Animation Celebration Saturday - Heidi's Song

Paramount/Hanna-Barbara, 1982
Voices of Margary Gray, Lorne Greene, Roger DeWitt, and Sammy Davis Jr.
Directed by Robert Taylor
Music by Burton Lane; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

Having done relatively well with Charlotte's Web, Hanna-Barbara decided to move ahead with another adaptation of a classic children's novel about a little girl and her animal friends. Heidi's Song began production as early as 1976, but Joseph Barbara wanted to improve the quality, and it kept getting pushed back. By the time it finally made it out, elaborate Disney-esque animated musicals were out of style, and it was a box-office failure. Does this retelling of the story of the Swiss girl who manages to charm almost everyone she comes in contact with deserve better? Let's begin with a trip to the Swiss Alps as Heidi (Gray) and her Aunt Dede (Virginia Gregg) make their way up the mountains and find out...

The Story: Heidi's aunt brings her to live with her grouchy grandfather (Greene) in his cabin in the Alps. He's not fond of her at first, until he hurts his leg when a tree falls on it and she takes care of him. She's easily makes friends with everyone, from the goats on the path to Peter (DeWitt) who attends to them. Aunt Dede eventually returns and takes her to the city to be a companion to a little girl named Klara (Pamela Ferdyn) who can't walk. Klara's servants Frouline Rottemeyer (Joan Gerber) and Sebastian (Fritz Feld) don't understand her simple country ways and often punish her, but Klara thinks she's hilarious. After they lock Heidi in the basement, it's Heidi's friends, new and old, to the rescue. With the help of Klara, they free her and return her home to her grandfather and her beloved mountains.

The Animation: Only slightly ahead of Charlotte's Web. On one hands, there's some lush and colorful backgrounds, especially during the numbers in the Alps. Joseph Barbara's push for quality didn't quite help with some other aspects. A great deal of the animation is obviously reused from shot to shot, especially that of the animals.

The Song and Dance: I remember watching this from time to time on cable when I was a kid and mostly enjoying it. It actually holds up much better than I expected. Greene's a decent gruff old grandfather, and Ferdyn (who also played Fern in Charlotte's Web) is a lovely, lively Klara. Gerber and Feld have a high old time as the villains who think they're above Heidi's country ways. The music in particular is very well done. Sammy Davis Jr. revels in his brief scene-stealing role as the king of the rats.

Favorite Number: The cheer-up ballad "An Armful of Sunshine" turns up twice, first as Grandfather is happily describing his relationship with Heidi, then as Willie the coal delivery man (Michael Bell) describes his feelings for the lovely maid Tinette (Janet Waldo) in the city. Grandfather also gets the title song twice, first as he realizes his feelings for his sweet granddaughter, then in heartbreak when she's taken away. Klara performs "Imagine" during a sequence in a ballroom where she dreams of being able to dance with a handsome prince of her own. Davis Jr. steals the movie wholesale with his brassy "Ode to a Rat" in the basement as he struts his stuff to remind the rats that they're not man's best friend.

What I Don't Like: I wish they hadn't rushed the story so much, especially in the first half. Heidi makes far more friends in city and country alike in the book and other movie versions. Frauline Rottenmeyer was nasty to Heidi in the book (though not quite to this degree), but Sebastian was originally her friend and confidante. Several sequences seem to be there just to show off the animation or the music. "Imagine," Davis Jr.'s number, and a sequence in the beginning where Heidi has a nightmare about all the spirits of the mountains trying to take her away from her grandfather are nicely shot, but have little or nothing to do with the plot. Willie and Tintette are pretty much only there to be the generic young couple and add nothing to the plot, either. And why do only the rats talk? All the other animals in the movie are treated realistically, but the rats are done in a more cartoony style and are the only ones with voices.

The Big Finale: It may not be the best animated film of the 80's, but it's still a sweet little movie with some nice performances and lovely music that deserves to be far better-known.

Home Media: The DVD is available via the Warner Archives. The streaming service Vudu currently has it for free, which is how I saw it.

DVD
Vudu