While this style of Disney slapstick had brought in a considerable amount of box office gold in the 1960s when Walt Disney was still alive, by the time this film rolled by (several years after Disney's death), it was starting to give the studio a bad name. Even for 1972, this movie must have seemed extremely familiar and predictable for audiences at the time; I was able to guess pretty much how the movie would unfold long before it actually unfolded in front of me. The screenwriter and director seemingly made no effort to punch things up to make the comedy and story more lively and unpredictable. As for the cast, while Harry Morgan and Keenan Wynn do add a little life in their scenes, central star Dean Jones can't do much. He does put in some of his trademark likability, but he is saddled with such a stupidly written character that even child viewers will become frustrated watching him. The winter scenery looks nice, and some of the ski and snowmobile stunt work does add a little life, but it's little compensation for such an overall tired formula executed in such a tiring manner.
Review of Snowball Express
