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Sometimes I feel like I got ripped off as a kid, because I didn't get to watch movies like this one over and over. So, while I can quote a lot of the big name kid classics, I didn't get to see this one until I was 28. Not fair. Darby O'Gill and the Little People is about a man (guess his name) who is the only person in his small Irish town that has seen and interacted with the local leprechauns, and when he loses his job and needs to find a way to support his daughter, he goes after capturing the king of the leprechauns so he can wish his way to happiness.

Featuring an extremely young (and singing?) Sean Connery, Janet Munro from Swiss Family Robinson (Roberta), the biggest star of the show is actually Albert Sharpe, who plays Darby. Darby's one of those men with a twinkle in the eye and a spring in his step, who chooses to be lazy but is loved by all. Equally entertaining is the king of the little people, played by Jimmy O'Dea. His performance is much more than I thought it would be as well, since he's got a moody and crafty streak about him.

The movie is endlessly entertaining. From songs sung by lovers to dancing leprechauns to a drinking song, there's tons of fun music. The score is effective as well, especially during the climactic scenes, which impacted me more than I expected they would. Speaking of the climactic scenes, the cinematography and special effects are wonderful as well. The mood of each scene is captured perfectly by the way in which the lighting and scope of the shot are rendered, and let me tell you, Disney knew how to make special effects that can still be creepy for decades. The only thing that makes me feel okay about not seeing this as a child is that I might have been traumatized by the banshee and the death carriage.

I originally had so much more to say about this movie, but I think I've forgotten half of it already. I really should take notes right after seeing these movies, but this is more of a fun thing than a job, so homework doesn't sound appealing to me.

This is a creepy, moral, imaginative, and fun tale. I loved the small town atmosphere, in which almost all of the inhabitants completely believe in the supernatural. The lore definitely comes to life in Darby O'Gill and the Little People, and that lore became an instant classic with me.