Mother Goose: Rhymes To The Rescue is a PG-rated Disney film based on the well-beloved nursery rhymes.
Plot[]
Mother Goose is in trouble, an army of no-good Ill Wills have taken over Rhymeville; so it's up to the Rhymesters to save their home and their friend from the Ill Wills. From Hey Diddle Diddle to Mary Had a Little Lamb, all your favorite nursery rhyme characters prove that you can do anything as long as you believe in yourself.
Characters[]
Mother Goose: The main character, creator of all the nursery rhymes admired by all except the Ill Wills. She has to be rescued by her Rhymesters in order to restore peace to Rhymeville and bring joy back to all the children of the world.
Goosey-Goosey Gander: Mother Goose's pet goose, fond of the nursery rhyme of his namesake. He fights the Ill Wills by pecking them with his bill.
Old MacDonald: A farmer from the nursery rhyme of his namesake and the narrator of the story. He begins a rescue party once he hears of all the commotion going on in Rhymeville. He has lots of animals on his farm and likes to visit his friends after doing all his work. His friends call him Old Mac; he uses a rake to fight off the Ill Wills.
Bingo: Old MacDonald's dog named after the song of his namesake. He fights the Ill Wills by tearing them up.
Marshall: Old MacDonald's horse. The farmer likes to ride him everyday to greet the other Rhymesters; Marshall even carries his master to search for Mother Goose. The horse also fights the Ill Wills with his hooves.
Hickory Dickory Dock: The mouse who likes to run up and down clocks. He teams up with Old MacDonald to save the day and battles the Ill Wills by chewing them to shreds.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider: An arachnid from the nursery rhyme of his namesake who climbs up waterspouts. He is absolutely harmless despite his scary looks and joins Old MacDonald's gang to save Rhymeville. He stops the Ill Wills with his own silk.
Peter-Peter Pumpkin-Eater: A pumpkin farmer from the nursery rhyme of the same name. He is taken prisoner by the Ill Wills after he objects about all the nonsense they create. His wife teams up with Old MacDonald, and once reunited with her, Peter and his wife fight the Ill Wills using pumpkins.
Mrs. Pumpkin-Eater: Peter Pumpkin-Eater's wife, she gets separated from her husband after he objects from all the Ill Wills' madness. Mrs. Pumpkin-Eater joins Old MacDonald and rides with him on his horse Marshall to save Rhymeville. She even knits a giant centipede costume for all her friends so they can get into the Wills' paper fortress since the Wills like things that children detest. Once she's reunited with her husband, the Pumpkin-Eaters use pumpkins to fight the Ill Wills.
Wee Willie Winkie: The town crier from the nursery rhyme of the same name who's job it is to make sure all the kids of Rhymeville all are in bed by 8:00. When the Ill Wills take control of Rhymeville, they decree for him to sleep all day long; but when he hears about believing in himself, he wakes so he go back to his work. He fights the Ill Wills by shining a flashlight in their eyes.
Peter Piper: A fellow who is known for picking pickled peppers. Once the Ill Wills decree that he can no longer pick pickled peppers, he gets bored and unhappy. As soon as he hears about believing in himself, he happily resumes picking pickled peppers. Peter even fights the Ill Wills by firing at them with pickled peppers from a slingshot.
Mary-Mary Quite Contrary: A snooty gardener named of the nursery rhyme of her namesake. She is concerned that Old MacDonald has a crush on her, which he really doesn't. Once she is decreed never to work in her garden, she is taken prisoner after objecting because of her being so contrary. After Old MacDonald and his friends set Mary free, she fights the Ill Wills by watering them with her watering can. She even kisses Old MacDonald after the battle to show that she actually loves him.
Jack Sprat: Otherwise known as Jack Be Nimble, he is a man who never eats fat and keeps in shape by mostly jumping over candlesticks. Once the Ill Wills decree that he is never to jump over candlesticks and only eat fat while his wife is only decreed to eat lean, both Jack and his wife object which gets them both locked up. As soon as the Sprats are free, they fight the Ill Wills with Jack jumping on them and his wife sitting on them.
Mrs. Sprat: Jack Sprat's heavyset wife who lounges about all day never eating lean, yet she loves her husband as much as he loves her. When the Ill Wills decree that Mrs. Sprat is to only eat lean and Jack is to only eat fat while never jumping over any more candlesticks, they both object and get locked up. Once the Sprats are freed by Old MacDonald's rescue party, they fight the Ill Wills with Mrs. Sprat sitting on them and her husband jumping on them.
Old King Cole: The merry old soul monarch from the nursery rhyme of the same name. He likes making merry, but once the Ill Wills dominate Rhymeville, the king pretends to be serious since the Wills can't stand his merry making. When he is about to sign one of the Wills allowing them to take control, he declines explaining that he was only pretending to be serious all along having heard about all everyone believing in themselves. Once the fight between good and evil occurs, Old King Cole arrives with his horses and men ordering them to charge at the Ill Wills. In the end, His Majesty invites all the Rhymesters and Mother Goose to his castle for a celebration where they all vow to be ready for any more madness. The king even passes a law proclaiming that only good people are allowed in Rhymeville, which Mother Goose had written to defeat the Ill Wills.
The Crooked Man: A fellow from the nursery rhyme of his namesake. Although he is crooked, he is actually a nice fellow. Once he is decreed not to be crooked anymore, he is very unhappy. But he becomes happy again from hearing about believing in himself, he restores himself to being crooked. During the fight with the Ill Wills, the crooked man attacks by hitting the Wills with his cane.
Little Bo Peep: The shepherdess named after the nursery rhyme of the same name. She always has trouble keeping track of her sheep; but when the Ill Wills decree her to always stick by her sheep, she only becomes even unhappier. As soon as she hears that she needs to believe in herself, she goes back to losing her sheep. During the fight between good and evil, Little Bo Peep fends off the Ill Wills with her shepherd's staff.
Mary (had a little lamb): A little girl who's lamb always follows her no matter what. When the Ill Wills take control of Rhymeville, refusing to let Mary go to school, she and her lamb join Old MacDonald's rescue party. Unfortunately, once she believes that she's ready for school again, the Ill Wills take her captive, but not her lamb, whom the posse follows in order to find the Ill Wills' paper fortress. Once Mary is free, she fights the Will by smacking them with her backpack while her lamb kicks them.
Little Jack Horner: A boy named after the nursery rhyme of his namesake. He loves to eat Christmas pies and even wears a Santa Claus outfit. When the Ill Wills decree him to never eat any more Christmas pies, he joins Old MacDonald's rescue expedition. When he fights the Ill Wills, he throws pies in their faces.
The Three Men in a tub: The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker from Rub-a-Dub-Dub. They help Old MacDonald and his friends across a river that the Ill Wills create to stop them by letting them ride in their tub since the trio had been decreed not to ride in it anymore; but then the men go back to riding in their tub once they hear about believing in themselves. During the fight between good and bad, the butcher chops the Ill Wills with his cleaver, the baker flattens them with his rolling pin, and the candlestick maker burns them with his candelabra.
The Lion and the Unicorn: Two animals from the nursery rhyme of their namesake who like to fight each other for the crown. Once they are decreed not to fight anymore let alone get anymore bread or plum cake, they team up with Old MacDonald and his friends on their journey to save Rhymeville. The lion fights the Ill Wills with his claws and the unicorn fights them with his hooves.
Humpty Dumpty: The egg named after his nursery rhyme who sits on walls. When the Ill Wills decree Humpty not to sit on any more walls, which makes him sad along with all the king's horses and all the king's men, he joins Old MacDonald's gang on their mission to save Mother Goose and Rhymeville. Humpty fights the Ill Wills by rolling himself to knock them down.
All the King's Horses and All the King's Men: Old King Cole's cavalry who are ordered by the king to help Humpty Dumpty whenever he falls off the wall; but when the Ill Wills decree Humpty never to sit on walls again, the horses and men are unhappy. Fortunately, the egg teams up with Old MacDonald and his friends to stop all the Wills' madness. When Old King Cole arrives at the Wills' fortress, he orders his horses and men to trample the Wills.
The Cat with the fiddle: The violin-playing feline from Hey Diddle Diddle; when he is forbidden to play his fiddle by the Ill Wills, he and his friends join Old MacDonald's gang on their mission to save Rhymeville. When the gang stops to rest for the night, the cat and his friends are reminded that they can do anything as long as they believe in themselves, so they act out their rhyme to spread the word and bring Rhymeville back to normal, much to the Ill Wills' dismay. During the good fight, the cat battles the Wills by whacking them with his fiddle.
The Cow that jumps over the moon: The bovine from Hey Diddle Diddle, easily recognized by one of her spots that looks like the moon. When she is forbidden to jump by the Ill Wills, she and her friends join Old MacDonald's gang on their mission to save Rhymeville. When the gang stops to rest for the night, the cow and her friends are reminded that they can do anything as long as they believe in themselves, so they act out their rhyme to spread the word and bring Rhymeville back to normal, much to the Ill Wills' dismay. During the good fight, the cow defeats the Wills by jumping with them into space.
The Little Dog: The laughing canine from Hey Diddle Diddle. When he is forbidden to laugh by the Ill Wills, he and his friends join Old MacDonald's gang on their mission to save Rhymeville. When the gang stops to rest for the night, the dog and his friends are reminded that they can do anything as long as they believe in themselves, so they act out their rhyme to spread the word and bring Rhymeville back to normal, much to the Ill Wills' dismay. During the good fight, the dog beats the Wills by thrashing them around.
The Dish and the Spoon: The running plate and utensil from Hey Diddle Diddle despite their not having any legs, as they are married, although the spoon can't figure out at first why he and his ceramic wife are supposed to run. When they are forbidden to run by the Ill Wills, they and their friends join Old MacDonald's gang on their mission to save Rhymeville. When the gang stops to rest for the night, the dish, her flatware husband, and their friends are reminded that they can do anything as long as they believe in themselves, so they act out their rhyme to spread the word and bring Rhymeville back to normal, much to the Ill Wills' dismay. During the good fight, the dish attacks the Wills by using herself as a shield and the spoon get rids of them by using himself as a catapult.
Ride A. Cockhorse: A living hobby horse from the nursery rhyme of the same name, he is the news reporter for Rhymeville as he holds a microphone with his reins. He reports the news at Banbury Cross about what's going on with all the Ill Wills causing mischief, yet he somehow does not seem to get captured. When the Hey Diddle Diddle characters spread the word telling everyone to believe in themselves, Ride reports this explaining that everything is starting to go back to normal, which makes the Wills furious. During the good fight at the Ill Wills' fortress, Ride reports the battle without even helping the other Rhymesters. After the fight, Ride is about to continue his report when Old King Cole tells him to stop.
The Ill Wills: Wicked living sheets of paper with inkwells for feet who magically decree anything they write on themselves. Their leader, Commander Will, wields a magic fountain pen and they all live in a fortress made entirely out of paper. They hate Mother Goose and all her rhymes, not thinking that they make any sense, so they capture Mother Goose. They also hate children and take control of Rhymeville to stop all the rhymes from bringing joy and imagination to kids. The Wills get their name from the fact that they are evil, therefore they hate good. They even jail anyone who dares defy them. They try many things to stop Old MacDonald's posse from saving the day, but have no success. When Commander Will hears about everything returning to normal, he decides to do drastic things, so he orders his goons to capture Mary, separating her from her lamb, just as she is about to go to school. After the posse sneaks into the fortress to free their imprisoned friends, the Wills trap them in the fortress to keep them from escaping. When the heroes and villains prepare to fight, the Wills, unfortunately, are unprepared and easily defeated since they're only paper; so the fight is easily over and done without anyone breaking a sweat or losing their life. Just as the commander is about to erase Mother Goose, she seizes his pen and on him writes, "Come with a whoop, and come with a call, Come with goodwill, or come not at all." This causes all the Ill Wills to disappear forever since they hate good, restoring Rhymeville to its former glory and bringing joy back to all the children of the world.
Cast[]
- Cynthia Erivo as Mother Goose
- Grant Goodeve as Old MacDonald
- David Schwimmer as Commander Will
- Fred Tatasciore as the Ill Wills/Cat with the fiddle
- Nate Torrence as Peter-Peter Pumpkin-Eater
- Jenny Slate as Mrs. Pumpkin-Eater
- Fox Messitt as Wee Willie Winkie
- Luke Evans as Peter Piper
- Gwendoline Christie as Mary-Mary Quite Contrary
- Adam Devine as Jack Sprat
- Kristen Bell as Mrs. Sprat
- Billy Eichner as Old King Cole
- John Turturro as the Crooked Man
- AnnaSophia Robb as Little Bo Peep
- Ana Sophia Heger as Mary (had a Little Lamb)
- Dashiell Messitt as Little Jack Horner
- Travis Jeffrey as the Three Men in a Tub
- Zach Braff as the Lion
- James Franco as the Unicorn
- Santino Fontana as Humpty Dumpty
- Stephen Curry as All the King's Men
- Taika Waititi as Hickory Dickory Dock/Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Abigail Spencer as the Cow that jumps over the moon
- Donald Glover as the Little Dog
- Michelle Williams as the Dish
- Armie Hammer as the Spoon
- Keegan Michael Key as Ride A. Cockhorse
- Frank Welker as Marshall/Bingo/Goosey-Goosey Gander/Mary's lamb/All the King's Horses
Songs[]
- Imagination - sung by Mother Goose
- Nursery Rhyme Medley - sung by the Rhymesters
- I Hate - sung by the Ill Wills
- Imagination (reprise) - sung by Mother Goose
- Goodwill - sung by Mother Goose and the Rhymesters
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This movie is based off of the Shirley Temple Mother Goose TV special, Shelley Duvall's Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme, DreamWorks Rhyme Time Town, Mother Goose from HBO Happily Ever After, and the Wacky World of Mother Goose by Rankin/Bass.
Trailers[]
Mother Goose: Rhymes To The Rescue Trailer/Transcript
Script[]
Mother Goose: Rhymes To The Rescue Transcript