DVD Reviews

The Boys: The Sherman Brother’s Story – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Dec 1, 2010, 16:50 GMT

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story is an intimate journey through the lives of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, the astoundingly prolific, Academy Award®-winning songwriting team that defined family musical entertainment for five decades with unforgettable songs like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocous” from Mary Poppins, “I Wanna Be Like You” from The Jungle Book and the most translated song ever written "It’s a Small World (After All)" from the Disneyland attraction.  ...more

Robert and Richard Sherman and the well known tunesmiths for many a Walt Disney production, however, their cheery, jaunty tunes didn’t reflect the real story behind the duo. 

Even if you’ve never seen a Disney movie, I’d wager that you’ve heard a song written by the Sherman Brothers.  If you’ve seen a Disney movie then you’ve definitely heard one of their compositions.  They’ve done up some doozies and won Oscars for their work on Mary Poppins. 

What you may not know (and maybe don’t want to know) is that difficult personality conflicts between the two brothers.  Robert B. Sherman is the elder of the two and is darker and more introspective than his younger brother Richard M. Sherman who appears outgoing and gregarious.

Perhaps tellingly, Richard does most of the talking in some of the duo’s vintage interviews, sometimes talking over Robert.  Discovering the gulf between the two, you can now see how peeved Robert is during those interviews.  I’ve always attributed Robert not showing up much in interviews these days as failing health. 

Although his health doesn’t appear to be the best it is more that he really doesn’t want to be around Richard.  This gulf extends past both brothers as their dislike of one another bled over into their families. 

Each family hasn’t socialized for decades so it was when cousins Gregory V. Sherman and Jeff Sherman decided to make a documentary about their famous fathers.  The result is a fascinating look at the duo.

I’ll admit that my view of them was largely based on their jaunty, uplifting tunes.  I wasn’t aware that the boys father Al Sherman was a tin-pan alley tunesmith.  It was a bit of a shock to discover that those tunes seem the exact opposite of their working relationship.  Not really a surprise to those that have brothers perhaps. 

Some famous faces (Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, etc.) turn up for interviews as well as admirers and fellows (Roy E. Disney, John Williams, Randy Newman, John Lasseter, Barbara Broccoli, and Ben Stiller who executive produced).  The more versed Disneyphiles may have been aware of the tumulus nature of the Sherman’s relationship but those that weren’t aware of it might be in for a shock. 

The documentary is both uplifting and interesting as far as the songs go, but it is also sad and poignant about the human relationships behind the scenes.  It seems a large bit of glue that held them together was Walt himself and when he died that gulf between them widened even greater. 

The Boys is presented in widescreen (1.78:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Special features include 30 minutes of deleted/alternative scenes and a 12 song “Sherman Brothers’ Jukebox” that has samples of each song and information about how it was composed. 

The Boys is a documentary that fascinates as well as the gulf that can grow in families.  If you’re expecting the happy ending of many a Disney film, you’ll go away even more disappointed.  However, the boy’s sons have made a fascinating documentary. 

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