Robert and Richard Sherman are one of America’s greatest songwriting duo’s of all time. From countless hits for “Mary Poppins”, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” to creating the “It’s a Small World” song at Disneyland and Disney World to the recognizable “Winnie-the-Pooh” theme song, the Sherman Brothers receive the greatest tribute courtesy of their sons who directed the film. But this fascinating documentary also shows us a side of the brothers that many people never knew. If you are a Sherman Brothers fan, “The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story” is highly recommended!
© Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. All Rights Reserved
DVD TITLE: The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story
DOCUMENTARY RELEASE DATE: 2009
DURATION: 102 minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital, English SDH and Spanish Subtitles
COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
RATED: PG (For Mild Thematic Elements, Smoking Images and Brief Language)
RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2010
Directed by Gregory V. Sherman and Jeff Sherman
Executive Producer: Stephen Buchsbaum, Morgan Sackett
Producer: David Permut, Gregory V. Sherman, Jeff Sherman, Ben Stiller
Co-Producer: Jeff Kurtti, Patrick O’Grady
Music by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman
Cinematography by Terence Chu, Sam Montague, Richard Numeroff
Edited by Martin Apelbaum, Rich Evirs
Starring:
Julie Andrews
Jim Dale
Roy Edward Disney
Micky Dolenz
Karen Dotrice
Sam Goldwyn Jr.
Bruce Gordon
Sheldon Harnick
James Jensen
Jeff Kurtti
John Landis
Angela Lansbury
John Lasseter
Gavin Lee
Wendy Liebman
William Link
Kenny Loggins
Cameron Mackintosh
Leonard Maltin
Alan Menken
Hayley Mills
Chris Montan
Randy Newman
Robert Osborne
Debbie Reynolds
Ron Sadoff
Thomas Schumacher
Stephen Schwartz
Richard M. Sherman
Robert B. Sherman
Tracy Sherman
Ben Stiller
Jon Turteltaub
Dick Van Dyke
Tony Walton
Lesley Ann Warren
Johnny Whitaker
John Williams
Maury Yeston
During The Sherman Brothers’ 13-year career at Disney (1960-1973), they received four Oscar® nominations for more than 200 songs written for 27 films and two dozen television productions. Their most beloved scores include Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the entire Winnie the Pooh series. With such unforgettable tunes as “Chim Chim Cher-ee†and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious†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 popular Disneyland attraction, to name just a few, brothers Bob Sherman and Dick Sherman celebrated family entertainment and happy endings for generations of movie goers, but their personal life together was anything but harmonious. The film gives an enticing glimpse into how Walt Disney used the language of music to bring the brothers together, creating a cinematic legacy like no other.
The Sherman Brothers… the American songwriting duo consisting of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, both known for their musical song scores for films such as “Mary Poppins”, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”, “Charlotte’s Web”, “The Jungle Book” and “The Aristocrats”. Creating music for many hit films from 1961 starting with “The Parent Trap” up to “The Tigger Movie” in 2000, the duo are probably known to many who have went to a Disneyland or Disneyworld and heard their song “It’s a Small World” and for children, they will also be known for the creation of the “Winnie the Pooh” theme. The duo has created many classic songs but behind-the-scenes, not everything was as happy as they seemed.
In the documentary “The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story” directed by Jeffrey C. Sherman and Gregory V. Sherman, their songs created a documentary to celebrate the career of Robert and Richard but also to uncover something nagging them for all these years. How come the two musical brothers drifted away and why did both brothers and their families have never met for many decades after crafting so many wonderful hits?
For Richard Sherman’s son Gregory and Robert Sherman’s son Jeffrey, the two met each other in 2002 for the anniversary for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and both were sitting in opposite sides. The children knew that their was animosity between the two brothers, none of them knew why but through this documentary, the two relatives can learn about the Sherman brothers, their history and uncover the problems that has existed between the two that the public were not aware of.
The film begins with showcasing the the history of the Sherman brothers but starting with their father Al Sherman, an American Tin Pan Alley songwriter and eventually making music for silent film stars during the 1920’s and also appearing in silent films as an actor. In 1921, Al Sherman would marry silent film actress Rosa Dancis and together they would have two boys, Robert and Richard Sherman.
On the outside and to the media, the two put on a facade that they were very close but the truth was…they weren’t. As the documentary progresses, we get to see how both brothers had a different interpretation of their relationship. Robert felt that the two were never that close, while Richard said he adored his older brother and were close.  The fact was the two were different individuals that lived different lives and nothing in common but music. They were very different, their wives were very different and the fact is, the two didn’t like spending time with each other despite being brothers.
But it’s their passion of music, thanks to their father Al, who help guide them, helped them craft their music and eventually won the heart of Walt Disney. As the two would become the only songwriters on contract with Walt Disney and were treated quite well and was supported by Disney.
The documentary would explore the fantastic career of the Sherman Brothers from working at Walt Disney, to their final days with Walt and working at Disney to working on “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” but also would touch upon how the relationship between both men would eventually grow distant as priorities in life changed which would eventually split them apart.
“The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story” gives us the true story of the Sherman Brothers that no one would probably have never imagined was happening behind-the-scenes during their involvement in the entertainment industry but also a documentary that celebrates Robert and Richard Sherman’s musical career.
VIDEO, AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story” is presented in widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 television. It’s important to note that footage from the documentary varies as there are footage from various decades that the Sherman Brothers have worked for Disney but also photographic images to recent interviews conducted by the son’s with their father to talk about their past. But overall, the quality varies but by no means is it bad as it is expected for documentaries with many archived footage from the past to vary in colors and overall quality.
As for audio, audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital. Dialogue is quick and understandable.
Subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story” comes with the following special feature:
- Why They’re “The Boys” – (2:37) Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and other family and friends discuss how the Sherman brothers were known as “The Boys”.
- Disney Studios in the ’60s – (3:34) The Sherman Bros. talk about how Disney studios was back in the ’60s. Leonard Maltin and others talk about what the Sherman Bros. done for Disney during those years.
- Casting Mary Poppins – (3:40) Richard Sherman talks about the casting of Julie Andrews and Julie Andrews talks about her audition. Also, featuring Dick Van Dyke remembering the casting for Julie Andrews.
- The Process – (4:19) Robert and Richard Sherman talks about the process of coming up with music for a song.   Composer Allan Menken, Tommy Schumaker and others also talks about the process and others talk about how special the Sherman Brothers songs are.
- Theme Parks – (9:04) Richard Sherman talks about writing for a theme park song and remembering when they first wrote for the enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland and how they created “It’s a Small World” song and more.
- Roy Williams – (3:23) The Sherman Bros. remembers Roy Williams who was an illustrator at Disney and showing the various cartoon sketches that he would create and give to the brothers.
- Bob’s Art – (2:17) Robert Sherman talks about his paintings and how he had been painting even before he was a songwriter.
- Celebration – (3:54) Many well-known historians, songwriters and those in the entertainment business talk about the achievements made by the Sherman Brothers and why they should be celebrated.
- Sherman Brothers’ Jukebox – Archived interviews featuring the Sherman Bros. talking about how they came up with the songs: “Tall Paul” (:46), “Chim Chim Cher-ee” (3:10), “Feed the Birds” (2:48), “Gold Can Buy Anything (But Love)” (:41), “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” (1:35), “Jolly Holiday” (1:51), (sound test) “Oh, Gee, Georgie!” (performed by Eddie Cantor – 1924) (1:22), “Up, Down and Touch the Ground” (1:23), “A Spoonful of Sugar” (performed on guitar by Laurence Juber) (3:00), “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (3:34), “Ugly Bug Ball” (:47) and “Der Wienerschnitzel Commercial” (:31).
EXTRAS:
“The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story” comes with a slip cover case and comes with a copy of the original song sheet for “Tuppence a Bag”.
These last two years, in many ways, it has been somewhat of a revival for the work by the Sherman Brothers. With the release of “Mary Poppins” and “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” on DVD and the recent release of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” on Blu-ray and you recognize their amazing music but also watching these featurettes on the Sherman Brothers and personally, it was one thing to know about their amazing career together as songwriters but it was surprising once I saw the trailer that these brothers didn’t really get along and the happy times between these two was just a facade.
Needless to say, if you have grown up with the music by the Sherman Brothers, curiosity is surely going to kick in and find out, what happened?
I realize that these two were brothers and like all siblings, there are always going to be instances where they don’t get along. In the case of Robert and Richard Sherman, they were so different from each other that the only thread holding them together was music. The truth is that Robert Sherman was more conservative, he loved painting and he was a family man. He wrote songs but it was work to make a living, while Richard Sherman loved the fun and the life around the entertainment industry that he enjoyed himself.
So, “The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story” was probably an interesting journey for their sons, Robert’s son Jeffrey C. Sherman and Richard’s son Gregory V. Sherman as they worked together on a documentary to learn about their father’s past, their career but ultimately learn why the two drifted apart.
As mentioned, the two had different lives but watching this documentary, you can’t help but feel sympathetic towards Robert because this is a man who kept his emotions inside. He went to war and saw the worst in the prison camps and never really spoke of it, but many who knew him pretty much knew the war had a toll on him. But it’s that musical bond that helped lift him out of the darkness. But at the same time, Robert was a family man and losing his parents in the ’70s and then losing his loving wife, the woman he fell in love with at day one and proposed to her that same day… you can tell that losing his partner in life devastated him. That music was no longer his passion. As Walt Disney was the glue that kept the Sherman Brothers together for music projects at the studio, Robert’s wife was instrumental in supporting him and literally keeping the Sherman Brothers together.
As for Richard, he was the younger brother who enjoyed the life of the entertainment industry and embraced it. But you can also tell he cared for his brother but because they were never social and only discussed work, you can tell that both men adapted to personal life much differently. Richard who was more upbeat and handled the industry and making music quite well, while Robert was depressed and knowing more and more that he didn’t want to write music anymore especially with his brother. And with Richard, as the youngest brother, who often disagreed with him, you know he had love for his brother. It’s just the two had different ways of expressing their emotions and unfortunately, despite being brothers and being together for all those years, they really didn’t know each other all that well nor did they care to know each other.
If anything, as much as I enjoyed the documentary for celebrating the career of the Sherman Brothers, I have to admit that part of me was rooting for these brothers to finally let bygones be bygones and meet up with each other. The two together have made the greatest and happiest music of American film that is heavily ingrained to American pop culture. And together, Robert and Richard Sherman will forever be known for their tremendous work.  This is will not be forgotten. But now that this documentary has given us a chance to peer into the dysfunctional relationship that these two brothers have had, one can only hope that the two can meet on better terms other than events and at least communicate.
But I suppose that these two are just too different and too much time has passed. Each brother has moved on forward and are doing their own thing that makes them happy. If anything, I do admire both sons, Jeffrey and Gregory working on this documentary because you can tell the siblings wanted to celebrate their father’s music career, to give them recognition for their work but most of all, hope two tear down this wall that the Sherman Brothers have put between them. Whether or not that wall will be broken, one can only hope so.
But as for this documentary, “The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story” is a fascinating and intriguing documentary that really gets into the heart of the Sherman Brothers and giving us a chance to explore a side to them that we never had seen before. The documentary was well-crafted with interviews with family members, co-workers, friends and those who really knew them and can talk about their tremendous career, their employment at Disney or working on a certain film but also discuss tough situations that the brothers had with each other.
But one of the touching moments of the documentary was also to learn about how the brothers meeting with Walt Disney for the last time and their thoughts on his death to also them leaving Disney and working on “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and then many years later, returning once again to work at Disney for “Winnie the Pooh” with Kenny Loggins. And of course, the two working on “Mary Poppins” and “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” were further explored as well. There is a good amount of focus on their musical achievements and fans should be happy to see those interviews.
Overall, “The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story” is a touching documentary that was put together quite well by Jeff C. Sherman and Gregory V. Sherman. A wonderful tribute to the Sherman Brothers and a documentary that is definitely recommended!
