The Parent Trap

Origin

The 1949 German children's picture book by Erich Kästner first published as Das Doppelte Lottchen (The Double Lottie), was written during WWII as a plot for a movie. In 1942, Kästner was allowed by Nazi officials to develop the project under the working title of "The Great Secret", before the authorities eventually forbade his continued work. After the war, the author redeveloped the story into the successful novel. The plot follows Lisa Palfy and Lottie Horn (Luise Palfy and Lottie Körner in the updated British translation), two identical twins separated in infancy when their parents divorced, with each child raised by one of the parents. The unsuspecting sisters meet at a summer camp where they engineer a plan to switch places when they return home. Though their behavior differs greatly, the parents do not suspect that the daughters had switched places. Upon realization, the family reunites and at the behest of the daughters, the couple gets back together. The book was adapted into various versions, including Walt Disney's adaptation. The novel was discovered by Disney's story editor Bill Dover who recommended the studio purchase the film rights. Production commenced in July 1960 under the working title of "We Belong Together", and went until September of the same year.

Films

Original tetralogy

Sharon McKendrick and Susan Evers (Hayley Mills in a dual role) are identical twin sisters who were separated at birth due to their parents' divorce, but are unintentionally reunited years later at summer camp. Together, they devise a plan to bring their parents back together and reconcile their family by switching places after camp with intentions being to sway their parents into falling in love once more, with Sharon heading to California (posing as Susan) to meet her father, Mitch (Brian Keith) and Susan heading to Boston (posing as Sharon) to meet her mother, Maggie (Maureen O'Hara). Their attempts are problematically opposed by their father's gold-digging fiancé, Vicky Robinson (Joanna Barnes). The girls double their efforts in bringing their parents together.

25 years after the first film, Sharon now finds herself living the life of a divorced, single mother. While at summer school, her 11-year-old daughter, Nicole a.k.a. "Nikki" (Carrie Kei Heim in her final role before retiring), befriends Mary Grand (Bridgette Andersen), a fellow camper who would later become her step-sister. The pair work together as matchmakers to persuade Sharon into dating Mary's widowed father, Bill (Tom Skerritt). The young friends work to convince their parents that they should be dating. As Sharon plans to move to New York and enroll Nikki into an all-girls school in the fall, Susan is brought into the plan in order to help the single parents realize they love each other.

Upon returning from their respective summer vacations, triplets Megan, Lisa and Jessie Wyatt (Joy, Leanna and Monica Creel, respectively) discover that their father, Jeffrey (Barry Bostwick), is engaged to a snobbish Cassie McGuire (Patricia Richardson). When Cassie makes the unpopular decision to remodel the family's beach house in California, Susan Evers (Hayley Mills) is hired to redecorate. Susan, who is now herself divorced after helping her niece Nicole a.k.a. "Nikki" (Carrie Kei Heim in her final role before retiring) find love for Sharon again in The Parent Trap II by pairing her with Bill Grand (Tom Skerritt), finds fulfillment in her work. As the triplets collectively decide that Susan is the right woman for their father, they develop a plan to bring the pair together. When their scheme doesn't seem to be working, they turn to Susan's twin sister, Sharon McKendrick-Grand (Mills in a dual role), for assistance. With the wedding quickly approaching, the women set out to prevent Jeffrey from marrying the wrong woman.

Newlywed couple Jeffrey and Susan Wyatt inherit a family resort in Hawai'i from his late-aunt. Together, the couple, his teenaged triplets and Susan's twin sister, Sharon, move to the island to repair its run-down condition and restore the vacationing location so that they can run an operating business. Despite their attempts, the project proves to be more than its worth, so Jeffrey and Susan decide to sell the property once it is reinstated. As the triplets encounter experiences with the boys they meet at the beach, Jeffrey comes into contact with an old high school rival named Ray. Ray bargains to purchase the property, with a promise of keeping the resort as-is. It soon comes to light that Ray has ulterior motives, which may not only include the land.

The Parent Trap (1998)

American-raised Hallie Parker and British-raised Annie James (Lindsay Lohan in her film debut) are twin sisters who were separated at birth. By happenstance, the two attend the same summer camp and meet as complete strangers. Born to divorced parents Nick and Elizabeth (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson, respectively), the preteen girls were raised on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. After overcoming their differences and becoming close friends, the pair create a plan to swap places when they go home, giving each of them the chance to spend time with the parent that they have not had an opportunity to build a relationship with. The twins soon decide that they want to get the family back together and come up with ideas for reuniting their parents.

Untitled reboot (TBA)

In November 2019, it was announced that a reboot is in development. The project will be released via streaming, as a Disney+ exclusive. In June 2026, Lisa Ann Walter revealed on The Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show that the project was a follow-up to the 1998 film she starred in as housekeeper Chessy. She and Lindsay Lohan were in talks to reprise their roles.

Reception

In other media

Streaming event

In May 2020, Nancy Meyers (whose 1998 remake of The Parent Trap marked her feature directorial debut) announced a 22-year anniversary reunion event for the cast and crew, which included her now-ex-husband Charles Shyer (who produced the film), Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Elaine Hendrix, Lisa Ann Walter and Simon Kunz. In July, together they discussed the making of the movie on Katie Couric's Instagram page as a charity fundraiser for World Central Kitchen, while also honoring the memory of Natasha Richardson, who passed away in 2009.

Documentary

Family Films Productions produced The Legacy of The Parent Trap series, a documentary film series that gives a retrospective insight into developing The Parent Trap. The film features memories and stories of various cast and crew, about the original 1961 film and its three sequels. Among the interviews, all-new footage featuring Hayley Mills is included. Additional interviewees include Tom Skerritt (who starred in Parent Trap II as Bill Grand), Carrie Kei Heim (who starred alongside Skerritt as Nicole a.k.a. "Nikki" Ferris in Parent Trap II), the Creel triplets (Monica, Leanna and Joy, who starred as Jessie, Lisa and Megan Wyatt, respectively, in Parent Trap III and Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon), Susan Henning (who served as a body double for Mills in the original 1961 film), Mollie Miller (who directed Parent Trap III and Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon), Tommy Sands (who, along with Annette Funicello, performed "Let's Get Together" in the original 1961 film) and Joanna Barnes (who starred in both the original 1961 film as Vicky Robinson and 1998 remake as Vicky Blake) and even Lynette Winters and Kay Cole (camp inch scenes). Teresa Andersen, whose daughter, Bridgette, starred in Parent Trap II (and who later passed away of a heroin overdose shortly before the 1998 remake began filming), discusses reflections on experiences that occurred on-set during filming of Parent Trap II with Stu Krieger and Ronald F. Maxwell (who wrote and directed the script for Parent Trap II, respectively). Marilyn McCoo also is featured sharing memories about recording music for Parent Trap II. Charles Fox (who wrote the theme "Let's Keep What We Got"-- the title music in the opening for Parent Trap II-- and the entire music score) is featured on-camera, talking about his experiences in writing the song and music. Disney historian and authors (previous Disney employees) Bill Cotter and Lorraine Santoli are also featured on-camera. The project analyzes and focuses on the life of Erich Kästner who wrote the original German book Das Doppelte Lottchen that the films were based on. Luke Springman, German professor Aaron Pacentine is an executive producer of the film. This is the first full-length film documentary that details coverage on the 1980s Parent Trap films and the first time Miller has spoken out publicly about the original film since then.