It's 1801 in Odense, Denmark. Teenage Chris (Paul O'Keefe) lives with his father, Papa Andersen (Jack Gilford), the town's poor cobbler. In addition to getting little respect from his customers, Papa Andersen wants Chris to gain knowledge to grow up to be more than just a poor, abused cobbler, telling him in the process that all knowledge can be found in the Garden of Paradise. With The Sandman (Cyril Ritchard) as his guide, Chris sets off to find the Garden of Paradise. Often daydreaming along the way, Chris gets into one adventure and misadventure after another, most often only in his daydreams, encountering and befriending along the way a Little Mermaid (Hayley Mills), who lives under the sea, an Emperor (Ed Wynn), unhappy with what he has, commissioning a new set of clothes from a pair of Parisian tailors who aren't quite what they seem, a duckling who has lost his way from the rest of his family, and Thumbelina (Patty Duke), a little girl no bigger than his thumb. Chris' quest to get to the Garden of Paradise is unrelenting as he believes the world will be his oyster if he gets there, but acting as his moral compass, The Sandman may show him that he has to learn a few lessons and that the Garden will not just magically show him the answers to all life's questions. Meanwhile, Papa goes on a search for the missing Chris, following the metaphorical breadcrumbs that Chris has inadvertently left in his path.