The Life of a Raggedy Rascal

Life began in hardship for Scruffy, carried to survival by her mother from a fire in a condemned building, only to be orphaned by a sheepherder’s rifle. Soon she is rescued and nursed back to health by some merciful children but leaves them to make her way back to the city. A kindly street performer takes her in and shows her the possibilities of human decency. But in the middle of a cold night, fate decides that Scruffy must once more to be alone.

Alone that is, until a bullterrier named Butch accepts her as part of the street pack that beds down each night in an abandoned car and roams the streets and back alleys during the day. Then one terrible day they are all taken to the pound and condemned to death. But by now, Scruffy has a talent for survival. She not only saves the day but she becomes a national celebrity.

I’ve read many books about dogs over the years but none of them as often as I have read Scruffy by Jack Stoneley. The book is loosely based on a true story, in fact, it was the author himself who wrote the newspaper article. Scruffy’s history throughout the book is fictional “though all of the incidents described have happened to actual dogs and are based on brief press reports of their exploits”.

Originally published in England as The Tuesday Dog, this 150 page little story doesn’t take too long to read and was a quick re-read for the Four-Legged Friends Challenge hosted by Kailana. I loved how the story is told from Scruffy’s point of view but doesn’t “humanize” her at all. I can’t seem to find much on the author but I would love to read more things by him if they’re all as good as Scruffy is.

Unfortunately, this wonderful story is currently out of print and extremely hard to find but well worth it if you happen to run across it in an old library or something. The book was made into a 3 part series on ABC-TV in 1980 but it is also a rare find. I got to watch it for the first time a year or two ago and imagine my surprise when I saw that it was animated! It was still very good but nothing can beat the originals source material.

~ This book was: “Dedicated to the many millions of unwanted strays throughout the world”

Love is a Battlefield for These Two

It's a duel of wits in this battle of the sexes!

Based on the 1931 play "The Front Page" by Ben Hecht (Notorious, Angels Over Broadway) and directed by Howard Hawks (Bringing Up Baby, Gentleman Prefer Blondes), this fast-paced screwball comedy stars the impeccable Cary Grant as Walter Burns, the unscrupulous editor of a Chicago tabloid. Rosalind Russell co-stars as Hildy Johnson, ace reporter and ex-wife of Burns. Convinced that the newspaper can print an article that will save the life of a man sentenced to hang for a murder he didn't mean to commit, Burns needs Hildy to write the front-page story. Unfortunately, Hildy has just announced that she's quitting the newspaper business for good and is about to remarry. Witty, rapid-fire dialogue replaces sight gags as Burns attempts to charm the conflicted Hildy into returning to her job... and to him!

Often credited as being one of the first movies that used over-lapping dialogue, His Girl Friday is simply one of the best Cary Grant movies ever made. It’s a romantic “screwball” comedy that features some the most machine gun-like dialogue in the whole history of film.

I honestly thought that Hildy was played by Katherine Hepburn at first. Rosalind Russell must have had her in mind when playing this part because she’s such a strong but funny character with that famously dry, sarcastic wit... at least where her ex-husband is concerned anyway! My favorite line has to be:

Walter Burns: There’s been a lamp burning in the window for you honey
Hildy Johnson: Oh, I jumped out that window a long time ago.

It’s hard to believe that Hildy’s part almost went to a man! His Girl Friday is very loosely based on the Broadway play The Front Page (it’s also a 1931 film) and this almost became a remake of it until the director Howard Hawks had his secretary read what later was to be Hildy’s part and loved the idea of a female instead and the rest is history! Personally, I loved this but I know some people don’t enjoy black and white films. This funny little gem is more than worth your time and attention though.

TCM.com has several clips and articles on this film.

Trailer:


Great Scene:


Complete Film (In the Public Domain):


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The Film that Became an Award-Winning TV Show

The Wind In The Willows has captured the hearts and imaginations of children and adults for nearly a century. Brought vividly and faithfully to life in this 1983 film adaptation, Kenneth Grahame's classic tales of Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad are available to home viewers for the first time.

An award-winning creation from the legendary Cosgrove Hall Productions (Danger Mouse, Count Duckula), The Wind In The Willows features eye-catching stop-motion animation and dialogue taken directly from the pages of the beloved children's tale. Experience the lively, song-filled adventures of Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad in an enchanting production as magical as the original book.


When Kenneth Grahame wrote The Wind in the Willows in 1908 I bet he never dreamed that it would be reproduced in so many forms. There are plays, book “sequels” by other authors, and of course films. Animated and live-action are the most common but in order to distinguish one above the rest; with so many different adaptations around, it would have to be dramatically different. So the people of Cosgrove Hall made their Wind in the Willows using stop-motion puppetry.

For some reason using such a different technique really did make the film stand out! It became so popular that Cosgrove made it into a TV series that ran from 1984-1987 then again in 1989-90. For the most part, that was before my time so I didn’t grow up with these characters like most people so I didn’t get the warm, fuzzy sense of nostalgia when watching it.

Actually, I didn’t find the film visually appealing at all. I thought it was very dated and the characters are kind of scary-looking! The movie did have one good thing about it and that was the music. The original dialogue and some of the songs from the book were used all throughout the film. I’ll even grudgingly admit that the voice work wasn’t too shabby either with the talents of the British actors Ian Carmichael as Rat, Richard Pearson as Mole, Michael Hordern as Badger, and David Jason as Toad.

However much I didn’t care for the overall look of Cosgrove’s Wind in the Willows, I have to admit that the story was (for the most part) a faithful rendering of the original tale. They did take a few liberties though and I still can’t stand the pompous Mr. Toad.

The End Credits Song:

River Theme Clip:


Part 1:

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Great for Disney Fans

On November 18, 1928, a star was born. A mischievous mouse named Mickey sprang to life on a New York movie screen in an animated short that propelled him to fame and the twenty-seven-year-old Walt Disney to fortune. Innovator and visionary, Disney carried the art of animation to new heights through the brilliant characters he went on to develop: Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Bambi. Dozens of Academy Awards later, in 1958, Walt Disney encouraged Bob Thomas to write The Art of Animation, the book that would finally give full credit to the animators and explore the process.

Now, thirty-three years later, with his original book long a collector’s item, Thomas is back with a brand-new, lavishly illustrated and lovingly designed look a the Disney animation. He brings Disney’s history up to date, and celebrates the magic of the animation through the production of Disney’s newest animated feature film Beauty and the Beast. The basic techniques are explained and examples of story sketches, layouts, animation drawings, and background paintings – all the elements that go into the making of an animated film – are illustrated. With the full cooperation of the Walt Disney Productions and total access to the studio’s archives, the author conducted dozens of interviews with the animators themselves, and the result is a remarkable tour behind the scenes of the magic we see on the screen.


There are so many beautiful pictures, interesting sketches and fun facts in Bob Thomas’s The Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast! There actually wasn’t that much new information that I didn’t already know (mainly thanks to Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in It’s Golden Age by Michael Barrier) but the book almost makes up for it with such interesting photos, movie posters, etc. I really liked the concept art and I’m looking forward to when some of the movies featured become available on 2-disc DVD.

I disliked how the book only (very) briefly went into the Disney animated movies. Some don’t even get the courtesy of having a whole paragraph about them! At least until you get up to the end of the book and then nearly 80 pages are used to talk about Beauty and the Beast... which of course came out around the same time as the book.

I just wish that the rest of book seemed as dedicated to the rest of Disney’s animated movies as it did to Beauty and the Beast. If it had, then I would be more than willing to buy The Art of Animation but as it stands, I’m glad it’s just a library book. Hopefully when the Disney company start making great animated features again someone will update this book that had so much potential.

~ Note: In 1997 Bob Thomas wrote a sequel called The Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules)

I have a review on Hollywood Cartoons by Michael Barrier

Snow White Behind the Scenes:

A Sensible Version of Wind in the Willows

Join Mole, Ratty, Badger, and of course, the irrepressible Mr. Toad in this hilarious adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s classic tale of friendship and mischief. Mole and Ratty set out for a fun-filled day on the river, but they soon meet up with Mr. Toad, whose obsession with cars only leads to big trouble! After a daring jail break, Mr. Toad joins his friends in a madcap battle to regain his home, Toad Hall, from the villainous weasels. The beautifully-animated film brings to life one of the best-loved children’s books of all time, and is sure to delight children of all ages.


Kenneth Grahame’s classic children’s book The Wind in the Willows has been adapted for films (animated and otherwise) for several decades now. I recently watched an animated version of the fabulous story that was produced by Rankin/Bass in 1987 (some sites and videos say ‘83). I felt like the animation could have been better (it’s not very pretty and resembles The Hobbit) but I got so caught up in the story I was able to ignore it.

I just adored this little feature! It follows the original Grahame story faithfully, more so than any other adaptation I’ve ever seen. There were a few minor changes of course but they left in the important things (including the Pan and Wayfarer sequence). The movie also had quite a few wonderful songs (a must for an animated film), lot of which used the verses and dialogue from the book!

This version of The Wind in the Willows starred many wonderful voice talents too including those of Roddy McDowall as Ratty (who was such a great actor that he had appeared in over 200 movies or voiced characters in them before his death in 1998) and Charles Nelson Reilly as Toad (who is probably best known for voicing Killer from All Dogs Go to Heaven). I suggest everyone should see this little gem! That is, if you ever can get your hands on it. Unfortunately it has never been released to DVD and the VHS tapes are rare now. I watched an old copy from my library.

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