Two thumbs way, way up.

Longtime readers will remember that I first wrote about this film when it enjoyed a limited theatrical release last year. Made by my friends, the cousins Jeff and Gregg Sherman, it tells the story of their fathers, the famed and incredibly prolific songwriting team of Robert and Richard Sherman. It traces their individual and collective careers, and peeks behind the curtains at their songwriting process, their fruitful relationship with Walt Disney, and their families. It also, respectfully but with unflinching candor, examines the schism that developed between The Boys even as their careers continued to thrive.

At long last, Disney has now made it available on DVD, and it’s absolutely worth your time.

From a couple having a lakeside picnic to the edge of the universe, and back again to a proton of a carbon atom, the film “depicts the relative scale of the Universe in factors of 10.”

It’s a thought-provoking, powerful few minutes that will leave you marveling at the Eames’ creativity, appreciating the majesty of our world, and contemplating your own place within it. Give a watch.

The doc features interviews with dozens of Harry’s friends, family and colleagues including Gerry Beckley, Ray Cooper, Mickey Dolenz, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Al Kooper, Randy Newman, Yoko Ono, May Pang, Van Dyke Parks, Richard Perry, The Smothers Brothers, Paul Williams, Robin Williams, Brian Wilson and more.

Whether you’re a fan of Harry or a fan of music in general, it’s a fascinating story about an immensely talented guy. While the film itself answers the question posed in its title, you do know who Harry Nilsson is. He sang “Everybody’s Talkin’” from Midnight Cowboy. He sang “Me And My Arrow” (from his film The Point). He sang “Without You.” He sang the theme song to “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.” He composed and sang scores of other songs you know and love.

See the film. If you buy the DVD (currently available for pre-order from Amazon ), it’s got over 90 minutes of bonus material.

You can check out the trailer and assorted other tidbits here.

Everyone’s got a favorite Harry song – and it seems like everyone’s got a favorite Harry story. What’s yours? Let me know in the comments.

The Boys Movie Poster

You know the songs by heart.

“A Spoonful of Sugar”
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”
“The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room”
“Let’s Go Fly A Kite”
“It’s a Small World (After All)”
“You’re Sixteen”
“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”
“I Wan’na Be Like You”

And there are hundreds more, many of which you also know.

But do you know who wrote them? (The answer: Robert and Richard Sherman.)

Even if you know who wrote them – and if you do, consider me impressed – you surely don’t know the story behind the story of this brilliant songwriting team.

Robert’s son Jeff Sherman and Richard’s son Gregg Sherman have teamed up to make The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story, a stunning documentary about their fathers. Any fan of Disney, any fan of music, any fan of the creative process will be grateful for this film.

It’s not always easy to watch, which is evident from the film’s tagline:

Brothers. Partners. Strangers.

You can see a trailer at the film’s website. But better yet, go see the film itself if you have the chance. Disney is releasing it, so we can hope for a DVD soon as well.