails at this storytelling setup, let’s compare it with another Technicolor film, the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz. In that film, Dorothy and her dog Toto are whisked away in a tornado from the monochrome lands of Kansas to the vibrant and colourful world of Oz. Her journey has a clear, simple purpose - to find a way home. Along the way she forms a series of friendships with a bunch of sidekicks who all have clear wants in mind, and also makes an enemy in the process out of the Wicked Witch. When it's all over, Dorothy wakes up in ol' monochromatic Kansas and wonders if it was all a dream. The end!
In The 5000 Fingers, Bart falls asleep practicing a piano lesson, and wakes up in Dr. Terwilliker's nightmare land of piano playing madness. Along the way, he meets a surrogate father figure in the form of Mr. Zabladowski. He also meets the dreamland version of his mother. Bart sings and dances and eventually sets off a nuclear bomb, destroying the infinite piano, saving dreamland.
But none of that makes any difference when the only real-life consequences are his hooking his mother up with the plumber, and being able to go out and play with his dog.
Both films end with their protagonist waking up from some overlong dream, but Oz at least keeps us guessing. Dorothy's wish of leaving her small town for greater things is fulfilled in this dream state. Her singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" is surely testament of that. Bart just wants to play outside, and it's no further than just getting up and walking out. Sure, he hooks his mom up with the plumber, but that point was no surprise at all. He doesn't even confront the real Dr. Terwilliker at the film's end.
| One of the few decent numbers in Dr. T. |
It's not fair to compare a film that came out fifty years later, but if, for whatever reason, you do want to see a film about a young boy who neglects his home life and has horrible father issues, coping with them in a fantastical dream world, watch Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are. It's far from perfect, but it has... you know, heart.
But hey, at least it was better than this debacle.
The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T is available to watch for free on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/movie/the-5000-fingers-of-dr-t
Eric did like the scenery chewing skill of Dr. Terwilliker! Follow him on Twitter: @fivedollardare
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