The Man Called Flintstone(1966) starring the voice talents of Alan Reed, Mel Blanc, Harvey Korman
One of my favorite childhood movies was The Man Called Flintstone. Released after the end of the original TV series, it uses the well-worn plot line of Fred being an identical duplicate of some “important” person. In this case, secret agent Rock Slagg. Slagg’s boss, Chief Mountmore, decides to use Fred to complete Slagg’s mission. To capture of the evil criminal genius, the Green Goose (voiced with glee by Harvey Korman) …. Before he can take over the world.
Gay Purr-ee (1962) starring Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, Red Buttons, Paul Frees
Gay Purr-ee is often remembered as the animated cartoon with the voice of Judy Garland …. But it’s quite frankly a lot more than that. It takes a simple story: The farm girl who runs away to the big city in search of happiness, only to find that she was truly happy back home after all. And tells it in the setting of a musical, with the main characters all being cats.
Son of Batman (2014) starring the voice talents of Jason O’Mara, Stuart Allan, Thomas Gibson,Morena Baccarin, Giancarlo Esposito, Sean Maher
Sadly, this is less of a review, and more of a warning, about Son of Batman. While watching Son of Batman, my children and I laughed out loud multiple times — but not during the comedy moments. In short, it’s a bad movie, which is too bad, since the source material is quite good, and the various actors and actresses have proven themselves to be better than this in other performances.
The Daydreamer (1966), starring Hayley Mills, Tallulah Bankhead, Burl Ives, Victor Borge, Terry-Thomas, Ed Wynn, Patty Duke, Ray Bolger, Boris Karloff, Margaret Hamilton, Cyril Ritchard, Jack Gilford
Product Description
The Daydreamer, experience one of Rankin-Bass’ best-loved theatrical movies, filmed in an enchanting combination of live-action and stop-motion animation, as young Hans Christian Andersen daydreams his way to adventure through his most famous fairy tales. In ‘The Little Mermaid’ everyone’s favorite girl of the sea (Hayley Mills) must triumph over the evil Sea Witch (Tallulah Bankhead) with a little help from Father Neptune (Burl Ives). In ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ a pair of villainous tailors (Victor Borge and Terry-Thomas) create a surprising new outfit for a gullible king (Ed Wynn). The fun continues with Patty Duke as Thumbelina, Ray Bolger as The Pieman, Boris Karloff as a sinister rat, Margaret Hamilton as the mean Mrs. Klopplebobbler, and much more in this timeless kids’ classic.
Editorial review of The Daydreamer courtesy of Amazon.com
Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971), starring Danny Kaye, Vincent Price, Paul Frees
Editorial review of Here Comes Peter Cottontail courtesy of Amazon.com
Have you ever wished for a classic Easter special to show your kids? Here Comes Peter Cottontail is a Rankin & Bass production that bears a marked similarity to the beloved Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. Narrator Seymour S. Sassafrass, voiced and sung by Danny Kaye, takes young viewers on a tour of the mythical April Valley and relates the story of how Peter Cottontail almost failed in his quest to become Chief Easter Bunny. Sassafrass peers into his magic egg, and viewers are introduced to Peter Cottontail–a spunky, ingenious young rabbit who is boastful, is prone to fibbing, and lacks a sense of responsibility.
In order to become Chief Easter Bunny, Peter Cottontail must defeat the evil Irontail (Vincent Price) in a contest to deliver the most eggs on Easter Sunday. Through his trials, Peter Cottontail discovers the value of ingenuity, the importance of placing duty before pleasure, and the folly of self-conceit. Here Comes Peter Cottontail features catchy songs, great 1970s stop-motion animation, and a fun Easter tale. Parents will find themselves reminiscing over holidays gone by or wondering how they missed this show in their own childhood. The 2 and up crowd will be begging for another showing long after the Easter candy is a distant memory
The Thief and the Cobbler, starring Vincent Price, Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Beals, Clive Revill, Jonathan Winters
Editorial review of The Thief and the Cobbler courtesy of Amazon.com
Directed by Oscar-winning animator Richard Williams (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), The Thief and the Cobbler began production in 1968, so it actually predates 1992’s Aladdin. Also known as The Princess and the Cobbler and Arabian Knight, Fred Calvert completed the film after Williams lost the rights to his dream project. Narrated by Matthew Broderick (replacing Sean Connery) as Tack the Cobbler, the CinemaScope-shot story takes place in ancient Baghdad. When Tack upsets Zigzag the Vizier (Vincent Price), the wizard drags him off to the royal castle, where Princess Yum Yum (Jennifer Beals) falls for the bashful boy and saves him from execution. Unfortunately, Zigzag plans to marry the princess in order to succeed her father, King Nod (Clive Revill). The Thief (Jonathan Winters), meanwhile, is more interested in gold than love and takes off with the protective orbs topping the palace. Read More »The Thief and the Cobbler
Review of the animated film Planet Hulk – where the Hulk is banished by his friends to deep space, and ends up leading a revolution against the Red King
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2: Revenge of the Leftovers
Flint Lockwood: My name is Flint Lockwood. My whole life I wanted to be a great inventor. Just like my hero.
There’s a saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2: Revenge of the Leftovers proves that in spades. The basic problem with the film is that the central conflict — nerdy scientist Flint Lockwood seeks approval from a father figure — is exactly the same as in the original film. Only the father figure has changed.
Hotel Transylvania (2012) starring Adam Sandler, Selina Gomez, Andy Samberg, Kevin James
Hotel Transylvania aims at a juvenile audience. Complete with the fart jokes and low humor that we’ve come to expect from Adam Sandler. And that’s a real pity. It’s actually a much better film than that.