Voices of Danny Kaye, Cyril Ritchard, Imogene Coca, and Allen Swift
Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass
Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass
Though Rankin-Bass is most associated with holidays nowadays, they did release specials at other times of the year. This was intended to be the first in a series of hour shows featuring Kaye narrating and appearing in various fairy tales. The series never came to fruition, but they did get this pilot special out. Kaye was still associated with Hans Christian Andersen after his success in the 1952 film of that title, so Rankin-Bass opted to adapt one of his stories. Did it come out as well as their holiday shows, or should it be dumped on the Boulevard of Rogues? Let's begin with Kaye in live-action as he explains what we're about to see and find out...
The Story: Kaye takes the role of Marmaduke, a con artist who makes his way to the Empire of Bibbin when he hears about a tailoring contest. Emperor Klochenlocher (Ritchard), who is obsessed with clothes since the death of his wife, is holding a contest for a tailor to make him the best suit. Though the prize is one million gold pieces, the Emperor's daughter Princess Jane (Coca) claims there's no money in the treasury. The Emperor's jester Jasper (Bob McFadden) encourages his master's clothes addiction so he'll focus on clothes and spend himself bankrupt, allowing him to pay the emperor's tailors starvation wages and get rich himself. He tries throwing Marmaduke and his partner Mufti (Swift) into the Boulevard of Rogues, but they're able to escape.
The duo tell the Emperor and his prime ministers they can make a suit out of an amazing cloth that's invisible to those who are fools or unfit to rule. The Emperor doesn't want to look unfit, so he claims he can see it. Meanwhile, the two con men and Bucky, the orphan they've adopted (Gary Shapiro), hide the gold coins in a cannon, not realizing that Jasper's man Ivan intends to use it to shoot at the Boulevard of Rogues! Marmaduke's fallen for Jane, too, but Jasper intends to marry her and take the throne for good.
The Animation: By this point, Rankin-Bass were at their height of success with their stop-motion specials. The character designs are creative and fun, especially Jasper and Mufti, and they move fairly well. Some of the special effects are decent as well, especially when they shoot out the coins towards the end!
The Song and Dance: Kaye is clearly having a ball here playing against type as the roguish anti-hero who intends to take the Emperor for all he's worth, until he finds out what Jasper's up to. Ritchard has almost as much fun as the befuddled ruler who learns the hard way that clothes don't always make the man. Coca also has some good lines as the sensible princess who just wants her father to pay attention to her. The live-action opening sequences, with Kaye cavorting among real children in Denmark, are adorable and fairly well-done.
Favorite Number: We open with Kaye and the kids in Denmark as Kaye sings "Come Along With Me" to a world of fantasy. Our first number in the animated sequence is Marmaduke explaining to Mufti why "Clothes Make the Man." The Emperor reveals why he's such an easy mark for Jasper and the con men in "I See What I Want to See," a creative 2-D animation sequence that shows how he can ignore everything but his wardrobe. The other tailors who have come to Bibbin for the contest sing "The Tailor's Song" for Marmaduke. He tells the Emperor how the "Creation" of a new suit is a breeze for him and Mufti. Jane claims that "All You Need Is Money to Be Rich," and Marmaduke certainly thinks so!
What I Don't Like: The songs are cute, but they're not as memorable as some of the standards Laws and Bass wrote for their holiday extravaganzas. Oh, and there's a lot that's changed from the original Andersen story, probably to pad this out to an hour and make Kaye's character more sympathetic. The con artists were after money and their own gain, pure and simple, and they got away scot-free with everything. There was no princess or evil jester; the Emperor himself was the one who taxed people for his wardrobe.
The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Rankin-Bass or are really into Kaye, this very funny fairy tale is worth parading the streets for.
Home Media: Alas, this one is very hard to find on DVD nowadays and expensive when it does appear. You're best looking for it used.
No comments:
Post a Comment