Family Fun Saturday - Muppet Musicians of Bremen

Robert Laurence Productions/The Jim Henson Company, 1972

Voices of Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and Phyllis Marshall

Directed by Jim Henson

Music and Lyrics by Joe Raposo

Our final Family Fun Saturday review returns to the Muppet well one more time. This is the last of the three Tales from Muppetland specials that Jim Henson developed before he started working on The Muppet Show. This one is slightly more realistic and less romantic, despite the talking animals. It almost seems like a comic preview for Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas five years later, which also had more realistic-looking animal puppets. How does the German folk tale of three unwanted animals who form a band, then accidentally scare off robbers look now? Let's begin with Kermit as he introduces us to our music-playing quartet, and that they weren't always as happy as they are now, and find out...

The Story: After years of faithful service, the old donkey Leroy (Nick Nichols) runs away from his owner, the grouchy thief Mordecai (Francois Klanfer), when Mordecai tries to kill him. The instruments Mordecai stole that he accidentally runs off with inspires him to become a traveling musician. Three other older animals, TR the Rooster (Nelson), Rover Joe the hound dog (Klanfer), and Catgut the cat (Marshall), also join him after their robber owners throw them out. When they come upon a little house in the Lousiana bayou, they think it's the home of a charming family...but it's really their former masters divvying up their spoils. The animals think they're saving a family, but they really end up scaring the thieves off and discovering they make a nice musical family on their own.

The Song and Dance: I give this one credit for going with a more unique and slightly more realistic story than the fantasy specials. The Grimm's fairy tale "The Musicians of Bremen" isn't often adapted for the screen in North America, even in animated or puppet form. Klanfer, Nichols, and Marshall are hilarious whether they're playing music, singing the blues, or dodging their obnoxious or less-than-brilliant owners, and Rasposo's music is almost a catchy as his songs for The Frog Prince. 

The Numbers: We open with the animals briefly playing an instrumental Dixieland number under Kermit's narration before we meet Leroy. He sings the first version of "I'm a Traveling Musician," which is reprised and added to as he's joined by more animals. TD laments "The Cock-a-Doodle-Doodle Blues" to the chickens in the farm before he leaves. Catgut has similar complaints to the rats on the farm as she claims "You've Got to Know Your Friends." Leroy claims that the people living in the old shack are "A Family Together." The others think they see "A Family Together," too...but it's really the robbers fighting over their stolen goods.

Trivia: The animals would be used in other Henson projects, including the special Muppet Show: Sex and Violence and The Muppet Show. 

What I Don't Like: This is a bit simpler than Frog Prince or The Muppet Show. It lacks the heartwarming sequences of Emmett Otter or the romance of Frog Prince. It also lacks the humans - this is an all-puppet project. Kermit is the only familiar face - no later Muppets appear - and unlike Frog Prince, he's only on in the beginning. 

The Big Finale: If your kids love animal projects and/or the Muppets, they'll have a wonderful time with the four best animal musicians in the bayou.

Home Media: Alas, this is YouTube-only at the moment. 

YouTube

Family Fun Saturday - The Frog Prince (1971)

Robert Laurence Productions/The Jim Henson Company, 1971

Voices of Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, and Richard Hunt

Directed by Jim Henson

Music and Lyrics by Joe Raposo

We end the month as we began it, with the Muppets. This time, we jump way far back, to when Jim Henson was trying to prove that his felt characters could be more than commercial announcers or filler between variety show numbers. This is the second of three fairy tale-based specials Henson did featuring Kermit, and probably the best-received of the three. It was so popular, four of the Muppets used in this special would go on to appear on The Muppet Show three years later. Does it still cast a spell today? Let's begin with our narrator Kermit the Frog (Henson) by the well and find out...

The Story: Sir Robin the Brave (Gordon Thomson) is turned into a frog by the wicked witch Taminella (Jerry Juhl). Kermit and his friends by the well in the castle garden don't believe him, even when he tells them he can't swim. He has to befriend a princess and get her to kiss him, and the lovely Melora (Trudy Young) would seem to be the perfect candidate. Trouble is, she too is under a spell. Her words are twisted backwards by the evil woman who claims to be her father King Rupert (Henson)'s sister. Robin recognizes her as Taminella, who wants to take Melora's throne on her birthday and become queen. Robin and Kermit try to translate Melora's backwards warnings and dodge Taminella's big, dumb ogre Sweetums (Carl Banas).

The Song and Dance: This is by far my favorite, not only of the Muppet fairy tale specials, but of the specials Henson did before he developed The Muppet Show. Robin and Sweetums were so adorable and hilarious respectively, they've been used in Muppet shows and films ever since. Raposo's songs are a delight, too, especially Young singing with Robin the Frog (Nelson) and Sweetums' noisy number. Nice costumes too, on Muppet and human alike. I like that Kermit's a little more involved with this than he would be with The Muppet Musicians of Bremen and the later Christmas specials, too. 

The Numbers: We open with the "Frog Chant" from the frogs at the well and the chorus. Robin explains what happened to him to turn him from "Sir Robin the Brave" into a little frog. Kermit and his friends insist that it's great to be "Frogs." Robin interprets Melora's turned around "N'I'm Ineteen" ("I'm Nineteen") in a charming duet. After he gets into the castle, Robin is almost stomped on by Sweetums, until he manages to insist "Sleep, Sweetums." "Sweetums," for his part, isn't happy with having been manipulated and just wants his frog dinner. "Anthems of Joy" is the happy ending, as Melora and Robin embrace, the people of the country are glad to have the right queen, King Rupert is happy for his daughter, and Kermit misses his froggy friend.

Trivia: Robin and Sweetums aren't the only Muppets from this special who would turn up on The Muppet Show. Featherstone and King Rupert made occasional appearances in royalty-themed skits during the first season. 

What I Don't Like: While we do get Robin and Sweetums here along with Kermit, don't expect the rest of the Muppet gang like Piggy or Fozzie. This came out three years before that show debuted. Young's adorable as the Princess, but what little we see of Thomson is a bit stiff for a dashing prince. Frankly, Taminella is more annoying than she is threatening. How the king fell for her, I will never know. 

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the Muppets or of fairy tales like me, this is worth swimming a well for if you can find it.

Home Media: Alas, at press time, it can only be found on out-of-print videos and a blurry copy on Dailymotion. 

Dailymotion

Musicals On TV - Hansel and Gretel (1958)

NBC, 1958

Starring Barbara Cook, Red Buttons, Stubby Kaye, and Hans Conried

Directed by Paul Bogart

Music by Alec Wilder; Lyrics by William Engvik

Let's take in one more fantasy before moving on to our Halloween Horror-a-Thon next week. The success of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella in 1957 prompted a series of fairy-take musicals on TV in the late 50's. NBC, who had originally commissioned Cinderella, gathered an impressive cast for this charming retelling of the famous Grimm's story about two children who end up in the clutches of a witch in a candy house. Does it reach the heights of Cinderella? Let's begin in the town square, as the Town Crier (Kaye) announces the beginning of Market Day, and find out...

The Story: A poor woodcarver (Rudy Vallee) and his wife (Rise Stevens) are having trouble selling their wares at the market. The witch (Conried) and her helpers Eenie (Will B. Able), Meenie (Paula Laurence), Miney (Shaike Ophr) and Moe (Sondra Lee) buys all of their wares after she discovers they have two children, Hansel (Buttons) and Gretel (Cook). The children, horrified when they drink all the milk and don't leave any for their parents, follow the witch into the woods. The town crier and their parents realize that the witch turns any children she gets her hands on into gingerbread and follows them.

The Song and Dance: Buttons and Cook may seem like an odd choice to play the young brother-sister duo, but they're both hilarious and adorable. Conried is a riot as the witch who eats greedy little children. What I can see in the terrible copy currently on YouTube indicates a charming fairy-tale production, with lavish peasant dresses for the ladies and lederhosen for the men. Some of the songs aren't bad, either, especially the siblings' song "Much Too Happy Dancing." 

The Numbers: We open with the Town Crier announcing "Market Today" and the town showing off its wares. Father, the Town Crier, and the shopkeepers in town insist there's a reason that "Men Run the World." "Morning Song" and "Evening Song" are Gretel's introductory numbers. She insists to Hansel that they're "Much Too Happy Dancing" to mind their empty stomachs. "Ernie, Meenie, Miney, and Moe" sing about what they do in the woods, and they wonder "What Little Girls are Made Of?" with Gretel.

What I Don't Like: First of all, I wish someone would take a crack at restoring this! The copy currently on YouTube is dreadful, barely viewable. More importantly, this is kind of strange for a TV musical production. Though some of the songs aren't bad, they really don't seem to relate to the story. They spend so much time with the Town Crier and the parents, we honestly don't see as much of Hansel and Gretel as you might think. 

The Big Finale: Between the bad copy on YouTube and this being just ok despite the great cast, you're better off looking for the soundtrack CD and letting this one be consumed by the witch.

Home Media: As mentioned, this can only be found in a blurry, faded black and white copy on YouTube. At the least, the copy does include the original commercials for Rexall Drug Stores. 

YouTube

Family Fun Saturday - Jack and the Beanstalk (1966)

CBS, 1966

Starring Will B. Able, Hal Holden, Robert Dagny, and Joan Roberts

Directed by Nick Havinga

Music by Jim Eiler; Lyrics by Jeanne Bargy

Our second Prince Street Players special adapts a more traditional fairy tale. The tale of the boy who climbed the beanstalk and the giants he found in the clouds has turned up everywhere from the Sondheim pastiche Into the Woods to one of Abbott and Costello's least-likely vehicles. What do the Prince Street Players bring to the tale? Let's travel to a far more fanciful land than early 1900's Italy to meet Jack (Holden) and his mother (Roberts) and find out...

The Story: Jack is tricked into trading his cow Betsy for magic beans by the evil Black Baron (Dagny), who wants the Giant's (Able) golden hen. Jack plants the beans over his mother's protests...and indeed, they do grow into a massive beanstalk by the next day. He climbs them, only to discovered worried residents of the land in the clouds warning him about the Giant (Will B. Able). The Giant does capture him and tries to force Jack to tell the truth and remain in his domain. He even shows him his Golden Harp (John Joy) and Golden Goose (Marcie Stringer). Jack, however, is more worried about his mother and the Black Baron, who will take their home for taxes. He and the Giant's assistant (David Lile) finally return to the ground...but the Giant is right on their heels...

The Song and Dance: Unlike Pinocchio, this one gets a lot more creative with the source material. I've rarely seen the Giant played as a relative good guy, or at least, not entirely bad. Holden is a delightfully curious and charming Jack, especially protesting the Giant's attempt to keep him in the clouds, and Able is a riot as the Giant. Dagny is having a great time channeling his inner silent screen villain as the obviously evil Black Baron, too. We also get some really fun songs, notably some of the songs heard in the Giant's realm. The colorful sets look rather like children designed them, adding to the fanciful nature of the story.

The Numbers: We open with "It's a Magical, Musical Day" as we meet Jack, his mother, and their neighbors. Jack and his mother lament "Goodbye, Betsy" when they realize Jack has to sell the cow at market. The Black Baron, masquerading as an old peddler, sells Jack on the "Magic Beans." Jack's going to "Climb Up" the beanstalk and find out who lives there. 

The residents of the Land of the Giant encourages Jack to "Go Away, Away, Away," before the Giant captures him. The Giant wonders "Where oh Where Can He Be?" as he looks for Jack. Giant explains that he's not really a bad guy, but he will "Take a Giant Step" to his castle, where he creates fantastical inventions. The Giant even does a goofy tango with his housekeeper (Dorothy Greener). The Golden Harp plays "Plinka Plunk," while The Golden Goose (Marcie Stringer) sings about "Oh Dem Golden Eggs!" Jack and the Assistant finally flee after nightfall, claiming "It's Time." The Housekeeper thinks "It Must Have Been the Wind." We end with reprises of "Take a Giant Step" and "It's a Magical Musical Day" down below.

What I Don't Like: This is one of the strangest versions of Jack and the Beanstalk I've ever seen, and that includes the live-action Jack the Giant Killer from a decade ago. The Giant is a scientist who wants to pick Jack's brain? And, once again, this is not an elaborate production. Able looks more like the really tall guy in weird giant brain makeup he is than a Giant. The sets are even chintzier than the ones for Pinocchio, and even the costumes are simplified here. This is, once again, not for those expecting a massive modern Disney TV musical.

The Big Finale: I'll admit, I liked Pinocchio slightly better, but this one still has a lot of its own charms for families with younger kids who will likely enjoy the weirdness. 

Home Media: Currently, the Prince Street Players musicals can't be found anywhere but YouTube.

YouTube

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning

Disney, 2008

Voices of Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Jim Cummings, and Sally Field

Directed by Peggy Holmes

Music and Lyrics by various

By 2008, Disney's series of direct-to-home-media "sequels" had entertained children for fourteen years..but they made a lot of other people less than happy. Most critics complained that the stories were rehashes, the animation was way under Disney's standards, and they were cheapening the brand. Indeed, this would be the last of those films made, and the last direct-to-home-media animated film that wasn't a Disney Fairies movie. The second Little Mermaid  had done well enough to warrant this "prequel." Is it an improvement on Return to the Sea, or should it be silenced? Let's begin with a younger King Neptune (Cummings), his wife Athena (Lorelei Hill Butters), and their daughters and the merfolk of Atlantica and find out...

The Story: After Athena is killed when a pirate ship crashes into the lagoon, Neptune banishes all music from Atlantica. Ten years later, his daughters live by a strict routine, kept up by the governess Marina Del Rey (Field). Marina really wants to take over the job of attache from Sebastian the Crab (Wright), Neptune's right-hand crustacean. Ariel is frustrated and bored with her father's rules and ends up following sweet little Flounder (Parker Goris) to an underground club, where Sebastian and fish and crustaceans have a band.

Delighted, Ariel brings her sisters to the club to let them enjoy music for the first time in their lives. Unfortunately, Marina catches them and spills the beans to Neptune. He destroys the club, arrests Sebastian and the band, and locks the sisters in the castle. Ariel runs away and frees the band, but she decides to go back after she finds a music box that belonged to her mother. She hopes to remind her father how much fun and happiness music brings, but Marina isn't about to give up her position with the king now and sends electric eels to kill Ariel and her friends.

The Animation: While this is a major step-up from Return to the Sea, it's still not at the level of the original Little Mermaid or what they were doing for the big screen in 2008. The colors are vibrant, the characters have fairly mobile expressions - even on the fish and crustaceans - and the backgrounds are far more detailed than in most of the direct-to-home-media movies.  

The Song and Dance: This actually wound up being rather sweet. At least it isn't a full-on rehash of Little Mermaid this time. My favorite character was by far Benjamin (Jeff Bennett), the gentle and lovable manatee who worked with Marina. He was drawn more like a character from Studio Ghilbi, with his big, soft body and tiny eyes, and was such a gentle dear, he almost seemed to come from another movie entirely. I also like that we finally get to know Ariel's sisters somewhat, or at least that they're a bit less interchangeable than they are in the other two films. Sebastian and especially Flounder have some great moments, notably when he's helping Ariel find the music box and Flounder saves everyone from the eels. 

The Numbers: We open with "Athena's Song (Endless Sky)" as Athena sings and plays with her husband and daughters in the lagoon. "Just One Mistake" is Marina's song. She initially sings it in the hope that Sebastian will drop his guard, and she'll be able to take over. Later, she reprises it after he's arrested and she's hired, to her delight. The standard "Jump In the Line" is the bouncy number for Sebastian and the band at the club. It's reprised by Ariel and the band after they flee the castle. Ariel performs the gentle ballad "I Remember" when she finds the music box and tries to recall all the things she did with her mother as a child. We also hear another Calypso standard, "Man Smart, Woman Smarter." 

What I Don't Like: Though better than Return to the Sea, this still isn't all that great. Not only does the story not align with what we see in The Little Mermaid, it doesn't make much sense. Neptune bans music just because his wife was killed by a pirate ship? His banning his daughters from the surface would make more sense. Field's Marina is more annoying than a real threat; Benjamin being a total sweetheart, too much to be hanging around with her, doesn't help there. The music is once again bland, including two Calypso interpolations that could have been done with original music.

The Big Finale: Mainly worth checking out for major fans of this franchise and little girls who can't get enough Little Mermaid and can handle some of the scarier or sadder moments, especially early-on. 

Home Media: Easily found anywhere, including on individual DVD, packaged with Return to the Sea, and on Disney Plus with a subscription.

DVD

DVD - Little Mermaid II and Ariel's Beginning 2-Movie Collection

Blu-Ray - Little Mermaid II and Ariel's Beginning 2-Movie Collection

Disney Plus

Animation Celebration Saturday - Cinderella (1994)

Jetlag Productions, 1994

Voices of Bailee Reid, Kathleen Barr, Nathan Aswell, and Michael Donovan

Directed by Toshi Hiruma

Music by Andrew Diminitroff; Lyrics by Joellyn Copperman

Golden Films and UAV weren't the only low-budget companies churning out animated fairy-tale adaptations in the 90's. Jetlag Productions mainly focused on fairy tale adaptations, with this generally considered to be the best of the lot. How well did they do with this retelling of the most beloved fairy tale in the world? Let's begin with the charming song "Dream On, Cinderella" that gives us a gentle hint of what's to come and find out...

The Story: Cinderella lives happily with her widowed father until he brings home a wife and two daughters. The moment he goes on a long business trip, Cinderella's stepmother reveals her true nature. She forces the girl to work as a servant in her own house, giving her room to her slovenly daughters. Cinderella has a beloved snow globe from her late mother. When she shakes it, a fairy godmother appears in her room. Not only does she play pranks to keep her family off her back, she gives her a lavish gown, a carriage with lizard pages and a mouse driver, and crystal shoes for the prince's big ball. She enchants the prince, but even then, her stepmother raises doubts that it was really her...until her fairy godmother intervenes once and for all.

The Animation: Not great, but a cut above Golden and UAV. At least everyone has more than one expression, and they actually show anger and fear. There's some nice backgrounds, too, especially at the ball, and some ok effects for a low-budget film when the fairy godmother does her thing.

The Song and Dance: No wonder I heard this has a cult following of people who grew up watching it in the 90's and early 2000's. It's surprisingly charming for a low-budget effort. I like that the focus here is on Cinderella and her fairy godmother, not on sidekick mice, her step-family, or anywhere else. In fact, the fairy godmother has a lot more to do here than in most versions, including slapstick with the stepsisters. This is one of the rare versions to keep her father alive until the end, too. As a fairy tale fan, I also appreciate references to the Grimm's version of this (the birds picking the lentils out of the ashes) in what's largely a retelling of the French Charles Perrault story.

The Numbers: We open with the lovely "Dream On, Cinderella," a soft ballad of encouragement that gives us an idea of the magic that is to come. "It's the Chance of a Lifetime," claim Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters as they prepare for the ball...and taunt Cinderella. "When Love Has Gone Away" is a sweet sequence after the ball as Cinderella and the Prince desperately wish they were in each other's arms.

What I Don't Like: Did I mention the "low budget" thing up there? The cheap animation and so-so voice acting shows their origins all too plainly. While it's not quite so glaring as it is for Golden or UAV, it's still nowhere near even Disney's worst. 

The Big Finale: There are far worse ways to pass 45 minutes with your princess-crazy elementary schooler or someone who grew up watching this on TV or video in the 90's and 2000's.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming. Currently free on Tubi with commercials. 

DVD

Tubi

Family Fun Saturday - Donkey Skin (Peu D'Ane)

Cinema International Corporation, 1970

Starring Catherine Denveuve, Jean Maris, Jacques Perrin, and Delphine Seyrig

Directed by Jacques Demy

Music by Michel Legrand; Lyrics by Jacques Demy

Jacques Demy's first two musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort were huge international hits, but for his third musical, he went with something a little less prosaic. Having done a bleak drama in Hollywood that didn't go over well, he returned to France for a full-on fantasy. This adaptation of a Charles Perrault fairy tale went over far better in France, where it was one of the bigger hits of 1970. Does it retain the same magic today? Let's begin with the introduction of the Blue King (Maris), his lovely wife (Denveuve), and their beautiful and gentle daughter (Denveuve) and find out...

The Story: After his wife dies, the King is encouraged to find a new wife and produce an heir. The queen insisted that he marry someone even lovelier than her...and the only person he can find is his daughter. On the advice of her godmother the Lilac Fairy (Seyrig), she holds her father off by asking for dresses the color of a good weather day, the moon, and the sun. She then demands that he kill and skin the magical donkey who has been excreting jewels and coins for him. The Fairy gives the princess her wand and a trunk with the three gowns, then covers her in dirt and wraps her in the donkey skin.

Fleeing her father's kingdom in this disguise, she manages to find a job as a pig keeper and a little hut in the woods. The prince of the kingdom (Perrin) sees her in the hut and falls so much in love with her, he becomes literally lovesick. He begs that Donkey Skin be told to bake a cake that will restore his health. She bakes her ring into it, proving her love for him. All the women in the kingdom are called to see if the ring fits their finger. No one thinks it could fit Donkey Skin, but the prince has his suspicions...

The Song and Dance: Like Demy, I've always been fascinated by fairy tales. The original version of this story comes off as rather dour. After all, it does involve incest and death. Demy manages to make all this sweet, whimsical, and even playful. Perrin and Denveuve are a charming royal couple, and Seyrig is hilarious as the Lilac Fairy who has her own reasons for keeping the princess from marrying her father. 

The production is nothing less than stunning, with the two kingdoms dressed in all cobalt blue and scarlet red. Even the faces of the couriers are blue and red. The costumes are acres of puffs, ruffles, and bows, with puffed sleeves that dwarfs the actors' heads. Gorgeous cinematography too. Real French castles and the actual French countryside glow like those incredible sun and moon gowns. 

The Numbers: We open with "Amour, Amour" performed on the piano by the princess as we're introduced to her family, the blue kingdom, and the magical donkey. The Lilac Fairy explains why it's a bad idea for a princess to marry her father in "Conselis de la Fee des Lilas." Our first chorus number has the peasants throwing "Les Insultes" at Donkey Skin for being so dirty and different. 

"Chanson du Prince" is the Prince's song when he sees her at the hut. The princess explains about her plan to put the ring in the cake in "Recette Pour un Cake D'Amour." The Prince and Princess dream of rebelling against their parents and being together in "Reves Secrets d'un Prince et d'une Princesse." The last number is also the second chorus routine. Every woman in town tries to make her finger slender enough to fit that ring in "Les Massage des Doights."

What I Don't Like: First of all, same deal as Demy's other movies. There's no dubbed version of this. If you don't speak French and aren't willing to use subtitles, you may have a hard time understanding a lot of what's going on. Second, while the incest subtext isn't pushed too hard, it is there. The original version of this story was a lot darker. In some versions (including the short "Sapsorrow" from Jim Henson's The Storyteller), the father dies in the end. Some details border on goofy for silliness' sake, like the Lilac Fairy and Blue King turning up in a very anachronistic helicopter in the end.

The Big Finale: Highly recommended for families with pre-teen princess lovers who are willing to read a few subtitles or those who love French cinema or who are big fairy tale fans like me. 

Home Media: Only on disc in the US as part of a pricey Jacques Demy blu-ray set from the Criterion Collection. You may be better off streaming this one.

Blu-Ray - The Essential Jacques Demy

Amazon Prime

Snow White (2025)

Disney, 2025

Starring Rachel Ziegler, Gail Godot, Andrew Burnap, and Jeremy Swift

Directed by Marc Webb

Music and Lyrics by various

I've been looking forward to this movie, if only to see what Disney would do with it. I have a mixed track record with Disney's remakes. There's a few I found to be genuinely enjoyable in their own right, but most were mediocre or added nothing to the original story. This one had strikes against it from the outset. It's remaking Disney's very first animated film, its female leads got into trouble for ragging on the film and firing off their political opinions before the movie's opening, and the depiction of the dwarfs as more cartoonish than the rest of the cast came under fire from real people with dwarfism. After all that, how does the actual movie come off? Let's begin, as so many Disney movies do, with a lavishly-decorated storybook...and a couple of forest animals...and find out...

The Story: Snow White (Ziegler) once lived happily in a prosperous mining and farming kingdom with her beloved parents. After her mother (Lorena Andrea) dies, her father the King (Hadley Fraser) marries a woman (Godot) who is outwardly gorgeous, but is in reality cold and cruel. She forces the farmers to become soldiers and locks Snow White in the castle. Snow White, however, remains kind and gentle no matter what. She even releases a thief (Burnap) who stole potatoes from the queen.

Incensed with that incident and with her Magic Mirror's (Patrick Page) insistence that Snow White is now fairer than she, the Queen orders her Huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to kill her. He can't do it and sends her into the woods instead. She ends up at the home of seven dwarfs who work in the nearby mines. They distrust her at first, but finally let her stay. Even after she leaves, she encounters Johnathan, the thief she released at the castle, who is the head of the bandits who are fighting in the king's name. Johnathan doesn't believe she can make things better, but Snow knows that the best way to fight evil is to work together...and prove that there's more to being "fair" and being a good ruler than looking pretty for a mirror.

The Song and Dance: For all of the fussing before this came out, I actually ended up enjoying it. At least, it's a lot better than I thought it would be from the reviews. Rachel Ziegler is simply luminous as Snow White, who manages to be both sweet, funny, and infinitely intelligent. She sings beautifully, performs well with the dwarfs, and even pulls off her final confrontation with Godot nicely. I actually like most of the changes to her character and think they work out pretty well, including her desire to follow in her father's footsteps and become a truly fair ruler. 

Though Johnathan is basically an imitation Flynn Rider from Tangled, he's also infinitely more interesting than the cardboard prince in the original film. The dwarfs have their funny moments too, especially after they meet Snow White and they're all bickering. And actually, my favorite moment from the film may have been Snow White teaching Dopey to whistle. The CGI works better here, making it all the sweeter when he finally gets the others' attention. Disney spared no expense on the production, either. The costumes and sets are gorgeous, nicely recreating a fairy tale Germany straight out of a Grimm Brothers' story. 

The Numbers: We open and close with "Good Things Grow," as the young Snow White (Emilia Faucher) and her parents make apple pies for the entire town and we see how everyone helps and depends on everyone else. Snow White thinks she's "Waiting On a Wish" as she sings to the wishing well on the castle grounds, and later after she frees Johnathan. "Heigh Ho/We Dig" is more elaborate here, as we see how the dwarfs mine the gems they collect under the ground before they march home. The Queen claims that "All Is Fair" to Snow White, and later to the townspeople...fair to her, that is. 

"Whistle While You Work" is moved from before the dwarfs arrive to the day after. This time, Snow White manages to get the dwarfs and animals working together to clean up their house in a charming tour-de-force. Johnathan sneers about Snow White's "Princess Problems," and how it's better to live for oneself than hold out for a hope that might not come. "The Silly Song" brings the dwarfs and bandits together for a night of revelry, but it's only heard briefly. Snow and Johnathan wonder what happens when "A Hand Meets a Hand," and people start to look out for one another. "Snow White Returns" in the finale, as the Queen rages that "All Is Fair" and the rest of the kingdom reprises "Good Things Grow."

What I Don't Like: This has the opposite problem from the original film. Now Snow White and her love interest are the interesting characters, and the Queen is the dull one. Godot is neither much of a singer, nor has the required menace to really carry off her role. She comes off as a silly comic book villain, too noble of a warrior to be truly wicked. And yes, the CGI dwarfs do frequently fall into uncanny valley, especially during action sequences or when they're all talking at once. It can be more frightening than funny at times. There's also the waffling on whether the king is dead or not, and the feeling that they just snitched some ideas from the darker live-action Snow White and the Huntsman from 2012 (like Snow White joining bandits and searching for her father) and filtered them through Disney's rosy lens.

The Big Finale: Though not mirror-perfect, this movie does have a lot of fun points, not the least being spot-on performances by Ziegler and Burnap and some great new songs. It's different enough from its predecessor for me to recommend catching it in the theaters with your favorite little princess or bandit, especially if they're already a Disney fan.

Home Media: The soundtrack can currently be found on Amazon Streaming; the physical version won't be out until May 9th. No word yet on when the movie will be on Disney Plus or physical media. 

Amazon Music Streaming

Musicals On Streaming - Charming (2018)

Netflix, 2018

Voices of Demi Lovato, Wilmer Valderrama, Jim Cummings, and Nia Vardalos

Directed by Ross Venokur

Music and Lyrics by various

This was not the first time Vanguard Animation dipped into the fairy tale parody well. Their second production after their debut was Happily N' Ever After from 2006, a spoof of fairy tale conventions that was a huge flop with critics and at the box office. That movie's failure didn't stop them from returning to the fantasy well almost a decade later. This time, they've traded imitating the Shrek films for imitating Disney and their female-oriented action musicals. How does the story of a Prince Charming who can charm anyone but a certain female thief look now? Let's begin with a narrator explaining why Prince Phillipe (Valderrama) is in big trouble and find out...

The Story: Prince Phillipe was cursed with charm as a child by the wicked sorceress Nemeny Neverwish (Vardalos). He attracts every woman who sees him...until his 21st birthday, when all love will vanish from the kingdom. King Charming (Cummings) gets very fed up with his son after he's engaged to Snow White (Avril Lavigne), Cinderella (Ashley Tisdale), and Sleeping Beauty (G.E.M) and forces him to go on the Gauntlet. This terrifying quest up to Fire Mountain will show his son what it's like to be truly brave and help him decide who his true love is once and for all.

Phillipe is joined by what he thinks is his guide Lenny. Her name is really Lenore Quinonez (Lovato), a sly thief who has agreed to lead the prince up the mountain in exchange for money after she's caught robbing the princesses. Phillipe has already fallen for Lenore when she's the first woman who doesn't automatically grovel at his feet, but she's not as impressed with him. He can't do much more than be a cute guy, though he does manage to rescue her from the enormous chief of an Amazon tribe (Tara Strong). Lenore's now thinking he might be her true love, but Nemeny isn't about to let her break that curse. It'll take a "leap of faith" for the two to finally prove that there's a lot more to true love than falling for a pretty face.

The Animation: Vanguard's trademark angular designs are front and center here. That works on characters like Prince Phillipe and Leonore who are supposed to be all arms and legs. It's not so great for others. The princesses look less pretty and rounded and more like all sharp angles. Don't get me started on the dated and ridiculous designs of the Amazon tribe, though the Half-Oracle and her number do come off a bit better. There's even some nifty special effects there. 

The Song and Dance: The cast is the thing here. Lovato gives Leonore a certain strength that makes it even harder to digest when her character gets a lot interesting in the second half, after she falls for Phillipe. Tisdale, G.E.M, and Lavigne are hilarious as the three jilted fiancees, especially Lavigne as traumatized Snow White. Cummings gives the king a great deal of gravity as well. Sia also does well in her brief role as the Half-Oracle, who has by far the most memorable segment in a trippy number where she explains how Phillipe could be Leonore's true love. And as annoying as Phillipe can be, at least he's also a genuinely nice guy who really does want to do what's right for the ladies chasing him and his kingdom.

The Numbers: The movie opens with the three princesses telling us about their "Trophy Boy" in a montage depicting him being chased by every woman in the kingdom. "Not Changing" covers Leonore and her cardinal friend escaping the guards with their stolen treasure and fleeing into town. "Balladino" is the Half-Oracle's dreamy, memorably weird number as she shows Lenore who her true love is, and why it's important she find him. Lenore dreams of how "Magical" it'll be to sing and dance with Phillipe in a dream sequence right before their botched date at the inn. Leonore says she'll "Soar" after Phillipe announces what he intends to do to eliminate the curse. We briefly get "Somebody to You" over the montage of Phillipe and Leonore's wedding and honeymoon before the title song plays over the credits. 

What I Don't Like: This fairy-tale satire is about fifteen years out of date...and the badly and annoyingly stereotyped Amazon-type native tribe has been out of date for at least sixty. Lenore and the princesses are supposed to be the ones in the wrong for either submitting too quick to Phillipe's charm, or not submitting at all. Phillipe is such an idiot, though, that you end up feeling sorry for the princesses instead. They're all pretty likable, if rather shallow. I have no idea how Phillipe doesn't see through Leonore's ridiculous male disguise. She's about as male as the princesses. 

Lenore is a far more interesting character in the start, when she's more annoyed with Phillipe and how useless he is. I wish she could have resisted him a lot longer. Even later, she shouldn't have had to give up what she was for him so quickly. Phillipe isn't so much charming as he is a spoiled daddy's boy who gets by on everyone doing everything for him. He may be nice, but he's so witless and annoying, you wish Leonore would have pushed him harder into gaining a little backbone. 

The Big Finale: Vanguard's second attempt at a fairy tale spoof has all the charm of curdled wedding cake icing and is only slightly better than the awful Happily N'Ever After. Only if you're a really, really huge fan of the cast or Shrek-eque fairy tale satire.

Home Media: This is currently a Netflix exclusive. 

Netflix

Animation Celebration Saturday - Snow White (1990)

Golden Films, 1990

Voices of Kathie Soucie, Rob Paulsen, and Jim Cummings

Directed by Diane Paloma Eskenzi

Music and Lyrics by various

We're returning to Golden Films for one of their earliest movies in honor of the live-action Disney Snow White that's coming out later this month. This is actually their second Snow White. The first one was a half-hour special that was among the first cartoons they made in 1989. We've already seen how they handled Beauty and the Beast. How does Snow White fare with them? Let's begin with a family of bluebirds as the mother tells the story of the princess with the hair black as ebony and the skin white as snow and find out...

The Story: Snow White (Soucie) grows up alongside her friend the Prince and her wicked Stepmother after her mother dies in childbirth. The Queen is obsessed with her beauty, to the frustration of her hand-held Magic Mirror, whom she has the habit of throwing around when she's angry. He really gets hurled when he tells her that Snow White has grown into a young woman who is far prettier than her. The Queen sends her huntsman (Cummings) to kill her, but he can't do it and lets her go.

Snow White flees into the forest, finally ending up at the home of the Seven Dwarfs (Paulsen). They scold her for invading their home and cleaning up without permission, but ultimately let her stay. The Queen is furious when the Mirror reveals her survival. She turns herself into an old woman, but the dwarfs are able to release the girl from her girdle and comb. The apple that lodges in her throat proves to be harder to remove. The dwarfs and bluebirds think she's dead, but Snow White's friend the Prince learns better. Snow White's friends the Dwarfs know who did this and finally go to take care of that evil witch once and for all.

The Animation: Same as their other productions. The movement is stiff, but the colors are lush and attractive. I actually like the designs of the dwarfs, which are mostly a bit more varied than their names. There's not a lot of detail in the backgrounds, and the expressions tend to be all the same, even when they should be registering a lot more than a vague smile.

The Song and Dance: I give them credit for sticking a little closer to the Grimm version than Disney did. We see all three of the Queen's attempts on Snow White. She eats half of the apple, and there's no kissing her awake. She just coughs the apple out. The dwarfs going after the wicked queen in the end is almost as exciting, and may have an even more satisfying result. I like that she knew the prince beforehand, too. It makes more sense that he'd seek her out, instead of just stumbling across her coffin.

The Numbers:  We open with "As Beauty Does" during the credits, a sweet ballad that explains the theme of inner beauty being just as important as outer beauty. The dwarfs explain what happens "When You Work as a Miner" as they dig up precious metals in the mines. The Queen angrily asks her mirror "Is There Anyone More Beautiful Than Myself?"...and doesn't like the answer she gets. 

What I Don't Like: In addition to the cheap animation, the characters are either bland or annoying. The Magic Mirror in particular grates on your nerves after a few minutes of his prattling. No wonder the Queen kept throwing him around. Bit surprised Snow White didn't get a song, a longing ballad or a cheer-up ditty. It might have at least expanded her character. She's sweet, but not much more than that. The Prince is barely in the movie...but to tell the truth, that does fit the original Grimm's story, where he only shows up at the very end. The Queen's song is kind of catchy, but the Dwarfs' "Hi-Ho" imitation is annoying. And who thought naming them all "Joe" was funny? The joke gets old after a few minutes.

The Big Finale: Not the greatest way to pass an hour, but it's worth checking out once on a rainy spring afternoon if you want to introduce your younger children to the original fairy tale. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the latter currently at Tubi with commercials.

DVD

Tubi

Animation Celebration Saturday - Beauty and the Beast (1992)

Golden Films, 1992

Voices of John Rafter Lee, Charles Martinet, Michael Gough, and Darran Norris

Directed by Diane Paloma Eskanzi

Music by Merrill Farnsworth; Lyrics by Chris Davis, Bonnie Keen, and Scott Brasher

Golden Films had been making Disney imitations since they began as American Film Investment Corporation in 1990. Admittedly, unlike UAV, they did sometimes branch into original content like The Legend of Su-Ling that wasn't based on frequently-adapted material. Nowadays, though, they're likely remembered for the specials that got far closer to Disney and other 90's animated franchises. This is one of their earliest ventures into flat-out Disney imitations. How does their version compare to Disney's and other retellings of this familiar tale? Let's begin over the title sequence with three rather annoying voices introducing what we're about to see and find out...

The Story: Beauty, her father (Gough), and her three spoiled sisters live in a lovely old house in the country. The sisters do nothing but complain and whine for more, but Beauty is content to take care of her father and her garden. After a storm damages their house and destroys Beauty's garden, their father goes into town to find out if his ships weren't harmed as well. The sisters all want food and fine gifts, but Beauty only asks for a single rose to replace the ones ruined in the storm. 

The gentleman is waylaid in an old castle, where he's tended to by three overeager ghosts. He's delighted with their antics and elaborate show. On the way out, he takes a rose for Beauty...which attracts the attention of The Beast, an enormous bear-like creature. Beauty goes to rescue her father when the carriage turns up without him. The Beast will release her father, if Beauty stays. She gradually begins to have feelings for the creature, who is much kinder than he appears. Her sisters are jealous, and when she returns dressed like a princess, they first try to keep her there, then turn the townspeople on the Beast.

The Animation: Same deal as The Legend of Su-Ling. The colors here are softer pastels, and actually, some of the costumes are quite nice, especially on the sisters. The backgrounds still have no detail to them, though, and it still more closely resembles a TV series from this time period than anything from Disney. (Beauty, in fact, looks more like Aurora from Sleeping Beauty than the Disney Belle.) 

The Song and Dance: I give them credit for using details from the original story that Disney couldn't figure out how to work into their version. The three spoiled sisters, the father getting into trouble for stealing a rose from the garden, the sisters trying to keep her at home, Beauty dreaming of the prince, and the Beast asking Beauty to marry him are all from the original French fairy tales. Not to mention, the Prince's and the ghosts' backstory is actually darker here than in the French stories or Disney's movie. He didn't just treat a fairy badly. He refused to help his failing kingdom, until everyone abandoned it...and as the ghosts point out, some didn't survive.

The Numbers: We open with "Beauty's Dream," a surreal mish-mash of fantasy elements in which Beauty dances with her Prince in their own fairy tale world. (Apparently, some of the effects would later be used in Golden's 1997 Camelot.) Her sisters want "More" as they shrilly whine for all the fancy desserts, jewels, and fine dresses they think they deserve. "Get Into the Spirit" is a genuinely catchy "Be My Guest" imitation with a tinge of gospel as the ghosts bring out dinner for Beauty's father and put on a show. "Beauty's Dream" turns up again when the Beast plays it on the piano, making one wonder if Beauty wasn't the only one having fairy-tale fantasies...

Trivia: If the ghost Charles Marinet plays sounds familiar to Super Mario games fans, he's the long-time voice of Mario in English-speaking countries. 

What I Don't Like: On one hand, the ghosts have a surprisingly interesting backstory and may be takes on the invisible servants from the French stories...but that doesn't make them any less annoying or unnecessary. Even Martinet's Mario voice grates on your nerves in this setting. The cat Beauty drags around is even more so. There's a lot that's not explained, like how Beauty dreamed about the prince before she met the Beast (in the French stories, the dreams happened after she already arrived at the castle) or why the ghosts haunt the Beast and stay with him even after he's transformed.

The Big Finale: Not a bad short retelling of this story for those wanting to introduce the original story to children or only have enough time for an hour special. 

Home Media: Like most Golden Films, this is easily found anywhere, including on streaming for free with commercials.

DVD

Tubi

Honoring Chinese New Year - The Legend of Su-Ling

Golden Films, 1998

Voice cast unknown

Directed by Diane Paloma Eskenanzi

Music by Mike Himmlestein; Lyrics by Mike Himmelstein and Terry Sampson

UAV was far from the only company that put out imitations of the latest animated blockbusters in the 1990's and early 2000's. Golden Films debuted in 1990 to make low-budget animated films and specials for television. Unlike UAV, they occasionally branched into original stories in addition to Disney and Don Bluth imitations. Given when this was released, it's likely this was originally intended to piggyback the success of Mulan, but it has more in common with daintier Disney stories from earlier in the decade like Beauty and the Beast. How well does it come off today? Let's begin with the opening number "Land of Jade" as Chinese peasants work in the sun and sing about their kingdom and find out...

The Story: The peasants are forced to give up their treasures to the Emperor, who amasses wealth and beautiful things to fill the hole in his heart after the death of his wife. He tries to force his son Chen into marrying a princess of his choosing, but she's a spoiled brat with no patience or appreciation for the garden Chen has worked hard on. The Emperor and his sniveling toady Wang want Chen to marry and add the princess' wealth to their coffers, but Chen wants to marry for love.

Tired of his father's smothering and greed, Chen flees the palace in the guise of a peasant. He takes up with a kindly old fisherman and falls for his beautiful granddaughter Su-Ling. Su-Ling is angry because the Emperor took her nightingale, the one thing she owned, as a present for the princess. When the nightingale refuses to sing, Wang convinces the Emperor that Su-Ling's grandfather might have a spell that would make it perform again. Su-Ling follows him, flat-out telling the Emperor that the bird won't sing because she won't. The Emperor forces Su-Ling to marry his son...but Su-Ling doesn't realize that the prince and her beloved fisherman are one and the same...

The Animation: Only slightly above UAV's usual work. The colors are bright and jewel-like, as appropriate for a story set in China, but the movement is stiff, there's no expression on the characters, and they tend to look all alike. The backgrounds and costume designs are a little bit more detailed, especially in the opening chorus number and during Chen's number when he's venturing into the world.

The Song and Dance: Golden Films gets credit for going with an original story and not a flat-out rehash of Mulan. Despite Su-Ling being in the title, Chen is the one who really propels the action. This is has more in common with a gender-reversed Aladdin or the Hans Christian Andersen story The Nightingale than Mulan. I'm also glad no one is really played as a bad guy. The Emperor may behave like a jerk, but he's reacting badly to the loss of his wife. Wang is a yes-man who is just following orders. The real story is seeing how the Emperor learns that beauty and graciousness is something that can't be bought or forced, and that all the riches in the world can't compare to the richness of a loving heart. 

The Numbers: We open with that chorus number "Land of Jade" depicting Su-Ling, Chen, and the people of China at work and play, which also closes the film. "Here I Go Out In the World" takes Chen out of the palace and among his people to find his own way. "I Found This Love" is Su-Ling and Chen's big ballad as they help her grandfather and fall for each other. We also get a short chorus dance with a "Dragon" before Chen marries the woman his father wants him to.

What I Don't Like: For the character who is actually in the title, Su-Ling could have had more to do. She's feisty, standing up to her grandfather and the Emperor, but she's mostly seen in the beginning and the end. She and Chen barely have time to fall in love, or do much of anything together besides their ballad. One minute, she mistakes him for a thief, and the next, they're crazy about each other. The Emperor's sudden change of heart in the end is a little too fast as well. Once again, I really wish they'd been able to expand it another half-hour or so to flesh out the characters and their motivations.

The Big Finale: Short but charming fairy tale is worth checking out this Chinese New Year for fans of Aladdin and those looking for a sweet and unique way to pass 40 minutes or so before dinner.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, including currently for free with commercials on Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Snow Queen (1959)

Universal-International, 1959

Voices of Sandra Dee, Tommy Kirk, Paul Frees, and Patty McCormick

Directed by Lev Atamanov

Music by Diane Lampert; Lyrics by Richard Loring

Frozen wasn't the first time the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Snow Queen was made into a major animated film. This was one of the first films from the Soviet Union to get an export to the US during the height of the early Cold War rivalry between the two countries. This first translation wound up being one of the most influential animated films of the mid-20th century, particularly in Japan and the US. How does this retelling of the little girl who seeks the enigmatic ice ruler who abducted her friend look today? Let's begin, at least in this version, with TV personality Art Linkletter giving Christmas gifts to children before telling them the story and find out...

The Story: Ol' Dreamy (Frees), a tiny elf in a book-filled room, narrates our tale. Gerda (Dee) and Kai (Kirk) were the closest of friends, until Kai insulted the Snow Queen (Louise Arthur). The frozen ruler sends shards of ice into Kai's heart and eyes, making him cruel and hateful. Ignoring Gerda, he ties his sled to the Snow Queen's sleigh. She wants to teach him a lesson and brings him to her palace. 

Gerda is despondent without her friend and leaves the city to find him. No one can stop Gerda from bringing home her beloved friend, not the Summer Witch (June Foray) who tries to make her forget Kai, the Prince (Dick Beals) she mistakes for Kai, or even the spirited robber girl (McCormick) who takes her prisoner. With the help of the robber kid's reindeer and a kindly Laplander native (Foray), she's able to make her way to the frozen north and free her dearest friend from the clutches of the icy royal.

The Animation: I can see why this was so influential. You can see the genesis of many fairy-tale animated films that came out in the later 20th and early 21st century here, from Rankin-Bass specials to recent Disney hits. This looks like the most exquisite Disney fantasy from this era, with the adorable children, the wobbly, grotesque bandits that look like they come from some of Mickey Mouse's earliest shorts, and some of the beautiful, almost painterly backdrops and shadowy, snowy woods. 

The Song and Dance: I've only seen the Universal version, but it is charming. Dee is lovely and Frees and Foray have some funny moments, but the real winner in the first English cast is McCormick. She's clearly having a ball playing the tough robber's daughter who would never admit that she actually has a heart under that thief's hide. She's so upset and so touching when she finally lets Gerda and her animal friends go, you really do feel sorry for her. No wonder her animals went back, despite the abuse she gave them earlier. 

The Numbers: Linkletter kicks us off as he admonishes his charges to gaze into a "magic" mirror with "One, Two Snowflakes." That leads us directly into the jaunty title song, which largely makes the Snow Queen sound a lot more pleasant than she actually ends up being. "Do It While You're Young" is the brief number that eventually awakens Gerda when she's under the Summer Fairy's trance and reminds her that she must find Kai. "The Jolly Robbers" perform their chorus number as they go after Gerda.

Trivia: This wasn't the last time The Snow Queen would be translated for English-speaking audiences. A 1985 release that made it to video in 1993 used three voices, added rock songs, and wasn't well-received. The third dubbing debuted in 1995 as part of the series Stories From My Childhood and had a far more star-studded voice cast that included Mickey Rooney as Ol' Dreamy, Kirsten Dunst as Gerda, and Kathleen Turner as the Snow Queen. 

What I Don't Like: Critics apparently took potshots at the silly Art Linkletter opening with the kids even in 1959, and yeah, they're right. It's completely unnecessary, and nowadays, annoyingly dated. He and the kids are never heard from again after their chant, not even for a few minutes in the finale. Kirk sounds stiff and bored even when he's supposed to be having fun with Gerda in the opening and doesn't get anywhere near the two girls' performances. 

The Big Finale: Even with some so-so performances and the unmemorable songs, this is still highly recommended for the gorgeous animation alone. 

Home Media: Considering how easy it is to find this nowadays, this is practically in the public domain in the US. It's currently free on Tubi with commercials. The version on YouTube uses the 2020 Russian restoration with the 1959 voice cast (sans the Linkletter opening). 

DVD

Tubi

YouTube

Musicals On Streaming - Spellbound (2024)

Netflix, 2024

Voices of Rachel Ziegler, John Lithgow, Nicole Kidman, and Javier Bardem

Directed by Vicky Jenson

Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Glen Slater

This one apparently has been a long time coming. It was announced in July 2017 as a theatrical project from new animation studio Skydance, to be released by Paramount. In 2020, Apple TV replaced Paramount and released their first movie, Luck. Three years later, Skydance ended its deal with Apple and switched to Netflix, where it was finally released last week. Menken knows something about animated fantasies. Does this reach the height of Disney's animated fairy tales, or should it be changed into a beast? Let's begin with Princess Ellian of Lumbria (Ziegler) in the air as she flies with her friends and find out...

The Story: But Ellian doesn't have time for friends, or much of anything besides ruling her kingdom. The year before, a strange dark magic transformed her parents into uncontrollable monsters who wreck havoc on the castle. Ellian and her parents' advisors Bolivar (Lithgow) and Nazara (Jenifer Lewis) have tried to keep the public from finding out, but they're becoming harder to control. Bolivar and Nazara think she should give up hope and be crowned queen, but Ellian is determined to find someone who will change them back.

She finally gets through to two powerful beings known as the Oracles, Sunny (Tituss Burgess) and Luno (Nathan Lane), only for her parents to scare them off. They do leave behind a powerful magic amulet called "the Fob" that can work their magic. The Captain of the Guard Genera Cardona (Olga Merediz) believes the monsters have stolen the princess and goes after them. They flee to the Dark Forest of Eternal Darkness to find the Oracles, with Bolivar switching his body with that of Ellian's pet rodent Fink (Dee Bradly Baker) on the way. 

The Oracles can't restore her parents, but they claim the Lake of Light can. As the quartet travel across quicksand-laden deserts and echoing forests, Ellian helps her parents rediscover their humanity and learns why they lost it to begin with. When they do arrive at the Lake, she finally snaps...and they're reminded that, whether together or separate, their daughter is the most important thing in their lives, and they love her even if they're no longer meant to be a couple.

The Animation: Gorgeous, as per the fantasy milieu. The Dark Forest of Eternal Darkness is not aptly named, as it's colorful and stunning, with its wild backgrounds. The colors glow here, and the details are incredible. Humans look a bit selfish, but everyone moves well, and the diverse cast is well-rendered. Perhaps because John Lasseter runs Skydance, this does feel a bit derivative of Disney, mainly in those elaborate backgrounds.

The Song and Dance: The animation and score are probably the best thing about this one. Menken crafted some decent music here, especially for Ziegler. She does fairly well as the upbeat teenager who just wants her parents back, despite some clunky dialogue. Lithgow also has some funny moments as the stuffy advisor who learns to cut loose and see silver linings when he switches bodies, and Burgess and Lane are hilarious as the Oracles. I like the idea of her parents rediscovering their humanity throughout the film, and despite it being awkwardly handled, I commend them for even attempting to deal with a mature subject like divorce in an animated film at all. 

The Numbers: Ellian explains that "My Parents are Monsters" as she shows the chaos they've created in the castle during the opening number. Bolivar and Nazara claim they'll return the kingdom to normal "Step By Step" and make Ellian queen. The Oracles explain "How to Break the Spell" before the king and queen burst in. Ellian laments that she just wants things to be "The Way They Were Before" when her parents were human and knew she was their daughter. 

She's told to "Look for the Light" by the Oracles when they arrive at the Dark Forest. Her parents start "Remembering" their past life as they follow the lights and she encourages them to recall their past life. Bolivar happily claims "I Could Get Used to This" when he finally befriends the finks who think he's one of them. After they say they won't change back at the Lake of Light, Ellian finally snaps, wonder "What About Me?" and why they never seem to notice her in their fights. They all reprise "What About Us?" and "The Way It Was Before" as Bolivar helps save them and they realize how important their daughter is. Ellian reprises "My Parents are Monsters" in the end, and we get "The Way It Was Before" over the end credits.

What I Don't Like: While I appreciate the discussion of a topic like divorce here, it could have been integrated better. It comes out of nowhere in the second half and doesn't work well with the fantasy elements. There's also subjects like divorce and mixed marriages being extremely controversial. Some parents may not appreciate a movie where it's basically shoved down their throats. The music isn't bad but isn't especially memorable, either. The whole thing just seems like it's been thrown together from spare parts of better Disney and Dreamworks movies and is cliched to high heck other than the divorce talk. 

The Big Finale: Not the greatest thing ever, but not nearly as bad as some critics claim, either. If their parents aren't offended by some of the more mature elements, elementary-school-age girls like my niece might be the best audience for this. They'll enjoy the fairy tale story and be able to ignore the awkward message and clunky dialogue.

Home Media: Netflix exclusive at the moment.

Netflix

Animation Celebration Saturday - 1001 Arabian Nights

UPA/Columbia Pictures, 1959

Voices of Jim Backus, Dwayne Hickman, Hans Conried, and Kathryn Grant

Directed by Jack Kinney

Music by George Duning; Lyrics by Ned Washington

UPA debuted during World War II as a unit to make industrial training shorts. Former Disney artists felt the company focused too much on making cartoons that were close to reality and wanted to experiment more with form and content. When government contracts evaporated in the late 40's, they joined Columbia as their in-house animation unit. Not only did they have a unique, angular style that was in direct contrast to what other studios were putting out then, but their biggest stars Mr. Magoo and Gerald McBoing Boing were human rather than comic animals. By 1959, UPA and Magoo were popular enough for them to jump into feature production. How does Mr. Magoo's sole theatrical film look today? Let's begin in old Baghdad as we're introduced to Abdul Azizz Magoo (Backus) and his lazy nephew Aladdin (Hickman) and find out...

The Story:  Magoo wants Aladdin to get married, but he resists the three maidens (The Clark Sisters)  his uncle sends after him. He finally falls for Princess Yasmina (Grant) when he sees her riding through the town. Yasmina has desperately agreed to marry the Grand Wazir (Conried) in order to restore the kingdom's treasury. Hoping to get rid of Aladdin and get the kingdom and the princess for himself, the Wazir pretends to be Magoo's long-lost brother. He intends to kill him in the cave where he finds a magic lamp, but Aladdin and the lamp get shut in the cave.

Rubbing the lamp reveals a genie (Herschel Bernardi) who can grant Aladdin's every wish. He releases Aladdin from the cave with enough jewels to convince the Sultan (Alan Reed) that he's a wealthy prince. The Wazir tricks Magoo into giving him the lamp, allowing him to whisk Yasmina and the palace Aladdin created for her to a desolate cliff near the sea. Magoo takes his friend Omar the Rugmaker's (Daws Butler) magic carpet after them to bring the two lovers together and keep Aladdin from the chopping block!

The Animation: The color is just stunning on the copy currently at Amazon, brighter than the marketplace of old Baghdad. We do indeed get examples of their flat, angular style, from the humans and their rubbery limbs to the largely black-and-white fantasy sequence where Aladdin falls for Yasmina. 

The Song and Dance: UPA really put out all the stops in this colorful confection. Hickman is an adorable Aladdin (especially when those ladies are chasing him), Conried has a great time as the scheming Wazir, and Bernardi lends the Genie a certain gravity, but it's really Magoo's show. He does have a few funny moments, whether it's mistaking his cat for a dog or directing that magic carpet through the numerous obstacles the Wazir throws in his path. 

Favorite Number: "Magoo's Blues" laments how Aladdin no longer listens to him as he prepares lamps to be sold and his cat Bowser chases the live yarn the Wazir gave Omar to make into a rug. We hear "You are My Dream" three times. The first puts everything but Aladdin and Yasmina in black and white as Aladdin falls so hard for her, he wanders around dazed in slow motion. Yasmina reprises it first, then the chorus picks it up as Aladdin climbs over the palace wall to see her and we get a barrage of brilliant flower graphics. The three little announcers play a tune right before and during the wedding that doesn't come to pass between Yasmina and the Wazir.

What I Don't Like: While he does have some funny gags, Magoo doesn't fit as well into Arabian Nights tales as he did American history or A Christmas Carol. The jokes with his bad eyesight sometimes go on for too long, especially in the beginning with the ball of yarn he thinks is a cat. Other versions of this story focus on Aladdin or the Genie, not Aladdin's guardian. The animation is well-done for UPA, but isn't for those who prefer the less limited and more realistic style at other studios. 

The Big Finale: Worth taking a magic carpet ride for if you love Magoo or the stylized animation of the mid-20th century. 

Home Media: On solo DVD from the Sony Choice made on demand Collection; is also a part of the Shout Factory release Mr. Magoo: The Theatrical Collection. It's currently free to stream on Amazon Prime with a subscription.

DVD

DVD - Mr. Magoo: The Theatrical Collection

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Descendents: The Rise of Red

Disney, 2024

Starring Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Ruby Rose Turner, and Morgan Dudley

Directed by Jennifer Phang

Music and Lyrics by various

I thought Disney was done with this franchise, but never underestimate their obsession with their history and milking a series dry. That said, it's not often they dive into their TV history. Descendents apparently returned last year with an animated short that launched a revival of the series, this time focusing on Cinderella and the citizens of Wonderland. How does this latest visit to the world of Auradon Prep look, especially compared to the films that came before it? Let's begin with Uma (Chiana Anne McClain), daughter of Ursula, as she tells us how she is now principal of Auradon and plans on shaking things up, and find out...

The Story: Red (Cantrall) is the rebellious daughter of the Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora), who embraces her invitation to Auradon as a way to get out from under the thumb of her tyrannical and controlling mother. The Queen, however, uses the invitation as an excuse to stage a coup and take over the school. Red flees and uses a pocket watch given to her by Maddox (Leonardo Nam), the son of the Mad Hatter, to go back in time when her mother and Cinderella (Brandy) attended the school. Chloe (Baker) accidentally gets caught up in the watch's magic, and after arguing over the watch, eventually decide to work together to save their mothers.

Turns out not only did their mothers know each other when the school was called Merlin Academy, but Bridget (Turner) and Ella (Dudley) were best friends. Bridget was a perky go-getter who wanted to be friends with everyone, while Ella is more skeptical about royalty and those who abuse their privileges. Bridget inadvertently gets on the bad side of school bully Uliana (Dara Renee) when she steals her flamingo cupcakes and turns into a flamingo, causing her to plan a major prank on her at the school dance. Chloe and Red have to figure out how prevent that prank from happening, before any worse damage is done in the past and the present.

The Song and Dance: I give them credit for at least trying for something a little different. This feels like a fairy tale Back to the Future as the girls head to the past and see how different their mothers were when they went to Merlin Academy, as it was called then. Cantrell and Baker have a great time as the unruly Red who is determined to prove she's nothing like her dominating mother and sweet Chloe, who is shocked to discover her mother wasn't always royalty or perfect. Also great to see less-discussed Disney properties like Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella and The Sword and the Stone be included in one of their crossovers. The costumes remain colorful, bright, and gorgeous, with amazing gowns for the moms and tight jackets and leggings for their daughters. 

(Also, kudos to them for their heartfelt acknowledgement of one of the original characters, Carlos, and the actor who played him. Cameron Boyce died of a seizure shortly before the release of Descendents 3, and the short tribute was very sweet and thoughtful.) 

Favorite Number: "Red" destroys everything about her mother in her introductory number. Cinderella sings "So This Is Love" briefly from the original Disney animated film with the Prince as they give Chloe a very special gift. The Queen of Hearts insists that "Love Ain't It" when she stages her coup and takes over the school. The two girls claim it's the "Fight of Our Lives" as Chloe and Red fight over the watch after the arrive at Merlin Academy in a dynamic rap routine. Bridget tells everyone that "Life Is Sweeter (Wherever You Are)" as she hands around her pink flamingo cupcakes to the students and Uliana and her villains introduce themselves. 

After her accidental humiliation, Uliana vows the "Perfect Revenge" on Bridget. Bridget, for her part, is totally ignorant as she briefly shows off her new dance for the Castlecoming Dance, "Shuffle of Love," to the duo. Ella insists that one should "Get Your Hands Dirty" and make their own choice to Chloe when she wonders if she should help Red steal the cookbook from Merlin. We end with a reprise of "Life Is Sweeter"  as everyone celebrates Red's arrival at Auradon, and Uma admits that while we have a happy ending now, there could be repercussions from messing with the past in the future...

What I Don't Like: This one starts off fairly strong, with improved special effects and mostly decent performances...but like Lady and the Tramp II, the finale is a disappointment. After all the build-up, they don't show the all-important Castlecoming Dance or how Ella and Prince Charming fell in love. I know they're trying to set up a sequel, but it makes the end of this movie feel like less of an end and more like the movie is just stopping for a dance party. Wish it could have made more use of some of its characters, too, especially the villains, Merlin, and Faye, the original Fairy Godmother. 

A lot of this contradicts the original films. I do appreciate Disney acknowledging Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, but Brandy and Paolo Montalban don't look anything like the adult Cinderella and Prince Charming from the first three films. And what happened to the villains being banished to the Isle of the Lost? Plus there were Wonderland characters in the original films and cartoons. The movie also awkwardly writes out most of the original characters as traveling in other kingdoms. They could have at least tried to integrate that better, instead of info-dumping that information in the very beginning.

The Big Finale: The Back to the Future twist makes this one of the more interesting Descendants films, but the dull second half makes this mainly for fans of the Disney films it refers to or the intended 8 to 14 audience.

Home Media: It's a Disney Plus exclusive at the moment. 

Disney Plus

Family Fun Saturday - Red Riding Hood (2006)

7 Arts International, 2006

Starring Morgan Thompson, Sam Stone, Lainie Kazan, and Joey Fatone

Directed by Randal Kleiser

Music and Lyrics by various

The wild success of the Shrek films made fairy tale parodies all the rage in the 2000's. We've already seen Disney's take on this idea, Enchanted, last year, but even low-budget studios made fun of stock fairy tale tropes. This B-level live action/CGI comedy crosses the satire with the teenage love of boy bands and rap and the CGI special effects that seemed to make anything possible, even turning a classic Brothers Grimm story into the tale of a little girl who dodges a very hungry wolf into a goofy action comedy. Does it work, or should it be eaten by the wolf? Let's begin in a colorless world, as Claire (Thompson) makes plans with her girlfriends to sneak out and see their favorite boy band, but is stopped by her bratty brother Matt (Stone) and her grandmother (Kazan) as she arrives with a very special book of fairy tales...

The Story: Anything Claire and Matt add to the story appears on the page, like Red Riding Hood (Thompson) riding a bike to Grandma's (Kazan), living in a lighthouse with her parents and brother Rusty (Stone), and dodging the Three Bullies on the bridge (Ashley Rose-Orr, Callie Waterman, and Andrea Bowen). The Wolf (Fatone) is actually a werewolf who is cursed to be perpetually hungry and will eat anything whole, people included. The Hunter) Henry Cavill) is after him for eating his parents. 

Red doesn't believe in the wolf and doesn't listen to her mother (Debi Mazar) telling her to stay on the path. When she's stranded in the woods after getting a flat tire, Rusty comes to her rescue...but then he's stranded. It'll take a combined effort between the two of them and the help of a Superman of a Hunter to keep Red and Rusty out of a wolf stomach!

The Song and Dance: First of all, I do like the Princess Bride-esque premise of the real grandmother reading to them and it happening in the kids' imaginations. It explains some of the weirder parodies, like Grandma being on a chat room and the wolf eating a TV news reporter and a boy scout group, among others. It's also nice to get a glimpse of Cavill, well before his stardom a decade later as Superman, and Mazar and Kazan have a great time as the concerned mother and free-thinking grandmother. The CGI is cheap, but it's also colorful and even frightening with the shadowy woods and the wolf attacking his victims.

Favorite Number: We open with "Love and Affection" over the animated credits depicting a comic version of the story we're about to see. Our first actual song is a black and white music video for "Coming Up," performed by real-life boy band Natural. Claire watches it while talking to her buddies about sneaking out, at least until Matt wants to play video games. "Spirit - Freedom" is our first number in the fairy tale world. Red and Grandma sing about how they appreciate having the freedom do what they please. Red hopes that "Maybe Someday" the Hunter will see her as more than a kid.

"I Can't Lie" Red explains to the Wolf when he encounters her for the first time. The Wolf sings the "Lil' Red Riding Hood" song from the 60's and argues with himself that "I Want Her Now." "Hey Grandma" is the Wolf's number with the kids while dressed as - and taking the appearance of - Grandma. He keeps chasing them with his fangs and jumping at them. It's a relatively scary moment in a movie that mostly plays its fantasy antics for broad comedy.

What I Don't Like: Which brings me to the movie's biggest problem - the comedy is a little too broad. This sounds and looks more like a Looney Tune than Shrek, or even Princess Bride. The silly sound effects and most of the performances, especially Fatone's hungry wolf, are so over-the-top, they really get annoying after a while. 

Red, on the other hand, is a snooty brat who refuses to do what her mother told her out of sheer contrariness. Her crush on the Hunter isn't terribly believable, especially when he turns up in the real-world at the end. He's probably in his 20's and she's about 13, making him way too old to be more than a crush...or as big of a deal as the movie makes it out to be. There's also the bad early CGI that makes everything look less like a fantasy and more like a cheap video game Matt's playing, dull songs, and constant references to chat rooms, e-mail, and boy bands that date the story badly.

The Big Finale: An interesting idea that could have used less over-the-top goofiness and more polish. It does seem to have its fans online who remember catching it on cable or DVD in the mid-late 2000's, but I thought it was just so-so. Would make decent background on a hot afternoon for bored pre-teens looking for something fun and goofy for their next pajama party.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the latter currently for free with commercials at the Roku Channel.

DVD

The Roku Channel

Musicals On TV - Cindy (1978)

ABC, 1978

Starring Charlayne Woodard, Scoey Mitchilll, Mae Mercer, and Cleavant Derricks

Directed by William A. Graham

Music and Lyrics by Stan Daniels

Let's celebrate Juneteenth this week with two very different takes on the African-American experience during the mid-late 20th century. Tales of American history were all the rage on TV in the late 70's after the success of mini-series like Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man. Minstrel Man is one result of this increased interest in both African-American history and American history in general. This is another. The World War II setting may also be part of the nostalgia craze of the 70's that had people looking to the recent past to escape the horrors of the present. How does that feed into this unique version of the beloved fairy tale? Let's begin with a narrator flat-out admitting over a more traditional fairy-tale book that this is a modern adaptation as a random jazz quartet starts the opening credits music and find out...

The Story: Cindy (Woodard) has come from the south to live with her daddy (Mitchilll) in 1943 Harlem. She's out of place in the faster pace of the city, and especially with her money-hungry stepmother Sara (Mercer) and snooty stepsisters Olive (Nell Carter) and Venus (Alaina Reed Hall). Her only friend is Michael Simpson (Derricks), the guy who lives on the fire escape over her and is too lazy to join the draft.

Cindy desperately wants to attend the Sugar Hill Ball, but her father can't earn the money for a dress, and her stepmother and stepsisters don't want her there anyway. Michael takes pity on her and loans her a dress he borrowed from the wife of his employer. At the ball, she's swept off her feet by handsome Captain Joe Prince (Clifton Davies), but loses one of her sneakers when she flees because Michael has to get the dress back. Captain Prince is determined to find the girl of his dreams...but even when he does, Cindy realizes when Michael makes the ultimate sacrifice who is really the man for her.

The Song and Dance: Sweet story is anchored by eager Woodard and relaxed Mitchilll as her daddy who fibs about his real status at work to impress her and her stepmother. Hall and Carter are a riot as the tough, man-crazy stepsisters, and Davies has a few funny moments as the princely heroic captain who only need to dance with Cindy to fall in love with her. There's some amusing touches, like the jazz quartet who keep popping up to provide background music and comment on the action, or the montage of the private detective (W. Benson Terry) trying on that sneaker to Fats Waller's "Your Feet's Too Big." The period-perfect costumes and gorgeous ball gowns (including Cindy's head-turning white lace outfit) were nominated for Emmys in 1978. 

Favorite Number: We open with Cindy joining little girls jumping rope on the street with an enthusiastic version of the jump rope chant "One for the Money." It doesn't go so well for her stepsisters when they try. Despite her father telling her that city folks worship far quieter than country folks, Cindy still tears into "Jesus, Lover of My Soul." Her stepsisters claim the "Sugar Hill Ball" is so wonderful, they can't describe it. We get several instrumental swing numbers at the ball as everyone swirls to the music...and then Cindy arrives, and the music becomes everything from slow ballads to tango. 

"Your Feet's Too Big" is the montage as the private detective tries that sneaker on every eligible maiden in Harlem. Cindy's daddy tells his fussy wife that he's been lying about his job, but he's proud to be a "Men's Room Attendant." It amusingly turns into a big chorus number, with guys popping out of stalls to sing along. Joe tells Cindy that you know "When It Happens." Her family encourages her to accept his proposal, but there's someone else Cindy loves more. The movie ends with Cindy admitting that "Love Is the Magic" as she thinks of how happy she is.

What I Don't Like: Other than the "Feet's Too Big" montage, the new songs are period-accurate jazz and showtunes, but otherwise not terribly memorable. Derricks' Michael is well-meaning but a bit dull. There's not much to him other than he won't join the war. I do like the twist about whom Cindy ends up with, but I wish we'd seen a little more of them together before that. And yes, this is a low-budget TV musical from the late 70's. The costumes are lovely, but the sets are mainly cramped rooms, ball rooms, and fire escapes. 

The Big Finale: Like Minstrel Man, this is a charming and enjoyable bit of black TV history that really deserves to be better-known. 

Home Media: Also like Minstrel Man, at press time it can only be found in a washed-out copy on YouTube.

YouTube

Spring Short Subject Special - Peter and the Magic Egg & The Berenstain Bears Play Ball

Let's celebrate Easter and the start of baseball season with these two lesser-known specials from 1983. While there have been holiday programming made for Easter just as long as there have been for Christmas, most of them tend to get the short end of the stick compared to their cold-weather counterparts. Are these springtime shorts deserving of a place at your Easter weekend celebration, or should they be left off the team? Let's begin with a story told by an egg (Ray Bolger) and find out...

Peter and the Magic Egg

Murikami-Wolf-Swenson, 1983

Voices of Ray Bolger, Al Eisemann, Joan Gerber, and Robert Ridgely 

Directed by Fred Wolf

Music by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volan; Lyrics by Romeo Muller

The Story: Mother Nature (Gerber) gives the Dopplers, poor Pennsylvania Dutch farmers, a child they name Peter Paas (Eisemann). Peter grows far faster than ordinary children, and within a year, he's able to work on the farm. He arranges a contract with the Easter Bunny to provide eggs with the help of the farm animals he's taught to dress and speak like humans.

The farm is owned by Tobias Tinwhiskers (Ridgley), a wealthy farmer who is so obsessed with his machines, he had himself made over as one. He's furious when Peter brings him the money for the mortgage from that contract and challenges him to a ploughing contest. Turns out he's rigged it so Peter falls in a well. Peter's found in a deep sleep that leaves his parents and animal friends in a deep depression. Mother Nature gives the animals an egg that will supposedly awaken Peter, but Tinwhiskers isn't about to let them hatch it!

The Animation: This is the same sketchy style as their previous Thanksgiving In the Land of Oz special, with slightly brighter colors as per the Easter theme. The animals look cute enough and closely resemble the characters on the Paas boxes until recently, and they move pretty well. 

The Song and Dance: For something intended as a half-hour commercial for Paas Egg Dye, this is actually pretty interesting. It has the feel of a folk tale, with its quaint Pennsylvania Dutch setting and man vs. machine theme. The animals are fairly funny, especially when they're called on to hatch that egg, and Tobias Tinwhiskers is a nasty and even scary-looking villain. 

Favorite Number: The special opens and closes with narrator Uncle Amos Egg (Bolger) claiming the story is "A Wonderment." Peter and the animals sings "An Animal Can Be Folks" twice, first when he gives the animals their trademark clothes, then during the show they hold to raise money for the farm. He also sings to implore "Mother Nature" to give him answers. The animals all wonder what "Our Egg" will be like when it hatches. 

What I Don't Like: Peter himself is a bit of a nonentity. Other than his sudden growth spurt, there isn't much to him, and he's missing for most of the special's second half. Honestly, they build up the egg and what's in it so much, when it does hatch, it's a bit of an anti-climax. I see the point they were making, but it doesn't make it less weird.

The Big Finale: Charming spring-time fairy tale is worth checking out if you're looking for something different to watch while dying eggs or waiting for the Easter egg hunt with the kids.

Home Media: Currently out of print on DVD, both solo and packaged with Thanksgiving In the Land of Oz. Your best bet might be checking YouTube. 

DVD

DVD - Peter and the Magic Egg/Dorothy In the Land of Oz

YouTube

The Berenstain Bears Play Ball

NBC, 1983

Voices of Ron McLarty, Pat Lysinger, Knowl Johnson, and Gabriela Glatzer

Directed by Al Kouzel

Music by Elliot Lawrence; Lyrics by Stan Berenstain

The Story: Papa Bear (McLarty) is thrilled when he sees Brother Bear (Johnson) randomly hit a rock with a stick. He thinks he has a future big league star on his hands. He pushes Brother into the Bear Country Little League team, ignoring Sister (Glatzer), who is genuinely talented. It's Brother and his friends who finally show him the error of his ways when he follows them through the bog and is reminded that baseball is only a game, after all. It's not until he's coaching the team that he needs a second base-bear and finally starts seeing his daughter and her abilities in a new light.

The Animation: Once again, it's nothing flashy, but it gets the job done. It does look like the books of the time, which is likely all this special needs. It looks especially good during Brother's game with his buddies in the bog and Sister's "I Want It All" number.

The Song and Dance: This may be the most stripped-down of the five Berenstain Bears specials, and the only one to not revolve around a holiday. It's just the family here. In fact, it's mostly Papa and the cubs. Brother's bog buddies from Easter Surprise are seen, but have no lines. Papa does have some hilarious moments early on, when he sees Brother hit that rock and thinks he has a star on his hands, and mid-way through when he attempts to teach Brother a game he's well aware of how to play.

Favorite Number: We open and close with a chorus number describing why baseball is so popular with many people, "Baseball Is the National Pastime." "You're Safe, You're Out" is what Papa tries to teach Brother. Sister picks it up more readily than her older sibling. She admits that she wants a career and a family, teddy bears and baseball. "I Want It All," says Sister. Brother and his friends sing about how they don't care that their infield is a bumpy bog or their MVP is a many-limbed tree, they say "Come to Our Pick-Up Baseball Game" anyway. 

What I Don't Like: The side story with Sister not being able to play because of her gender hasn't dated well at all nowadays. Even Mama eventually calls Papa on it. It makes Papa look less well-meaning and even more like a jerk than his pressuring Brother does. 

The Big Finale: The last of the five Berenstain Bears specials isn't my favorite, but it's still worth seeing once if you have any Berenstain Bears fans or very young Little Leaguers or Little League hopefuls around. 

Home Media: Once again, the DVD is currently out of print, but it can be found on YouTube.

DVD - The Berenstain Bears: Springtime Surprises

YouTube