Animation Celebration Saturday - Oliver Twist (1974)

Warner Bros/Filmation, 1974

Voices of Josh Albee, Jane Webb, Les Tremayne, and Davy Jones

Directed by Hal Sutherland

Music and Lyrics by Sherry Gaden and Richard Canada 

Filmation began in 1963 as a two-person outfit. By the late 60's, they had their first major hits with a series of cartoons revolving around DC superheroes and characters from Archie comics. They were known for their low-cost animation that usually revolved around a property popular with kids. Oliver Twist was the first of their two musical retellings of classical British literature. How does it compare with the better-known live action film from 1968? Let's begin with the birth of the title character and find out...

The Story: Oliver (Albee) lives in a workhouse in the mid-19th century, where he's treated little better than a slave. After he asks for more to eat, he's sent to become the apprentice to an undertaker. When the undertaker beats him unfairly, he runs away to London. 

He's taken in by a street gang led by the mischievous Artful Dodger (Jones) and crafty thief Fagin (Tremayne). Oliver's caught on his first job, but is rescued from jail the man the gang tried to rob, Mr. Brownlow (Phil Clark). Mr. Brownlow and his nurse take Oliver in and nurse him back to health. The gang isn't done with him, though. Big Bill Sykes (Michael Evans) in particular is worried the boy will tattle on them. His girl Nancy (Webb) is fond of the boy and is more determined to protect him.

The Animation: About on par with the Filmation TV shows of the time...which means the characters move somewhat stiffly, but there's some exquisite London backdrops. The mean streets are done in attractive deep blues and purples, bringing more life to Oliver's gritty world than the bland cartoony characters do. 

The Song and Dance: There's some decent performances here, along with those lovely backdrops and a few ok songs. I'm actually surprised at how well they stuck to the original story...up to and including Nancy and Bill Sykes' fates. They aren't shown, but that might actually make them even more effective, especially with the young. They even manage to get in some of Oliver's more convoluted backstory. 

Favorite Number: The film opens with the dreamy ballad "Once Upon a Time" over the credits. The first actual number is the Bumble (Leslie D. Mann)'s dreary orders for the boys to "Work, Work, Work." Oliver asks his new frog friend Squeaker "Who's Afraid of Ghosts?" when he's shut up with the coffins. The Artful Dodger claims to be a "Man About Town" as he shows Oliver all around London. Fagin insists that "It's Just a Game" and they're not stealing, only having a little fun. He and his boys perform the title number as they search for Oliver literally all over London, from Big Ben to the mean streets. 

Trivia: Warner Bros was so disappointed with test screenings, they barely released it. It turned up later on NBC as an "NBC Special Treat."

What I Don't Like: The additional animal sidekicks - Oliver's buddy Squeaker the Frog, Sykes' dog Bulldog, and Fagin's bird crew - are standard procedure for most Filmation TV adaptations, but completely unnecessary here other than a few mildly amusing gags. Nancy's breathy ballad "If You Should Leave" is dull and too romantic for a woman singing about a sick boy she barely knows, and sounds way too modern for the 19th century. Most of the characters are barely shadows of their originals; Fagin in particular comes off more as a tired old man than a randy thief. 

The Big Finale: In the end, this is really for only major fans of Jones, Filmation, or 70's animation. Anyone else would probably be better off looking up the Oscar-winning 1968 live-action film.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, often for under 10 dollars. 

DVD

Amazon Prime (Buy Only)

Anything Goes (1956)

Paramount, 1956

Starring Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, and Zizi Jeanmaire

Directed by Robert Lewis

Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter and others

After the blockbuster success of White Christmas in 1954, Paramount wanted another big Crosby musical with VistaVision, Technicolor, and a fluffy romantic comedy plot. Once again, we have the basic plot of two women falling for smooth Crosby and his goofy comedian partner. With the original Anything Goes now playing on TV, they dusted off the title, tossed in Porter songs from the stage show and other Porter musicals and a few by other hands, and turned it all into the story of two men who sign a pair of very different dancers for one big role. How does this look today? Let's begin with partners Bill Benson (Crosby) and Ted Adams (O'Connor) as they go to nightclubs to watch two lovely dancers and find out...

The Story: Bill is so impressed by sassy American nightclub dancer Patsy Blair (Gaynor), he signs her to a contract right away. He has no idea Ted's smitten by the lovely and willowy French ballerina Gaby Duval (Jeanmaire) and hires her for the same part. All four end up sailing back to New York on the same cruise ship, along with Patsy's gambler father Steve (Phil Harris). They end up falling for the girl the other wanted for the show, Bill with Gaby and Ted with Patsy...but now they have to tell them they may not get the part after all...

The Song and Dance: If nothing else, we do get some songs that didn't make it into the 1936 version. O'Connor has a great time, and he pairs nicely with smart Gaynor. Paramount has fun with the colorful shipboard setting, including numbers that make use of the decks and gym rooms. The 50's couture is just stunning, especially some of Gaby's frocks on board. 

Favorite Number: Ted and Bill meet up to show everyone how you "Gotta Give the People Hoke," even if big rubber noses and burning firemen's hats are considered passe by critics. Gaynor's joined by the chorus for the bright, brassy title number in red and gold with lots of lace fans. "You're the Top" is just as much fun here as in the 1936 film and is beautifully filmed to fill out the wide screen. Each couple sings part of the number in adjoining gym rooms, separate but together. 

"It's De-Lovely" becomes a sweet dance routine for Gaynor and O'Connor as they glide all around the top deck and smokestack. The gorgeous ballad "All Through the Night" that was cut in '36 finally makes it in as Bing's big romantic solo. An instrumental version becomes a dream ballet for Gaby and the chorus as she imagines herself a star among sailors and easily-influenced teens in the big city. O'Connor soothes his broken heart by reminding a group of kids playing with balls that "You Can Bounce Right Back." The movie ends with a bizarre rendition of "Blow Gabriel Blow," as the leads and the chorus in top hats perform against a fiery backdrop.

What I Don't Like: This has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the stage Anything Goes besides a few Cole Porter songs. At least the '36 movie used most of the original plot, a few of the songs, and the general air of wackiness. This isn't "anything goes." It's standard Busby Berkeley backstage romantic comedy cliches. The plot is bland fluff with all the bite of stale cotton candy, the new songs are dull, Porter's lyrics are even more whitewashed than they were in '36, and Jeanmaire and Crosby have no chemistry. No wonder it would be Bing's last movie for Paramount, his home studio since the early 30's. 

The Big Finale: Crosby and O'Connor had far more fun together when O'Connor was a kid in Sing You Sinners. This is only for the most ardent fans of the cast or Porter. All others are recommended to look up the better numbers online and skip the rest. 

Home Media: The DVD is in print, but hard to find and expensive when it does appear, and it doesn't seem to be on streaming. Check used venues. 

DVD

Anything Goes (1936)

Paramount, 1936

Starring Ethel Merman, Bing Crosby, Ida Lupino, and Charlie Ruggles

Directed by Lewis Milestone

Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter and others

This week, we're going on an ocean cruise with two very different versions of this beloved Cole Porter show. Anything Goes debuted on Broadway in 1934 and was an instant sensation, thanks to one of Porter's best scores and the performance of Ethel Merman as belting evangelist Reno Sweeney. Merman carried over to this lavish movie version, joined by Crosby and Oscar-winning director Milestone. How does this shipboard story of girls, gags, and gangsters fare nowadays? Let's begin at a nightclub with Sweeney (Merman) and Wall Street broker Billy Crocker (Crosby) as she explains she's ready to take a cruise and find out...

The Story: Billy is supposed to get off the ship and return to work, but he's smitten by the beautiful heiress Hope Harcourt (Lupino) and stays onboard. Hope, however, is a runaway who is being returned to her father by her hopelessly naive English fiance Sir Evelyn Oakleigh (Arthur Treacher). Even worse than that, Billy learns that his boss Mr. Whitney (Robert McWade) is also on the cruise. Reno helps him find increasingly outlandish disguises to avoid being discovered.

Meanwhile, Billy and Reno also befriend the Reverend Dr. Moon (Ruggles) and his assistant Bonnie LaTour (Grace Bradley). Dr. Moon is actually "Moonface," the 13th most wanted criminal in America, and Bonnie is the wife of Snake Eyes, the #1 most wanted. When they're discovered, everyone thinks Billy is a gangster, too. Reno tries everything she can think of to make Captain McPhail (Matt Moore) believe that Billy's no gangster, but it takes the big finale for everything to really come to light.

The Song and Dance: I do give them credit for more-or-less adopting the story as it was in the original show, with only a few minor details changed. That didn't always happen in early Broadway transfers. Milestone manages some nice touches, including the unique ending with Moonface looking through the Paramount camera with Evelyn and Reno on one side, Hope and Billy on the other. Merman's having the most fun by far repeating her Broadway role as the brassiest evangelist on the high seas; Crosby also has fun with the many changes and wacky disguises he ends up in. Treacher has a few good gags as the good-natured nobleman, too.

Favorite Number: Merman opens things with the title song, or at least the first line, over the credits, then reminding Crosby that "I Get a Kick Out of You" coming out of the ceiling on a swing at the nightclub. Four sailors play musical instruments together, reminding each other why "There'll Always Be a Lady Fair" in a charming routine by The Avalon Boys Quartet. Crosby joins them - or tries to hide among them - to help them paint portholes and remind in a reprise. He sings "Sailor Beware" from the crow's nest. He's definitely getting a "Moonburn" as he shows off for Hope on deck. The lyrics may be different, but Crosby and Merman still have a blast mugging their way through "You're the Top" anyway, even with Crosby's home-made beard. 

Trivia: Anything Goes debuted on Broadway in 1934 and was an instant sensation, running over a year. It did four months in London in 1935. The show's been back to New York three times, as an off-Broadway version in 1962 and two smash-hit revivals in 1987 and 2011. A London revival in 2021 did so well, it's returned after touring and is running at press time. It's also extremely popular with regional theaters on both sides of the Atlantic looking for something light-hearted and naughty. 

One of two times Ethel Merman repeated her Broadway role on film. (The other was Call Me Madam from 1953.)

WC Fields was replaced by Charlie Ruggles just before filming began. 

Most TV copies now run it under the title Tops Is the Limit, which is what Paramount called it when they released it to television while their 1956 Anything Goes was in theaters. 

What I Don't Like: The soft-spoken, effeminate Ruggles does seem like an odd choice for a gangster, even a harmless one. He's a bit miscast, as is Ida Lupino in an early role. With all of Hope's ballads eliminated, Lupino has nothing to do but look haughty and play the damsel in distress. Only four songs were retained from Porter's classic score, and two of them were heavily rewritten. The lovely ballad "All Through the Night" is only heard as underscoring. Crosby did have a minor hit with "Moonburn" at the time, but to tell the truth, none of the replacement songs are anywhere near as memorable. There's also the two young Chinese students whom are easily duped by gangsters and Moonface, and Reno's big Chinese-themed finale "Shanghai-de-Ho" in outrageously stereotyped Asian costumes. 

The Big Finale: Worth taking a cruise for if you love Merman, Crosby, or Porter and can find it. 

Home Media: At press time, this rarity can only be found on YouTube. 

YouTube

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Tigger Movie

Disney, 2000

Voices of Jim Cummings, Nikita Hopkins, Ken Sansom, and John Fielder

Directed by Jun Falkenstein

Music and Lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman

We depart the sun-drenched isles of Hawaii for a brief detour to the Hundred Acre Woods. By the late 90's, the Pooh franchise was mainly the realm of TV shows and direct-to-video adaptations. And indeed, this was originally supposed to go direct to DVD, until then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner heard the music and thought it deserved a theatrical release. Was he right, or should this be stranded in a snowstorm? Let's begin with Tigger protesting that the movie's about him, not Pooh, and find out...

The Story: Tigger is disappointed when none of his friends want to bounce with him. Trying to find someone to bounce with only ends with him dropping a boulder on Eeyore's house. He does no better attempting to get the boulder off and sends everyone into the lake or a tree. Rabbit angrily scolds him for being careless and reminds him that they aren't Tiggers.

That makes Tigger wonder where all the Tiggers are. Why doesn't he have a family, like Owl or Kanga and Roo? Roo wants him as a big brother, but he's too busy trying to find his relatives after Owl talks about his "family tree." To bolster his spirits, the others write him a letter...but it makes Tigger believe his relatives are coming to visit. His friends dress as his "family" and try to pass as Tiggers, until Tigger catches wise. Now they have to find Tigger out in the snow, before they lose their favorite bouncing buddy. 

The Animation: For the most part, this one sticks with the original visuals as they appeared in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh...and that's as it should be. This is one franchise that doesn't need fancy visuals. There are a few instances of CGI, such as the snowflakes and that big avalanche towards the end, that stick out like sore thumbs. (The snowflakes are particular offenders.)

The Song and Dance: Disney seemed determined to take the Pooh franchise in a somewhat darker direction in the late 90's and early 2000's. Along with the direct-to-video Pooh's Grand Adventure, this is the best of their more "mature" Pooh films from that time. Who knew Tigger could be this heartbreaking, especially when his search for his family proves fruitless midway through the film and after he finds out his friends lied about his family existing. Many people complained about Cummings replacing long-time Tigger voice artist Paul Winchell, but Cummings does just fine. Hopkins is nearly as good playing sweet little Roo, who worships Tigger and just wants a big brother. 

Favorite Number: We open, of course, with Cummings reprising Tigger's signature "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" as he requests a movie focusing on him. He admits that he longs to bounce with "Someone Like Me" after the others turn down his requests to bounce with him. Roo's the only taker, leading him to teach the little Joey the powerful "Whoop-De-Dooper Bounce" that sends them rocketing all over his living room. "Pooh's Lullabee" is a charming lullaby Pooh sings to put the bee to sleep, so he can gather honey. 

Tigger tells the others about great Tiggers through history "'Round My Family Tree" in a wild, surreal routine that has him oddly making several pop culture references. The others teach each other "How to Be a  Tigger" and behave like his real family when they're getting ready for the party. Kenny Loggins collaborated on (and performed) the heartfelt ballad "Your Heart Will Lead Me Home" over the end credits.

Trivia: Paul Winchell was supposed to play Tigger, but the studio thought his voice was too raspy. He was dropped and ended up retiring in 1999.

The Sherman Brothers' first Disney movie since Bedknobs and Broomsticks in 1971 and the first theatrical Pooh film since the short A Day for Eeyore in 1983. 

What I Don't Like: This actually feels a little too dark for the Pooh franchise at times. That avalanche near the end does give Tigger and Roo a reason to work together and be heroes, but it also seems out of place in the gentle world of the Hundred Acre Woods. Not to mention, there's some very emotional scenes for this franchise, with Roo upset that Tigger won't be his brother and Tigger spending half the movie utterly despairing over not having a family. You may want to offer a hand to your littlest ones to hold during these sequences. And frankly, the moral about your family being the ones you love, not just your actual family unit, is put across with all the subtlety of Tigger's Whoop-De-Dooper Bounce.

The Big Finale: One of the better Pooh films, particularly if you or your children are fans of Tigger and/or Roo.

Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming; is on Disney Plus with a subscription.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Disney Plus

Song of the Islands

20th Century Fox, 1942

Starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Jack Oakie, and Thomas Mitchell

Directed by Walter Lang

Music and Lyrics by various

Our second Hawaiian trip this week takes us from Honolulu to the mythical island of Ahmi-Oni. Grable had just scored a major hit with another vacation musical, Moon Over Miami, in 1941. Fox was so delighted, they rushed her into this one. How does the story of a father-son duo who falls for both tropical living and the daughter of an Irish landowner look nowadays? Let's begin with the return of Eileen O'Brian (Grable) to the island after she's been away at school and find out...

The Story: Eileen is reunited with her father Dennis (Mitchell) and old family friend Paola (Hilo Hattie). She's not as happy when sailor Jeff Harper (Mature) waltzes into her home with his cowboy buddy Rusty (Oakie), trying to buy her father's land to raise cattle. Harper can't bring himself to tell his father Harper Sr. (George Barbier) that he's fallen hard for the charms of the island and of Eileen. Harper Sr. eventually comes to force the O'Brians off their land...but he becomes so smitten with the island's customs and people that he and O'Brian eventually try to get their children to fall in love instead.

The Song and Dance: Grable almost literally glows in this sweet Hawaiian confection. She's absolutely radiant in her grass skirts and pastel leis. Mature has nearly as much fun playing the girl-chasing sailor who falls almost as hard for the island's charms as hers, and Mitchell is hilarious in his first musical as her bumbling father. Love the lush Technicolor scenery, too, much of it actually filmed on location in Hawaii.

Favorite Number: We open with the natives vigorously performing "Down on Ami Ami Oni Oni Isle" for Grable as she returns, and later when she joins in for a native dance. The natives also get a rather nice reworked version of "Hawaiian War Chant" going. Grable hopefully performs "Sing Me a Song of the Islands" as her boat arrives home. Oakie sings "Home On the Range" on a guitar at the Harpers' home; Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiians pick it up later. Oakie also sings "What's Buzzin', Cousin?" at Paola's house during dinner. 

Hilo Hattie has a great time tearing into her solo "The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakaiai" at the St. Patrick's Day party in the finale. The film ends with the unique Irish-Hawaiian mix number "O'Brian's Gone Hawaiian," as Grable and the chorus amusingly cross a tap routine with traditional hula dancing.

What I Don't Like: I definitely don't appreciate how the natives are treated here. Not only is Hilo Hattie the only actual Hawaiian in the entire cast, but they're all either looked at condescendingly or played for laughs. Rusty treats Paola like the dirt under his shoe, and not just because she's trying too hard. There's her uncle, too, an annoying and ugly pest played by Bill Gilbert who exists to disgust the audience and annoy Oakie. Not to mention, neither the songs nor the story are in any way distinguished or all that interesting.

The Big Finale: Fun bit of nonsense if you're a fan of Grable or looking for pleasant background noise for an hour or so.

Home Media: DVD only from the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives. 

DVD

Honolulu

MGM, 1939

Starring Robert Young, Eleanor Powell, George Burns, and Gracie Allen

Directed by Edward Buzzell

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Gus Kahn

This week, we take a tropical vacation to romantic Hawaii for two classic musicals. This one came out right as war broke out in Europe and wealthy Americans turned from the South Rivera to other fabulous beaches to get some fun in the sun. At this point, Hawaii was a protectorate of the US, and not nearly the exotic haven of fruity cocktail drinks and Elvis songs it would be after the war. Bing Crosby visited Hawaii a few years before this, but how does MGM's more polished tropical tale fare? Let's start with the latest film from renown movie star Brooks Mason (Young) and find out...

The Story: Mason is tired of being mobbed and torn to shreds at every premiere and needs a rest. He trades places with George Smith (Young), the co-owner of a pineapple company who looks exactly like him. While Smith goes to New York with Mason's agent Joe Duffy (Burns), Mason takes a boat to Hawaii to meet Smith's fiancee Cecilia Grayson (Rita Johnson). On the boat, he encounters dancer Dorothy March (Powell) and her best friend, daffy Millie DeGrasse (Allen), and is immediately smitten by March. He tries to tell her what's going on, but she doesn't believe him. 

As it turns out, not only does Smith's fiancee want to marry him right away, but he may have embezzled up to $50,000. Meanwhile, Smith is discovering that being a movie star isn't all glamour and plush hotel rooms, either. He's expected to deliver, every day. The two men have to finally convince everyone they're whom they claim to be, before the wrong man gets dragged to the altar. 

The Song and  Dance: Not as authentic as Crosby's 1937 jaunt to Hawaii, but even funnier, thanks to Burns and Allen's antics and some decent musical numbers. Young is so delightfully debonair, he certainly makes you believe he could be a bored movie star on a lark. Allen walks off with the movie as Powell's crazy best friend who first chases Mason, then encourages him to chase Dorothy. She has most of the film's best sequences, including her nutty number with party goers dressed like the Marx Brothers. 

Favorite Number: It takes us nearly 20 minutes to get to the first song, but when we do, it's Allen plucking away at the title number on a ukulele while doing a really cute tap routine with Powell. Powell continues on with the lengthy number, including tapping while jump roping and twirling and jumping over a moving rope. Allen, dressed as Mae West, joins The King's Men in Marx Brothers costumes to show why "The Leader Doesn't Like Music." Powell dons blackface to imitate her idol Bill Robinson tapping to a medley of mostly folk numbers associated with Robinson and African-Americans. Powell even manages to tap while doing a graceful hula with the chorus to "Hola E Pae" and a medley of Hawaiian tunes. 

Trivia: George Burns and Gracie Allen's last movie together, and George's last movie until the 1975 comedy The Sunshine Boys. 

The big "Hola E Pae" hula number would later be edited into the Powell/Red Skelton vehicle I Dood It. 

What I Don't Like: The fluffy story is way too confusing for its own good. They don't really do enough to make the duo look a little different from one another...or make their stories different, either. Powell doesn't really have enough to do beyond her numbers, and not only is George barely seen, but he only has a few lines with Gracie towards the end and barely interacts with her. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson as Mason's valet and Willie Fung as Smith's are annoying stereotypes. Fung's sing-song delivery and tendency to cheerfully backstab his employer doesn't help matters. There's also Powell's blackface routine. She admired Robinson, but while her dance remains good, the blackface may make more than one person uncomfortable. 

The Big Finale: Adorable "B" Musical if you're a fan of Powell, Young, or Burns and Allen or want to try a smaller-scale MGM extravaganza. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD from the Warner Archives and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime

Musicals on TV - Alice In Wonderland (1999)

NBC/Hallmark, 1999

Starring Tina Majorino, Martin Short, Miranda Richardson, and Whoopi Goldberg

Directed by Nick Willing

Music by Richard Hartley; Lyrics by Peter Barnes and Lewis Carroll

This adaptation was a big deal when it debuted in February 1999. NBC heavily advertised it in the weeks leading up to its debut. I wasn't the only one who was excited about it, either. Half the residents of my dorm  had it on; I remember hearing at least one boy yell "It's Willy Wonka!" during the Mock Turtle sequence. Does this musical version of the beloved novels still work, or should it be put on trial with the Knave of Hearts (Jason Fleyming)? Let's begin with Alice (Majorino) and an enormous metronome in her mind and find out...

The Story: Alice is supposed to sing "Cherry Ripe" in front of an audience of her parents' friends, but she has terrible stage fright. Rather than confront them, she hurries out of the house to hide in the woods. Following a White Rabbit (Richard Coombs) down a rabbit hole leads her to Wonderland, a strange world filled with truly unique creatures who have no difficulty performing. They eventually teach her about the delights of being onstage, about courage, and how to have confidence when you're around strangers. Alice makes use of what she's learned when she's called to be a witness in an unfair trial run by the demanding Queen of Hearts (Richardson), and she's the only one who'll speak out for the Knave of Hearts (Jason Flemying). 

The Song and Dance: Great cast makes the most of Emmy-winning special effects and adorable songs, many taken directly from Carroll. Majorino is a sharp and funny little Alice, especially in the end when she's confronting the nasty Queen at the trial. Other stand-outs include Whoopi Goldberg as the ever-grinning Cheshire Cat, Martin Short as a very Mad Hatter, Flemyng as the extremely sarcastic Knave, and all-above Richardson as one of the most shrill, demanding, and delightfully nasty Queens of Hearts ever on TV. 

Favorite Number: The stuffy Mouse (Ken Dodd) rambles on among books as he asks Alice "What am I Going to Talk About?" The Duchess (Elizabeth Briggs) croons "Speak Softly to Your Boy," but her idea of a lullaby comes off more like a dirge as she rattles her "son" around. "Auntie's Wooden Leg" is the wacky music hall-esque number at the Mad Tea Party for the Hatter (Short) and March Hare (Francis Wright), which goes directly into "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat" for the Mad Hatter. The ever-sobbing Mock Turtle (Gene Wilder) controls his emotions long enough to teach Alice about the Lobster Quadrille and encourage her to "Come and Join the Dance."

What I Don't Like: First of all, this isn't a 100 percent perfect adaptation. It does wind in several characters from Through the Looking Glass, including the White Knight (Christopher Lloyd) and Tweedledee (Robbie Coltrane) and Tweedle Dum (George Wendt), who seem a bit out of place. The special effects, especially the Jim Henson Workshop puppets, can look too uncanny or dated nowadays, and in a few cases (like Goldberg) may be more likely to give kids nightmares than fantasy dreams. It's also long for an Alice adaptation; once again, some of her encounters probably could have been cut or trimmed.

The Big Finale: Sill charming and fun, even after all this years, if you have kids who love Alice and can sit through it, or remember when it debuted on TV, this is recommended as a fun rainy-day watch for the whole family. 

Home Media: Currently listed on Amazon with three other Hallmark fantasy adaptations for a not-bad price. Can also be found streaming in several places, including for free on Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

The Rose

20th Century Fox, 1979

Starring Bette Midler, Fredric Forrest, Alan Bates, and Barry Primus

Directed by Mark Rydell

Music and Lyrics by various

For the Boys wasn't the first time Midler appeared in a fictional "biography" directed by Rydell. She made her big breakthrough in this smash hit. It was originally intended to be a real biography of Janis Joplin, but Midler and Joplin's family thought her death was too fresh to discuss at that point. Midler herself threw in some input on how to create a composite character and stay true to Joplin's tragic life while not being offensive. It certainly worked in 1979, but how does it look now? Let's begin as "The Rose's" (Midler) parents (Sandy Ward and Doris Roberts) go to her old room to piece together her sad story and find out...

The Story: "The Rose" is Mary Rose Foster, a rock star in 1969 whose life is out of control. She's being used and overworked by her greedy manager Rudge Campbell (Bates), who keeps pushing her into concert after concert without time off. She keeps pleading with him to let her rest for a year, but he doesn't want to lose his cash cow. He even humiliates her when he introduces her to country star Billy Ray (Harry Dean Stanton), whom she idolizes...but he rudely tells her he doesn't want her singing his songs and thinks she's trash. 

Angry with Rudge, she takes off with handsome limousine driver Huston (Forrest). They fall in love during a cross-country trip that includes a stop at a gay bar with male impersonators. Huston, however, finds it very difficult to continue loving Rose. She's inundated by hangers-on, including her former lover Sarah (Sandra McCabe), and is prone to violent fits of temper thanks to her drinking and drug use. 

Rose is obsessed with returning to her Florida hometown and showing them just how loved she is now. Rudge "fires" her to assure that she'll do the concert. She claims she wants to run off with Huston, but when Rudge calls her back, he realizes that her first true love will always be the spotlight...and she realizes how badly her life has spiraled out of her grasp.

The Song and Dance: Midler's crushing performance anchors this searing look into the darker side of fame. Hard to believe this was her first major role. Rydell wouldn't do the movie without her, and he was totally right. She's nothing short of a phenomenon, whether belting "Fire Down Below" with a drag queen playing her, doing acrobatics onstage, or sobbing in the phone booth near the end when Huston has finally walked out on her and she realizes what a mess her life is. Forrest got his own Oscar nomination as her laid-back lover with his own problems; Bates is also excellent as her controlling manager who does nothing to end her damaging lifestyle. 

Favorite Number: Midler's onstage concert performances are simply electrifying. "Night In Memphis," "Sold My Soul to Rock and Roll," and "When a Man Loves a Woman" are especially strong. Bob Segar's "Fire Down Below" was actually written six years after the story is set, but the sequence where she performs it with her drag queen imitator is so intense and well-done, you can forgive the discrepancy. "Stay With Me" is the big finale where she pours all of her grief and loss into literally just staying alive after a drug overdose. The film ends with the title song over the credits, a gentle, aching ballad that became a #1 hit. 

What I Don't Like: The melodramatic plot is where this one falters. It's dark and dreary, and while not bad, it's definitely not up to the incredible concert sequences. The ending is not one of the most uplifting, either, considering the finale involves a woman dying of an overdose in front of thousands of people. 

You'd never know this is set in 1969, either. From Midler's frizzy blonde curls to the long fluffed hair on men and women alike, this is definitely more disco than late 60's hard rock. This is also very much an R-rated movie, with some sexual situations, domestic abuse, violence, and heavy swearing from Rose in particular (including frequent uses of the F word). Let your kids listen to the classic title song, but they'll have to wait on the movie until they're much older.

The Big Finale: An absolute necessity for anyone with even a remote interest in Midler or the harder rock of the late 60's and 70's. 

Home Media: Currently on disc from the Criterion Collection. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Cult Flops - For the Boys

20th Century Fox, 1991

Starring Bette Midler, James Caan, George Segal, and Patrick O'Neal

Directed by Mark Rydell

Music and Lyrics by various

We honor the passing of tough guy character actor James Caan with this vehicle for him and Bette Midler. The story of a woman who devoted her life to entertaining soldiers with her partner, even though war continually brought her tragedy, would seemingly be a perfect fit during the ultra-patriotic Gulf War. The movie wasn't a success then, but how does it look now, as the US pulls away from another war? Let's begin with preparations for a TV special to honor beloved USO entertainer Dixie Leonard (Midler) and find out...

The Story: Dixie refuses to come to the show, and explains her reluctance to a studio assistant (Arye Gross). She began as a singer who was contacted to perform in the Pacific with then-popular comedian Eddie Sparks (Caan) during World War II. Sparks claims her humor is too coarse and tries to have her fired, but in reality, she was a bigger hit with the soldiers than he was. Her comedy writer Uncle Art (Segal) convinces her to stay.

Eddie and Dixie are a big hit with the men in uniform. He even brings her soldier husband onstage in the North African desert. Sadly, that's the last time Dixie sees him, as he dies before the war ends. She continues appearing with Eddie only early television, but their relationship is fracturing, even before he says they've signed up to play for the boys in Korea. She doesn't like how his drinking and playing around is influencing her son Danny (Brandon Call). In Korea, Eddie finally fires Art when he shows Communist sympathies, enraging Dixie, who refuses to work with him again.

Fifteen years later, Dixie's back with Eddie, this time playing a Christmas show for all of the soldiers in Vietnam. She's mainly there to see the now-grown Danny (Christopher Rydell), who followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Army. Sadly, her reunion with her son and her tour-of-duty there ends in tragedy, leaving her to wonder why she keeps on going. It's Eddie who gives her the answer at the TV special, and reminds her why singing "for the boys" means so much to both of them.

The Song and Dance: Midler was Oscar-nominated for her brassy, sassy performance here. She's having the time of her life, whether she's tossing out raunchy patter with Caan or gently crooning a ballad for an audience of eager soldiers. The sets are so authentic, many of them were filmed on actual military camps before the real-life "boys" were shipped overseas for Desert Storm. Segal and Rosemary Murphy come off the best of the supporting cast as Dixie's opinionated uncle and a stuck-up gossip columnist in the Korean War segment who is frequently the butt of jokes. 

Favorite Number: We open with Midler and two other women singing a rousing World War II Hoagy Carmichael number, "Billy-a-Dick." She really goes to town at her first USO concert with the swinging "Stuff Like That There,"  which morphs into a bluesy version of "PS I Love You" after the stage spotlights go out. Eddie hams up his "I Apologize" at a club in England when he's telling Dixie he's sorry for trying to fire her. "I Remember You" and "Dixie's Dream" are performed twice, during their North African World War II show and later on their own TV program. Dixie sings the Johnny Mercer ballad "Come Rain or Come Shine" in North Africa, right before her husband comes onstage. 

The old 20th Century Fox musicals number "Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish" becomes an intentionally corny routine for their TV program, including girls in Technicolor harem costumes doing a kickline and Eddie and Dixie popping out of huge "jars." She sings one of the Beatles' most famous songs, "In My Life," in a quiet and touching moment with the boys and a few war orphans in Vietnam, just before the explosions begin. Listen for Midler singing the hit Diane Warren ballad "Every Road Leads Back to You" during the end credits. 

Trivia: Those real-life soldiers were sent out to Desert Storm so quickly, their ranks had to be filled out by civilians in some scenes. 

Movie debut of Vince Vaughn as one of those civilian soldiers; also look for Billy Bob Thornton as a Marines sergeant. 

Martha Raye claimed Midler's character was based after her and tried to take the case to court, but it was ultimately thrown out.

What I Don't Like: Caan fits in no better here as the Bob Hope expy than he did in Funny Lady twenty years earlier. He's a good singer, but he's just not comfortable in musicals. Christopher Rydell was likely hired because he was the director's son, not due to any acting ability. He's stiff as Danny, especially when he's supposed to be delivering a bitter speech on the horrors of war after his mother's arrival in Vietnam. They should have been more careful with the choice of songs, too. Some of them are anachronistic; "Come Rain," for instance, was written in 1946, more than a year after the war ended. 

Frankly, the movie is too darn long, especially in the second half during Vietnam. It did not need to be over two and a half hours. A lot of the slower sequences, especially with Danny, could have been cut or trimmed. Heed the R rating, too. There's a lot of swearing (including the F-word onstage), and plenty of realistic blood in the war sequences.  

The Big Finale: Worth checking out if you have time on your hands and are a huge fan of Midler, Caan, or "through the years" type stories. 

Home Media: Out of print on disc; streaming is by far your best bet.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Magic Riddle

Yoram Gross Films (Flying Bark Productions), 1991

Voices of Robyn Moore, Keith Scott, Ross Higgins, and Julie Anthony

Directed by Yoram Gross

Music by Guy Gross; Lyrics by John Palmer

We head down under this weekend for an unusual animated fantasy. By 1991, the success of Disney's animated fairy tales began to trickle overseas. Yoram Gross is best-known today in the US for the series of hybrid animation/live-action films revolving around a little girl named Dot and her Australian animal friends he made from 1977 to 1994. Most of his projects tended to revolve around original stories or classic Aussie or British characters. This seems to be his only shot at a fairy tale story. How well does this hybrid of five famous folk stories and one beloved fantasy novel work today? Let's begin with Grandmother (Moore) telling us how much she loves fairy tales, even if she gets them "a little mixed up," and find out...

The Story: Cindy (Moore) lives with her wicked stepmother the Widow and stepsisters Bertha and Ertha (all Moore) on a run-down farm. She encounters a handsome young man named Phillipe (Higgins) who helps her after an accident on the road. He's in love with her, but the Widow would rather shove him towards the grotesque Bertha and the awkward Ertha. Cindy's grandfather left everything to her in his will, but no one can find it. The Widow keeps Cindy busy so she won't be able to find the will.

The poor servant girl has more help on her side than she thinks. Her grandmother (Moore) first helps her with her chores, then invites her to her house. The Widow lures Grandmother to the Castle of a Thousand Doors, then dresses as a wolf to frighten Cindy off. Cindy figures out the deception and eventually goes out in search of her, with the help of seven wooden dwarfs and one little wooden boy named Pinocchio (all Scott). The Widow tries to lure her to a ball, but Cindy has even more help in mind, strange creatures who can help her avoid her stepmother and find her destiny.

The Animation: It's really only so-so. The characters move strangely and stiffly, even the ones that aren't made of wood. Cindy does manage to have a nice range of expressions, and the Widow and her daughters have rather bizarre designs, especially Ertha. While colorful, the backdrops barely move behind them and are nothing to write home about. Continuity errors abound, with characters and items disappearing and reappearing at will. 

The Song and Dance:  Unusual hybrid of five fairy tales and Pinocchio is one of the stranger fairy tale adaptations I've seen. At the least, the voice cast is having fun, with Moore in particular showing off some nice range, going from the sweet Cindy to the shrill Widow to snorting Bertha and whiny Ertha. Some of the animals' antics are occasionally funny too, especially during the "Pig Song" that retells "The Three Little Pigs." 

Favorite Number: Cindy explains how things were better "When I Was Just a Little Girl" in the opening. The Widow sings about how she's "Mean Mean Mean" because she can't find and destroy the will. Bertha and Ertha are introduced as "My Darling Daughters," but they're anything but adorable as "Sisters Sisters" abuse Cindy and each other. "The Pig Song" is Cindy using the barn animals to retell "The Three Little Pigs" after she finds the Widow's wolf costume. Cindy bemoans her orphan status as the Ugly Duckling finds his family in "Oh Silver Bright Reflection." Phillipe is so charmed by Cindy at the ball, he sings about "The Girl In the Snow White Dress" who has won his heart. Stage star Anthony sings the sweet ballad "Ordinary Miracles" over the end credits. 

What I Don't Like: The story is too much of a hodge podge to be much fun. The plot is twisted together with no rhyme or reason, and there are holes everywhere. Despite being in the title, the "magic riddle" doesn't turn up until the last five minutes, and it's barely of consequence. Pinocchio, the duckling, the pigs, and the dwarfs barely do anything besides a few gags (although Pinocchio is a big part of that riddle finale). Phillipe doesn't do much besides be the love interest and kiss Cindy awake, either. The Widow and her daughters are annoying and way too silly to be menacing. 

And when is this supposed to be set? The farm setting and the carriages would indicate 18th or 19th century, but the outfits on most of the human characters are strictly early 90's, especially Cindy's jeans and bare mid-rift. There's all the accents, too, ranging all over the place from gentle British to heavy Aussie. The (many) writers can't even decide if Cindy's cat is talking or not - he's mostly mute, but he does sing at one point.

The Big Finale: Though this supposedly picked up something of a cult following in the US and Australia over the years, I still recommend it only for the most ardent fans of fairy tales or Aussie animation.

Home Media: This rarity can currently only be found on YouTube on this side of the Pacific. 

YouTube

Tanned Legs

RKO, 1929

Starring June Clyde, Arthur Lake, Dorothy Reiver, and Ann Pennington

Directed by Marshall Neilian

Music by Oscar Levant; Lyrics by Sidney Claire

Wheeler and Woosley weren't the only actors at RKO who went on vacation during the early talkie era. June Clyde made an earlier trip to the beach in this 1929 comedy. It originally began as a comedy, but when musicals suddenly became the next big thing in Hollywood, RKO stuffed a couple of songs into the story of a young woman (Clyde) who tries to fix all of her family's problems during a holiday at the seashore. How well does she do? Let's begin at the beach, with ladies talking about the big upcoming talent show, and find out...

The Story: Peggy Reynolds (Clyde) is completely fed up with her parents flirting with younger people. Her father (Albert Gran) is having a dalliance with Mrs. Lyons-King (Reiver), while her mother chases Peggy's friend Roger Fleming (Allen Kearns). Her sister Janet (Sally Blaine) thinks she's in love with stuffy Clinton Darrow (Edmund Burns), but he only wants her money. Darrow is working with Mrs. Lyons-King to blackmail Janet with romantic letters she sent him. Peggy tries to get the letters back, but that only puts her on the outs with her boyfriend Bill (Lake), who thinks she's dallying with Darrow. Now she has to get those letters back, before her sister ends up broke...or worse yet, her parents find out.

The Song and Dance: Adorable summer comedy almost feels like a warm-up for the Disney family films of the 1960's and 70's or Jane Powell's 40's and 50's vehicles, with its perky young protagonist trying to solve all of her family's problems and keep her guy. Clyde is cute as a button as the young lady trying to save her family from disaster, while Kearns and dancer Ann Pennington have a few good minutes as her flirtatious buddy and his sassy girlfriend Tootie. They even get to save the day in the end in a make-believe robbery. Love some of the flapper costumes and bathing suits, too, especially once they get to the talent show. 

Favorite Number: We open with a bevy of beauties in bathing suits who can't keep in sync trying to entice us to "Come In the Water." Kearns and Pennington tell each other "You're Responsible" for driving the other crazy with a lively little dance. Clyde joins the bare-legged ladies for the title number on the beach after they steal the stockings off two women who wore them among the beach-goers and saw them stolen right off their legs for their troubles. Pennington has a solo number in a huge fluffy black and white feather tutu at the ball that's all high kicks and wild wiggling with her hips.

What I Don't Like: I'm afraid nothing else really works. Lake is whiny, annoying, and a terrible singer; he'd come off much better a decade later as Dagwood Bumstead in the Blondie films and radio show. The story with Darrow and the blackmail plot is really a bit dark for this light film. It even ends with Peggy getting shot in the shoulder (though it's not really that bad). The songs are dull, completely unnecessary, and in the case of "Responsible," with its accents on the wrong syllables, poorly written. It's pretty obvious this was originally intended to be a B comedy that had a few songs jammed in here and there at the last minute. Other than her numbers, Pennington is underused and barely seen. 

Also...what happened to the ending? The movie just kind of...stops...right as the family is reconciling. It feels rushed and unfinished. Considering this is barely an hour, more of the family getting back together and what happened afterwards might be nice. We don't even see Lake again. Looks like the last few minutes may be lost for good.

The Big Finale: Bad songs, a plot that's alternately too silly and too dark, and a no-name cast makes this only of interest to the most ardent fans of the early talkie era.

Home Media: Currently, this rare film can only be seen on YouTube and occasionally on TCM.

YouTube

The Cuckoos

RKO, 1930

Starring Bert Wheeler, Robert Woosley, Dorothy Lee, and June Clyde

Directed by Paul Sloane

Music by Harry Ruby; Lyrics by Bert Kalmar

This week, we're letting RKO take us on vacation in two of their earliest summertime hits, starting with this wacky action comedy. The western operetta Rio Rita was RKO's biggest hit of 1929, and stage comics Robert Woosley and Bert Wheeler were a big part of that success. RKO rushed them and Dorothy Lee into another Broadway adaptation, this one of Kalmar and Ruby's biggest hit The Ramblers. How well does this action comedy come off nowadays? Let's head for a Mexican resort as phony fortune tellers Professor Bird (Woosley) and Sparrow (Wheeler) set up shop and find out...

The Story: Bird immediately ingrates himself with the wealthiest woman at the resort, Fanny Furst (Jobyna Howland). Fanny wants to marry her niece Ruth (June Clyde) off to a smooth-talking nobleman, the Baron (Ivan Lebedeff), but Ruth is in love with pilot Billy Shannon (Hugh Trevor). Gypsies have also wandered onto the resort grounds. Anita (Lee), an American girl living with them, falls for Sparrow. Trouble is, Julius, the head of the Gypsies (Mitchell Lewis) wants Anita. The Baron convinces Julius to help him kidnap both women, sending the Professor, Sparrow, and Billy after them.

The Song and Dance: This one is all about the comedy, a surprising amount of action for the era, and three nifty color sequences. The two-strip Technicolor is among the best examples surviving from this era, especially in the supremely weird "Dancing the Devil Away." Howland makes a wonderful foil for Wheeler and Woosley's antics, especially the latter attempting to flirt with her. Wheeler and Dorothy Lee are pretty adorable, too. 

Favorite Number: Bird and Sparrow recall their college days to two lovely ladies with a soft shoe to "Oh, How We Love Our Alma Mater." June Clyde, at least, is enjoying her duet with Hugh Wheeler to the ballad "All Alone Monday." They also get the lovely "Wherever You Are," which starts with the two of them by the balcony and ends with Ruth being hoisted in the air by the chorus, who keep taking her away. Bird claims "I'm a Gypsy," but the real ones know better. Bird and Sparrow tell everyone "Goodbye" when they take off to rescue Ruth in the first color sequence. Lee and Wheeler introduce movie audiences to the standard "I Love You So Much" while eating an entire bowl of apples in a tree.

The big one here - in every sense of the word - is "Dancing the Devil Away." Anita dreams herself and the Gypsy Queen (Margarita Padula) into a wild tribal dance with skimpy and colorful costumes against a brilliant red and pink backdrop. It gets so insane, Lee can barely keep up with the wild, gyrating movements from the dancers. It really must be seen to be believed.

Trivia: The Ramblers ran for almost a year at the Lyric Theatre in New York in 1926, featuring comics Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough. While the film does retain most of the songs and added a few, it also changed the setting from a California movie studio to a Mexican resort town (though apparently it did keep the gypsies). 

What I Don't Like: This is about as typical of an early talkie as you can get. Apparently, Sloane had no idea what he was doing, and it looks it. There's a ton of long, arid shots of people talking; the dance numbers are shot from so far away, you can barely see anyone. Trevor looks like he'd rather be anywhere but doing an action comedy musical and is dull as dishwater next to the adorable Clyde. Wheeler and Woosely's wiseguy schtick can be an acquired taste at best. If you're not into them and their brand of comedy, you won't like this. 

There's also the plot being ridiculous even by the standards of musicals from this era. Gypsies in a Mexican resort? Yeah, this is the kind of thing they could only have gotten away with in the 20's. 

The Big Finale: Bright, goofy fun if you're a fan of Wheeler and Woosley or the comedies and comedians of the early talkie era. 

Home Media: Currently on the second Wheeler & Woosley Warner Archives set.

DVD - Wheeler & Woosley RKO Comedy Classics Collection Vol. 2

Happy 4th of July! - The Music Man (2003)

Disney, 2003

Starring Matthew Broderick, Kristin Chenowith, David Aaron Baker, and Victor Garber

Directed by Jeff Bleckner

Music and Lyrics by Meredith Wilson

Happy 4th of July, everyone! We celebrate America's independence with a nostalgic tale of Independence Day a hundred and ten years ago. The ladies wore big picture hats with lots of pastel feathers and tight linen gowns that they hobbled in and men sported derbies and beige plaid suits, and they all went to concerts with patriotic marches and picnics with fancy cakes and fresh-squeezed lemonade. This is the world in which Meredith Wilson set his biggest hit, currently seeing a popular revival on Broadway. I reviewed the original 1962 film in 2019, but Disney did a version for their Wonderful World of Disney TV series as well. Is it worth bringing the the 4th of July picnic, or should it be tarred and feathered? Let's begin on that train with the rapping salesmen and find out...

The Story: Professor Harold Hill (Broderick) swings into River City, Iowa to sell the townspeople on a non-existent boys' band. Mayor Shinn (Garber) is suspicious of him from the beginning. Marian Paroo (Chenowith), the town's librarian, wishes he'd stop following her and isn't a fan of his odd method of teaching the kids how to read music. Hill has the rest of the town eating out of the palm of his hand, though, including all of the kids, Marian's mother (Debra Monk), and the mayor's wife Eulalie (Molly Shannon). When Marian's lisping brother Winthrop (Cameron Monaghan) joins the band, Marian finally sees how much Hill's band has come to mean to her and the townspeople.

The Song and Dance: I saw this when it came out in 2003, and it's a lot better than I remember. The exuberant choreography by Kathleen Marshall deservedly received one of this movie's five Emmy nominations; it's especially delightful in the chorus routines "Marian the Librarian" and "Shipoopi." The pitch-perfect costumes and sets recreating small-town Iowa in the early 20th Century got two more. Chenowith is simply radiant as Marian, just prior to her breakthrough role on Broadway in Wicked, Debra Monk is adorable as her romantic mother, and Garber and Shannon have some of the film's best lines as the Shinns. They even got an especially good teen couple, Cameron Adams as Zaneeta and Clyde Alves (who was in the 2000 Broadway revival) as Tommy.

Favorite Number: "Iowa Stubborn" shows off the sour citizens of River City, who's give you the plaid shirts off their backs...if they can be bothered to give you the time of day. Chenowith's "Good Night, My Someone" is especially sweet, with her soprano caressing the simple melody. Harold explains to his buddy Marcellus (Baker) and the drinkers in the local bar why he prefers "The Sadder-but-Wiser Girl" and even does a cute little dance with a waitress. "Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little" is now set in a hat shop as the ladies of the town in their heavily plumed headgear tell the Professor why they don't approve of Marian or the books in the library. 

"My White Knight" makes its film debut (it was re-written as "Being In Love" in the '62 film) as Marian wistfully admits to her mother that she's looking for the type of smart, sweet gentleman who only exists in her imagination. "It's You," which was a throwaway number for the Barbershop Quartet in '62, gets a full-out staging here, including a nice duet for Marian and Harold. "Marian the Librarian" and "Shipoopi" make great use of those energetic dances as first Harold tries to get Marian's attention in her place of work, then the town celebrates the 4th of July with everyone dancing along. Even the Shinns get in on "Shipoopi" with their hilariously stiff attempt at a two-step. Chenowith has a lovely "Till There Was You" near the end, under a lovely and romantic gazebo. 

Trivia: The Music Man was one of the biggest Broadway hits of 1957, running almost five years and winning Tony Awards for the show and its original Harold and Marian Robert Preston and Barbara Cook. Van Johnson was Harold Hill in the London mounting. It's been seen many times in New York since then, with brief revivals in 1965 and 1980 (the latter featured Dick Van Dyke as Harold Hill and Christian Slater as Winthrop) and a far more popular one in 2000. The revival currently running at the Winter Garden features Hugh Jackman as Hill and Sutton Foster as Marian.

What I Don't Like: Where this one falters is with the central performance. Matthew Broderick is a charming actor, but he lacks the necessary oomph and rough edges Preston and Jackman bring to the role. The driving "Trouble" and exuberant march "76 Trombones" move far too slowly. That said, he does do somewhat better with songs that require more of a soft sell, like "Sadder but Wiser Girl" and "Marian the Librarian." "Rock Island" has the same problem, with too many of the salesmen not able to keep up with the rap. This does look more cinematic than the stage-bound '62 film, but it also looks duller, with earthier colors and dull tones that don't pop the way the Technicolor on the earlier film does.

The Big Finale: While I prefer the '62 version, this one does have a few of its own charms if you're a really big fan of Chenowith or the show in general. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

Amazon Prime