Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure (Musical Hell Review # 134)
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- čas přidán 24. 08. 2024
- She's just a rag dolly...in a weird-ass movie.
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The Greedy doesn’t feel right for this movie, but he’d be perfect for a Kingdom Hearts boss.
Ooh. Maybe use that Flow-Motion from 3D to fight him, that was the best part of that game!
Ooo 😮
KH, or Cuphead.
He's a less disgusting version of the Great Mighty Poo from Conker
He has the vibe of an Eldritch Abomination….for kids
What life in France did Babette miss so much? She likely got made in a factory, stuffed in a box, and sat on a shelf till wrapped and gifted.
Probably something she imagined/hallucinated much like Buzz hallucinated being a Space Ranger.
@@johnvinals7423 Ancestral memory of the pretend life the doll supposedly had. Works for me.
Like an elf on a shelf as it were.
I just kinda assumed she was purchased second hand after being some French girl's doll.
I think she might have been handmade doll who saw quite a lot from a shop shelf.
Hey, Chucky isn't a toy. He's an evil ghost _possessing_ a toy. Totally different. 😁
Not in the remake with Mark Hamill.
As the requestor of this case, first thing's first...THANK YOU!! Second, You have no idea how much this movie harkens the phrase "I try to get out, but it always pulls me back" (Bear with me for a sec, I'm about to un-suppress a lot of memories).
I first saw a snippet of it when I was 3 years old (before FULLY developing cognitive abilities); the Only thing I remembered was the Greedy/Taffy Pit and also being freaked out by it at that young an age...so, naturally, my parents recorded over it with a bunch of Disney shows...cut to about 5 years later when I dig up the tape for some reason, and in between some of the Disney shows was a Surviving Fragment; about 12 seconds of "Candy Hearts & Paper Flowers"...I ask my sister if she remembers this, to which she reminded me of the scene with the Greedy...suddenly I had even more pre-internet questions that needed answers...
This went on for about 2 years, until one day when renting games at a Blockbuster & looking for stuff to watch afterwards, there it was in all its Boxed Glory (?). I wanted to rent it, my parents were immediately skeptical that a (now) 10 year old me wanted to rent a kids movie when I had already elevated to more Live Action stuff...Long story short, I sat through it...and my Jaw could not be picked up from the ground until after the credits, it was THAT Polarizing to me. I had one of those "Let us never speak of this again" kind of moments the second I dropped the tape into the Quikdrop box.
Since then, once every couple of years, someone, something or some random corner of the internet would remind me of this movie's existence; and while as an adult now I don't feel as negatively strongly about it when I was 10 (Hell, I can even make jokes about it now); this was still a Cinematic Scar that has yet to truly heal...
Also, you spelled Telehell in the credits with 4 L's, but I'll forgive that knowing what people in the other Circles of Here can do to me....Once again, Thank you Your Honor.
Well it is a cult following after all
To be fair, some families back in the day used to act really sappy and cutesy amongst themselves. But not in a weird way. So the paper flower song, to me personally, felt more wholesome than romantic. They had a well rounded sibling relationship. They don't see eye to eye on everything, but care for each other a lot.
Like the Boyle cousins in Brooklyn 99
TBH, when I first saw this, I wasn't even aware that they _were_ siblings.
Oh, come now. Chucky wasn't a toy on a murderous rampage, he was a toy processed by a serial killer, who continued his rampage in a new body.
Everyone knows the only toy who ever independently went on a murderous rampage was Teddy Ruxpin.
Teddy Ruxpin?! I feel like I must have missed something.
I mean, the _initial concept_ regardless of its context is "this toy is trying to murder you".
I’d like to see Chucky have a face off with raggedy Andy 😂😂
@@starrydreamer4697 I feel like that would be a very short fight.
Furbys, of course, are a hive mind, and go on their murder spree as a collective
NGL, when my parents purged their VHS collection and asked me if I wanted any, this is the only one I kept. Don’t tell anyone, but I loved Raggedy Andy and his song as a kid. There’s so many ways this movie could have been more than just a trippy sequence of music videos, and giving Ann and Andy just a smidge of character development would have been great!
I have to respect that in the film credits in the beginning we get the animators credits with the characters.
Fun Fact: Claire Williams’s voice was dubbed over by an unknown voice actress because Claire had a British accent
I kind of would like to hear Claire's actually voice
2:40 ....But she didn't do the line reads. Her voice was dubbed by another kid, it's right there in the film credits.
Don't you just hate it when you hire a voice double and the voice double can't act either?
Ah, the mid-70’s “Disney or Weirdo” days of Richard Williams: Despite legions of animation fans making Williams a holy martyr for his weird-Aladdin thing, Williams encapsulates those long gone days when Disney literally had the monopoly on feature animateds, and anything that competed came from some art-animator’s garage. IIRC, there was also a Broadway stage version that was even more disturbing, if such a thing is possible.
Yes, I don't know if there's any footage of it available but I read the plot of Wikipedia--something about needing to find a doctor for the dying Marcella--and it sounds like sixteen different kinds of weird.
@@MusicalHell The 1984 recording of the show has been found a couple of years ago and there is a movement to revive the show with improvements made to it of course
@@MusicalHellI hope you have something VERY special for your final episode of Musical Hell.
@@gamestation2690 I cannot emphasize it too many times: She may have done Cats: the Movie….She may have done The Wiz…She may have done At Long Last Love….But one of the boss-level,titans of bad overblown musicals awaits in “One From the Heart”.
A musical from the director of Apocalypse Now. You can only imagine what lies in store. (And yes, I know he did Finian’s Rainbow, too, but I liked that one.)
@@MusicalHell If you look for the YTer "Colin Looks Back" he has done a video or two on the musical. There also appears that there may be somewhere this was ARCHIVEd somewhere on the INTERNET, but I don't have the specific link. It's...disturbing and kinda cringe. Not the fun cringe. The makes you feel bad for watching it cringe. There's a music number where the dying girl has a hallucination/dream where the doctors were clowns. And weirdly, it also has a Sesame Street connection, as Ivy Austin played Anne in the footage.
The weird thing for me is, I never actually saw this movie or ANY clips of it until a Joe Raposo tribute special on PBS. They used footage of the Camel's song. And the thing intrigued me, because there was this Saturday Morning cartoon series, The New Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy, and the Camel was a main character. Think The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh crossed with the Nelvana (GOOD) seasons of Care Bears. And then the internet happened and the whole thing about The Greedy in every list as "This was in a Kid's Movie?!?" Years later, at an anime convention, the host of the Bad Anime panel had a special showing of 1970's animated movies that traumatized him as a kid. He showed clips of Wizards (his parents thought it was a kid's movie because it was animated), Mouse and his Child, and this movie.
That said, anyone else look at that pirate captain and automatically expect him to chide someone for "SnooPING AS usual?"
As someone who unironically enjoyed Hoodwinked when I first saw it when it premiered on Cartoon Network, next month's review will definitely be an interesting one. The only glaring sin I can recall from it is the stiff animation, so I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on where else it stumbles in the new year :)
As the requestor for the upcoming review (I think), I'm glad you're looking forward to it!
Side note: apparently, the musical numbers in Hoodwinked were supposed to be longer (the full versions were included as extras on the original DVD release), but the Weinstein brothers (whose Weinstein Company distributed the film) had them trimmed due to believing audiences would be impatient with them. This is despite the fact they previously served as executive producers for the film adaptation of Chicago.
Also, the stiff animation was probably the result of the movie only having a budget of $8 million. Compare that to the original Toy Story's $30 million budget
16:40 I think Babette’s arc having so much potential might be part of why, as my wife and I found out after watching this together earlier this year, there’s a tiny but dedicated group of Raggedy Ann fans on Tumblr who are devoted to shipping Ann and Babette. The potential of Babette adjusting to life in the playroom, and the way Ann instantly likes her and wants to help her feel at home, apparently just really inspires people to write about and draw those two together. Obviously we’re never going to get THAT movie but I wish we had, I think Raggedy Ann and Babette having a cute little love story amidst the toy room and pirate adventure would’ve been adorable.
Never underestimate queer people and turning a tiny shop into the only redeeming thing about a media source 😂😂
I've had this internal headcanon for a long while that instead of Babette being kidnapped, she runs away instead to try and get back to paris. Honestly I think it fits her character more and The Captain is barely in the movie anyway. Ann would obviously still go looking for her and Andy would follow along to make sure Ann stays safe. I don't mind the rest of the movie honestly, maybe a few cuts to Babbette to get a sense of WHY she wants to go back to Paris, in my head she's a collectors doll, a one of a kind who was made with love and care and possibly displayed before being bought by Marcella's family (it never actually says who got her the gift interestingly, so I'm going to pretend some of Marcellas family lives in France). She wants to go back to being fawned over for her beauty by the public, to be admired as an art piece rather than a doll and longs to see the view of france outside the window as she once did. Babettes goal is to get back to Paris and live with her maker again, not knowing that it's literally impossible to get there, while Ann actually probably knows since she goes to school with Marcella. I imagine a sort of Edward Tulane type story for her, a fragile doll trying to get back home despite how dangerous it is.
@@sayosweeti5757If you rewatch the part where Ann reads the label in the box, it says that Babette was given to Marcella by her Aunt Sophie.
Ooh! Awesome! That means it was given by somewhat distant family- perfectly fitting my headcanon!
Super-niche fandoms are wild, but in a sweet way.
I never saw this movie, but I did see a single episode of the animated TV series spinoff that involved an evil wizard kidnapping the Raggedy's bunny friend to win a magic cookoff.... what was in that Christmas fudge?
I think so. One of Santa's reindeer go to tell them their friend is kidnapped.
@@colleen4everThat’s the Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Christmas Caper special by Chuck Jones. The OP is referring to the 80’s Raggedy Ann cartoon
@@Mooms Oh yeah, that one. It was only one season I think.
I’ll be honest I honestly do have a huge soft spot for this movie sure it has its weird and uncomfortable moments, it has too many songs, and most of the characters (with the exception of babette and maybe the camel) don’t really go through any form of character arcs but I can’t help but really love this film with it’s great animation (I mean it’s from Richard Williams so you know it’s gonna be good) ,despite having too many songs they are still really good songs and you can tell that this film does have some heart to it so yeah i can’t help but really like this film!
Say what you will about this movie but "No Girls Toy" is such a damn catchy song. I also cannot unhear it being sung by Jax from The Amazing Digital Circus
Like always, despite my own personal opinions on the musicals you cover in your channel i always have a nice time watching them, understand where your points come from and even got a giggle out of a lot of the jokes you bring into your reviews. Even if this is one of my biggest comfort movies i share a lot of the same criticisms towards it as you.
My only grievance with this review is the part talking about "Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers" on how the song has '"incestuous implications" because of how close and affectionate Ann and Andy are to eachother, even if it's a joke it really bothers me how this talking point has been brought up in multiple reviews of this movie. I have tons of people in my family whom i've had the same closeness as Ann and Andy do and always appreciated media that showcased familial affection the same way RA&A: A Musical Adventure has, so it bums me out to see how the first conclusion tons of people have when seeing sibling / family dynamics like these is that they're inherently "Implied Incest".
I agree with you on your point about "Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers". There isn’t any incestuous subtext here; moreso, they were intended to be family members who care a lot about each other, as many family members are prone to do. Your brothers and sisters will often become your very good friends, especially if they’re similar in age (like Raggedy Ann and Andy are), and "Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers" is clearly supposed to convey platonic, familial affection. It’s a song about brotherly love, not romantic love.
I think the only reason people see "incestuous implications" in this song is because it’s between a man and a woman. A lot of people are totally fine when they see, say, two same-gender siblings caring heavily about each other (see: Frozen), or all members of a family caring about each other (see: the Addams Family), but when it’s one male relative and one female relative (such as a brother and sister, mother and son, or father and daughter) people will jump to conclusions and see incest. Because in our heteronormative society, it is assumed that any man who shows kindness to a woman _must_ have a crush on her.
@TheMbmdcrew Oh, they aren’t fine with Frozen either. If you ever feel like being horrified, give TVTropes’ “Incest Subtext” page a read. Any two relatives who give a crap about each other are on there.
@@TheMbmdcrew Either that or they've seen Durarara and Sword Art Online one too many times!
I think the "Implied Incest" comes from people who let their minds live in the gutter. Either that or they're the type who like to take something that is meant to be innocent and turn it into something dirty because they get their kicks out of ruining childhoods and causing trouble, and when they're called out on that, they say "oh lighten up, it's just a joke!" Why some people think jokes like that are funny, I do not know, nor do I wish to know.
Honestly, I find it a little sketchy how Ann and Andy got the final say in the Camel's condition. What if he _did_ want new legs because his worn out ones were painful to him? What if the girl's mother throws him out for being too ragged, just like his original family?
I forgot about that
I was distracted by the Greedy and King Koo Koo: both were terrifying(the greedy was more depressing though)
She likely won't considering some of her other toys are literally a bag and a bunch of socks
This may be close to the end of the road, but I'd love to see a return to the Cannon Movie Tales films, especially their version of Red Riding Hood.
Did she ever do 'Rumplestilskin'?
Yeah this is one of the biggest classic guilty pleasures I’ve ever seen.
4:15 And just like that, Diva earned the wrath of a million Mark Baker Raggedy Andy stans.
ngl i was surprised she didn't mention that the big reason people know about this movie today is because of raggedy andy simp compillations lmao.
no shame to them, it's just a funny phenomenon.
That's a thing?
Hmmmm... There can't be THAT many out there, right? Though, apparently some of Jax's personality (from The Amazing Digital Circus) was based on Raggedy Andy, so if people like researching, backtracking, and learning about connections, Raggedy Andy theoretically got even more eyes on him than he had before.
I'm just looking for insights, here.
@@geet9830 That's a new one on me. I saw this movie on Nickelodeon when I was a kid, that's how I know about it.
@@dogryme6 huh...you know what i can see it now that you point it out.
With the "new and perfect doll who doesn't want to be here" and the "old and shabby doll who just wants to be loved again" thing going on, I was thinking Marcella would not like how she couldn't really play with Babette without her getting damaged, so while she still appreciates the present, it's not really a *toy* in her eyes. Then stuff happens, Babette goes back to France like she wanted to be a decoration instead of a toy, and the camel comes back with Ann and Andy, to find that Marcella loves him and he becomes a new favourite toy. Or something like that anyway.
It's a pity the plot was not, because the animation really is gorgeous.
Having been of animated feature film-watching age in the 1970s I vividly remember watching the Greedy and Gadzooks on a big screen. I was pretty terrified by Gadzooks, actually--I was a very ticklish child an it seemed to have the ability to tickle everybody!! The movie quickly disappeared from the theatres and would sometimes show up on TV. Kids at school would sometimes chant the "What's in the box" thing the horrible twin dolls give us early in the movie. So it made its impression on a generation anyway. Just. . .a sort of nightmarish and badly plotted impression.
Diva is spot-on about the excess of Joe Raposo: The worst culprit of all in this film is the song Captain Contagious and Queasy sing near the end. You know the movie is finally ending. You can taste it. It's about time. . . and then Captain Contagious of all people sings a incredibly boring, long song about 'friendship." It's not a sparkling sea chanty or a dance break, or anything good even! it's a long, plodding ballad sung by a character we don't know much or care about at all and it spans at least two geological eras. Its only real purpose seems to be to push the ending further away! Blah.
Richard Williams did an amazing job with some of the animation and design. It's just such a shame the story is so unsatisfying.
Definitely a fascinatingly bizarre mess.
I know I’ve seen this film when I was a kid, but I repressed it. Good thing I have an appointment scheduled with my therapist this week.
Heart-felt disagreement regarding Andy. He's my favorite character, and and I listen to No Girl's Toy on its own. That said, my status as a non-effeminate gay man may color my perception of his attitude. His slightly swishy number is part of the humor of Andy.
Same
Completely agreed that I'm a big fan of his solo number. I think the main flaw is the fact it's a lot of bluster he puts on at the beginning that tends to dissipate by the time they leave the room. It could've had some good character moments, but just isn't utilized beyond his establishment.
I'm of the female persuasion, and I love the song, especially his walk during the "And not some sugar and spicy lacy and nicy sissy you're gonna enjoy" line (yes, I have almost all the songs memorized)
I like the "I'm No Girl's Toy" song.
It's honestly the best song in the movie ngl
You have unlocked a childhood memory. I remember watching this on TV and loving it when I was a little kid in the early 80s. I'd completely forgotten about this crazy movie. Thank you for reviewing it. No matter how weird it is, I loved it. My grandma had a Raggedy Ann doll that I looked forward to playing with whenever we visited. She eventually gave it to me. I think my mother might still have it somewhere.
I think I can also find in this movie (other than the original director Abe Levitow) some more Warner Bros. Cartoons alumni; Art Babbitt (animator for the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees) worked there for a while at Bob Clampett's unit, Emery Hawkins (animator for The Greedy) worked at the units of Art Davis, Robert McKimson, Charles M. "Chuck" Jones, and I. "Friz" Freleng, Gerry Chiniquy (animated King Kookoo) was a prominent guy at Freleng's unit, animating many of the dance numbers that Freleng used often in his shorts, Warren Batchelder worked under Clampett and McKimson's units, and Irv Spence worked under Tex Avery while he was at Warner Bros. Cartoons.
I honestly had forgotten about Babette by the time they got back to her…
We all did.
"The Nutcracker, Pinocchio, the Velveteen Rabbit ..." and my own favourites, The Sheperdess and the Chimneysweep and The Steadfast Tin Soldier.
Yes, Hoodwinked will be the next case! I'm looking forward to seeing something that my child self adored get ripped to shreds in Diva's court
Especially anything towards Andy Dick.
Same here! I actually caught Hoodwinked's Cartoon Network premiere back in the day and, apart from the stiff animation that I didn't even notice back then, I rather enjoyed it. So it'll be interesting to see where else Diva thought the movie stumbled :)
I'm still hoping to see Diva or Nostalgia Critic cover Rocky Horror but Hoodwinked had me laughing in anticipation!
I wonder if Diva will mention Shrek and/or Happily N'Ever After when the review for Hoodwinked comes out.
Good grief this movie. The scenes where the ghost camels are calling Camel to join them gave me recurring nightmares, 5 year old me interpreted it as "We need you to die so you can come to heaven with us"
Looks like 5 yr old you was correct.😬
Sounds like another inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Cats' musical.
At some point I really hope Diva gets around to reviewing the 1979 stop-motion film "Nutcracker Fantasy" and/or "The Phantom Tollbooth".
This was a brilliant final Christmas installment of Musical Hell, Diva. I loved it as a child, but as an adult, I notice the more glaring flaws.
Wait. Is Diva retiring soon?
@@maddie_sarver Yes, apparently, April 2024 is set to be her final case, though there will still be Know The Score.
@@trinaqI'm gonna miss Musical Hell
@@trinaqand probably livestreams
@@ForrestFox626So will I. 😥
You should do the Brave Little Toaster- another weirdly dark animated kids musical
I'm surprised she hasn't yet.
I can’t even imagine Diva’s reaction to the Repair Shop Horror song and/or Worthless.
This is my FAVORITE thing to show my friends. Because the animation and music is motherfucking beautiful!!! And the plot is the most chaotic thing I've ever seen-
That moment at 11:00 was and still is my nightmare fuel.
Whenever I have a fever I see that brown jelly bastard.
So, you might imagine the Vietnam kind of flashback I had.
Great review, Diva.
A friend and I watched this together a couple months ago and we had a lot of fun ragging on it (pun intented)
Andy's song is still a highlight
Despite its flaws, I can’t help but like this movie. The animation is so unique.
I loved this movie too
@@jgirlinluv55 I'd say it's a "better than the sum of its parts" kind of movie but I wouldn't say it's terrible, far from it.
Fun fact. All seven deadly sins are committed in this movie
Come on, NOT Lust! You've been watching too much Sword Art Online.
@@colleen4everthe captain and the French doll?
@@joewilenzik9119 Oh, right. Thought you were talking about...never mind.
I LOVED this movie when I was little! Watching it as an adult, you're right, the incoherent plot and bland dialog do keep it from being a cinematic classic, but some of the songs and intricate animated set pieces, taken on their own, really do make it worth a watch.
In my opinion, a film mustn’t be plot-secure to be a classic. It’s of the time animation seals the spot of classic firmly tight.
@@thelanktheist2626 The songs and voice acting are also really good.
This movie, and it's short appearance on the Unawesome Channel That Shall Not Be Named, has haunted the deep recesses of my mind for the last decade. Thank you for the additional context, and another decade of nightmares.
Fudge? Your punishment is too much fudge? Speaking as someone who did once attended an all you can eat all chocolate buffet (it was for charity), I have yet to encounter "too much" fudge. Honestly, i don't think i would mind that kind of Hell at all. I suppose you're just going easy on them due to their other great works.
This was on Nostalgia Critic's Top 11 Mind F$&~s for a reason.
You think this is crazy, you should check out the 1998 TV Special, "The Snowden, Raggedy Ann and Addy Holliday Show". It is a forgotten live action TV special that I remember seeing when it aired. It is based on the character of Snowden the Snowman (who was a character created by the store Target, and also shares a name with the snowman from the 1995 direct to video Jetlag Productions animated movie "Magic Gift of the Snowman"), who had stared in both an animated special, "The Adventures of Snowden the Snowman", and a live action special, "Snowden on Ice", both aired in 1997. This was a sequel to the live action "Snowden on Ice" special, and both featured real life figure skaters Scott Hamilton, Ekaterina Gordeeva, and Kurt Brownin. I feel like I'm the only one who knows about that obscure special.
Snowden the Snowman probably ran from Target when he went to a journalist with files on how Target has cameras in their stores watching you.
@@SodaPopBarbecue is that an Edward Snowden joke?
I vaguely remember the Snowden on ice special. I don't remember anything meaningful about it, but I remember that it happened
"Condemned to eat a plate of too-rich Christmas fudge by themselves..." I need to commit a musical sin, pronto.
This is one of those cases where the BTS stuff is so much more interesting than the movie itself, even though I have a soft spot for the movie myself. If you check the credits, the movie has a co-credit from the ITT corporation, who took a sign on to the movie because they were trying to save face following the CIA's attempt to overthrow the President of Guatemala. I found this out because I erroneously thought ITT corporation was ITT tech (the college that used to be advertised a ton when I was a kid)
I feel it should be noted that this film is an adaptation of a book from 1924, Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees. While The Greedy is a film original, there's still a good deal from the book and it cut out a reveal that the pirates were all little girls in disguise.
Another fun thing is part of the reason this film was made was that the company that funded it, ITT, needed to recoup their losses from their stocks dropping after helping the CIA overthrow the president of Guatemala.
Yes, really.
Wasn't it Chile though?
Thank you for not ripping apart "Blue." That's one of my favorite songs from this movie. Though I do agree with you on several of your points (especially involving the "plot"), but I still liked it. Different strokes for different folks.
While I like the idea of the backyard being the outside world to a toys point of view, what about the other weirdos? I mean, we see Gazooks as a broken inner tube, but what about characters like the Greedy? Is the Greedy discarded halloween candy? Is King Koo Koo an inflatable toy? Are his subjects party toys that were forgotten in the backyard? I can accept some suspension of disbelief, but some explanation would be nice.
This is my 2021 restoration of the film, although you've turned on frame blending which blends all the frames together in an unpleasant way.
I am surprised that nobody mentioned that this fever dream movie had a stage adaptation at one point in time.
I was expecting Raggedy Andy to get more of a grill for being misogynistic, but Williams got the brunt of it.
Incidentally:My mom had a Raggedy Ann as a kid. She STILL has her, in a safe place.
I do agree that it would have been more interesting to see Babette’s takeover of the pirate ship. I mean she demonstrated some pretty good use of female empowerment and actually overpowered the man that kidnapped her and then demonstrated so much dominance that his entire crew started to obey her commands. Babette went from some damsel in distress into a strong assertive woman who knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it.
In the thumbnail, I almost confused the Greedy to be the Great Mighty Poo.
The trailer for this film is one of a kind hilarious.
The one thing I never understood in this movie is why the here were those twin dolls that sang every line they had completely naked?
Naked dolls are a pretty common form of play room detritus, along with stray Legos and those little toddler-aged puzzles where all the pieces are supposed to fit in a cardboard frame but one of the pieces is missing and you're sure it's around here SOMEWHERE, you just don't know where.
@@MusicalHellI suppose that makes some sort of sense
@@MusicalHell Ohhhh Yeahhhhhh!
From what research I have done, Richard Williams did not enjoy working on this movie and hated that there were so many songs in it. He asked the people in charge if he could change anything but they refused. He even had them remove his name from the credits because he was extremely disappointed with this movie. So this movie was kinda doomed from the start it seems
To be fair, Richard Williams _was_ a prickly perfectionist. (As was, well, basically every animator of the traditional age)
I do have to give Williams credit for insisting on the more detailed style for the movie; it fits the cozy nostalgia of Raggedy Ann much better than UPA's streamlined look would have.
Despite all its flaws, such as slow pacing in the beginning and a messy execution, I love this movie. It's delightfully surreal, sweet and wholesome, but has just enough weird or dark elements to keep it from being saccharine. I like the themes, as muddled as they are, of chasing desires/joys you can’t have: finding a new joy or desire, being happy with what you got, finding happiness in new places, or do nothing or keep going down dark paths where happiness will never find you. And of course, the animation is spectacular, and many of the songs are incredible, with "No Girl's Toy" being a pride anthem for this asexual lesbian. 🤣Raggedy Ann is endearing in the same way Winnie the Pooh and Paddington Bear are: she's full of humble, unconditional love with loads of politeness and wonder. This is a movie I'm still gonna love, even with it's loose threads and all.
I'm with you. When I was ten, the Camel with Wrinkled Knees made me so sad. And the "Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers" just seemed so sweet.
@@auldthymer With all the overwhelming and exhausting blockbuster bullcrap that's in theaters now, a simple and sweet story about dolls and their pursuit of happiness is just a breath of fresh air.
I think animation is extremely good for something from the 70s and the voice actors did excellent jobs and the voices at least matched how you’d think they would sound.
@@kenthuang436 I agree!
The song of the camel caravan haunted me for a long time. It was so beautiful and sad! ❤😢
I love this movie. You can call this bad, and I won't argue, but it's not boring. The worst offense any piece of media can commit is to be boring. This is a wild movie to behold.
Fascinating, emotional, haunting and unforgettable animated musical for better and worse.
Dick van Dyke would’ve been the perfect live action Raggedy Andy, if only he were a bit younger at the time of its making. He has a beautiful singing voice and is an amazing dancer, so his younger self would’ve worked
wrt Raggedy Ann & Andy not going thru a character arc - sometimes life is just surviving the random things the world throws at you that you can't control
I saw it when it came on TV. 😊 The camel wanted to be a part of the crew so badly. 😢
Believe me when I say this, Vincent Price wouldn’t be out of place for this, especially considering he was in thief and the cobbler
This movie fucking slaps. Is it perfect? No. But what can I say? I’m a sucker for 70’s animation and surreal imagery. Also I like Andy being constantly done with every other toy’s shit, it’s funny.
Fun Fact: the Wrinkled Camel was animated by Ex-Disney animator Art Babbitt who also worked on the Thief and the Cobbler!
I actually read a storybook on this as a kid. Still in disbelief on this.
Ah, the movie that scared me so badly that my fear reactions traumatized my parents. Watching this now, I see why I was scared so badly. My parent thought it was a cartoon, and therefore, harmless. Little did they know.....
Like 'Watership Down'?
As a kid, I loved the realization that, while we were focusing on one group of characters, a whole other story was going on somewhere else.
This is one of my favorite comfort movies oddly enough, as much flaws as it has I cannot help but love it
3:00 Ah yes, my childhood sleep paralysis demons.
I’m obsessed with this movie
12:20 12:40 Williams didn't write the script, though. In fact, he hated it! He tried to petition for a rewrite, but failed.
I remember the weirdness of the Captain's musical number being briefly muted so that somebody could get a line in. Not sure I've seen that happen anywhere else before.
It’s a bit of a mess plot wise but I really enjoy this movie. I think Ann and Andy are so sweet and comforting. Is it a great film? I don’t know, but I do appreciate that it’s beautiful to look at and charming.
I loved this movie when I was little. It used to be on tv a lot. I wish it could be released on DVD.
I mean, we have Xanadu on video. And that movie is terrible.
8:53: So? Mutual Affection isn’t just for lovers; family members can have this type of feeling without leading to sexuality.
10:06: Either that, or he has the Desert Madness! “The Camels are Coming!!!” 🐪 🐫 🐪 🐫
You can write a song about filial love without making it sound romantic. It's a matter of the tropes and signifiers you include. (In layman's terms, you could call them the "vibes".)
I need a movie about a toy that is given over and over to kids that have been abused only to be discarded by the abusive parents/guardians, so it decides to go on a killing spree of the abusers
I point you to an Australian horror film called Benny Loves You
@@BenVarkentine after googling this movie, I am intrigued and will definitely be checking it out 👀
Honestly, if you remove the greedy, we could see how the French doll became the Captain
Love your videos, but I’ve got to ask, since it’s December would you be able to do a review of the Jim Henson Christmas special, The Christmas Toy? I grew up watching that every year during the holidays, and would love to see what you think about it. Maybe do a colab with your angel counterpart? 😊
Ironically, I remember watching the original ABC broadcast with one of my closest female friends at the time (her mom and my mom are decades long besties). I didn't know it was ever released on hard media as I thought the ABC broadcast was it and then it stayed in the Henson vault evermore (vs. HBO's yearly showings of Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas).
@@JonathanMCook It’s actually on CZcams if you want to watch it for nostalgia’s sake. It just amazes me what Jim Henson was able to accomplish with his puppetry, and we lost a great man the day he passed away.
That “What’s in the fucking box?!” scene had me on the freaking floor 😭😭😭.
That aside, I HATE that this movie turned out to be so mediocre. I won’t call it outright bad, but damn, what wasted potential. The animation and stylization is gorgeous to say the least, and some of those musical numbers are remarkably cute, but talk about doing it all so wrong in the end. I’m also in the minority who actually ADORES how nightmarish some of the designs are. I’m someone who likes creepy looking stuff like this in general, but the darker, creepier designs of the other toys in the room are lovable to me (minus those singing twin dolls, those are uncanny valley nightmares).
The animation is extremely good and aged pretty well especially with the Greedy being so liquid in movement and the sloshing he was creating was rather smooth. Water and any other liquid is extremely hard to animate even with CGI .
@@kenthuang436 that’s the beauty of 2D animation. If it’s done great, the drawing will always look great. 3D animation will eventually look outdated (see: Toy Story).
13:02 - 13:06 Adora and Catra have to overcome the toxic semi-religious indoctrination that’s caused them to pitted at each other’s throats on opposite sides of a thousand year old colonial pissing contest, Luz Noceda needs to grow into a fuller and more complete understanding of the adventurous magical life her grieving neurodivergent child self has always wanted more than anything else, Maisie Brumble and Horse both have to unlearn the toxic warrior culture mindset they’ve been forced/tricked into internalising for their entire lives, Anne Boonchuy has to create and develop her own sense of identity independent of Sasha and Marcy, Hilda learns to see wonder and beauty in what she previously dismissed as boring and mundane…
This movie may be messy with a messy production but the nice animation and voice acting made it a cult following
Heck, raggady andy probably even inspired jax from the new indie show "the amazing digital circus" (go watch the pilot btw)
It’s confirmed that Andy was the inspiration for Jax. Gooseworx asked Michael Kovach (who voices Jax) if he could do a Raggedy Andy impression
So this film is the result of an acid trip?
Babbett is a doll,so there's nothing for her to miss.She is just a toy.🎉🎉🎉 she has no right to feel that way, she's not human.Great review.
Sooooo much cocaine in Hollywood during the 1970's.......
When I saw the thumbnail, I thought this was the Great Mighty Poo.
11:48 He looks like if Fender from _Robots_ crossbred with the Martin Short seal from _Madagscar 3._
"In Song Form!" (every character here)
Oh my goodness I LOVED this movie and watched it on VHS over and over when I was little. I knew how to use Fast Forward through the scary/sad parts. I was an extremely sensitive child.
I had Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls and my toy box had pictures of them on it.
Fun fact: Some of the songs from the film were retooled for the staged musical, Ragdolly, a musical with a life story almost stranger than its book
I read somewhere that it was the reverse, the songs were retooled from the staged musical for the movie.
Also, the Raggedys' faces really creep me out - they look like Muppet versions of the kids in those weird creepy school posters.
Greetings, Immortal. Thank you for all that you do and Happy Holidays (forgiveness for not knowing what is the proper equivalent that you celebrate in your parts). If possible, could you one day review "Carmen: A Hip Hopera"?
Can you please do the film Bugsy Malone? it’s literally children pretending to be gang members, and every time they “sing” it’s just them lip syncing as an adult.
I seem to remember asking about this film, because it will bonkers and unusual it is
Richard Williams is the only animator who really took animation seriously! I admire him a lot .😊
True, but perhaps a bit too much because he constantly demanded perfection for his art style rather than telling a half decent plot, especially when working on The Thief and the Cobbler, and it clearly shows in this movie. Basically, he was more into style over substance.
@@tylerfish2701 I disagree with you, Richard also had substance in the stories, even when they didn't have words, his short Prologue is proof of this, in addition to his creativity in adapting the Christmas Carol. it had it all, animation, style and story. It's different from a lot of things nowadays.
@@tylerfish2701 And his masterpiece would have been a success if it weren't for the ignorance of the industry and the pressure he was under to finish it. People think it's easy to do something original, because they're used to being content with mediocrity. memes, jokes. Nobody takes anything seriously these days. It's sad.
story is important, of course, but animation is also art and should be taken seriously, a good story deserves good animation, if the person's focus is to evolve in animation, we must respect that.
@@renatashp Well, I guess that makes sense, especially nowadays with whatever Zaslav keeps doing.
@@tylerfish2701 There's no point in having a good story and bad execution, animation is execution. You wouldn't watch a movie whose actors act really badly even if the story is good, right? So for a good story it must have a good execution, good character acting, good design and good art direction. Everything has to work well together, not just the story.