Rankin-Bass

I noticed that there is no thread about one of the most memorable animation studios of the 20th century. Time to rectify that.

Talk about anything Rankin Bass ever did, whether it be their well-known, perennially popular Christmas specials, or such classic films as Mad Monster Party or The Last Unicorn.

Okay, let's talk about ThunderCats. How does the show hold up overall?

You know, I've never seen Thundercats and I don't really have the desire to, but I'm weirdly happy knowing that the voice of Snarf also did the classic "I'm a Mummy" record.

Which brings me to my next point... Am I really the only one here who's seen Mad Monster Party? Really?

I saw it. Also Jackson Five and Kid Power. Also the Wonderful Wizard of Oz cartoons. Not to mention the Christmas specials.

How far back do you go, man?

It's good to find that someone else has seen Mad Monster Party.

Bumped, mainly because I thought of watching The Last Unicorn...

Jeezis, wotta wonderful film it is... With such great theme music...

I used to watch Thundercats on Cartoon Network back in the day.

My favorite special when I was younger was Santa Claus is Comin' to Town because of the memorable characters and catchy songs. I also I like Frosty the Snowman for the animation, designs and music.

I've watched Thundercats at various periods of my life (the first when it originally aired) and I have to say that it played the best for me when I was 9. It was a very ambitious show, and it really stands out as an adventure cartoon of the '80's, but it also had a number of storytelling problems,, in my opinion. It wasn't perfect, but it's definitely worth looking at if you've never seen it. The opening animation is a joy to behold. Silverhawks is great for that, too.

Flight of Dragons is another favorite of mine, from Rankin Bass. Really, quite good.

Have you ever seen Mad Monster Party, I wonder?

Never seen Flight of Dragons. Will have to see if I ever find it.

I've never seen all of it. I saw bits of it when it aired on TCM once (back when I got TCM). It was definitely interesting.

If you're buying it, you can get Flight of Dragons from Warner Archive. It might be on Youtube, but I don't know for sure.

I can tell you it's definitely worth your time. It's the epitome of the monster chic trend of the 60s.

The script was by Harvey Kurtzman; the character design work by Jack Davis, so you know it's going to be good. And it has Boris Karloff in one of his few animated roles. Oh, and the musical numbers are all really really good. And I'm not even going to spoil the ending...

I have a friend who swears by the film. He also swears by The Last Unicorn. He has never seen The Daydreamer, though.

edited 18th Apr '16 10:30:45 AM by Aldo930

Tammy Grimes, who played Molly Grue in The Last Unicorn, died two days ago. In recognition of her talent, here's her best scene in that movie:

It's in regrettably bad quality, sad to say, but not even bad quality can damper the scene.

^She was a great actress.

The Last Unicorn needs more love, dangit. It's just so beautiful, and the characters are amazing...It really annoys me that people shrug it off as "bad" or treat as another dumb "wannabe Disney" film ala Swan Princess when it's nothing like that.

I can't think of anyone who gave a bad performance in the film, myself.

The Last Unicorn cult is pretty big, but it could stand to be bigger, I think.

I've never heard anyone refer to the film as "wannabe Disney," myself; that'd just prove they never saw it.

edited 5th Nov '16 8:22:48 PM by Aldo930

I know one, but he's a dumb nerd with horrible tastes who knows nothing of cinema, how to treat women, and fashion/beauty so I'd guess we better ignore him.

Back to Last Unicorn...I like a lot the character of the Unicorn/Amalthea, she's kinda unique among female characters but she leaves an impact on me I guess. Her sadness is kinda relatable.

As for Rankin Bass, I thought their Return of the King was pretty good. It was cut in some parts, yes, but they understood the themes and ideas of Tolkien, so I give them points for it.

edited 5th Nov '16 8:31:22 PM by Redmane

What do guys like that know about quality?

I've always thought The Last Unicorn, the film, was one of the few works for children that operated very well on an adult level. Not a work for children that an adult can enjoy, but one that works on an adult as well as a children's level.

I know a few people who think Brother Theodore was the best Gollum and that the Rankin Bass Hobbit is better than anything Peter Jackson did with the book.

edited 5th Nov '16 8:36:09 PM by Aldo930

Dunno, we're talking here about a guy that thinks the Disney Sequels are actually good movies...

May the Lord have mercy on his soul...

I agree that there's something about Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass and their animators that fits so very well with Tolkien's works. It's like the character were carved from thousand-year-old oak trees and given life. Those expressive eyes, those knobby noses, those glorious wrinkles. In fact, I could swear those animators are actual hobbits.

And WesternAnimation.The Last Unicorn fits that style so very well, too. It's high fantasy with a goodly dose of Character Development. The only thing that bothers me about Unicorn is that, according to folklore, a unicorn can negate magic, good and bad. Wizards and witches are rendered powerless when a unicorn is near, supposedly. Regardless, that small studio made some fine work out of what little they had.

Hmm, do you think so? I always felt that magic in Unicorn was treated as an extra element/part of nature, like water or fire. So, it's kinda logical that magicians can't control it, since it's not a part of them.

I read a fantasy book once that had a similar idea; that magic is part of the earth, more or less, and unicorns can connect to it and use it only when they connect to it. Sorta like how electricity works when you connect a toaster or something.

The animation was done in Japan, so... (Of course, nowadays you'd expect New Zealanders to be hobbits.)

I've never thought that The Last Unicorn delved from high fantasy so much as it came out of the fairy tale tradition. It's sort of a fairytale novel, really.

The only magician we really meet in the story isn't really the greatest wizard, though.

Yeah, it deliberately plays with a number of fairy-tale/ medieval romance tropes. I wouldn't call it "high fantasy" either. The stakes are entirely personal, for one thing; a few in the world noticed that unicorns were missing, but they'd moved on just fine.

We do meet one other wizard, though (Mabruk?), the guy who's working for Haggard when the party gets there ("You let you're doom in through the front door, but it will not leave that way!"). We're given to understand that other wizards have less trouble manipulating magic, and Schmendrick is just...um...special. The book explains it more thoroughly, in that we find out that Schmendrick's first teacher determined that his power was very complex and hard to understand, and cast a spell over Schmendrick to make him immortal until he could work out how to use it (which he does, by the end).

Now that 'tis officially the season...

Tropers - What is your favorite Rankin Bass Christmas special?

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July is my favorite.

I have a lot of nostalgia for Rudolph's Shiny New Year, though on repeat viewings it's kinda annoying how the supporting cast has literally no effect on the plot at all. That said, I always loved the design for Rudolph's puppet in this and Rudolph and Frosty.

The original Frosty the Snowman is a cute one and I love the animation style in it and other R-B specials. It's thanks to that I can find some enjoyment in...dang, I can't remember the title. It was the one about a town building a clock to welcome Santa. The message in that is pretty messed up, but the animation's adorable.

Of course, Santa Clause is Coming to Town is classic. Metal Gear Santa. XD Also kinda appreciated the odd bittersweetness to the whole thing, which is also something I liked in Jack Frost. The latter's steampunk badguys were also a cool visual.

And who can forget The Year Without a Santa Clause? Honestly, which easily has the best musical number in their entire catalog? XD (Actually, Turn Back the Years is my favorite song from an R-B special, but it's hard to argue that Meat Miser and Snow Miser's numbers are the most fun)

The one with the mice and the clock tower was 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.