The Parent Trap (film series)

The Parent Trap is a film series originating in 1961 with Hayley Mills as the twins. She reprised her role three times in made-for-television sequels; once in 1986 and twice in 1989.

The Parent Trap (1961)

The Parent Trap is a film directed by David Swift for Walt Disney Pictures released in 1961, based on the book Das Doppelte Lottchen, written by Erich Kästner . The film stars Hayley Mills who plays the roles of the thirteen-year-old twin girls, Sharon and Susan. Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith play the role of the twin sister’s parents, Maggie and Mitch. The film is about two girls who meet at a summer camp and realize that they are identical twins. They switch lives in order to meet their missing parent and they plan to bring their divorced parents back together. Soon after switching, the twins learn that there is a new woman named Vicky Robinson (played by Joanna Barnes) in their father’s life. After Mitch tells Sharon about his engagement to Vicky, the girls come up with a new game plan to get rid of the gold-digging young woman interfering with their plan to reconnect their parents.^[1]

The Parent Trap II

The Parent Trap II, written by Stuart Krieger, is a television film that aired on July 26, 1986 on The Disney Channel. It was directed by Ronald F. Maxwell. The film is a continuation on the Walt Disney film, The Parent Trap. The Parent Trap II was filmed twenty-five years after the original film. The idea of a second film was announced in 1985. The only actor who returned from the original film, Hayley Mills, continues to portray the twins, Sharon and Susan. The Parent Trap II focuses on Nikki who tries to set up her mother, Sharon, with her best friend’s father, portrayed by Tom Skerritt.

The Parent Trap III

The Parent Trap II was such a success for the Disney Channel, that it spawned another made-for-television sequel, The Parent Trap III. In this 1989 sequel, Hayley Mills reprises her role as twins Susan Evers and Sharon Grand, with Barry Bostwick as a father of triplet girls, and Patricia Richardson as his snobbish girlfriend.

The Parent Trap IV: Hawaiian Honeymoon

The Parent Trap IV: Hawaiian Honeymoon (1989) is the final sequel with Hayley Mills reprising her role as Susan Wyatt and Sharon Grand. Also returning from The Parent Trap III is Barry Bostwick and the Creel triplets: Joy, Leanna, and Monica.

1998 remake

Lindsay Lohan stars in the remake of the first Parent Trap film playing the role of the identical twins whose lives change at the summer camp they attend. The remake caught the attention of audiences when it premiered on July 29, 1998. The parents of the twins, Nick Parker (played by Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth James (played by Natasha Richardson), marry on a cruise ship and quickly figure out their lives are in two separate places. They both take a different twin and part their separate ways. Eleven years pass and the identical twins, Annie James and Hallie Parker, embark on their summer journey not knowing each other or how the summer would end. The rival against one another turns out to bring them closer and made them realize who they are, sisters. Their new goal is to make their parents fall in love again before their dad and his fiance Meredeth Blake (played by Elaine Hendrix) marry. It was directed by Nancy Meyers.

References

1. The Parent Trap. Dir. David Swift. Perf. Hayley Mills, Maureent O’Hara, and Brian Keith. Walt Disney, 1961. Film.