Disney movies in the late sixties were... weird. Honestly, there is no other way to put it. Walt had just passed away, the studio was in a bit of a tailspin, and right in the middle of that transition, we got The Gnome-Mobile. Released in 1967, it's often overshadowed by the juggernaut that was The Jungle Book, but the Gnome Mobile cast is actually a fascinating time capsule of veteran character actors and kids who were basically the face of the studio at the time. If you’ve ever watched it and thought, "I know that voice from somewhere," you aren't crazy.
It’s a story about a lumber tycoon named D.J. Mulrooney who takes his grandkids into the redwood forest, only to find a duo of gnomes—Jasper and his crotchety 900-year-old grandfather, Knobby. The movie is peak 60s practical effects, but the chemistry works because the cast wasn't just a bunch of random hires. It was a calculated reunion.
The Mary Poppins Connection You Can't Ignore
Look at the kids. If they look familiar, it’s because Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber were essentially Disney royalty after Mary Poppins. By the time they joined the Gnome Mobile cast, they had a shorthand that most child actors never achieve. They play Elizabeth and Rodney Winthrop, and while they aren't singing about sugar and spoons here, they carry the emotional weight of the film.
It’s actually a bit bittersweet to watch now. This was the third and final film they made together before Garber’s tragic death at age 21. You can see the genuine affection between them. It’s not that polished, robotic child acting you see in modern sitcoms. It feels real.
Then you have Walter Brennan. The man was an absolute legend. Three Oscars. Think about that. Most actors would kill for one, and Brennan had three sitting on his shelf while he was playing a dual role in a movie about a flying Rolls-Royce and tiny forest people.
👉 See also: The Real Story Behind I Can Do Bad All by Myself: From Stage to Screen
Walter Brennan’s Double Duty
Brennan didn't just play the grandfather D.J. Mulrooney; he also played Knobby, the elderly gnome. This was a massive technical headache for the time. This wasn't CGI. This was the "Yellow Screen" process—a precursor to modern bluescreening—and forced perspective.
Brennan basically had to act against himself.
As Mulrooney, he’s the classic 1960s "gruff but lovable" billionaire. As Knobby, he’s a paranoid, isolationist gnome who thinks humans are "doo-gooders" (his word for humans, which is kinda hilarious). He spent hours in the makeup chair to become Knobby, and then had to switch back to play the tycoon.
The Supporting Players
The rest of the Gnome Mobile cast is a "who’s who" of 1960s character actors. You’ve got:
✨ Don't miss: Love Island UK Who Is Still Together: The Reality of Romance After the Villa
- Richard Bakalyan as Ralphie. If you watched Disney movies in the 60s and 70s, Bakalyan was always there. He usually played a tough guy or a bumbling henchman.
- Tom Lowell as Jasper. He was the young gnome looking for a bride. Lowell had previously worked with the studio in The Merry Winter and That Darn Cat!.
- Ed Wynn (in a way). While Wynn isn't in this movie, his influence is all over it. The film feels like it was written for his specific brand of whimsical lunacy. Instead, we got Ed Sullivan... wait, no, not the host. We got veteran actors like Charles Lane, who plays the psychiatric director. Lane was the guy you hired if you needed someone to look annoyed and bureaucratic. He appeared in over 300 films. Three hundred!
Why the Casting Felt So Different
Most people don't realize that The Gnome-Mobile was based on a book by Upton Sinclair. Yes, that Upton Sinclair. The guy who wrote The Jungle and exposed the meatpacking industry. It’s a bizarre pivot for an author known for socialist muckraking to write a book about gnomes, but Disney’s casting choices leaned into the whimsy rather than the social commentary.
The performance of Tom Lowell as Jasper is what holds the "gnome" half of the story together. He had to play the straight man to Brennan’s cranky Knobby. The scene where Jasper finally finds the other gnomes—the "Gnome Maiden" sequence—is a fever dream of mid-century costume design.
There’s a specific energy to the Gnome Mobile cast that feels like the end of an era. It was the last film directed by Robert Stevenson to be released while Walt was still alive (though Walt passed during production). Stevenson was the guy who directed Old Yeller, Mary Poppins, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. He knew these actors. He knew how to get a performance out of Walter Brennan that didn't feel like a caricature.
The Forgotten "Villains"
The movie needs a conflict, right? Enter Sean McClory as Horatio Quaxton. He’s the freak-show owner who kidnaps the gnomes. McClory plays it with this wonderful, scenery-chewing villainy that feels like it belongs in a Victorian melodrama.
🔗 Read more: Gwendoline Butler Dead in a Row: Why This 1957 Mystery Still Packs a Punch
Then there’s the sanitarium sequence. It’s actually kind of dark for a Disney movie. D.J. Mulrooney gets committed to an asylum because he claims to see gnomes. The staff there—played by the aforementioned Charles Lane and Norman Grabowski—act with a cold, clinical indifference that makes you genuinely root for the kids to break their grandpa out.
Real-World Impact and Legacy
If you're looking for this movie today, it's a bit of a cult classic. It isn't on the front page of Disney+ very often. But for fans of 1960s cinema, it's a masterclass in how to use a veteran cast to sell a ridiculous premise.
When you look at the Gnome Mobile cast, you’re seeing the last gasp of the "Studio System" style of casting, where a stable of reliable actors moved from project to project. It gave the films a sense of continuity. Even if the plot was about a 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II being chased through the woods by a circus villain, you trusted the faces on the screen.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans of the Film
If you're planning a rewatch or diving into this era of film history, keep these things in mind to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch the perspective shifts: Pay attention to the scenes where Walter Brennan’s two characters interact. It was groundbreaking tech for 1967. They used a giant "oversized" set for the car interior when the gnomes were inside it, and a regular car for the humans.
- Spot the Disney regulars: See how many actors you recognize from The Love Bug or The Shaggy Dog. The "Disney troupe" was in full force here.
- Check the credits for the Sherman Brothers: They wrote the theme song. Once you hear "In the Gnome-Mobile," it will be stuck in your head for three days. Minimum.
- Compare it to the book: If you're a literature nerd, find a copy of Sinclair's The Gnomobile. The movie strips away the heavy environmentalism and focuses on the "family" aspect, which is a classic Disney move.
The movie isn't perfect. It’s paced a little weirdly, and the ending is a bit of a chaotic scramble. But the Gnome Mobile cast—specifically the triple-threat of Brennan, Dotrice, and Garber—elevates it from a forgotten B-movie to a charming piece of nostalgia that actually holds up if you’re willing to embrace the "kinda weird" vibes of 1967.
To see these performances in high definition, the film is currently available on most major streaming platforms and remains a staple for collectors of the Walt Disney Legacy collection. Watching it today provides a clear look at how practical effects and genuine character acting can create a sense of wonder that modern CGI sometimes misses entirely.