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Tootie is annoying and disturbed!

posted 18 years ago by zatarains80
100 replies | jump to latest

While I usually enjoy Margaret O'Brien, I cannot stand her character in this film! Yes, her eccentricity MAY be seen as a way to get attention, I cannot believe the way her family is so quick to dismiss her "cute" behavior.

The Halloween scenes could have been completely removed from the film and not have it effect the overall feeling. First of all, who are these parents that let their 5-10 yr olds run around wild on Halloween, lighting bonfires, and throwing flour in their neighbors' faces?? The scene that irks the living daylights out of myself, my sister and mother is when Tootie is retelling the story of the stuffed dress that was placed on the trolley tracks!!! Dozens of people could have been killed and Tootie's punishment is only ONE kind of ice cream? Meanwhile, Agnes calls Rose a "snob" because she is shocked that her sisters were involved in such a dangerous prank! Why did the filmmakers bother with this? This is ridiculous and one of the most irritating scenes in film history.

Anyone else find the Halloween scene obnoxious and irritating?!?

[–] NSurone 17 years ago

Yes, I hate the Halloween scene too, and not just because of Tootie. I found that kid who acted as "leader" to be thoroughly insufferable. I could have thrown him over my knee and whaled the living daylights out of him.

[–] Genesgirl 17 years ago

Wow, big difference of opinion here. I think this is Margaret O'Brien's best performance of all. She's hilarious -- just a little bit of Wednesday Adams in the middle of a sugary sweet family. And she won an Oscar for it, so a lot of people must agree with that. If you try to translate everything that happens in this film to real life, a lot of things will be a stretch. It's a movie.

"The time to make up your mind about people is never."

[–] Pipeman_Toronto 17 years ago

She is indeed sickening. And for me it's not just Tootie - it's Margaret. What an annoying little freak. Annoying in this (especially her crying and acting like a sociopath), annoying in "Little Women", annoying in that movie where she tries to kill a ballerina - yes there really is such a movie.

[–] larkpraise 17 years ago

Wow! I thought it was just me too that had a problem with this little brat! Certainly Margaret O'Brien was a good actress no doubt (I adore her in "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes"). But "Tootie" was a snivelling, spoiled brat! Maybe its her talking through her nose that unnerves me, I don't know. I think the Halloween Sequence goes on much too long and bogs the movie down. And the scene where Tootie is tearing the snowmen apart and crying hysterically .... oh gosh...somebody...get this little girl some tranquilizers quick...please! She's going to grow up to become a serial killer....lol.

[–] onepotato2 17 years ago

The Halloween scenes could have been completely removed from the film and not have it effect the overall feeling. First of all, who are these parents that let their 5-10 yr olds run around wild on Halloween, lighting bonfires, and throwing flour in their neighbors' faces?? The scene that irks the living daylights out of myself, my sister and mother is when Tootie is retelling the story of the stuffed dress that was placed on the trolley tracks!!! Dozens of people could have been killed and Tootie's punishment is only ONE kind of ice cream? Meanwhile, Agnes calls Rose a "snob" because she is shocked that her sisters were involved in such a dangerous prank! Why did the filmmakers bother with this? This is ridiculous and one of the most irritating scenes in film history.

Anyone else find the Halloween scene obnoxious and irritating?!?

by - zatarains80 on Mon Dec 25 2006 13:48:04
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No, and moralizing is the least interesting way to view a film.

Margaret O'Brien is awesome in this! We've become used to conventionalised child characters who behave in absolutely acceptable & predictable ways (especially girl characters!) to pander to viewers who just want more of the same. Nearly every other movie made features typical children who don't provoke any reaction! Tooties demented death obsession & growing delinquency make her exceptional in film history. She's a hoot.

The much-esteemed Halloween scene MAKES the film for me. I wouldn't want to watch it without it.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] deer672 17 years ago

Yes, I hate the Halloween scene too, and not just because of Tootie. I found that kid who acted as "leader" to be thoroughly insufferable. I could have thrown him over my knee and whaled the living daylights out of him.

Gah, totally agreed there.

"Does it hurt?"
"Dying? Not at all, quicker and easier then falling asleep." - DH

[–] JimsomWeed 16 years ago

tootie's uber sweetness bothers my mother and i. o'brian takes it over the top so much that it gives me a toothache. had i or any of my friends acted like her when we were little our parents would have put a quick stop to it.

as for tootie and agnus trying to derail the trolly for fun, my mother would wallup my behind till it was blue, then sent me to my room where i would live with out the benefit of modern amenities. just food, water, and bathroom breaks for a stunt like that. and rightly so, i'd do it if my kids did something like that.

the only thing about tootie that didnt bother me was her sense of death. i thought her burrying her dolls was cute, but it ended there.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] estcst-3 16 years ago

Tootie rocks. It was a different era with a different ideology. Get over it.

[–] gbennie 16 years ago

Whenever this film is on TV in the afternoon, I always turn it on and find that it is up to the Halloween scene, and it's really annoying. I know it might have been the tradition back then to celebrate Halloween, but I think the family is quite respectable and I don't know why Tooty gets away with it.
I think Tooty is particularly annoying when she is singing that song "under the bamboo tree" or something - she's quite spoilt and tries to be cute but she isn't.
If I recall correctly, there's also another scene where her sisters aren't allowed something and she is, and she makes a big thing about it.

[–] HarlowMGM 15 years ago

Tootie is really Margaret O'Brien's least typical character - she usually plays timid or gentle little things. I have to agree I found her antics a bit much in this movie and I'm amazed that 1940's audiences found her endearing given that in that era parents rarely put up with nonsense from kids. I think her moridness in the beginning is a sign that she's to be taken as a comic character and tongue-in-cheek. Still, when lies about the teenaged boy next door hitting her that was too much. And her little snowman fit - she's just a spoiled brat and one that makes her parents look like they have done a poor job raising her.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] OwMyFeet 15 years ago

Anything strange or annoying about Tootie was Vincente Minnelli's fault. Margaret O'Brien was acting out of character under his direction, and gave him exactly what he wanted -- a disturbed child.

Come to think of it, Judy gave him one too -- Liza!

[–] Sadycal 15 years ago

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"Tootie rocks. It was a different era with a different ideology. Get over it."
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Thank you! Honestly, people are so dumb anymore.