The Special World of Rankin-Bass

R-B's first product was a syndicated stop-motion series, featuring Pinocchio. The show consisted of 5 5-minute chapters per story.

R-B's next show was from the realm of traditional line animation, featuring characters from L. Frank Baum's Oz stories. However, they gave them new names, like Rusty Tin Man. The animation was done in Canada, by Crawley Films.

Crawley Films and Rankin-Bass reteamed to produce this animated special, using the models from the Tales of the Wizard of Oz series. The story is pretty much identital to the original Wizard of Oz, with some minor changes. It was much repeated, through syndication, and had a life on home-video.

This is where Rankin-Bass truly made their name. Produced for CBS, it became a staple of the holidays for two generations. It created the structure for all of their future specials (a narrator who talks directly to the audience and relates the story, use of celebrity voices) and is beloved by millions. It's a thing of wonder, as it took a little novelty song and fleshed it into a larger story. Rudolph is the son of Donner, who tries to hide his glowing nose from the other reindeer. At the reindeer games, Rudolph's nose is revealed, to the ridicule of others, though a doe named Clarice, who appeared smitten with Rudolph, doesn't laugh. She tries to cheer up Rudolph, but her father forbids her to see him. Rudolph runs away to escape the ridicule and heartbreak. Meanwhile, an elf named Hermey wants to be a dentist, not a toymaker. He, too, runs away and the pair run into one another and set off on a journey. Along the way, they encounter Yukon Cornelius and a Snow Monster, before finding the Island of Misfit Toys. The special is filled with honest emotion and can't fail to tug at your heartstrings. Actress Billie Mae Richards provides the perfect voice for young Rudolph.

This was R-B's first feature film, done in stop-motion. It features the tale of a boy genius who travels through time to stop an evil inventor from altering history by turning himself into the creator of several great inventions. The boy is aided by the villain's talking monkey, who rebels against his master. The group go back to the Old West, Columbus' voyage, Arthurian Britain, and pre-historic times in an effort to stop the villain.

This film combines live action and stop motion, via dream sequences. The story revolves around a teenaged Hans Christian Anderson, who daydreams about fairytales, rather than doing his schoolwork. Inspirations for his stories play out as dreams, animated via stop motion.

This special featured stop-motion and tells the tale of Smokey the Bear, with Jimmy Cagney narrating. I have never seen this one, so I don't really know much about it. I don't recall it circulating on the networks or syndication in the 70s, though that could have been related to rights for the character (just supposition on my part). It could also just be that it was outshined by later R-B specials.

Rankin-Bass produced this animated series, with animation from Toei. It proved quite popular in Japan, leading to the teaming with Toho for King Kong Escapes. The series revolves around Kong's adventures with the Bond family, as he meets up with monsters, aliens, and oter threats. It also featured the cartoon Tom of THUMB. This was a big hit, in its day, and remains a cult favorite.

This was Rankin-Bass' first full entry into live action, done in partnership with Toho, producers of Godzilla. It centers around the Toho version of King Kong, as seen in King Kong vs Godzilla. A scientist creates a Mechani-Kong (a robot version of Kong) to find the radioactive Element X, which is poisonous to humans. The robot short-circuits, so the scientist tries to find the real Kong. meanwhile, a submarine finds the real Kong, with scenes derived from the original King Kong. The villain captures Kong and hypnotizes him into completing the job. Kong eventually breaks control and swims to Japan to free a female naval lieutenant, with whom he is smitten (ala Fay Wray). The film features a climactic battle between Kong and MechaniKong, on top of the Tokyo Tower. If you enjoy Godzilla films, you'l enjoy this. The film features American and Japanese actors and is directed by Godzilla director Ishiro Honda.

More stop-motion in this feature film, which tells the tale of Baron Frankenstein's (Boris Karloff) nephew, who becomes heir ot the Baron's secret for total destruction. There is a romance between Felix (the nephew) and the Baron's assistant, as well as appearances by other monster legends. The script was from Harvey Kurtzman, with designs by Jack Davis, both of whom helped launch Mad Magazine to fame (as a comic book). The movie features Alan Swift impersonating actors such as Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Charles Laughton, and others, while Phyllis Diller also lends her voice. This has been a cult hit since it was released, though for years it was only available in poor quality video. Eventually, a pristine 35mm print was uncovered and a new digital transfer was made. The film would later spawn an animated "prequel," which was part of the ABC Superstar Movie: Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters.

This was an animated film from R-B, with characters from the Mother Goose rhymes.

Danny and Marlo Thomas are featured in this animated tale from Charles Dickens. Roddy McDowall voices the cricket, in this Christmas tale.

This Thanksgiving special features Tennessee Ernie Ford as the voice of a church mouse, Willum, who travels aboard the Mayflower and tells the story of the voyage of the ship and their arrival in the New World.

This Rankin-Bass stop-motion special features a story based on the Christmas song. In this version, the boy, Aaron, likes to play his drum for his animal friends Samson, Babba, and Joshua (a donkey, a sheep, and a camel, respectively) who dance when he plays. The group are forced to join a travelling circus, but escape and join the caravan of the Three Magi. Babba, the sheep, is hit by a Roman chariot and is badly injured. Aaron takes him to the baby Jesus to be healed. Aaron is moved by the kindness of Jesus in healing the sheep, but he has no gift to give, so he plays his drum, leading to the song. Greer Garson plays the narrator, while Jose Ferrer is the voice of the circus owner. The Vienna Boys Choir sing the title song in this heartwarming story. The Rankn-Bass specials often allude to the religious aspects of Christmas, but this was the first that directly dealt with them.

Smokey and the gang are featured in short cartoons, where the supporting characters end up in a jam, only to be rescued by Smokey. There was also a companion cartoon, featuring the characters as kids, in Our Gang-style comedic gags.

Happy Birthday! This is the second of the beloved Rankin-Bass holiday triumvirate (with Rudolph and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town). Jimmy Durante narrates and sings the title song. R-B used traditional line animation on this one. Inexplicably, June Foray's voice, as Karen, the schoolteacher, was replaced in 1970 and has never been restored. The cause of her deletion has never been revealed, though rumors persist of royalty or copyright issues.

This was an animated series, based largely on the writings of Edward Lear (though Lewis Carroll and Ogden Nash were also featured). It was produced in England and distributed by Rankin-Bass in the US.

This special aired before the Oscars and features a tribute to vaudeville comedians, many of whom voiced themselves, including Jack Benny and Groucho Marx. Paul Frees provided the voice of Chico Marx (and several others), much to the delight of Groucho, who enjoyed his portrayal. this has been little scene since, but was one of R-B's highest rated specials.

This adapted The Wind in the Willows, but I can't tell you much more than that.

This is my favorite of the three Rankin-Bass biggies. Fred Astaire narrates as a mailman, delivering letters to Santa, at the North Pole. He proceeds to tell the tale of Santa's early life, and how he came to deliver presents on Christmas Eve. Mickey Rooney voices Kris Kringle, Keenan Wynn is the Winter Warlock, Paul Frees is Burgermeister Meisterburger, and Joan Gardner is Jessica, the future Mrs. Claus. The special is a lot of fun, with origins for the elves, the suit, the beard, the toys, stocking hanging by the chimney, etc... The songs are wonderful, capped off by Astaire singing the title song. The bit where the Warlock captures Kris and the penguin, with trees, scared the bejeezus out of me as a kid.

Easter has proven a tougher nut for Rankin-Bass to crack, as seen in this special. Peter vies with the evil January Q. Irontail to become Chief Easter Bunny. To do so, he must deliver more eggs than Irontail. Thanks to Irontail's treacher, and his own boasting, he loses. Dejected, he leaves the valley and encounters a peddler (voiced by Danny Kaye) who has a time machine, with which Peter can go back and correct things. Inortail sabotages it, though, preventing Peter from visiting Easter, though he can go to other holidays. He eventually delivers eggs on St Patrick's Day and changes the future for the better. Kasey Casem is Peter and Vincent Price is Irontail. I remember seeing this, but it was never one of the favorite specials.

Now we are starting to get into the realm of memory (without rerun prompting). This featured the Jackson 5 in adventures and music, on Saturday morning. The music was theirs but the voices weren't. The premise was similar to Josey and the Pussycats, where the Jackson's manager got them all kinds of gigs, which led to the adventure. The cartoons featured two songs per episode and Diana Ross voiced her cartoon self in the debut. I watched this when I was pretty young and thought it was cool; but I haven't seen it since then.

Much like the Jackson 5ive, this featured the music of the Osmonds but not the voices. Donny was the hearthrob that the girls chased and Jimmy was an obnoxious brat who tagged along. At least, that is my memory, which might be faulty.

This was a cartoon adaptation of the comic strip Wee Pals, about a racially diverse group of kids, with positive moral messages. I don't remember much, other than the African-American character Nipper, who wore a Civil War kepi hat, usually down over his eyes (ala Beetle Bailey).

P.S. RIP Morrie Turner, creator of Wee Pals, Jan 25, 2014.

The Saturday Superstar Movie was an ABC experiment to provide a showcase for pilots of potential animated series. Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and Rankin-Bass all provided material, though only Lassie's Rescue Rangers and The Brady Kids emerged as series from the show. This one finds R-B rehashing the Mad Monster Party, in animated form, but with a wedding for Frankenstein's monster and his Bride. It did get a home video release which is more than most of these got.