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Not many people know that animation studio Rankin/Bass made a few stabs into live-action productions. This may be their best known, if only because (especially evident in these user comments) so many people remember it from their childhoods! I can see why, since there are some haunting images and scenes (like the long opening where hardly a word is spoken), skillful use of classical music, themes of loss and despair, and a decidingly un-Hollywood ending. Though watching the movie with the eyes of an adult, its flaws become clear - unbelievably cheesy special effects, plot elements that are murky or underbaked, and characters doing/saying things that are laughable at times. All the same, the movie still has some magic to it, and when you watch it you can see the makings of a truly enchanting buried under mediocre production. It probably deserves a DVD release - I'm certain a lot of people would buy it to relive their childhoods! - but since the majority of the Rankin/Bass catalog today seems to be under the control of Warner Brothers (who are clueless about releasing older movies on DVD), it will probably never happen.
score /10
Wizard-8 14 December 2003
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0157697/ |
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30-3-2021 06:05:04