prosebank
Joined May 2006
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prosebank's rating
When this movie came out, I was 10. I loved the B&W Fleischer "Popeye" cartoons; I loved Robin Williams at "Mork", and I loved musicals and comedy, so I figured it would be great.
WRONG!
Ten minutes in, I experienced something new: the realization that I was watching a movie that just didn't work. I didn't know why it didn't work; I just knew that it didn't. I gave it a fair chance, but after about 45 minutes, I just wanted to leave. My dad & my little brother felt the same way.
I'd never walked out of a movie before, and I've only ever walked out of about 3 movies since then.
I've tried watching "Popeye", when it's been on TV, but it still just doesn't work for me. But now, I have the knowledge and experience to know why: It's a mess of styles & concepts; it tries way too hard, and the characters are all far too freakish to fit into a live-action world...but too human to fit into a cartoon world.
Characters in a cartoon are meant to be freakish, because the world of an animated cartoon is, by its very nature, completely different from the real world. That's why any attempt to adapt an animated cartoon into a live-action movie is doomed to failure---even now, with all the CGI capabilities that didn't exist for "Popeye".
I like Altman's films. His final one ("A Prairie Home Companion") is one of my favourite films. But "Popeye" was his most spectacular mistake.
WRONG!
Ten minutes in, I experienced something new: the realization that I was watching a movie that just didn't work. I didn't know why it didn't work; I just knew that it didn't. I gave it a fair chance, but after about 45 minutes, I just wanted to leave. My dad & my little brother felt the same way.
I'd never walked out of a movie before, and I've only ever walked out of about 3 movies since then.
I've tried watching "Popeye", when it's been on TV, but it still just doesn't work for me. But now, I have the knowledge and experience to know why: It's a mess of styles & concepts; it tries way too hard, and the characters are all far too freakish to fit into a live-action world...but too human to fit into a cartoon world.
Characters in a cartoon are meant to be freakish, because the world of an animated cartoon is, by its very nature, completely different from the real world. That's why any attempt to adapt an animated cartoon into a live-action movie is doomed to failure---even now, with all the CGI capabilities that didn't exist for "Popeye".
I like Altman's films. His final one ("A Prairie Home Companion") is one of my favourite films. But "Popeye" was his most spectacular mistake.
That's a lot of amazing information, "rcj5365"!
I think your memory has lumped all three series together, though. Mine had too, so I had to do a bit of digging to sort them out.
I just got the DVD box set of all 16 episodes of "Razzle Dazzle" (which includes some bonus material from the Hudson Brothers' prime-time summer variety show, which led to the Saturday morning series, "Razzle Dazzle", and "Bonkers"). This is what I learned from it, and from a bit of digging on my own:
The prime-time summer replacement variety series included the Hudsons, Ronny Graham, Stephanie Edwards, announcer Gary Owens, and guest stars like McLean Stevenson and Danny Thomas. None of the bonus material on the DVDs includes any mention of Katie McClure, so I can't determine if she was on the series or not. One segment from this series was included in an episode of "Razzle Dazzle", in the form of a film "projected" by Rod Hull (with the usual "help" from Emu). In it, Rod & Emu appear as guests on a talk show hosted by McLean Stevenson & his announcer Gary Owens. This series introduced the caricature logo of the Hudson Brothers.
"Razzle Dazzle" was made in Toronto, Canada, and featured Hudsons, plus Billy Van, Peter Cullen, Murray Langston, Freeman King (all formerly of "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour"), Avril Chown (of the original Canadian production of "Godspell", which had included Victor Garber, Gilda Radner, and many other future stars), Rod Hull & Emu, Scott Fisher (as Fabulous Freddie), and an uncredited Jack Duffy in various supporting roles. I'm still trying to find out who physically played "The Bear", although I know that Peter Cullen did the voice. This series used the same caricature logo, as the summer series did---which could be why it's often confused with the other series.
"Bonkers" was made in the UK, and syndicated to North America. It included the Hudsons, along with Bob Monkhouse and several other regular cast members. I haven't been able to screen any episodes, so I can't determine any other cast members, or whether it also used the caricature logo.
One more little correction...
Although "Tony Orlando & Dawn" used animated opening titles by John Wilson (the same animator who did titles & bumpers for "Sonny & Cher" and "Razzle Dazzle"), this series was produced by Saul Ilson & Ernest Chambers. I think, at that time, CBS was trying for a uniform look with the opening titles & bumpers for its variety shows, which could be why so many of them used John Wilson's animation.
Wilson also did animated music videos (including "Dark Lady", "Bad Bad Leroy Brown", "Brand New Key", and "Black & White") for "Sonny & Cher". But his most famous work was the opening titles for the movie "Grease". If you look really hard, you can find a VHS tape of his animated music videos, but it's now quite rare and very expensive.
I think your memory has lumped all three series together, though. Mine had too, so I had to do a bit of digging to sort them out.
I just got the DVD box set of all 16 episodes of "Razzle Dazzle" (which includes some bonus material from the Hudson Brothers' prime-time summer variety show, which led to the Saturday morning series, "Razzle Dazzle", and "Bonkers"). This is what I learned from it, and from a bit of digging on my own:
The prime-time summer replacement variety series included the Hudsons, Ronny Graham, Stephanie Edwards, announcer Gary Owens, and guest stars like McLean Stevenson and Danny Thomas. None of the bonus material on the DVDs includes any mention of Katie McClure, so I can't determine if she was on the series or not. One segment from this series was included in an episode of "Razzle Dazzle", in the form of a film "projected" by Rod Hull (with the usual "help" from Emu). In it, Rod & Emu appear as guests on a talk show hosted by McLean Stevenson & his announcer Gary Owens. This series introduced the caricature logo of the Hudson Brothers.
"Razzle Dazzle" was made in Toronto, Canada, and featured Hudsons, plus Billy Van, Peter Cullen, Murray Langston, Freeman King (all formerly of "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour"), Avril Chown (of the original Canadian production of "Godspell", which had included Victor Garber, Gilda Radner, and many other future stars), Rod Hull & Emu, Scott Fisher (as Fabulous Freddie), and an uncredited Jack Duffy in various supporting roles. I'm still trying to find out who physically played "The Bear", although I know that Peter Cullen did the voice. This series used the same caricature logo, as the summer series did---which could be why it's often confused with the other series.
"Bonkers" was made in the UK, and syndicated to North America. It included the Hudsons, along with Bob Monkhouse and several other regular cast members. I haven't been able to screen any episodes, so I can't determine any other cast members, or whether it also used the caricature logo.
One more little correction...
Although "Tony Orlando & Dawn" used animated opening titles by John Wilson (the same animator who did titles & bumpers for "Sonny & Cher" and "Razzle Dazzle"), this series was produced by Saul Ilson & Ernest Chambers. I think, at that time, CBS was trying for a uniform look with the opening titles & bumpers for its variety shows, which could be why so many of them used John Wilson's animation.
Wilson also did animated music videos (including "Dark Lady", "Bad Bad Leroy Brown", "Brand New Key", and "Black & White") for "Sonny & Cher". But his most famous work was the opening titles for the movie "Grease". If you look really hard, you can find a VHS tape of his animated music videos, but it's now quite rare and very expensive.