All This Machinery
Dec. 7th, 2007 05:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rain_gryphonSomeone has a plausible explanation for the equatorial bulges of Saturn's moons. Curiously, it appears that Austin Dern may have been correct, in a roundabout way. It really is where they were glued together. Sort of.
*****
I bought a pair of Rankin/Bass DVDs Friday. One's 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', a restored version without the obnoxious girl group music video that Sony tacked onto the end a few years ago. The notes claim it to be a restoration of the 1964 version, but it's actually kind of a hybrid 1964/65 version, since it has the "Misfits" and "Peppermint Mine" sequences that were cut after 1964, but also has the landing on the Island of Misfit Toys that was added in 1965. It works, though. Best of everything, basically. It's the same version I got on VHS back in 2000, then could never find on DVD.
The music video's in the extras, and it stinks as badly as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
spaceroo warned me. It's history, though, and belongs in the extras. They've also included the "Fame and Fortune" sequence that replaced "Misfits", the one that I grew up watching, as well as some other stuff. I'm disappointed to have none of the GE or Norelco commercials that used to always show. GE used the actual characters in the commercials, and they were integrated tightly enough to be part of the show in some sense. TV used to be much different.
*****
The other one's a three-fer, with 'The Year without a Santa Claus', 'Rudolph's Shiny New Year', and 'Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey' on it.
"Rudolph's Shiny New Year" is one I've always wanted to like, but the large piles of jagged-edged fail sitting here and there always get in the way. To begin with, most of the characters are unnecessary - Rudolph can fly. He doesn't need a Camel to carry him across the desert, or a Whale to ferry him across the sea. The baby's defect (large ears) frankly isn't that funny, although the plot depends on everyone helplessly laughing anytime they see them. The whole thing has kind of a makeshift look, and seems more than anything to have been a framing mechanism to present some Red Skelton routines. You can even see a difference in the level of care that was given to the animation sequences. Rudolph looks rushed - they take their time on Skelton. This was only a few years after "Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians", so they may have thought they had a potential formula here.
There's one lovely. redeeming concept to the film, which is the Archipelago of Last Years, in which every island represents a particular year. They could have done a lot more with it, but even sketchily filled-in, it's an impressive conceit. The downside to the whole scheme, of course, is that some people have to live in the Island of 1942, where it's always WWII, or 1349, where the Black Death comes every summer like clockwork. They don't really explore it in that detail, but a respectable fantasy novel could be written on the subject. It's a shame that it's in the service of such an otherwise weak piece of work.
I won't spoil the plot resolution, but it's frankly phony. It's all the weaker if you've just finished watching "Rudolph".
*****
"Nestor", from one year later (1977), is a masterpiece. It's amazing how this just disappeared from television after one or two showings. I think in part it was because it's so incredibly sad, and in part because it's unapologetically Christian in its outlook. You'd might kind of logically think that would be expected of a Christmas special, but that would show that you hadn't spent much time in the States in the '70s.
There's one unintentionally hilarious moment where the Roman Centurion says "The Emperor wants strong, young Donkeys!"*, but the majority of it varies between sweet-natured , and longingly sad.
The fascinating thing is the similarity of themes. Both deal with characters who are taunted for having large ears. That can't be a coincidence. They're worlds apart in the way they handle the theme and resolution, though. It's hard to believe that they came out of the same animation house a year apart. It'd be fascinating to know what was going on behind the scenes. Same directors, same writer, yet the second one looks like what you'd expect if one director was trying to show up another by handling the same plot themes and elements more adroitly.
* Actually, the first time I saw it, when I was almost 17, I didn't catch it. This time it leapt right out at me, and considering how the voice actor reads the line, I'm fairly sure he meant it that way, even if the writer didn't.
*****
"The Year without a Santa Claus" was never a great favourite, although most people seem to find the Miser Brothers hilarious. I recall one Christmas season, singing and acting out their duet with Mike the Hippie, and just reducing people to jelly with laughter.
*****
I bought a pair of Rankin/Bass DVDs Friday. One's 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', a restored version without the obnoxious girl group music video that Sony tacked onto the end a few years ago. The notes claim it to be a restoration of the 1964 version, but it's actually kind of a hybrid 1964/65 version, since it has the "Misfits" and "Peppermint Mine" sequences that were cut after 1964, but also has the landing on the Island of Misfit Toys that was added in 1965. It works, though. Best of everything, basically. It's the same version I got on VHS back in 2000, then could never find on DVD.
The music video's in the extras, and it stinks as badly as
spaceroo warned me. It's history, though, and belongs in the extras. They've also included the "Fame and Fortune" sequence that replaced "Misfits", the one that I grew up watching, as well as some other stuff. I'm disappointed to have none of the GE or Norelco commercials that used to always show. GE used the actual characters in the commercials, and they were integrated tightly enough to be part of the show in some sense. TV used to be much different.*****
The other one's a three-fer, with 'The Year without a Santa Claus', 'Rudolph's Shiny New Year', and 'Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey' on it.
"Rudolph's Shiny New Year" is one I've always wanted to like, but the large piles of jagged-edged fail sitting here and there always get in the way. To begin with, most of the characters are unnecessary - Rudolph can fly. He doesn't need a Camel to carry him across the desert, or a Whale to ferry him across the sea. The baby's defect (large ears) frankly isn't that funny, although the plot depends on everyone helplessly laughing anytime they see them. The whole thing has kind of a makeshift look, and seems more than anything to have been a framing mechanism to present some Red Skelton routines. You can even see a difference in the level of care that was given to the animation sequences. Rudolph looks rushed - they take their time on Skelton. This was only a few years after "Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians", so they may have thought they had a potential formula here.
There's one lovely. redeeming concept to the film, which is the Archipelago of Last Years, in which every island represents a particular year. They could have done a lot more with it, but even sketchily filled-in, it's an impressive conceit. The downside to the whole scheme, of course, is that some people have to live in the Island of 1942, where it's always WWII, or 1349, where the Black Death comes every summer like clockwork. They don't really explore it in that detail, but a respectable fantasy novel could be written on the subject. It's a shame that it's in the service of such an otherwise weak piece of work.
I won't spoil the plot resolution, but it's frankly phony. It's all the weaker if you've just finished watching "Rudolph".
*****
"Nestor", from one year later (1977), is a masterpiece. It's amazing how this just disappeared from television after one or two showings. I think in part it was because it's so incredibly sad, and in part because it's unapologetically Christian in its outlook. You'd might kind of logically think that would be expected of a Christmas special, but that would show that you hadn't spent much time in the States in the '70s.
There's one unintentionally hilarious moment where the Roman Centurion says "The Emperor wants strong, young Donkeys!"*, but the majority of it varies between sweet-natured , and longingly sad.
The fascinating thing is the similarity of themes. Both deal with characters who are taunted for having large ears. That can't be a coincidence. They're worlds apart in the way they handle the theme and resolution, though. It's hard to believe that they came out of the same animation house a year apart. It'd be fascinating to know what was going on behind the scenes. Same directors, same writer, yet the second one looks like what you'd expect if one director was trying to show up another by handling the same plot themes and elements more adroitly.
* Actually, the first time I saw it, when I was almost 17, I didn't catch it. This time it leapt right out at me, and considering how the voice actor reads the line, I'm fairly sure he meant it that way, even if the writer didn't.
*****
"The Year without a Santa Claus" was never a great favourite, although most people seem to find the Miser Brothers hilarious. I recall one Christmas season, singing and acting out their duet with Mike the Hippie, and just reducing people to jelly with laughter.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-07 05:28 pm (UTC)I also liked Eon, I always thought that was a cool name.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-07 05:34 pm (UTC)That would fit in with the islands also having holiday themes. But what would say, Memorial day island be like? Perhaps pretty somber. Are there islands for "foreign" holidays? Is there a Guy Fawkes island, or perhaps a Bastille day island (That prison gets broken out of a lot).
Halloween island would be pretty hot, but I personally want to live on Thanksgiving Island, assuming I'm not a turkey. Thanksgiving island would have pilgrims and native americans living together and stuff; it'd be awesome.
Oh! Labor Day Island, now that would be awesome. Nobody ever works on Labor Day island.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 01:48 pm (UTC)Imagine living anywhere near the island where Krakatoa happened everyday.
Memorial Day Island would have the Five Hundred every day! Perhaps they'd cycle through them year by year.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 01:52 pm (UTC)I always htought Eon made a rather poor villain simply because his motivation is so reasonable. He just wants to avoid dying. He doesn't even hurt the baby when he could, but just carries him off to his own island so he can't start the new year on time. He's not really all that villainous.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-07 09:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 01:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-07 10:54 pm (UTC)Or if one animation company was trying to expiate its sins for the travesty it had published the previous year.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 04:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 04:39 am (UTC)I'm really surprised that video is considered "canonical" enough to end up as a "special feature". I was desperately hoping that its very existence was a miscalculation caused by some mentally impairing misadventure (mass hypnosis, galloping dysentery, postnasal-drip-induced insanity, *something*) and those responsible would bury all evidence of the atrocity somewhere deep within the Earth's core once their senses had returned.
So who was it in the video, anyway? I was too busy screaming at the TV whilst tearing my clothes and rolling in ashes to note anything other then the animated version of the singers' uncanny resemblance to "Bratz" dolls.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 02:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 08:51 pm (UTC)