A shame really because some of them like Hansel and Gretel and Beauty and the Beast are very good, and most of them are well above decent though with some limitations. Sadly Cannon's version of The Emperor's New Clothes is not among their best work and is lacking in many areas, that the original story has never been one of my personal favourites in the first place may have a little to do with it but this does nothing to improve it.
The Emperor's New Clothes has a few things that make it bearable viewing. The costumes are splendidly over-the-top and colourful, with Cannon Movie Tales the costumes are often where the low budget is the most obvious but they're not as tacky as they could have been here. The photography is rustic and very nicely done, and the incidental score is characterful and typically whimsical.
However, the low budget does show, with some drab and recycled set designs and some scenes being lit in a dim, faded way. Of the Cannon Movie Tales, The Emperor's New Clothes despite having some good talent is one of the worst-acted, with Sid Caesar mumbling his way through the film like a zombie and on the other side of the spectrum Clive Revill mugging embarrassingly. Robert Morse despite having one of the best singing voices of the cast is charmless here and also does his fair share of mugging. Jason Carter and Lysette Anthony are attractive but bland and overwrought lovers. The songs are pretty poorly written and some of the most forgettable of any of Cannon Movie Tales' films, the love duet Is This a Love Song faring the worst.
Regarding the writing, it is never very funny or interesting, the satiric edge of the story is completely lost and favoured by knockabout slapstick that gets very juvenile and tedious and a dull, cheesily written and overwroughtly acted romantic subplot. A few of the Cannon Movie Tales films were disadvantaged by trying to pad out short stories not really suited for feature length, and The Emperor's New Clothes is the worst case, with the storytelling being dull, muddled and somewhat bloated from trying to cram in a substantial amount of material that added little and wasn't engaging enough. The ending is also rushed and too convenient, and both the pace and direction are as flat as a lead balloon.
In conclusion, has a few good points but is by quite some way Cannon Movie Tales' weakest. 3/10 Bethany Cox
