{"id":57535,"date":"2017-10-03T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-10-03T12:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/?p=57535"},"modified":"2022-02-05T23:11:53","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T04:11:53","slug":"movie-review-freaky-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/movie-review-freaky-friday\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: Freaky Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Freaky
DVD Cover Copyright Disney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Based on Mary Rodgers\u2019s 1972 children\u2019s novel of the same name, Disney\u2019s Freaky Friday<\/em> was theatrically released on January 21, 1977. The live action fantasy-comedy is ninety-eight minutes in length. A remake of Freaky Friday<\/em> starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan was theatrically released on August 6, 2003.<\/p>\n

Plot Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

On a Friday the 13th<\/sup> in a 1970s suburban middle-class household, Mrs. Andrews (Barbara Harris) struggles to deal with her rebellious thirteen-year-old daughter, Annabel (Jodie Foster). Mrs. Andrews is perturbed with Annabel\u2019s messiness and her constant complaining about her difficult life at school, while Annabel, for her part, cannot see how maintaining a household, which also features a husband (John Astin), a young son, Ben (Sparky Marcus), and a dog, Max, can cause anybody stress. Their usually stark differences of opinion notwithstanding, mother and daughter agree on one key point: they wish they could switch places such as to prove how easy the other\u2019s life is. The simultaneous wishes are promptly granted, setting the stage for a surreal tutorial in empathy. Will Annabel and Mrs. Andrews enjoy a carefree day in the other\u2019s body, or will the old saying \u201cBe careful what you wish for\u201d prevail?<\/p>\n

Sequel<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although Disney never created a sequel to Freaky Friday<\/em>, the final scene provides an excellent lead for another film.<\/p>\n

Empathy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The overt theme of Freaky Friday<\/em> is empathy, the ability to put oneself in another person\u2019s shoes. Annabel cannot comprehend the difficulties related to her mother\u2019s various duties until she becomes her mother, and Mrs. Andrews cannot imagine how difficult her teenage daughter\u2019s days at school can be until she (re)enters the classroom.<\/p>\n

On a related note, after switching places with her mom, Annabel sees her usual personal relationships from a different angle, realizing that her easygoing father is actually a domineering husband and that her seemingly perfect and annoying little brother is actually pretty cool.<\/p>\n

Music<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freaky Friday <\/em>commences with a lyrical number, appropriately titled \u201cI\u2019d Like to Be You for a Day,\u201d played against animated backdrops of a mother and a daughter imagining themselves in the other\u2019s shoes. The song is smooth and catchy if not especially memorable. Considering that it is featured in a non-musical film, the song is a good effort.<\/p>\n

Later, a whimsical tune nicely accompanies a baseball game featuring Annabel and Ben, a soothing number does the same for a segment where Mrs. Andrews transforms Annabel\u2019s looks from those of a tomboy to those of a traditional young lady, and a zany number accompanies the scenes immediately after Annabel and Mrs. Andrews reenter their own bodies. Let\u2019s just say that the latter scenes feature baptism by fire, or, in the case of Mrs. Andrews, baptism through fire…on water skis!<\/p>\n

Humor<\/strong><\/p>\n

The relationships among the Andrews family members are amusingly introduced, with Annabel using colloquial language to describe her younger brother and father, and Mr. Andrews misinterpreting everything his wife says, or else unsuccessfully trying to ignore her. For example, when Mrs. Andrews reveals that she has to meet with Annabel\u2019s principal to discuss their daughter\u2019s poor grades and asks her husband \u201cwhat he thinks of that,\u201d he responds, \u201cI\u2019m sure you can handle it dear,\u201d emphasizing the conference rather than Annabel\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n

After the great switch, Annabel, in her mother\u2019s body, follows Mr. Andrews out the door on a skateboard, while Mrs. Andrews, in Annabel\u2019s body, lectures her daughter\u2019s friends.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Andrews causes a scene on the bus by diving on the floor to recover change that was stored in her daughter\u2019s sock\u2014stinky!\u2014before shouting words of disbelief to herself. An agitated passenger accurately surmises the problem: \u201cthere\u2019s something wrong with [Annabel\u2019s] noggin,\u201d or at least there is something different about its contents.<\/p>\n

Annabel has some issues working the washing machine. Oh no; she\u2019s gonna blow! Indeed, simultaneously dealing with a phone call and an exploding washing machine while chewing bubble gum is not as easy as Annabel might have imagined\u2026though her mother might have used less detergent.<\/p>\n

While Annabel causes the washing machine to explode, Mrs. Andrews causes an explosion in her daughter\u2019s typing class by plugging in a faulty machine.<\/p>\n

If the aforementioned problems were insufficient to cause Annabel and Mrs. Andrews to regret their wishes, experiencing an onslaught of hostile house visitors and mean teachers and classmates will do the trick!…Oh man; where did the Genie hide that magic lamp?<\/p>\n

The Andrews\u2019 neighbor Boris Harris (Marc McClure), who hates Annabel because of an incident on the playground four years earlier, utters several funny lines. Harris surmises that his chronic nasal congestion might arise from \u201can allergy to [his] mother,\u201d and when Annabel, in Mrs. Andrews\u2019s body, tries to convince Harris that she has changed and is now \u201cextremely nice,\u201d Harris responds, \u201cTo be perfectly frank, that\u2019s not saying much.\u201d Ouch!<\/p>\n

The opposing field hockey coach (Ruth Buzzi) exudes poor sportsmanship during the big game, encouraging her players to \u201cget Annabel Andrews and get her good!\u201d As such, Mrs. Andrews is thrust into a game more akin to fencing than to field hockey. The game is, unfortunately or otherwise, not well officiated either; actually, it is not officiated at all.<\/p>\n

While Annabel scores the winning run in Ben\u2019s baseball game, Mrs. Andrews scores the winning goal in the field hockey game! Unfortunately, Mrs. Andrews scores into her own net, so the other team wins.<\/p>\n

Relationship to Other Disney Films<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freaky Friday<\/em> was the third of five Disney films to feature Jodie Foster, after Napoleon and Samantha <\/em>(1972) and One Little Indian<\/em> (1973), and before Candleshoe <\/em>(1977) and Flightplan<\/em> (2005). (1)<\/p>\n

Freaky Friday<\/em> was the last of seven Disney films to feature Dick Van Patten. Van Patten, who portrayed Mr. Andrews\u2019s assistant boss, Harold Jennings, in Freaky Friday<\/em>, had previously appeared in Snowball Express<\/em> (1972), Superdad <\/em>(1973), The Strongest Man in the World <\/em>(1975), Treasure of Matecumbe<\/em> (1976), Gus<\/em> (1976), and The Shaggy D.A.<\/em> (1976) for the studio.<\/p>\n

The shifting of minds and bodies also occurred in The Shaggy Dog <\/em>(1959) and The Shaggy D.A.<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The unspoken thoughts of Mrs. Andrews and Annabel while in the other\u2019s body are voiced to the audience by Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster. Such a voicing of thoughts also occurs in Escape to Witch Mountain <\/em>(1975) and Return from Witch Mountain<\/em> (1978).<\/p>\n

In the Parks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although soaring through a ring of fire on water skis like Mrs. Andrews does in Freaky Friday<\/em> is not an option, guests at Walt Disney World can partake in various water sports, including waterskiing, on Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. Reservations can be made at the Sammy Duvall’s Watersports Centre in the Contemporary Resort.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Image Copyright The Mouse For Less<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Overall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amusing and thought provoking, Freaky Friday<\/em> is solid family entertainment.<\/p>\n

Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Smith, D. (2012). Live-Action Films. In Disney Trivia from the Vault: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered <\/em>(p. 131). New York: Disney Editions.<\/p>\n

What do you think of Freaky Friday? Let me know in the comments!<\/em><\/p>\n

Sponsored Ad:<\/strong>\u00a0 Would you like to help support The Mouse For Less website in continuing their mission of being THE Disney vacation planning resource?\u00a0 You can do so by purchasing Freaky Friday<\/em><\/a> from our Affiliate Link through Amazon. Thanks so much for your support!<\/p>\n

Did you like this article? Make sure to share it with your friends! Check below for easy ways to share!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Incoming search terms:<\/h4>
  • https:\/\/www themouseforless com\/blog_world\/movie-review-freaky-friday\/<\/li>
  • https:\/\/www themouseforless com\/blog_world\/movie-review-freaky-friday\/#:~:text=The overt theme of Freaky becomes her mother, and Mrs<\/li>
  • freaky friday story setting<\/li>
  • freaky friday theme<\/li>
  • https:\/\/www themouseforless com\/blog_world\/movie-review-freaky-friday\/#:~:text=The overt theme of Freaky oneself in another persons shoes<\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Based on Mary Rodgers\u2019s 1972 children\u2019s novel of the same name, Disney\u2019s Freaky Friday was theatrically released on January 21, 1977. The live action fantasy-comedy is ninety-eight minutes in length. A remake of Freaky Friday starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan was theatrically released on August 6, 2003. Plot Summary On a Friday the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":57537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disney-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57535"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57621,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57535\/revisions\/57621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}