Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Reception

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

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External reception

7.1
5 platform(s) · 7 ratings 45,665 votes
8.1/10 917 votes Synced 2026-07-20
7.1/10 43,684 votes Synced 2026-08-20
Audience 6.9/10 14 votes Synced 2026-07-19
Critics 5.9/10 Synced 2026-07-19
Audience 7.3/10 Synced 2026-07-17
Critics 6.6/10 Synced 2026-07-17
7.0/10 1,050 votes Synced 2026-09-18

External reviews

Staff (Not Credited) · TV Guide Magazine 75.00/100.00

Filled with unique special effects and delightful music.

synced 2026-07-19
Greg Ehrbar · IndieWire 91.00/100.00

The script is tight and witty with sparks of sophistication. This is a film that, while never quite given the rightful place in the Disney canon it deserved, had a positive influence on many lives over the decades, including that of this writer.

synced 2026-07-19
Marjorie Baumgarten · Austin Chronicle 89.00/100.00

Oscar-winning special effects and animation sequences by Ward Kimball make this musical fantasy a perennial favorite.

synced 2026-07-19
Roger Ebert · Chicago Sun-Times 63.00/100.00

Bedknobs and Broomsticks is the new Disney production from the team that made Mary Poppins, and it has the same technical skill and professional polish. It doesn't have much of a heart, though, and toward the end you wonder why the Poppins team thought kids would like it much.

synced 2026-07-19
Dave Kehr · Chicago Reader 50.00/100.00

It's more sophisticated than the usual run of Disney product, but it lacks the inventiveness that could endow it with genuine charm.

synced 2026-07-19
Staff (Not Credited) · Variety 80.00/100.00

The magic of Walt Disney lingers magnificently on in Bed knobs and Broomsticks.

synced 2026-07-19
Ian Nathan · Empire 60.00/100.00

Like Lansbury, the film has aged well and retains almost all of it's magic.

synced 2026-07-19
Vincent Canby · The New York Times 60.00/100.00

A tricky, cheerful, aggressively friendly Walt Disney fantasy for children who still find enchantment in pop-up books, plush animals by Steiff and dreams of independent flight.

synced 2026-07-19
Jay Cocks · Time 40.00/100.00

Bedknobs and Broomsticks could use some magic itself. The fantasy is earthbound, the score by Richard and Robert Sherman (who also wrote music and lyrics for Mary Poppins) is forgettable, the special effects lackadaisical.

synced 2026-07-19

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