Is there anything on a screen that catches the eye
of a child more than animation? Whether pen-and-ink, stop-motion,
or today's computer-generated works, animation somehow resonates within
a child's - and for the truly fortunate, an adult's - mind to capture and
guide him/her through worlds that just don't exist. But maybe should...
I don't find much to admire in today's animation.
Granted, there was a lot of schlock in the animation of my youth (circa
early-to-mid-60's through the mid-70's), but even the dreck had some charm
that I just don't find in the "good" animation of today.
Right now, I'm going to be talking about some of the
best, which also happen to be some of the holiday's best, and all produced
by the same studio, Rankin/Bass.
You've gotta hand it to the folks at Rankin/Bass; their
projects were more often than not top-heavy with top-notch talent.
This wasn't "stunt casting", as these talents brought a certain tone to
each of their projects which fit in perfectly to the theme.
Let's start with Frosty the Snowman,
and a performer who sadly is probably not well-known to current audiences,
Jimmy Durante.
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"The Great Schnozzola" was legitimately a star
of stage, screen and television. Whether consciously or unconsciously,
his background as a vaudeville star brings an air of authenticity to his
narration of Billy de Wolfe's pathetic magician (said magician likely having
long since failed on the vaudeville boards) trying to nab some real magic
for himself.
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Oh, yeah, there was a snowman here too.
Comedian Jackie Vernon had a deadpan style that made Frosty's full, instantly-realized,
and semi-befuddled personality completely real and believable.
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The need for strong performances here was crucial,
as the story itself didn't stray much from the song, and the medium chosen
was the so-called "limited animation". Arguably, moreso than in other
productions, the particular talents of these three performers, along with
a supporting cast headed by perennial vocal stars Paul Frees and June Foray,
truly did bring Frosty to life...
Here's one that I think is a bit overlooked these days,
Twas
The Night Before Christmas. I've seen it on the ABC Family
Channel the past couple of years, but severely edited. There does
seem to be a VHS edition out there, but hasn't yet made it to DVD.
Given that it was only designed to fit a half-hour timeslot in 1974, I
suppose that's all to be expected, though. More's the pity.
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Credits line to the contrary, George Gobel handled
the narration chores here as "Father Mouse". At the time, "Lonesome
George" was probably best-known for his appearances on the original version
of "Hollywood Squares", but had been a long-time comedic showbiz veteran.
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Joel Grey, coming off a high-profile Oscar win
for "Cabaret", had the human lead role of Joshua Trundle, a clockmaker
trying to get their little town back on Santa's good side. Trouble
is, his efforts are inadvertently impeded by Father Mouse's son, Albert,
who secretly was responsible for Santa's annoyance with the town.
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And in the category of "Strange Casting", if my
ear correctly matches the cast roster, Tammy Grimes voiced the boy mouse.
"Strange", not so much that a woman portrayed a male character - in fact,
Rocket J. Squirrel, Charlie Brown, Bart Simpson are all famous examples
of gender-crossing that worked. But if memory serves, at about the
same time, Grimes was using her husky voice - and more - in a series of
come-hither mattress commercials. Ok, so maybe it's just me...
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As an aside, this also had the best satirical
line I've ever heard in any Rankin-Bass feature - John McGiver's Mayor
on being told a citizen (Mr. Trundle) wanted to address the town council:
"Citizen? They're not allowed in here. This is Public Property!"
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The severe edit I mentioned earlier was Gobel's
song on the importance of believing with one's heart, not just with one's
head. To my way of thinking, this number was a key to setting up
the resolution. No doubt in my mind that the program suffers for
its omission.
Be that as it may, the young mouse repents his actions
and sets out to make things right.
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Does it work? What do YOU think...???
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Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
has probably the most star-studded lineup of any Rankin-Bass project.
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Start with the legendary Fred Astaire, represented
here most accurately as North Pole mail carrier "S.D. Klueger". Here,
absent the use of his famed dancing ability, Astaire's natural grace and
gentleness shines instead through his voicework.
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In the title role, life-long entertainer Mickey
Rooney. Rooney was literally born into the business, and found success
in nearly every aspect of entertainment. Who better then to portray
the holiday icon from youth through senior citizen?
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Yet another notable player here is Keenan Wynn,
who voices The Winter Warlock, who in this telling is responsible (at least
in part) for creating Santa's magic snowglobe (by which Santa knows if
you've been bad or good), flying reindeer, and Christmas trees. Wynn,
the son of veteran comedian Ed Wynn, had the ability to portray straight
dramatic roles equally as well as playing the Disney comedic heavy, making
him a perfect Warlock...er, Winter, if you please...
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Frankly, though I realize this is a pretty good show,
it's really not on my "A-list" of favorite holiday programs. Good
visuals, catchy tunes (my favorite being "One Step In Front Of The Other"),
solid voicing...but just a bit too heavy-handed in explaining the various
elements of Santa's legend.
Still, it's definitely worth an hour of your time...
All righty then, boys and girls, here now is the big
one...the granddaddy of them all...the "shining light", as it were, of
all shows in the holiday oevre...Rudolph The Red-Nosed
Reindeer.
I can remember certain things before the age of four,
but I cannot remember a childhood Christmas without sitting in front of
the tube, starting intently at Rudolph and company. Yet, it wasn't
till 1964 (ok, so now you math wizards know my age...) that our antlered
misfit first graced the airwaves.
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After all the anticipation of waiting for the
program to come on, and the opening depicting a miserable blizzard...what
a relief to see Sam the Snowman shuffling in, sounding just like Burl Ives.
Don't know why exactly. Maybe it's a grandfatherly
vibe that everything's going to be fine in the end. Except Ives didn't
sound like either of my grandfathers. Whatever...
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As dear to my heart as this show is, I must confess
that the "political correctness" movement inadvertently ruined it for me.
Let me tell you, I was really annoyed by that circumstance,
which lasted a few years.
The idea that Santa, of all people, could be so pin-headed
as to reject Rudolph as a potential sleight team member merely because
of his nose rankled me no end.
On the other hand, the chief elf was pretty dense,
so the Hermey-bashing wasn't so surprising...
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Once the non-PC clarity of thought returned, I
realized that they pretty much had to use Santa in that not-so-favorable
light to get to the payoff of acceptance of those who are different from
us. Which in itself might be just a little bit PC...how's that for
irony...?
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But really, any "messages" are just a plus here.
The imagery is quintessential Christmas. The music is perfect in
tone with both the holiday and the theme of the program. The balance
of suspense and sweetness is perfectly blended...oh, let's face it, this
is one I just can't be particularly critical of. It's a keeper.
For more on Rankin/Bass programs, you may wish to check
out rankinbass.com
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