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The
Boys
is a documentary
made by Gregory and
Jeffrey Sherman two
cousins with two
very famous fathers.
The Boys is a
reference to Robert
and Richard Sherman-
the Disney
songwriting duo
that’s responsible
for songs from
everything from
Mary
Poppins
to
The
Jungle Book.
The documentary
chronicles the
Sherman Brothers’
lives through their
childhood to their
rise to fame to
their falling out.
Bob
and Dick Sherman are
prolific song
writers. Two of the
most prolific song
writers of our time.
They started out
writing pop music
like “Tall Paul” for
Annette Funnicello.
But they eventually
moved on to be on
the Disney payroll
and they wrote songs
for most of the
company’s features
including getting
two Academy awards
for their work on
Marry
Poppins.
This movie talks
about their work on
Mary
Poppins
in incredible detail
but it also talks
about most of the
pieces of classic
music they wrote
from “It’s a Small
World” to “Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang-
and that’s not even
starting the
outstanding songs
that the brothers
wrote together.
The documentary
interviews both
brothers-
separately- because
as bizarre as it
sounds, they have
nothing that even
resembles a personal
relationship. They
had a falling out
years ago and since
then they kept their
two families
separate and they
didn’t interact
socially. They just
worked together.
That personal
relationship or lack
thereof is what
makes this
documentary so good.
The two brothers
couldn’t be more
different. Robert
was in WWII and saw
horrific things.
Richard stayed at
home and didn’t see
nearly as much in
life as his brother.
Robert is a very
introverted person
who paints, writes
novels and short
stories, and is the
lyricist of the duo.
Richard is outgoing,
wild, loves to write
music and comes up
with most of the
music for the duo.
The differences
between them both go
on endlessly it
seems. The story of
the two boys’ lives
is told through the
brothers themselves,
by their sons
narrating the film,
by friends and
family, with pieces
from Disney
historians and movie
critics too. All
together, it’s a
great story- even if
we don’t get into
too many personal
details about why
the brothers had
they’re falling out.
The documentary is
brilliant; the bonus
features are just
okay. There’s a
jukebox of sorts of
Sherman Brothers’
songs, then the rest
are all relatively
short features that
talk about different
things that honestly
feel more like
deleted scenes than
actual features. The
extras aren’t bad,
but they aren’t
great. On the other
hand, it’s just a
documentary so it’s
not like you can
expect a whole of
extras in that
department.
The
Boys
is a great DVD. The
average person knows
all of their songs,
but they don’t
understand how
strained and
fractured the two
brothers’
relationship is.
When you’re finished
watching the movie
you understand how
important these two
guys were and still
are to the movie
business. You also
can’t help but feel
for both brothers
because of their
lack of interaction
with each other.
It’s clear to see
that one being the
others brother and
vice-versa is a big
part of who they are
and they’re not even
friends. One of the
better documentaries
that you’ll see.
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