Babes in Toyland

Another film for the fans! Not the best introduction to their work, as the singing and music may seem old fashioned to many, unless you're like me, and have grown up watching these films and enjoying these songs. I personally love the music, but it's not everyone's cuppa tea. The comedy is second to none. There's one scene where the boys are stood at the top of a Well, waiting for the evil Barnaby to come back out. The amount of classic lines in the space of 30 seconds is incredible. It's laugh after laugh. I've had the privilege of meeting the world's leading expert on Laurel and Hardy, Randy Skretvedt. In his vast collection, he has an original toy soldier that they used for the stop-motion scenes. It isn't quite 6 feet high, as they are in the film, but it was an absolute honour to be able to see it and touch it. Many thanks to Randy for the best day of my life. He is such a generous and lovely person.

A Christmas classic (despite being set in July), this isn't the best of Laurel and Hardy, but it still offers a few laughs along the way. It's not often I would say this, but this is best watched in the colourised version for the magical wonders that Toyland offers.