I was originally planning to write up a "Great Directors" post for Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass of Rankin/Bass, who were responsible for a ton of early television animation, including their beloved Christmas specials. They made several films, some of them theatrically released. However, the more I dug into their filmography, the more I realized that there was a major stumbling block. Rankin and Bass credited themselves as the directors of all of their projects, but often the animation was totally outsourced to other studios, including TOEI, Topcraft, and Eiken/TCJ. I couldn't in good conscience call Rankin and Bass "great directors" when in several cases they just provided the dialogue and story for productions handled by entirely different artists.
On the other hand, these films wouldn't exist without them. Since I'd done all the prep and watched all the films, I decided to change course and write up a "Rank 'Em" list instead, similar to the ones I've done for other animation studios like Aardman. I've decided to count anything longer than an hour as a feature, and though Rankin is listed as a producer, I'm leaving off Morgan Creek's "The King and I," which is counted as one of their features in some resources. I'm also not counting the Rankin/Bass live action films, which include several creature features and an adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray."
From best to worst, here are the animated Rankin/Bass features.
The Last Unicorn (1982) - One of the nearly forgotten animated masterpieces of the 1980s is a melancholy fairy tale about an oddball group of failures and disappointments who try to help a unicorn fulfill her quest. It's a remarkably somber, serious fantasy that talks about heavy subjects and allows its characters some real depth and dimension. Like many of the later Rankin/Bass films, the animation was done by Japan's Studio Topcraft.
The Hobbit (1977) - Still stands tall as the best adaptation of J.R.R. Tokein's "The Hobbit." Its 77 minute length required trimming down the story, but feels about the right length. The character designs and animation are very unique and evocative. Many critics of the time despised it, but this was the first introduction to Tolkein that many of us had, and turned out to be a far sturdier piece of work than filmmakers with far bigger budgets turned out.
The Flight of Dragons (1982) - Here's a title that would stand out in any catalog, an ambitious made-for-television film about a hero on a quest to determine whether magic and science can coexist in the world. Like "The Last Unicorn" there's an unusual degree of genre awareness and existential questioning in play, but more time is spent on typical adventure quest exercises, and the fantasy characters don't really break out of their tropes.
Mad Monster Party? (1967) - Rankin/Bass was famous for its puppet animation, but only four of its features used the famous "Animagc" stop-motion animation. This is easily my favorite of them, using puppet versions of the Universal Monsters for a silly horror-themed romp. Mad Magazine staffers helped to write the screenplay and design characters. Also, Boris Karloff heads the cast, making his last screen appearance as Frankenstein's monster.
The Wind in the Willows (1987) - A childhood favorite, that I primarily remember for the Judy Collins songs and the very faithful adaptation of the source novel. This was the last production of the original Rankin/Bass studio before they were shut down, and I originally saw it broadcast as one of the ABC Weekend Specials on a Saturday morning. The voice cast is especially memorable, including Charles Nelson Reilly as Toad and Roddy McDowall as Ratty.
The Return of the King (1980) - "The Hobbit" did so well that the same team tried to make a follow up adapting part of "The Lord of the Rings." Ralph Bakshi had gotten there first, with the 1978 "The Lord of the Rings" feature, so Rankin/Bass settled for animating the last unadapted book, "The Return of the King." It's not up to the standards of "The Hobbit," but it remains extremely watchable and I certainly prefer the old school animation to Bakshi's rotoscoping.
Willy McBean and his Magic Machine (1965) - I can't imagine that this film wasn't heavily influenced by the "Peabody's Improbable History" segments of "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle." The Magic Machine is of course a time machine, and Willy McBean is a schoolboy who has to go stop a villain from mucking up history, with the help of a bilingual monkey named Pablo. The time traveling hijinks are mildly diverting, but not especially funny or memorable.
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979) - Rankin/Bass's two biggest characters, Rudolph and Frosty, meet at last in this feature length adventure. Frosty takes on puppet form for an off-season adventure with Rudolph, involving a circus, evil wizards, and the Fourth of July. It's not one of the better holiday specials, but worth a look if you're particularly attached to these characters. It's nice to know Frosty settled down with a snow lady voiced by Shelley Winters.
The Daydreamer (1966) - Our final two titles are for the Rankin/Bass completionists. "The Daydreamer" is a solo directing effort from Jules Bass, with Rankin on scripting duty. It amounts to a cute pastiche of Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales told with Animagic puppets, live action bookends, and an all-star cast. Contributions by other artists include Al Hirschfeld drawings in the opening credits and Robert Goulet on the soundtrack singing the title song.
The Wacky World of Mother Goose (1967) - The studio's first foray into traditional animation is not very memorable. Like "The Daydreamer," it's based on fairy tales - this time Charles Perrault stories and some nursery rhymes. However, aside from Margaret Rutherford voicing Mother Goose, the cast is far more obscure and the production is less impressive. It looks like TOEI did some of the animation, which is unfortunately very 60s TV quality.
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