Rabbit Ears: Paul Bunyan

It was the Winter of the Blue Snow when mighty PAUL BUNYAN first showed up at the logging camp. In next to no time, this giant of a man had set about revolutionizing the whole timber business.

This old American tall tale has been given a lively presentation by the Rabbit Ears folks. A somewhat surprising, but not inappropriate, environmental deference has been added to the conclusion.

Teaming Jonathan Winters' rollicking narration with the lyrical guitar of Leo Kottke was nothing short of inspired. The cartoon-like illustrations of Rick Meyerowitz add to the good humor.

There have been many Rabbit Ears stories that I have not heard of up until now and "Paul Bunyan" is one of them. "Paul Bunyan" is about the largest and tallest logging man in history named Paul Bunyan who starts his adventures as he tries to chop down all the trees in the Dakotas so that the new settlers could have homes to live in. Jonathan Winters' rich narration along with Leo Kottke and Duck Baker's inspiring music and Rick Meyerowitz's hilarious illustrations, all combine together to make "Paul Bunyan" one of the most creative and hilarious stories ever created on Rabbit Ears! Overall, "Paul Bunyan" is definitely one of the most hilarious and creative stories created by Rabbit Ears Productions and I am sure that many adults and children will enjoy this hilarious version of America's favorite tall tale hero Paul Bunyan!

Absolutely love the Rabbit Ears Productions animated adaptations. They are so well made and scored, with great choices of narrators perfectly cast and chosen for their talent than just star power or box office draw (the adaptations are not that kind of productions though). They are also very faithful adaptations on the most part, without being too faithful, and do incredibly well at making the stories accessible for children and adults alike.

You don't have to know necessarily the story of 'Paul Bunyan' to love or at least enjoy Rabbit Ears Productions' adaptation of the Tall Tales hero. To those that do have prior knowledge of Paul Bunyan before watching this adaptation (for the likely reasons of being a fan of animation, loving folklore, loving other Rabbit Ears Productions adaptations, loving children's literature or if one likes Jonathan Winters), he is a folklore icon and his adventures are legendary. 1990's 'Paul Bunyan' does great justice to him and his exploits and is fantastic stuff as a standalone. As far as Rabbit Ears Productions adaptations go, 'Paul Bunyan' stands tall amongst most of them and is one of the funniest and most creative.

'Paul Bunyan' is very well, and often wonderfully, drawn. The white backgrounds are not as rich in detail as the character designs, but this was a deliberate choice and not a case of running out of budget. It was a choice that worked incredibly effectively and the wintertime setting is made clear as a result. The character designs are very creatively done, especially for the titular hero himself, and the colours are always vibrant and rich. Nothing looks cheap here.

Expectedly, the music appealed to my tastebuds and was fabulous on its own terms and without any questionable placement. Rabbit Ears Productions always excelled when keeping things simple musically, here, like in for example 'Pecos Bill' (another must see), there is heavy use of just solo guitar. There is an authentic upbeat spirit and also a tranquility in quieter moments.

Winters is another in a long line of narrators for the series that makes a big impression, it was very hearty, especially in his voicing of Paul, and has such exciting energy in the right places. He gives the storytelling so much fun and life and the more intense moments are not too scary and over-shadowed vastly by the good-natured spirit of the overall storytelling. The script is often very funny, is faithful and also adapted with a clear target audience in mind rather than trying too hard in appealing to a wider audience and struggling too.

Overall, wonderful and a series standout. 10/10