The Parent Trap II
Encyclopedia
The Parent Trap II is a 1986 television film. It is a continuation to the Walt Disney Pictures
1961 film, The Parent Trap. It aired on July 26, 1986 on The Disney Channel as a part of the channel's "Sunday Night Movie". Hayley Mills
is the only actor who returned from the original film. She continues to portray Sharon and Susan, the twins who were separated at age one, met up years later at summer camp, switched places and went on to reunite their divorced parents.
The film focuses on Sharon's daughter, Nikki, who tries to hook her mother up with her best friend's father, portrayed by Tom Skerritt
. The film was a success for the Disney Channel
and it later spawned two more made-for-television sequels, both produced in 1989.
) is unhappily divorced and living as a single, somewhat jaded mother in Tampa, Florida
. Her daughter, Nikki (Carrie Kei Heim
), is not happy about their impending move to New York City
. While in summer school, Nikki makes enemies with Jessica Dintruff (Judith Tannen), but befriends Mary Grand (Bridgette Andersen
). Mary's father, Bill Grand (Tom Skerritt
), has been widowed for four years. To stop Nikki from moving to New York and to see their parents happily married, the girls scheme to set them up.
Nikki and Mary trick their parents into meeting each other by sending Sharon flowers that are supposedly from Bill, but they do not just fall madly in love with one another as the girls had hoped. So they contact Sharon's twin sister, Susan Carey (Hayley Mills
). Susan is happily married and still living in California
. She is convinced by the girls to fly to Tampa to help them by posing as Sharon and going on a few dates just to get things started.
"Sharon" "accidentally" bumps into Bill at a bar called the Press Box and watches a few innings of a baseball
game with him. The real Sharon detests baseball, and is confused when Bill drops by her workplace the next day and mentions how much fun they had. "Sharon" and Bill cross paths a couple more times over the next few days. Florence (Gloria Cromwell), Bill and Mary's maid, begins to suspect that something is awry.
Sharon discovers the girls' scheme and decides to trick them instead. She contacts Brian Carey (Alex Harvey
), Susan's husband who is a pilot for Trans World Airlines
, and involves him in her scheme. While "Sharon" and Bill are on a date, the real Sharon and Brian pretend to also be on a date, with Sharon dressed as a different woman.
"Sharon" beomes distracted and clumsy on her date while watching her husband. Finally having had enough, she announces to Bill that the man she is watching is her husband. She storms over to their table, but begins laughing when she sees her sister underneath a black wig.
Susan and Sharon clear up the situation for Bill, and Sharon says that she does not have romantic feelings for Bill, and would like it if they just remained friends. She is still determined to move to New York City.
A goodbye party is thrown for Sharon and Nikki on the boat of Sharon's boss, Mr. Elias. Sharon and Bill meet in the cabin while Nikki and Mary go get something from the car. The girls release the ropes from the boat and push it away from the dock. The guests begin arriving and watch helplessly as the boat drifts away.
Sharon and Bill are enjoying each other's company, but wonder where everyone is. They go to the deck, see how far out they are from the shore, and then, Bill presses his lips against Sharon's. The kiss is long and switches at the wedding. Mary and Nikki are finally sisters!
that year, Mills wasn't sure about reprising her role as the twins. "I was astonished. I thought what they wanted to do was try to repeat the original film in some way. I wasn't too sure that was a very good idea. It was a good film, and it has passed the test of time," Mills said to the Chicago Sun-Times
. She later agreed to participate in the film.
The film was written by Sally Nemeth with the help of Bruce Graham. In the original draft of the script, Sharon was originally going to have a son, instead of a daughter like she does in the finished product. This was changed when rewrites of the script were ordered. The names of Nikki Ferris and Mary Grand are the same names of the characters that Hayley Mills portrayed in the Disney films The Moon-Spinners
and In Search of the Castaways
. Director Ronald F. Maxwell revealed that this was an homage to Mills' films with the Walt Disney Company.
The characters of Walter Elias and Lillian Elias are named after Walt Disney
and his wife. Walter Elias is Disney's first and middle name, while Lillian is the name of his wife
.
was chosen to direct this sequel, taking over from the original's director David Swift
. When the film premiered on the Disney Channel
, a documentary titled On Location: Parent Trap II accompanied it. The documentary included footage of Hayley Mills as she describes the production of the film and her history with the Disney films. Filming took place for three weeks in the Tampa, Florida
area. The exteriors of Robert E. Lee Elementary and the interiors of Mitchell Elementary School were used as the summer school that Nikki and Mary both attend.
A local Publix
was used as the grocery store where Sharon and Susan narrowly miss meeting each other. The store has been remodeled drastically since filming had wrapped.
. The theme song for the film is "Let's Keep What We've Got," written by Hal David and performed by Marilyn McCoo
. The song appears in the beginning of the film during the opening credits while clips from The Parent Trap play.
Other songs in the film include "Nothin' At All," sung by Andrea Robinson, who would later voice Ariel's mother in Disney's The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
, and "Stand Back," sung by Phyllis St. James.
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...
1961 film, The Parent Trap. It aired on July 26, 1986 on The Disney Channel as a part of the channel's "Sunday Night Movie". Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
is the only actor who returned from the original film. She continues to portray Sharon and Susan, the twins who were separated at age one, met up years later at summer camp, switched places and went on to reunite their divorced parents.
The film focuses on Sharon's daughter, Nikki, who tries to hook her mother up with her best friend's father, portrayed by Tom Skerritt
Tom Skerritt
Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962.-Early life:...
. The film was a success for the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
and it later spawned two more made-for-television sequels, both produced in 1989.
Plot
The film takes place twenty-five years after the original film. Sharon Ferris (Hayley MillsHayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
) is unhappily divorced and living as a single, somewhat jaded mother in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. Her daughter, Nikki (Carrie Kei Heim
Carrie Kei Heim
Carrie Kei Heim is an attorney and former child actress currently working in Boston.-Acting filmography:-Education:...
), is not happy about their impending move to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. While in summer school, Nikki makes enemies with Jessica Dintruff (Judith Tannen), but befriends Mary Grand (Bridgette Andersen
Bridgette Andersen
Bridgette Andersen was an American child actress best known for her part in the title role of the 1982 comedy Savannah Smiles.-Early life and career:...
). Mary's father, Bill Grand (Tom Skerritt
Tom Skerritt
Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962.-Early life:...
), has been widowed for four years. To stop Nikki from moving to New York and to see their parents happily married, the girls scheme to set them up.
Nikki and Mary trick their parents into meeting each other by sending Sharon flowers that are supposedly from Bill, but they do not just fall madly in love with one another as the girls had hoped. So they contact Sharon's twin sister, Susan Carey (Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
). Susan is happily married and still living in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. She is convinced by the girls to fly to Tampa to help them by posing as Sharon and going on a few dates just to get things started.
"Sharon" "accidentally" bumps into Bill at a bar called the Press Box and watches a few innings of a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
game with him. The real Sharon detests baseball, and is confused when Bill drops by her workplace the next day and mentions how much fun they had. "Sharon" and Bill cross paths a couple more times over the next few days. Florence (Gloria Cromwell), Bill and Mary's maid, begins to suspect that something is awry.
Sharon discovers the girls' scheme and decides to trick them instead. She contacts Brian Carey (Alex Harvey
Alex Harvey
Alex Harvey was a Scottish rock musician. With The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, he built a reputation as an exciting live performer during the 1970s glam rock era.-Biography:...
), Susan's husband who is a pilot for Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
, and involves him in her scheme. While "Sharon" and Bill are on a date, the real Sharon and Brian pretend to also be on a date, with Sharon dressed as a different woman.
"Sharon" beomes distracted and clumsy on her date while watching her husband. Finally having had enough, she announces to Bill that the man she is watching is her husband. She storms over to their table, but begins laughing when she sees her sister underneath a black wig.
Susan and Sharon clear up the situation for Bill, and Sharon says that she does not have romantic feelings for Bill, and would like it if they just remained friends. She is still determined to move to New York City.
A goodbye party is thrown for Sharon and Nikki on the boat of Sharon's boss, Mr. Elias. Sharon and Bill meet in the cabin while Nikki and Mary go get something from the car. The girls release the ropes from the boat and push it away from the dock. The guests begin arriving and watch helplessly as the boat drifts away.
Sharon and Bill are enjoying each other's company, but wonder where everyone is. They go to the deck, see how far out they are from the shore, and then, Bill presses his lips against Sharon's. The kiss is long and switches at the wedding. Mary and Nikki are finally sisters!
Writing
The idea of a second film was announced in 1985. On her interview with Good Morning AmericaGood Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
that year, Mills wasn't sure about reprising her role as the twins. "I was astonished. I thought what they wanted to do was try to repeat the original film in some way. I wasn't too sure that was a very good idea. It was a good film, and it has passed the test of time," Mills said to the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
. She later agreed to participate in the film.
The film was written by Sally Nemeth with the help of Bruce Graham. In the original draft of the script, Sharon was originally going to have a son, instead of a daughter like she does in the finished product. This was changed when rewrites of the script were ordered. The names of Nikki Ferris and Mary Grand are the same names of the characters that Hayley Mills portrayed in the Disney films The Moon-Spinners
The Moon-Spinners
The Moon-Spinners is a 1964 American Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Hayley Mills in a story about a jewel thief hiding on the island of Crete. The film was based upon a suspense novel by Mary Stewart and was directed by James Neilson...
and In Search of the Castaways
In Search of the Castaways
In Search of the Castaways is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–1868. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Édouard Riou. In 1876 it was republished by George Routledge & Sons as a three volume set titled "A Voyage Round The World"...
. Director Ronald F. Maxwell revealed that this was an homage to Mills' films with the Walt Disney Company.
The characters of Walter Elias and Lillian Elias are named after Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and his wife. Walter Elias is Disney's first and middle name, while Lillian is the name of his wife
Lillian Disney
Lillian Disney was the wife of Walt Disney. She was married to him from 1925 until his death in 1966.-Early years:...
.
Filming
Ronald F. MaxwellRonald F. Maxwell
Ronald F. Maxwell is an independent film director and writer from Clifton, New Jersey. He is most famous for writing and directing the American Civil War epics Gettysburg, 1993 and Gods and Generals, 2003....
was chosen to direct this sequel, taking over from the original's director David Swift
David Swift
David Swift is a British actor.He was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Clifton College and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he studied law. He then embarked on a career as a businessman with his father-in-law, J.P Jacobs, whose company supplied all the elastic to Marks &...
. When the film premiered on the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
, a documentary titled On Location: Parent Trap II accompanied it. The documentary included footage of Hayley Mills as she describes the production of the film and her history with the Disney films. Filming took place for three weeks in the Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
area. The exteriors of Robert E. Lee Elementary and the interiors of Mitchell Elementary School were used as the summer school that Nikki and Mary both attend.
A local Publix
Publix
Publix Super Markets, Inc. is an American supermarket chain based in Lakeland, Florida.Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, it is an employee-owned, privately held corporation. Publix is currently ranked No. 86 on Fortune magazine's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For 2010 and was ranked No...
was used as the grocery store where Sharon and Susan narrowly miss meeting each other. The store has been remodeled drastically since filming had wrapped.
Music
The film's score was composed by Charles FoxCharles Fox
Charles Fox may refer to:*Charles Fox Mathematician*Charles Douglas Fox , British civil engineer*Charles James Fox , British politician*Charles Fox , film and television composer...
. The theme song for the film is "Let's Keep What We've Got," written by Hal David and performed by Marilyn McCoo
Marilyn McCoo
Marilyn McCoo is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group The 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series Solid Gold...
. The song appears in the beginning of the film during the opening credits while clips from The Parent Trap play.
Other songs in the film include "Nothin' At All," sung by Andrea Robinson, who would later voice Ariel's mother in Disney's The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is a 2008 Disney animated feature film, and the direct-to-video prequel to the 1989 film The Little Mermaid...
, and "Stand Back," sung by Phyllis St. James.
Cast
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Sharon Ferris / Susan Carey | Hayley Mills Hayley Mills Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award... |
| Bill Grand | Tom Skerritt Tom Skerritt Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962.-Early life:... |
| Nicole "Nikki" Ferris | Carrie Kei Heim Carrie Kei Heim Carrie Kei Heim is an attorney and former child actress currently working in Boston.-Acting filmography:-Education:... |
| Mary Grand | Bridgette Andersen Bridgette Andersen Bridgette Andersen was an American child actress best known for her part in the title role of the 1982 comedy Savannah Smiles.-Early life and career:... |
| Brian Carey | Alex Harvey Alex Harvey Alex Harvey was a Scottish rock musician. With The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, he built a reputation as an exciting live performer during the 1970s glam rock era.-Biography:... |
| Florence | Gloria Cromwell |
| Jessica Dintroff | Judith Tannen |