There are almost as many similarities between Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Mary Poppins as there are between the Kennedy and Lincoln administrations – although these are likely less coincidental. Both films incorporated animation into live-action sequences. Both had magical guardians who managed to spellbind the precocious children under their care. Both took place in London and actor David Tomlinson had a supporting role in each film. Other than that, they were completely different.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks tells the story of three little orphans – Charlie, Carrie and Paul, living during WWII. When an eccentric woman named Eglantine Price comes into their lives, their lives suddenly become far less boring. For Eglantine is an up and coming witch, a student to be exact, studying through London’s Correspondence College of Witchcraft.

When the children discover her secret, they promise to keep it under wraps – with one condition. Eglantine must enchant an object for them. The object lucky enough to receive her “famous magical traveling spell” is one of their bedknobs, turning the bed into a magic carpet of sorts that takes them flying over London, to an animated soccer match played by animals, an undersea kingdom, and lastly, on the German battlefront.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks never really got a fair shake during its initial release, due to the comparisons with that other movie, released seven years prior. Over time, however, it has managed to find its way into people’s hearts and has gradually become a beloved classic in its own right.