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The Parent Trap (1998 film)
Encyclopedia
The Parent Trap is a remake of the 1961 family film
of the same name. It was directed and co-written by Nancy Meyers
, and produced and co-written by Charles Shyer. It stars Dennis Quaid
and Natasha Richardson
as a couple who divorce soon after marrying, and Lindsay Lohan
in a dual role as their twin daughters, who are accidentally reunited after being separated at birth. Both films are based on Erich Kästner
's novel Lottie and Lisa
(Das Doppelte Lottchen). The novel and the 1936 Deanna Durbin
film Three Smart Girls
are the basis of the screenplay written by David Swift for the 1961 and 1998 film, only the novel is credited however. Meyers and Shyer are credited as co-writers of the 1998 version along with Swift.
. Elizabeth gave birth to twin daughters Hallie and Annie (both played by Lohan), but the couple divorced and lost contact with each other, each parent raising one of the twins without telling her about her sister. Nick raised Hallie in the Napa Valley and became a wealthy wine grower
, while Elizabeth raised Annie in London
and became a famous wedding gown designer.
After the ocean cruise and onboard wedding ceremony, the story jumps ahead to a summer in which Nick and Elizabeth coincidentally enroll their daughters in the same summer camp in Maine
. Annie and Hallie, who are now eleven years old, first meet at the end of a fencing
match, when they remove their masks and see that they look alike. A comical hostility between the two girls leads to a prank war that ends when the camp counselors fall into one of Hallie's traps and isolate the twins from the other girls.
Living together, Hallie and Annie discover that they were born on the same day and they each have half of a torn wedding photograph of their parents. Realizing with delight that they are twins, the girls hatch a plan to meet their previously unknown parents: Each girl will train her twin to impersonate her, and they will switch places at the end of the summer.
When camp is over, the plan succeeds: Hallie goes to London, where she meets her mother, her grandfather, and the James family's butler Martin (Kunz). Annie goes to California, where she meets her father, the Parker family's housekeeper Chessy (Walter), their dog Sammy, and Nick's young, opportunistic fiancée Meredith (Hendrix), who is only interested in Nick's money. Distressed by Meredith's deviousness, Annie telephones Hallie and persuades her to bring Elizabeth to California to break up the engagement. Soon the girls' identities are discovered, and, except for Nick and Meredith, who remain unaware of the switch, their newfound family members tearfully welcome them.
In order to bring Nick and Elizabeth together, Annie, Hallie, Grandpa, Chessy, and Martin conspire to have them meet at a hotel in San Francisco by arranging for Nick to meet Meredith's parents and by not telling Elizabeth about Meredith. Nervous about meeting Nick, Elizabeth asks Martin to accompany her and Hallie. After a few comical mixups in the hotel, Nick and Elizabeth see each other, Nick finally learns about the switch, and the twins host a candlelit dinner for Nick and Elizabeth, served by Martin and Chessy, on a yacht decorated to recreate their first meeting. At dinner, Elizabeth mentions that Nick did not follow her after she left him, and Nick responds that he was not sure if Elizabeth would want him to. They make plans for the twins to spend holidays together, but decide against resuming their relationship.
Hallie and Annie dislike this idea, so they force their parents to take them camping by refusing to reveal which twin is which. After Elizabeth persuades Nick and the girls to take Meredith instead of herself, the twins play tricks on Meredith, who becomes enraged and insists that Nick choose between her and his daughters. Nick chooses the twins, and Meredith breaks off the engagement.
After Meredith leaves, Nick shows Elizabeth his wine collection, which includes the wine they drank at their wedding. Elizabeth is touched by this gesture at first, but has a change of heart and returns to London with Annie. However, when Elizabeth and Annie get home, they find Hallie and Nick waiting for them, having flown there on the Concorde
. Elizabeth is fearful of remarrying, but she yields to Nick's confidence, and Annie and Hallie look on happily as Nick and Elizabeth embrace. The final credits feature photographs of Nick and Elizabeth's second wedding, also aboard the QE2, with the twins as bridesmaids, and Martin presenting Chessy with an engagement ring.
Lindsay Lohan's mother Dina Lohan
and her younger sister Ali appear in uncredited cameos as a mother and child at the airport.
Joanna Barnes
appeared in the 1961 The Parent Trap as Vicky, the attractive gold digger who is planning to marry the twins' father for his money.
's "L-O-V-E". The song used in the end credits, in which photos of Elizabeth and Nick's second wedding is seen, is his daughter Natalie Cole
's "This Will Be (an Everlasting Love)".
The instrumental music featured prominently in the hotel scene where the twins and their parents cross paths serendipitously is "In the Mood
", which was previously made famous by the Glenn Miller
band. Later in the hotel, Hallie sings a few bars of "Let's Get Together," a tune from the first version of the film that was a hit for its star, Hayley Mills.
When Hallie shows up at Annie's poker game at Camp Walden, the music used is "Bad to the Bone
" by George Thorogood
and the Destroyers.
. It entered the box office charts at number 2 on July 31, 1998. It ended up with a gross of over $66 million in the U.S. and $92,108,518 worldwide.
The film debuted on United Lands television (The Family Film Channel) on October 4, 1999, and had 5.43 million viewers.
and Canada
, ranking #2 at the box office, behind Saving Private Ryan
, was the best debut for a Disney
film that week. By the end of its run, The Parent Trap grossed $66,308,518 domestically and $25,800,000 internationally, totaling $92,108,518 worldwide.
. She gets out and tries to get one of the guards to move. The guards then crowd around in formation as the Queen
exits Buckingham Palace in a car. The window rolls down and Hallie speaks to the Queen, getting confused with 'Your Highness' or 'Your Majesty' or whether to curtsy. The Queen promises not to tell a soul and moves off. Director Nancy Meyers had a difficult time getting the uniforms, location, and an actress to play the Queen. Although the scene is shot well, the scene was deleted due to pacing problems.
Another deleted scene appears in the trailer that debuted in 1998. The scene shows Annie standing out on the deck of her vineyard-estate house. She sees a shooting star and sings the rhyme "Starlight, Starbright." Hallie appears standing outside her window, too.
In the original draft of the script, many scenes have been altered or deleted. An extended ear-piercing scene is in. While putting the needle through Annie's ear, Hallie screams and passes out. Annie gently smacks Hallie in the face, trying to wake her up. After Hallie wakes up, she asks Annie, "Are you bleeding to death? Did it hurt?" Annie tells her no to both questions and shows Hallie the needle again, and tells her finish with the other because she (Annie) will not go through life with just one pierced ear. Hallie passes out again.
An extended scene, Elizabeth delves further into why she and Nick did not stay together long. She says, "I tried living in California, He tried living in London..." Hallie replies, "So you broke up?" Elizabeth tells Hallie that they were the best thing about the whole situation and they continue to stroll down the streets of London.
There is an extended ending at the end where Hallie tells Annie: "You guys are going to love living in California." To that Annie replies: "California? You guys are going to love living in London." Hallie then replies "London?" In the front yard Sammy is barking to the poodle next door as Martin and Chessy are kissing and Grandfather is getting home.
It is unknown if all of the above scenes were filmed.
," to which Annie says, "Who's Leonardo DiCaprio?" Then Hallie asks "How far is London anyway", to which Annie replies that its nearly 3000 miles away. This is a reference to the actor in Titanic
, which had come out less than a year earlier.
After Hallie arrives in London, she and her mother walk across the street together, on the same street, zebra crossing, and with the same cars as the Abbey Road album cover of The Beatles
. The song "Here Comes The Sun" (written by George Harrison
) plays; the screen even pauses while they are walking across.
The music that accompanies Hallie and Annie's march to the isolation cabin is taken from the scene in The Great Escape
in which Steve McQueen
's character is marched to prison.
In numerous scenes, the girls refer to Meredith as Cruella de Vil
.
Nick first sees his ex-wife in a hotel as an elevator door closes in front of him. This is essentially identical to the corresponding scene in the 1940 screwball comedy
My Favorite Wife
, starring Irene Dunne
and Cary Grant
, and its 1963 remake Move Over, Darling
, starring Doris Day
and James Garner
.
When asked by Hallie, "You talkin' to me?" Meredith replies, "What are you, Robert De Niro
?", a reference to the film Taxi Driver
.
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
of the same name. It was directed and co-written by Nancy Meyers
Nancy Meyers
Nancy Jane Meyers is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. She is the writer, producer and director of several big-screen successes, including The Parent Trap , Something's Gotta Give , The Holiday , and It's Complicated...
, and produced and co-written by Charles Shyer. It stars Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
and Natasha Richardson
Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
as a couple who divorce soon after marrying, and Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
in a dual role as their twin daughters, who are accidentally reunited after being separated at birth. Both films are based on Erich Kästner
Erich Kästner
Emil Erich Kästner was a German author, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature.-Dresden 1899–1919:...
's novel Lottie and Lisa
Lottie and Lisa
Lisa and Lottie is a 1949 novel by Erich Kästner, which originally started out during WWII as an aborted movie scenario, about twin girls separated at birth who meet at summer camp. It has been adapted into film many times .-Plot summary:Two nine-year-old girls—rude Lisa Palfy Lisa and...
(Das Doppelte Lottchen). The novel and the 1936 Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias....
film Three Smart Girls
Three Smart Girls
Three Smart Girls is a 1936 musical comedy film. The Craig sisters, played by Barbara Read, Nan Grey and Deanna Durbin in her first feature film role, travel to New York City to prevent their father from remarrying....
are the basis of the screenplay written by David Swift for the 1961 and 1998 film, only the novel is credited however. Meyers and Shyer are credited as co-writers of the 1998 version along with Swift.
Plot
Nick Parker (Quaid) and Elizabeth James (Richardson) met and married each other during an ocean cruise on the QE2RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
Queen Elizabeth 2, often referred to simply as the QE2, is an ocean liner that was operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Following her retirement from cruising, she is now owned by Istithmar...
. Elizabeth gave birth to twin daughters Hallie and Annie (both played by Lohan), but the couple divorced and lost contact with each other, each parent raising one of the twins without telling her about her sister. Nick raised Hallie in the Napa Valley and became a wealthy wine grower
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
, while Elizabeth raised Annie in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and became a famous wedding gown designer.
After the ocean cruise and onboard wedding ceremony, the story jumps ahead to a summer in which Nick and Elizabeth coincidentally enroll their daughters in the same summer camp in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. Annie and Hallie, who are now eleven years old, first meet at the end of a fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
match, when they remove their masks and see that they look alike. A comical hostility between the two girls leads to a prank war that ends when the camp counselors fall into one of Hallie's traps and isolate the twins from the other girls.
Living together, Hallie and Annie discover that they were born on the same day and they each have half of a torn wedding photograph of their parents. Realizing with delight that they are twins, the girls hatch a plan to meet their previously unknown parents: Each girl will train her twin to impersonate her, and they will switch places at the end of the summer.
When camp is over, the plan succeeds: Hallie goes to London, where she meets her mother, her grandfather, and the James family's butler Martin (Kunz). Annie goes to California, where she meets her father, the Parker family's housekeeper Chessy (Walter), their dog Sammy, and Nick's young, opportunistic fiancée Meredith (Hendrix), who is only interested in Nick's money. Distressed by Meredith's deviousness, Annie telephones Hallie and persuades her to bring Elizabeth to California to break up the engagement. Soon the girls' identities are discovered, and, except for Nick and Meredith, who remain unaware of the switch, their newfound family members tearfully welcome them.
In order to bring Nick and Elizabeth together, Annie, Hallie, Grandpa, Chessy, and Martin conspire to have them meet at a hotel in San Francisco by arranging for Nick to meet Meredith's parents and by not telling Elizabeth about Meredith. Nervous about meeting Nick, Elizabeth asks Martin to accompany her and Hallie. After a few comical mixups in the hotel, Nick and Elizabeth see each other, Nick finally learns about the switch, and the twins host a candlelit dinner for Nick and Elizabeth, served by Martin and Chessy, on a yacht decorated to recreate their first meeting. At dinner, Elizabeth mentions that Nick did not follow her after she left him, and Nick responds that he was not sure if Elizabeth would want him to. They make plans for the twins to spend holidays together, but decide against resuming their relationship.
Hallie and Annie dislike this idea, so they force their parents to take them camping by refusing to reveal which twin is which. After Elizabeth persuades Nick and the girls to take Meredith instead of herself, the twins play tricks on Meredith, who becomes enraged and insists that Nick choose between her and his daughters. Nick chooses the twins, and Meredith breaks off the engagement.
After Meredith leaves, Nick shows Elizabeth his wine collection, which includes the wine they drank at their wedding. Elizabeth is touched by this gesture at first, but has a change of heart and returns to London with Annie. However, when Elizabeth and Annie get home, they find Hallie and Nick waiting for them, having flown there on the Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
. Elizabeth is fearful of remarrying, but she yields to Nick's confidence, and Annie and Hallie look on happily as Nick and Elizabeth embrace. The final credits feature photographs of Nick and Elizabeth's second wedding, also aboard the QE2, with the twins as bridesmaids, and Martin presenting Chessy with an engagement ring.
Cast
- Lindsay LohanLindsay LohanLindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
as Hallie Parker and Annie James, 11-year-old twin sisters who were separated at birth and raised separately, with no knowledge of each other. - Dennis QuaidDennis QuaidDennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
as Nick Parker, Hallie and Annie's father, a wealthy American man who owns a winery. - Natasha RichardsonNatasha RichardsonNatasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
as Elizabeth "Lizzie" James, Hallie and Annie's mother, a wealthy British wedding-gown designer. - Elaine HendrixElaine HendrixElaine Hendrix is an American actress, producer, singer, dancer, and activist. She is best known for her roles in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, Inspector Gadget 2, and the 2004 documentary What the Bleep Do We Know!?....
as Meredith Blake, an attractive gold digger who is planning to marry Nick for his money. - Lisa Ann WalterLisa Ann WalterLisa Ann Walter is an American actress, comedienne, writer and film producer. She has appeared in such films as the 1998 version of The Parent Trap, Bruce Almighty, Shall We Dance, and War of the Worlds as Cheryl. Walter also created and starred in the short-lived 1996-1997 sitcom, Life's Work...
as Chessy, the Parker family's housekeeper, who meets and falls in love with Martin - Simon Kunz as Martin, the James family's butler who falls for Chessy
- Polly Holliday as Marva Kulp, Sr., owner and manager of a summer camp
- Maggie WheelerMaggie WheelerMaggie Wheeler is an American actress, best known for her role as Janice on the TV show Friends.-Personal life:Wheeler was born Margaret Emily Jakobson in Manhattan...
as Marva Kulp, Jr., Marva Kulp, Sr.'s daughter and assistant - Ronnie StevensRonnie Stevens (actor)Ronald Stevens was a London-born English actor known as Ronnie Stevens.He appeared in many television comedy series in regular roles, including May to December, Goodnight Sweetheart and A J Wentworth, BA. He also appeared as the "Minister of Pollution", in The Goodies pollution episode...
as Grandpa Charles James, Elizabeth's father who managed to find out Hallie's identity - Joanna BarnesJoanna BarnesJoanna Barnes is an American actress and writer.Barnes was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but moved to Los Angeles, California soon after finishing her education, and took up a contract with Columbia Pictures...
as Vicky Blake, Meredith's mother - Erin MackeyErin MackeyErin Mackey is a stage actress/singer, best known for playing the role of Glinda in the Chicago, Los Angeles and Broadway productions of Wicked.-Career:...
as Hallie/Annie double
Lindsay Lohan's mother Dina Lohan
Dina Lohan
Donata "Dina" Lohan is a television personality and occasional actress who rose to fame as the mother and manager of actress/pop singer Lindsay Lohan, and Lindsay's younger sister Ali Lohan, with whom Dina co-starred in the reality show Living Lohan.-Family and marriage:Lohan was born and raised...
and her younger sister Ali appear in uncredited cameos as a mother and child at the airport.
Joanna Barnes
Joanna Barnes
Joanna Barnes is an American actress and writer.Barnes was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but moved to Los Angeles, California soon after finishing her education, and took up a contract with Columbia Pictures...
appeared in the 1961 The Parent Trap as Vicky, the attractive gold digger who is planning to marry the twins' father for his money.
Music
The song used in the opening sequence in which glimpses of Elizabeth and Nick's first wedding is seen is Nat King ColeNat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
's "L-O-V-E". The song used in the end credits, in which photos of Elizabeth and Nick's second wedding is seen, is his daughter Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
's "This Will Be (an Everlasting Love)".
The instrumental music featured prominently in the hotel scene where the twins and their parents cross paths serendipitously is "In the Mood
In the Mood
"In the Mood" is a big band era #1 hit recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. Joe Garland and Andy Razaf arranged "In the Mood" in 1937-1939 using a previously existing main theme composed by Glenn Miller before the start of the 1930s...
", which was previously made famous by the Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
band. Later in the hotel, Hallie sings a few bars of "Let's Get Together," a tune from the first version of the film that was a hit for its star, Hayley Mills.
When Hallie shows up at Annie's poker game at Camp Walden, the music used is "Bad to the Bone
Bad to the Bone
"Bad to the Bone" is a song by George Thorogood and the Destroyers released in 1982 on the album of the same name. While it was not a major hit on initial release, its video made recurrent appearances on the nascent MTV, which was created a year before...
" by George Thorogood
George Thorogood
George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
and the Destroyers.
Soundtrack
- "L-O-V-EL-O-V-E"L-O-V-E" is a jazz song written by Bert Kaempfert and Milt Gabler for American singer-pianist Nat King Cole's 1965 album L-O-V-E...
" - Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres... - "Do You Believe In MagicDo You Believe in Magic (song)-Track listings:-Release history:-Chart performance:...
" - The Lovin' SpoonfulThe Lovin' SpoonfulThe Lovin' Spoonful is an American pop rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. When asked about his band, leader John Sebastian said it sounded like a combination of "Mississippi John Hurt and Chuck Berry," prompting his friend, Fritz Richmond, to suggest the name... - "There She GoesThere She Goes"There She Goes" is a song written by British singer/guitarist Lee Mavers and recorded first by Mavers' band, The La's.In May 2007, the NME magazine placed the song at number 45 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.-Lyrics and meaning:...
" - The La'sThe La'sThe La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from the mid-1980s to early 1990s. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group is most famous for their hit single "There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Badger in 1984 and Mavers joined soon after... - "Top Of The WorldTop of the World (The Carpenters song)"Top of the World" is the name of a 1972 song by The Carpenters. Originally recorded for and released on the duo's 1972 studio album A Song for You, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in late 1973, becoming the duo's second U.S. number-one single...
" - Shonen KnifeShonen KnifeShonen Knife, written in Japanese characters as 少年ナイフ, which transliterates as Shōnen Naifu, literally "Boy Knife," is an all-female Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka, Japan, in 1981... - "Here Comes the SunHere Comes the Sun"Here Comes the Sun" is a song by George Harrison from The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. It is regarded as one of the most popular Beatles songs. The song was written while Harrison was away from all of these troubles...
" - Bob "Bronx Style" Khaleel - "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" for Sentimental Reasons" is a popular song written by William "Pat" Best, later a founding member of The Four Tunes. The credits list Deek Watson, former founding member of The Ink Spots, as a co-writer, though Best has stated that Watson had nothing to do with the creation of the song...
" - Linda RonstadtLinda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden... - "Soulful StrutAm I the Same Girl"Am I the Same Girl" is a popular soul song written by Eugene Record and Sonny Sanders. First recorded in 1968 by Barbara Acklin, "Am I the Same Girl" charted most successfully in the US as a 1992 release by Swing Out Sister...
" - Young-Holt UnlimitedYoung-Holt UnlimitedYoung-Holt Unlimited were an American soul and jazz instrumental musical ensemble from Chicago, Illinois.Drummer Isaac "Red" Holt and bassist Eldee Young, formerly members of Ramsey Lewis' jazz trio, formed a new outfit called the Young-Holt Trio with pianist Don Walker in 1966... - "Never Let You Go" - JakarandaJakarandaJakaranda was a pop group consisting of Kenny Wong, Allison DiNonno, and Jacqueline "Jackie" Siebert which performed from 1997 to 1998. The group was apart of Crave Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment , which ceased operations in 1998...
- "Bad To The BoneBad to the Bone"Bad to the Bone" is a song by George Thorogood and the Destroyers released in 1982 on the album of the same name. While it was not a major hit on initial release, its video made recurrent appearances on the nascent MTV, which was created a year before...
" - George Thorogood & The Destroyers - "The Happy Club" - Bob GeldofBob GeldofRobert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
- "Suite from The Parent Trap" - Alan SilvestriAlan SilvestriAlan Anthony Silvestri is an American film composer and conductor.-Career:Silvestri is best known for his collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis, having scored Romancing the Stone , the Back to the Future trilogy , Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Death Becomes Her , Forrest Gump , Contact ,...
- "Ev'ry Time We Say GoodbyeEv'ry Time We Say GoodbyePublished by Chappell & Company, "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" is a song with lyrics and music by Cole Porter. It was introduced in 1944 in Billy Rose's musical revue, Seven Lively Arts....
- Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
and Betty CarterBetty CarterBetty Carter was an American jazz singer renowned for her improvisational technique and idiosyncratic vocal style... - "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) - Natalie ColeNatalie ColeNatalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
- "Dream Come True" - Ta-Gana
- "Groovin'Groovin'"Groovin" is a single released in 1967 by The Young Rascals that became a number-one hit and one of the group's signature songs.Written by group members Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati and with a lead vocal from Cavaliere, it is indeed a slow, relaxed groove, based on Cavaliere's newfound...
" - Pato BantonPato BantonPato Banton is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname 'Pato' from his stepfather, and 'Banton' from the disc jockey slang for a "heavyweight DJ".-Biography:Born in Birmingham, Banton first came to public attention in the early 1980s when he worked with The...
& The Reggae Revolutation - "Let's Get TogetherLet's Get Together (Hayley Mills song)"Let's Get Together" was a popular song written by the songwriting team of brothers Robert and Richard Sherman for the 1961 Disney film, The Parent Trap. It was sung in the film by teen actress Hayley Mills as a duet with herself. This is because she played twin sisters, which was a technical feat...
" - Nobody's AngelNobody's AngelNobody's Angel was an American pop girl group of the late 1990s. The group consisted of four members Ali Navarro, Alitzah Wiener Amy Hardy and Sarah Smith. The band was put together after they became friends and discovered they had something in common: a shared taste for music, dancing and...
Film score
- "The Disney Logo"
- "Suite From The Parent Trap"
- "Annie and Martin"
- "Shake Hands, Girls"
- "Like Twins"
- "Changes"
- "Hallie Meets Mom"
- "Annie Meets Dad"
- "Vineyard Suite"
- "I Am Annie"
- "Dad's Getting Married"
- "Hallie Breaks The News"
- "You'll Kill In It"
- "Table For Two"
- "She's Gone"
- "Where Dreams Have No End"
- "We Actually Did It"
- "Finale"
Response
The film was met with generally positive reviews, holding an 81% approval rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. It entered the box office charts at number 2 on July 31, 1998. It ended up with a gross of over $66 million in the U.S. and $92,108,518 worldwide.
The film debuted on United Lands television (The Family Film Channel) on October 4, 1999, and had 5.43 million viewers.
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $11,148,497 in 2,247 theaters in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, ranking #2 at the box office, behind Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
, was the best debut for a Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
film that week. By the end of its run, The Parent Trap grossed $66,308,518 domestically and $25,800,000 internationally, totaling $92,108,518 worldwide.
Deleted scenes
The scene slots between Hallie and Martin meeting at Heathrow Airport, and Hallie meeting her mother and grandfather. Hallie is in a limo and they come across Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. She gets out and tries to get one of the guards to move. The guards then crowd around in formation as the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
exits Buckingham Palace in a car. The window rolls down and Hallie speaks to the Queen, getting confused with 'Your Highness' or 'Your Majesty' or whether to curtsy. The Queen promises not to tell a soul and moves off. Director Nancy Meyers had a difficult time getting the uniforms, location, and an actress to play the Queen. Although the scene is shot well, the scene was deleted due to pacing problems.
Another deleted scene appears in the trailer that debuted in 1998. The scene shows Annie standing out on the deck of her vineyard-estate house. She sees a shooting star and sings the rhyme "Starlight, Starbright." Hallie appears standing outside her window, too.
In the original draft of the script, many scenes have been altered or deleted. An extended ear-piercing scene is in. While putting the needle through Annie's ear, Hallie screams and passes out. Annie gently smacks Hallie in the face, trying to wake her up. After Hallie wakes up, she asks Annie, "Are you bleeding to death? Did it hurt?" Annie tells her no to both questions and shows Hallie the needle again, and tells her finish with the other because she (Annie) will not go through life with just one pierced ear. Hallie passes out again.
An extended scene, Elizabeth delves further into why she and Nick did not stay together long. She says, "I tried living in California, He tried living in London..." Hallie replies, "So you broke up?" Elizabeth tells Hallie that they were the best thing about the whole situation and they continue to stroll down the streets of London.
There is an extended ending at the end where Hallie tells Annie: "You guys are going to love living in California." To that Annie replies: "California? You guys are going to love living in London." Hallie then replies "London?" In the front yard Sammy is barking to the poodle next door as Martin and Chessy are kissing and Grandfather is getting home.
It is unknown if all of the above scenes were filmed.
Pop culture references
In the "Isolation Cabin," when the window is open during a storm and many of Hallie's pictures are blown off the wall, Annie asks if any were ruined. Hallie replies "Only the beautiful Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
," to which Annie says, "Who's Leonardo DiCaprio?" Then Hallie asks "How far is London anyway", to which Annie replies that its nearly 3000 miles away. This is a reference to the actor in Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, which had come out less than a year earlier.
After Hallie arrives in London, she and her mother walk across the street together, on the same street, zebra crossing, and with the same cars as the Abbey Road album cover of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. The song "Here Comes The Sun" (written by George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
) plays; the screen even pauses while they are walking across.
The music that accompanies Hallie and Annie's march to the isolation cabin is taken from the scene in The Great Escape
The Great Escape (film)
The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...
in which Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
's character is marched to prison.
In numerous scenes, the girls refer to Meredith as Cruella de Vil
Cruella de Vil
Cruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...
.
Nick first sees his ex-wife in a hotel as an elevator door closes in front of him. This is essentially identical to the corresponding scene in the 1940 screwball comedy
Screwball Comedy
Screwball Comedy is an album by the Japanese band Soul Flower Union. The album found the band going into a simpler, harder-rocking direction, after several heavily world-music influenced albums.-Track listing:...
My Favorite Wife
My Favorite Wife
My Favorite Wife is a 1940 screwball comedy produced and co-written by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. The movie stars Irene Dunne as a woman who returns to her husband and children after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for several years, and Cary Grant as her husband...
, starring Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne was an American film actress and singer of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performances in Cimarron , Theodora Goes Wild , The Awful Truth , Love Affair and I Remember Mama...
and Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, and its 1963 remake Move Over, Darling
Move Over, Darling
Move Over, Darling is a 1963 remake of the 1940 screwball comedy My Favorite Wife that starred Irene Dunne, Cary Grant and Gail Patrick. The remake stars Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen.-Plot:...
, starring Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
and James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
.
When asked by Hallie, "You talkin' to me?" Meredith replies, "What are you, Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
?", a reference to the film Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...
.