#Arthur Rankin Jr.

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[pierppasolini]

Jack Frost (1979) // dir. Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass

[cinematitlecards]

"Frosty The Snowman" (1969) Directed by Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr. (Animated/Comedy/Fantasy/Christmas) . . "Frosty Returns" (1992) Directed by Evert Brown & Bill Melendez (Animated/Comedy/Fantasy/Christmas)

[tigermousse]

The Last Unicorn (1982) dir. Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Pinocchio's Christmas (1980)

Pinocchio’s Christmas takes Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel and gives it a holiday twist. The results work surprisingly well. Though the songs are lousy and the animation brings up certain issues I’d never even thought of before, its short running time, combined with the good-natured story and heartwarming message allow it to squeak by and make it worth watching… if you happen upon it playing on TV.

When poor woodcarver Geppetto (voiced by George S. Irving) sculpted a wooden puppet from a log, he never expected it to come to life. Despite his best efforts, "Pinocchio” (voiced by Todd Porter) gets himself into all sorts of trouble as the Christmas season draws near.

Pinocchio’s story naturally ties itself to Christmas. He's a toy, brought to life through a miracle, he needs to learn to differentiate right from wrong, etc. Here, Geppetto wants to buy a Christmas present for his wooden son and Pinocchio wants to reciprocate. Led astray by The Fox and The Cat (Allen Swift and Pat Bright) Pinocchio goes on the same sort of adventures as he did in the novel: dismissing the Talking Cricket (Bob McFadden) that wants to give him advice, working in a puppet theater owned by Maestro Fire-Eater (Alan King), skipping school to earn money in a way that’s way too easy to be true, etc. Meanwhile, the fairy Lady Azura (Diane Leslie) watches from a distance. If finding your pops a great gift for December 25th isn’t the mark of being a good boy, I don’t know what is. It may even even be enough to earn Pinocchio the right to become a REAL boy! The solution to Pinocchio’s dilemma is a good one, particularly for little kids, who can’t exactly go to the store and buy their parents something nice.

Though the stop-motion animation is fine for a TV movie of the early 80s (really, it’s much more reminiscent of something you would’ve seen in the 60s), I’m not sure how well-suited this visual choice is for a Pinocchio story. See, Pinocchio is a puppet, and so is everyone else. He stands apart from the other characters if you look at his elbows and knees but it’s an odd effect. The initial knee-jerk reaction you have could've been reduced if everyone but the protagonist had received sewn hair instead of painted hair, or some other visual cue that they’re real and he’s not. Geppetto’s design is particularly distracting because he has those lines running down the sides of his mouth like a ventriloquist dummy. In certain scenes, he looks faker than his artificial son does!

Any issues the film might have are specks of dust compared to the dreadful songs. The same words are rhymed over and over, which makes them easy to sing along with and memorable but these earworms are the kind that will dig into your skull and start taking big chunks out of your brain. I’ll take the Ninja Turtles’ rendition of 12 Days of Christmas a dozen times if I never have to hear Pinocchio singing Dancin’ or The Fox and The Cat telling me all about It’s the Truth again.

The ending of Pinocchio’s Christmas seems to imply that it could fit somewhere in The New Adventures of Pinocchio series but I’d bet a whole money tree that the continuity wouldn’t line up, particularly with the “love interest” introduced for the protagonist. Nonetheless, if you enjoyed the series (maybe you caught it when it originally aired during the '60s or on syndication) it’s worth checking out as a companion piece. For the rest, I can also give this film/TV special a mild recommendation. Despite the awful soundtrack, the kindhearted message at its core is nice and the plot is occasionally clever. (On VHS, December 19, 2021)

[cigarette-smoke-noir]

Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971)

Today on the list of things I have a vague recollection of, a lesser known Rankin Bass production. I can see why this didn't stick around as a family tradition in my house. Vincent Price delivers a great performance as Irontail and Casey Kasem is trying his best with what he's given as Peter, but ultimately this feels like a movie that hates its own holiday as Peter and friends zig-zag through other holidays.

Still nice sets, and I like Irontail's design in particular.

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[cinesludge]

Movie #9 of 2023: The Hobbit

[ink-asunder]

Okay, but in the Rankin-Bass version of A Christmas Carol when Tiny Tim falls and Scrooge goes "He's falling!! I must catch him!" and the spirit of christmas present says "You cannot."

[365days365movies]

For the record, if you've never seen this film...it's a weird one. Like, not in a bad way, necessarily, but for a Christmas film...it's a weird one. It's based off a book by L. Frank Baum, the creator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the associated literary universe. So, think that flavor of fantastical and eccentric. It's also the last stop-motion Rankin-Bass film ever made, and might have crashed that part of the industry permanently for them? Either way, it's definitely a movie to watch at least one time. At least. Trust me on that one.

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Want more Rankin Bass? Try these on for size!

The Hobbit (Recap Part 1 | 2 | 3 | Review) The Last Unicorn (Recap Part 1 | 2 | Review)

The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (1985)  

[letterboxd | imdb]

Director: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin, Jr.

Studio: Rankin/Bass Productions & Pacific Animation Corporation

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[pierppasolini]

Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) // dir. Arthur Rankin, jr., Jules Bass

[cinematitlecards]

"Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" (1970) Directed by Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr. (Animated/Adventure/Fantasy/Christmas)

[tigermousse]

The Last Unicorn (1982) dir. Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.

[glimeres]

Christmas at 54 Below - James Monroe Iglehart and Javier Muñoz perform The Snow Miser Song / The Heat Miser Song from the animated movie The Year Without a Santa Claus