#he does not have an ed wynn voice in ANY of his appearances

[delistylehardcore]

occasionally billy asks me to say things in an ed wynn voice and as far as we’re concerned that means doctor nitrus brio is saying the thing

#he does not have an ed wynn voice in ANY of his appearances #in the ps1 games he does have a goofy voice with a joisey accent but its still not THAT whimsical #i just. i can do an ed wynn voice. i can't do brio's voice in the ps1 games. and i sure as hell can't do a maurice lemarche voice.

[dweemeister]

The Daydreamer (1966)

By the 1960s, Christmas television specials were in vogue in the United States. Yet this recent phenomenon had yet to yield a true cultural touchstone. On December 6, 1964, the first Christmas special mainstay aired on NBC. Produced by a fledgling animation studio, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer put Rankin/Bass, named after co-founders Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass, into the public consciousness. Rankin/Bass’ brand of stop-motion animation (“Animagic”) was mostly outsourced to Japanese studio MOM Productions in Tokyo, under the direction of Tadahito Mochinaga. With the windfall of Rudolph, Rankin/Bass and MOM Productions delved into the realm of feature theatrical films. This review concerns their second feature film, The Daydreamer – a stop motion animation/live-action hybrid based on Hans Christian Andersen’s stories. The Daydreamer has starpower in its cast that no Rankin/Bass production had yet matched. But as one might expect from a Rankin/Bass film, there are narrative flaws abound. The Daydreamer, episodic in nature and alternating between live-action and animation scenes, suffers due to the inconsistent quality of the handful of Hans Christian Andersen adaptations it has and the kitschy live-action acting.

The young Hans Christian Andersen (“Chris”; Paul O’Keefe) is the son of a cobbler (Jack Gilford). Papa Andersen often has to face the verbal tirades of frequent customer Mrs. Klopplebobbler (Margaret Hamilton; it is difficult not to think of Hamilton’s portrayal of the Wicked Witch here). His struggling business often means he cannot pay the gangling Pie Man (Ray Bolger; yet another Wizard of Oz star). To take him away from these troubles, Chris will let his imagine run wild while napping. If he can only just find the mythical Garden of Paradise, all these troubles might vanish. One evening, the Sandman (voiced by Cyril Ritchard) promises him to guide him there. Along the way, Chris is subject to dreams that may seem familiar to the viewer. These dreams shift away from live-action into the signature Rankin/Bass animation – adapting “The Little Mermaid”, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”*, “Thumbelina”, and “The Garden of Paradise”. Elements of “The Ugly Duckling” and “Little Claus and Big Claus” also appear.

Among the many voice actors during these animation sequences are Hayley Mills (The Little Mermaid); Burl Ives (Neptune – I have never heard Ives’ voice so devoid of jaunt before); Tallulah Bankhead (the sea witch); Terry-Thomas (the first tailor); Victor Borge (the second tailor); Ed Wynn (the Emperor); Patty Duke (Thumbelina); and Boris Karloff (the Rat).

The film’s adaptations of Andersen’s tales differ in that Andersen himself becomes a character in each of the stories. The Daydreamer approaches the stories as if the ideas are only just forming in the young Chris’ head, to be written and published when he is an adult. Within these dreams-someday-to-be-stories, Chris is largely a passive character. He takes instruction from the central figures of his future tales, never really asserting himself or asking basic questions about the misadventures he goes through. Chris acts as if lost in his own imagination – which fits the conceit of the film. So when he awakens into the real world, the film’s pacing slams the brakes. In the real world, everyone except Chris is a caricature, somehow less realistic than the individuals appearing in the daydreams. The transitions between animation and live-action will take the viewer out of the film because of the unceasing manic acting in the latter, as opposed to the charming puppetry of the former. As such, The Daydreamer’s weaknesses lie almost entirely with the live-action scenes – too consciously playing to the audience and over-the-top in their absurdity.

In an era of American animation defined by Disney on the screen and Hanna-Barbera on television, Rankin/Bass carves out its own niche in how it tells its stories. The meta humor and fourth wall breaking of Hanna-Barbera’s works (a legacy of the duo’s work at MGM) makes no appearances here. Disney’s clean-cut fairytale endings also do not apply. The Daydreamer’s adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” does not have the gruesome premise as Andersen’s original fairytale, but it retains the ending’s heartbreak. There appears to be no alterations to “The Emperor’s New Clothes” – which includes Chris, but he just feels superfluous to the plot and to the tale’s keen comedy. Each of the film’s segments bring Chris closer to the final animated sequence, “The Garden of Paradise”. The adaptation of that tale sanitizes its deathly overtures for a devil-like creature, but keeps the ambiguous, open-ended conclusion. By maintaining the original conclusion, “The Garden of Paradise” is a curious coda for The Daydreamer – a film that ends as abruptly as its several transitions, like a daydream.

The Daydreamer’s live-action sets benefit, however, due to the fact many of its scenes were shot at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The World’s Fair pavilions used in this film mimic a feel of small-town, nineteenth century Europe more realistically than a Hollywood soundstage might. The production design for the animated dream sequences, too, are mesmerizing. Perhaps this is best exemplified in “The Little Mermaid”. There, the special effects work make it appear as if the whole sequence was shot underwater, rather than a room that contained blue lights streaming into Neptune’s palace. Where are the strings and wires suspending the puppets in mid-air while they “swim”? To the animators’ credit, there are none to be found. Neptune’s palace is one of the grander sets constructed for a Rankin/Bass production; its imposing walls and generous empty spaces reflect a sense of regal grandeur. That royal otherworldliness does not extend to “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, but many of the same production design decisions carry over. Rankin/Bass and MOM Productions are obviously working with more money and manpower for these animated scenes than in the likes of Rudolph or their many holiday television specials. The sense of scale and grandiosity seen here in The Daydreamer and Mad Monster Party? (1967) would rarely, if ever, be replicated for television. And it is also obvious that the filmmakers put the money into the animation and for paying headline-worthy actors, rather than for any writers able to string the animated and live-action halves together.

Seven songs comprise The Daydreamer’s musical soundtrack. Composed by Maury Laws and Jules Bass, most of the songs are forgettable once your viewing is done (including Robert Goulet singing the title song over the opening credits, despite the fact I admire Goulet’s voice). But there are notable exceptions. Sung by Hayley Mills at the end of “The Little Mermaid”, “Wishes and Teardrops” brings the segment to a worthy close. Her loved ignored, the Little Mermaid sings this lament – backed with percussion straight from a ‘60s love ballad and timeless swelling strings – for herself:

Wishes and teardrops Won’t make him love me. He’s gone and he’ll never return. Does he know how teardrops can burn, When they fall for a wish That can never come true?

In the film’s final third, “Luck to Sell” injects a jolt of energy sorely missing from many of the other live-action scenes. The song itself is simple and the singing just avoids being flat, but when paired with the energetic choreography from Paul O’Keefe and company, it elevates itself from the rest of the soundtrack (save “Wishes and Teardrops”).

Not often will a viewer encounter a film with two sets of opening credits. I’m not writing about films that have an overture that transition to opening credits (an entirely different approach that modern filmmakers should utilize more), but two sets of opening credits that list the names of the actors involved. For the first set of credits, caricaturist Al Hirschfeld (uncredited) was hired to draw caricatures of the various actors and actresses appearing in, or lending their voices to, The Daydreamer. The Daydreamer is the second of three films that Hirschfeld was involved in. The first, appearing as himself uncredited, was in Main Street to Broadway (1953); his third and final film was as an artistic consultant on the “Rhapsody in Blue” segment (which was influenced by his caricatures) in Fantasia 2000.

Rankin/Bass’ ventures into feature film animation peaked several months later with Mad Monster Party? After that and the unfortunate production of The Wacky World of Mother Goose (1967; a traditionally animated eyesore), Rankin/Bass almost completely dedicated itself to its animated television specials. The Daydreamer, distributed by the now-defunct Embassy Pictures and currently owned by Sony Pictures Television (the ownership of the rights to Rankin/Bass’ features are exasperatingly scattered), has not been widely seen when compared to Mad Monster Party?, let alone Rankin/Bass’ television specials. If one can find a serviceable print of The Daydreamer, the viewing experience will be a valuable glimpse into the studio’s collaboration with MOM Productions. A Rankin/Bass fan that has only known the studio through its television specials will see their work operating with higher production values; Rankin/Bass novices can experience a dimension of animated filmmaking too often considered an afterthought.

My rating: 6/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

* “The Emperor’s New Clothes” was adapted twice by Rankin/Bass. The second adaptation is the heart of the television special The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye (1972), starring Danny Kaye. That adaptation of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is distinct from the one that appears in The Daydreamer. The Danny Kaye special’s adaptation has a more developed storyline, completely different voice cast, and completely different soundtrack.

#The Daydreamer #Rankin Bass #Jules Bass #Arthur Rankin Jr. #Paul O'Keefe #Jack Gilford #Margaret Hamilton #Sessue Hayakawa #Patty Duke #Boris Karloff #Hayley Mills #Burl Ives #Tallulah Bankhead #Victor Borge #Ed Wynn #Ray Bolger #Maury Laws #stop motion #TCM #My Movie Odyssey

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Alice In Wonderland

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews, Where Today We Are Continuing Our Look At Disney...

By Looking At Walt Disney's 13th Animated Feature (And One Of My Favorites), Alice In Wonderland...

This Movie Sees Young Alice (Voiced By Katherine Beaumont) Following A White Rabbit To The Merry, Topsy Turvy World Of Wonderland, Where A Person Can Grow Big Or Small Or You Could Run Into Funny Creatures Like The Mad Hatter Or The Cheshire Cat...

So, What Are We Waiting For? Let's Journey Down The Rabbit Hole As We Watch Alice In Wonderland...

The Movie Starts On A Summer Day As Alice Is Listening To Her Sister Read From A History Book To Which Alice Is Bored From...

Wandering Off Without Her Sister Noticing, She Lays Down On A Riverbank Wishing That She Had A World Of Her Own Which Leads To The First Song...

And For Song To Start This Movie Off, It's Okay But It's Not My Favorite Song Of This Movie However, We Do Get To A Song I Do Like Directly After This One...

It May Be Brief But I Do Like I'm Late For What It Is And I'm Also Glad It's Short Because Having One Song Directly After Another Can Be A Problem In Some Films...

Crawling Into The Rabbit Hole, Alice Soon Finds Herself Going Down,Down,Down The Hole Until She Catches Up With The White Rabbit Until He Enters A Large Hallway With A Small Door That's Barely Big Enough For Alice's Head...

With The Doorknob On The Door Suggesting That Alice Drink The Bottle Marked Drink Me On The Table To Shrink Down To The Door's Size, Which She Does...

However, When She Goes To Open The Door, He Admits That He Forgot To Tell Her That He's Locked...

But Luckily A Box That Says Eat Me Appears Which The Doorknob Says Will Help Her Reach The Key However, When She Does She Grows Too Big...

Weeping Hysterically, She Drinks The Drink Me Bottle Again To Become Small, She Goes Right Through The Doorknob And Into A River Of Tears Which Is Where She Meets The Dodo Who Sings Our Next 2 Songs...

And While The Sailor's Hornpipe Song Is Short Like I'm Late, The Next One Which The Caucus Race Song, Is A Good Song And Really Makes You Want To Run Around The Room...

Running Into A Thick Forest, Alice Meets Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum Who Do Another Short Song...

It's A Cute Song, But I Think I Prefer The Version Done In The 1985 Version Sung By Edie Gorme And Steve Lawrence...

(Start At 0:09)

But We'll Talk About That One On Duke Reviews Xtra On Thursday And Friday...

But Hearing About Alice Being Curious, They Tell Her The Story Of...

(Start At 0:34)

And I Love This Sequence The Song Is One Of The Best In This But The Ending, Of Course Is Very Sad...

Getting Up To Leave The Two Boys Stop Her As They Attempt To Tell Another Poem Called You Are Old, Father William As Alice Sneaks Away...

It's A Cute Song For As Long As It's On Screen But Again For A Better Version I Refer Again To The 1985 Version Where It's Sung By Sammy Davis Jr....

Coming Upon The White Rabbit's House, She Goes To Talk With Him Only For Him To Confuse Her With His Housemaid, Mary Ann...

That's Because She's Not In Wonderland But On A Deserted Island With 6 Other Castaways...

Ordering Her To Fetch His Gloves From His Bedroom, Alice Gets Them Only To Eat A Cookie That Makes Her Grow So Big That Her Arms And Legs Are Sticking Out Of The Windows And Doors...

Going To The Dodo For Help, He Gets A Chimney Sweep Named Bill To Rip The House's Chimney Off, But Bill's Scampering Causes Soot To Rise Inside Which Makes Alice Sneeze And Shoot Bill Out Of The Roof Like A Cannonball...

Having No Other Option, Dodo Decides To Burn The House Down Which Leads To Another Short Song...

It's A Cute Song, But There Are So Many Short Songs In This Movie They're All Starting To Sound The Same...

Luckily Though, Alice Finds A Carrot In The Rabbit's Garden And Eats It, Shrinking Down In Size To 3 Inches...

Going Into A Garden Of Flowers Where The Flowers Are As Tall As A Tree, They Come To Life And Entertain Her With Our Next Song...

(Start At 0:05)

And It's One Of My Favorite Songs In This Movie...

It's A Fun Song Which Shows The Different Types Of Flowers And Bugs In Wonderland With My Favorite Being The Rocking Horse Fly...

But Their Attitude Changes When Alice Reveals Herself To Be Not A Flower Which Then Causes Them To See Her As A Weed...

After Being Shooed Away By The Flowers, We Move Into Our Next Song As Alice Meets The Caterpillar...

Who Despite Her Best Efforts To Ask Him How To Grow Tall Again, Continues Interrupting Her And Instructs Her To Recite Various Bizarre Poems...

Eventually Growing Angry At Alice's Displeasure Of Being The Same Height As Him, He Becomes A Butterfly As He Tells Her That One Side Of The Mushroom Will Make Her Grow Taller And The Other Side Will Make Her Grow Smaller...

Eating One Side Of The Mushroom, Alice Grows Back To Her Normal Height After A Pointless Scene Involving A Bird That Just Wastes Time...

Wandering Through The Woods, We Get Our Next Song As Alice Meets The Cheshire Cat (Voiced By Sterling Holloway)...

After That Encounter, We Get My Favorite Scene Of The Movie And Favorite Song Of The Movie As Alice Meets The Mad Hatter (Voiced By Ed Wynn)...

Disney Showcase: Ed Wynn

Other Characters He's Played For Disney Other Than The Character He Plays In This One:

The Toymaker In Babes In Toyland

The Fire Chief In The Absent Minded Professor

A.J. Allen In Son Of Flubber

Uncle Albert In Mary Poppins

Ed Parker In Those Calloways

Mr. Hoffstedder In That Darn Cat

And Rufus In The Gnome Mobile (Which Was His Final Performance Before His Death)

Going Back To The Story, There Is Also The March Hare (Voiced By Jerry Colonna, Who You May Remember From Casey At The Bat From Make Mine Music) And The Doormouse

After That Song, They Maniacally Go About The Table, Offering Alice Tea Without Actually Giving Her Any Until The White Rabbit Shows Up, As Hatter And Hare Attempt To Fix His Watch Only To Destroy It As They Send The Rabbit Flying Through The Air...

With Alice Saying...

She Tries To Go Back Home Through The Tulgy Woods, Where She Confronts Many Creatures But Doesn't Find Her Way Home Which Causes Her To Cry As We Get Our Next Song As Alice Cries..

It's A Sad Song But I Don't Know, I Just Don't Care For It...

Finding The Cheshire Cat Again, He Tells Her That The Only Way Home Is Through The Queen Of Hearts, So He Creates A Shortcut To The Queen's Maze Where We Get My Second Favorite Song...

Which Leads To My Second Favorite Scene In The Entire Movie, The March Of The Cards, And This Scene Is Just Amazing And Full Of Color As We See The Cards March, It Is Honestly A Spectacle To See...

With The White Rabbit Announcing The Arrival Of The Queen Of Hearts And The King, The Queen (Voiced By Verna Felton) Notices The Painted Roses Which Leads To Our Next Song...

Finding Out It Was The 3 Painters, She Has Them Ordered To Be Beheaded Before She Meets Alice Who She Invites To Play A Game Of Croquet With Her...

But As They Play The Cheshire Cat Appears And Attaches The Queen's Croquet Mallet To The Bottom Of Her Dress, Believing That Alice Did It The Queen Is About To Order Her To Be Beheaded.

But With The King Demanding A Trial, The Queen Starts The Trial Of Alice...

Having A Frantic Chase All Throughout Wonderland, We See Various Characters From Alice's Journey Through Wonderland Until She Ends Up Back In Front Of The Doorknob Who Is Still Locked...

Asking To Get Out Anyway, The Doorknob Laughs Saying That She Is Outside, Showing Her That She Is Actually Asleep Under A Tree In The Park And All Of This Is Just A Dream...

Saying To Wake Up As An Angry Mob Grows Closer And Closer, Alice Eventually Wakes Up To The Sound Of Her Sister's Voice As They Walk Home...

And That's Alice In Wonderland And Despite Sometimes Having Songs Coming One After Another, It Still Is One Of My Favorite Disney Animated Movies..

The Story Is Very Adventurous, I Love The Characters, Most Of The Songs Are Good, I Love Ed Wynn As The Mad Hatter, I Love The Queen Of Hearts As The Bad Guy, It's Just A Great Disney Animated Feature Altogether And I Say See It...

Be Sure To Check Out Duke Reviews Xtra This Week, As We Look At Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, The Burton-Less Sequel, Alice Through The Looking Glass And The 1985 TV Version Of Alice In Wonderland That Was Done By Irwin Allen...

Till Then, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

#alice in wonderland #Kathryn Beaumont #Ed Wynn #sterling holloway #Jerry Colonna #Verna Felton #disney #disnerd #disney animated films #disney animated movies #disney animated canon #Alice In Wonderland Dark Ride #fantasyland

[gyrlversion]

Daughter of councillor linked to Rotherham scandal now helps victims

The daughter of a former deputy council leader implicated in the Rotherham child sex grooming scandal is helping run a support service for its victims, it has been revealed.

Norsheen Akhtar, 32, has been given managerial responsibility for child sexual exploitation programmes run by Rotherham Rise.

The charity, which primarily works with female domestic abuse victims, receives most of its funding from Rotherham Council.

Miss Akhtar’s father is Jahangir Akhtar, who quit as deputy leader of the council in 2013 and lost his seat on the council the following year.

His resignation followed claims he helped broker a deal with police involving one of his relatives. 

Norsheen Akhtar (pictured left with then-Mayor of Rotherham Lindsay Pitchley), 32, has been given managerial responsibility for child sexual exploitation programmes run by Rotherham Rise. She is the son of ex-Rotherham deputy council leader Jahangir Akhtar, right

The relative – gang ringleader Arshid ‘Mad Ash’ Hussain – was said to have agreed to hand a missing 14-year-old girl to officers at a petrol station after receiving an assurance that he would not be prosecuted.

Mr Akhtar was also later stripped of his taxi-driver licence after a ‘fit and proper person’ test was introduced by the council.

The 58-year-old lost his seat on the council at elections in 2014 when he was defeated by a UKIP candidate.

The test took into account child sexual exploitation intelligence that would ‘give rise to significant and serious concerns for risks to public safety if the licence remains in place’.

Miss Akhtar, who still lives with her father in the South Yorkshire town, joined Rise after his resignation, The Times reported last night.

She is now a member of its senior management team and responsible for its counselling service for survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE).

In her role, she has full access confidential information on the charity’s database, including names and addresses of victims, the newspaper reported.

An independent inquiry led by Professor Alexis Jay found an estimated 1,400 Rotherham girls were targeted for sexual abuse by organised gangs of mostly British Pakistani men over 16 years.

Jahangir Akhtar’s resignation followed claims he helped broker a deal with police involving one of his relatives, gang ringleader Arshid Hussain (pictured)

Four brothers who were jailed for a total of 98 years in 2016 after being convicted of 53 child sex offences against 16 girls – Arshid, Basharat, Bannaras and Sageer Hussain – are related to the Akhtars.

Abuse victims helped by Rise voiced concern about the appointment.

One woman, who was helped by the charity along with her sister, and who gave evidence against the Hussain brothers, said: ‘I’m staggered that the charity and council didn’t recognise that putting Jahangir Akhtar’s daughter in that role would create a potential conflict of interest.’

‘What sort of a signal does that send out to CSE survivors? How are we supposed to have any confidence that the authorities in Rotherham have learnt from the past?’

The woman said Miss Akhtar’s work for the charity could have given her access to information about girls and women who were groomed and sexually exploited by one or more of her relatives or their associates.

Rise is believed to have informed Rotherham council of Miss Akhtar’s appointment but the local authority is thought to have reported no concerns.

There is also no suggestion that Ms Akhtar has in any way behaved inappropriately or unprofessionally.

Funding for Rotherham Rise’s work to help child sexual exploitation victims has included council contracts and grants totalling more than £440,000.

Jahangir Akhtar, pictured with ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband, lost his seat on the council at elections in 2014 when he was defeated by a UKIP candidate

Miss Akhtar’s previous roles have included working as a tenancy support worker for another Rotherham charity, Rush House, which provides accommodation services for young people.

Her father has always denied any wrongdoing or misconduct linked to the grooming scandal and has never been charged with any offence related to child sexual exploitation. He has a criminal conviction for affray for his role in a violent brawl outside a restaurant.

The incident also led to convictions for two of his brothers and one of his sons.

Sue Wynne, chief executive of Rotherham Rise, said: ‘All of our staff are bound by professional conduct codes to declare any personal connection to, or interest in any individual case. They are also bound by a professional duty of confidentiality not to discuss cases or client details outside of work.’

She declined to answer questions about Miss Akhtar but added staff were subject to ‘ongoing internal supervision and performance management’.

Jon Stonehouse, director for children’s services at Rotherham Council, said the ‘appointment, employment and management of individual members of staff within the contract is a matter for Rotherham Rise’.

But he added: ‘However, in these circumstances we will be looking at the due diligence undertaken.’

Miss Akhtar nor her father could be reached for comment last night. 

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