Animated Holiday Characters And Their Pets

Well, it's time for more musings on Christmas animation as the Holidays close in. In our most beloved Holiday TV Specials and movies, I've finally paid more attention to the ways the main characters usually seem to have a special dog, or some other unique animal companion involved in their story. Most recently, Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas comes to mind, with his poltergeist pooch buddy, Zero. Naturally, Zero leads the reindeer team through through the fog with his glowing pumpkin nose.

(copyright Disney)

 

Rudolph doesn't really fit in this article, since he was ostracized very early on. He didn't become buds with Ol' Saint Nick until much later, when Santa finally appreciated his talents very late in the game. Once in a blue moon, Santa's reindeer do get some comments in, now and then, but they are still basically treated as beasts of burden.

https://animationre-creation.blogspot.com/2021/08/ed-asner.html

Even The Grinch, with his hostility towards Christmas, and just about the entire world in general, still had his friendly and faithful canine companion Max. Since Chuck Jones portrays The Grinch as this cranky, and even somewhat tragic character, the fact that he keeps Max around proves that The Grinch is not a complete monster.

(original copyright Chuck Jones/MGM, now Turner-Time Warner)

 

A bigger leap occurred when Frosty the Snowman was assisted by the cute magician's rabbit, "Hocus Pocus". This new companion, and fellow traveler seemed to be a writer's contrivance, but a good one. The "mystically challenged" magician, Professor Hinkle, throws away his top hat when his magic act for the schoolkids goes wrong. Hocus hops away with the Hat to where the kids have built Frosty, and Karen places The Hat on Frosty's head. After seeing the Hat bring Frosty to life, Professor Hinkle grabs it back when he realizes that the old top hat can actually generate real magic. (The Hat seemed to have some built-in moral compass that resisted Hinkle's selfish motives, but I'm being pedantic here.)

 

Fortunately, with a sneaky, but clever bit of subterfuge, Hocus returns the Hat to Karen to let her restore Frosty back to life. Hocus is the key player in Frosty's origin, but then allows himself to become somewhat overlooked. It's clear that Hinkle and Hocus didn't have a good relationship at the start, so the rabbit is more than happy to join Frosty and Karen on their adventure. Since Frosty is almost a blank slate in this TV special, he comes to rely quite a bit on Hocus for guidance to save Karen while on his journey to the North Pole.

 

(original copyright Rankin/Bass)

 

As characters for the very young viewers to relate to, all the dogs, rabbits and even a penguin become helpers, comrades, and witnesses to the main characters' actions and feelings. They also offer clues and inspiration to the main characters, sometimes accidentally; as with Max landing in the snow, and popping up looking like Santa to give The Grinch his perfectly, wonderfully, awful idea.

Which leads us to the heart of this article:

Scrooge had no dog.

 

After being stranded alone for the Holidays due to Covid last year, the corrosive effects of isolation became painfully apparent for me. No one should be alone, especially during the Holidays. It's a wonder there aren't more Scrooges in the world, and I've seen how becoming like Scrooge can happen all too easily. The usual unreasonable social and emotional expectations of the season are tough enough. In the meantime, let's hear it for those magical fuzzy buddies who are always there to bail us out!

https://animationre-creation.blogspot.com/search?q=buddies

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp5zCUjjgYU

Innovations in Animation - Part 1 - "Twice upon a Time"

With 2020 coming to a close, and to deal with the stress of being shut in, I've started on my list of the most innovative animated films through time.  I'm tired of the year end "top ten" countdowns, so this list will be in no particular order, and having no ranking as far as popularity, but as landmarks that influenced the animation business in regard to new techniques and execution. 

The problems of 2020 will carry over well into 2021, and probably longer, so I want to focus on the achievements of the past, and discuss how technology, business, and the Covid pandemic will shape animation as time goes on. The game has certainly changed with Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon streaming entertainment over the internet.

(copyright Warner Archives)

 My first pick is John Korty's quirky but subtle "Twice upon a Time". I finally broke down, and bought the DVD after watching the film for years on a bleary, old VHS tape.

Where executive producer George Lucas stumbled on the "Howard the Duck" and "Willow" features, Twice upon a Time is definitely a unique film. Directed by Korty in a painstakingly difficult backlit, cut-out style called Lumage, I can see why Twice Upon A Time had trouble finding an audience. Even though it's not a blu-ray, the DVD is a cut above my old VHS copy. Korty was assisted by Charles Swenson and stop motion genius, Henry Selick. (Coraline, Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach).

Twice upon a Time is a fun, underdog story of misfits becoming heroes with Ralph, the shape-changing "All Purpose Animal" and his friend Mumford, a flighty, distractable mime. Lorenzo Music, voice of Garfield the Cat, stars as Ralph, while Mumford is "voiced" only by some original, interesting sound effects. Twice Upon A Time is also chock full of some eye opening visual designs that became obscured on my old tape over time, some of which are not suited for younger children. 

The film had trouble finding its niche. College age test audiences were put off by the cute, frilly layouts of the good guys' world, "Frivoli", where sweet dreams are created for regular human beings rushing about in a black and white world called Din. The villain, "Synonamess Botch", lives in a dark, twisted Hollywood-type dimension called "The Murkworks" where nightmares are created from the screams of Botch's victims. 

The background artists make the villain's world much more engaging with backlit art and some diabolical collages from photographs both mundane and suggestive. The heroes are tricked into helping Botch take control of the Cosmic Clock, by which the villain hopes to control time itself, and subject the "Rushers of Din" to endless, eternal nightmares. Ralph and Mumford get "help" from some whimsical comrades they meet along the way, including a cynical, smart-mouthed Fairy Godmother ("FGM") who guides the heroes with her version of "tough love".

The commentary with Director John Korty and company is a nice recounting of their battle to create this unusual film, and their stories behind the subtle technical achievements they devised to pull off some remarkable effects. Korty and his team used original cut-out art, black and white photography, and water tank effects to create a surreal world where we normal humans are oblivious to the magic going on all around us.

The choice of audio tracks is also a nice feature, although I still prefer John Korty's original witty dialogue over the cruder, profane tracks that were snuck in the last minute. Overall, Twice Upon A Time is nice little gem for animation fans seeking something besides the usual Disney/Pixar releases.  

Twice upon a Time, definitely worth checking out!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086489/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast