I wish I could go back in time and ask the writers why theey thought having a monkey, dog, and bird getting shot to death in a children's Christmas movie was needed....so I can thank them. Also, did anyone else notice that Red Head McGee didn't ask where his crow/raven was after the fact?
That even in...this ("Ego on the Hearth", "Cricket Crocket: The Sexist Cricket", "Focus Issues? In the first three seconds? On a cartoon!?")...there's a diamond in the rough line like that is indicative of why Rankin/Bass' greatest hits STILL have a large slice of the Christmas Special culture.
@@robertb.7772Xavier Cugat’s third wife, only 16 when they married, eventually they divorced and she married a theatrical agent (who eventually died of old age); still alive as I’m writing this, originally from New York City so no English accent, and the cat is actually very much her style though evidently not modeled after her.
I love how it's already bizarre enough and then we have " That cricket made a fool of me! Uriah, get professional help!" and then it just goes off the rails. "I'm watching a movie where they seriously just put a hit out on a cricket"
This is Rankin-Bass. Logic is thrown into the wood chipper frequently with their stuff, as they struggle to get these things to a proper runtime. How else to explain the BS about Edward sticking with that ridiculous disguise?
Apparently in the original novella, Tackleton really did suddenly have a change of heart after receiving a compliment from Bertha. But then, Dickens sure loved his contrivances.
you know, Crockett could have still been passed off as lucky if he was introduced to the family AFTER bertha went blind. at least then you can give him credit that his luck was the reason they even found work and Edward found his way back.
Yeah unless she kept fondling his face, what was the beard even for? And why did he have to play this stupid charade even after seeing she was blind from grief?
+CaptainJZH In a secret underground laboratory underneath the Pentagon, where the goverment is conducting a secret military programm to revive people from a time far away. With the goal to produce specimen that are practicall invincible, a black ops unit called B.E.A.S.T. is trying to create an unstoppable special force. But a Cricket on the Hearth is bringing anything but good luck. Specimen:0-5-3 only known as the "Old Man" doenst seem to fit in the program and is about to be terminated, unfortunately he breaks free from his cryosleep programmed with one simple command: Seek and Destroy. While a young laboratory trainee called Alice hides in the long dark hallways she cant really see but only hear "...be our guest, be our guest. Eat our food, leave us dead..." Old Man 2000: "You thought he was he was completely useless now?" *jumpscare* HHHHHEEEEEEEEeeeeee....
A Completely Useless Christmas Carol! Old Man gets a visit from three ghosts: the Slut Duck Narrator of Christmas Past, the Drunk Raccoon of Christmas Present, and the Snowdin the Snowman of Christmas Future ("Yuck!") In place of Bob Cratchet, we have Wordsworth, the underling Old Man mistreats when reading his Creepypastas.
The ending of this movie needs some fixing... here we go: Bertha: There'll always be a place in my heart for a fine, kind and noble and handsome gentleman such as you. Tackleton: Nobody ever told me such nice things before! Cricket: Ooooh, you-you-youuuu nincompoop! Paying any attention to the words of a gushing female. Tackleton: *Weeps* Nobody loves meee~~! *Credits roll*
+Annausagi2 I imagine after she said that to Tackleton: Tackleton: Nobody ever told me such nice things before! Edward: Me neither!! (She seems eager to complement Tackleton very nicely whenever Edwards in the same room quite a bit.)
Was amazed to recognise Hans Conried's voice as Captain Hook & Mr Darling from Disney's Peter Pan. Such a recognisable voice, given I haven't watched Peter Pan in over a decade.
He was Thorin Oakenshield in the Rankin Bass Hobbit, and he's the main reason to watch the 1,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Guy got around. Not as prolific as say Mel Blanc or June Foray or Paul Frees or Jim Cummings, but he got around.
Then there was that Brazilian thing about Noah's Ark with the nightclub-singer sexy lady panther singing her version of "I Will Survive" (Bobsheaux reviewed it -- El Arca I think it's called) -- I wonder if this inspired that bit?
@@masterfarr8265 Nah currently Mattel has proven to be better than Hasbro's atrocious output. At least there's size consistency within their line as opposed to Hasbro's confusing line.
when I was in high school I put together a terrarium for pet slugs/snails and brought in dirt and moss and rocks and stuff from outside and apparently there were cricket eggs/larva/whatever in it, so teeny tiny crickets hatched out. they didn't bring any luck but they did sing.
I didn't believe this was how the actual story went, so I went to the Wikipedia entry on it. Needless to say, this is a very loose adaptation, but the original wasn't much more sensical. Apparently Vladimir Lenin famously walked out on a production of it. Say what you will about Marxist revolutionaries that set the stage for genocidal totalitarian dictatorships, but I think Lenin had the right idea on this one.
Did Berta actually regain her sight by the end? Because if not, maybe the people standing at the wedding are the imaginary servants her father made up? Which might be even sadder then having no one present...
Wow, that's messed up o.o Reminds me of how Golden Films' Little Mermaid ended with Lena never getting her voice back...And they lived happily ever after? lol
Kay, not gonna lie, the Sexy Cat Song is actually really catchy. I can't get it out of my head. I think I need professional help. Anyone know a crow I can ask for help?
+Milo Ilo Yeah, we've got sociopathic princes, another prince being turned into a vicious bear, a fairy getting her wings severed, the deconstruction of a superhero motivated by the death of a loved one, and that's just Disney nowadays.
I now need a Christmas Carol adaptation involving talking toys, and animal nightclub where a hit on another animal is negotiated and three of them are murdered.
The only reason I can see why Christopher's disguise worked on Cricket was because they had barely met before, otherwise this makes no sense why no one recognized him.
After having this special on the Rankin Bass Blu-ray collection for several years, and watching Phelous’ review several times I actually sat down and watched this special start to finish the other day. Honestly I enjoyed it for what it was, as hokey and strange as it is at times. The music is definitely the best aspect of this special.
I’ve made it a tradition to watch this review every year around Christmas ever since it originally came out. It’s honestly one of my favorites of yours. Glad I’ve stuck around watching your stuff for this many years.
What if this final mr. Green moment is actually the hint what happy ending exists only in Berta's head, when in the real life she is still blind, her father is still poor and her fiancee is still dead?
I can't help but wonder what the thought process might have been for Arthur Rankin & Romeo Muller to include those animals getting shot. "Okay, Romeo, so in the next scene, after the animals turn the cricket over to the captain, the captain then double-crosses the animals and shoots them dead." "But, Mr. Rankin, sir, wouldn't Mr. Tackleton notice that his pet crow never returned after getting rid of the cricket and wonder where he went?" "Pfft, no one will care about something that ridiculous! We've already made the story this dreary and miserable, so why stop now?" "Yeah, I guess you're right..." Also, that Quantum Leap sketch with Aladdin, Paige and Wordsworth was hilarious and really well edited.
8:00 If The Great Mouse Detective can get away with the sexy mouse at the bar while everyone is drunk (in a Disney film), I think this movie can get away with a sexy cat song
I think the difference is that GMD established its world as a seedy underworld of London with anthropomorphic animals right from the getgo, while this seems like a straightforward period Dickens adaptation with just a little supernatural stuff (like the Cricket) up until it throws a night club in there from literally nowhere.
I might have to put this one in my regular Xmas rotation. The look of it is pretty unique and charming, it shares voice actors with other Rankin Bass 'toons I like (such as the Hobbit), and it just has that wonderful spark of insanity to it.
I have a theory that in the original story, the reason the doll Bertha was working on did not have eyes was because the doll was supposed to represent her. The doll was in a wedding dress because Bertha was planning on getting married and the doll had no eyes because Bertha was blind.
Phelous, sometimes critics forget that something was a TV special, and ignore the pacing that they take for commercial breaks, as well as the pace they keep to vary the story for the audience. Doug Walker did it with the Star Wars Holiday Special, ignoring that it's a thanksgiving special and not a Christmas one. You wonder what the deal is with the big musical number ending. In stage plays, that's the halfway mark at the end of act II. Rankin Bass productions was known for writing their specials like plays, and if you ever watch them, regardless of how they are animated, that is how they tend to break down. There is usually a 3-4 act structure, a narrator that starts off each act, different scenes making up each act that move the story along, and lots of twists and turns. They knew how to fill up that time-slot with some contrivances and intrigues. I saw one the other night that had Rudolph and Frosty in the desert with a wizard and cowboys. Then there was one where spirits of the elements created Santa or something.
Almost none of the actual plot of Dickens's "COTH" seems to have made it into this cartoon version. Yes, I realize that oftentimes characters must be consolidated and minor plot-lines be dropped, but aside from the existence of a "guardian angel cricket," there's not much that they stayed true to.
Rankin-Bass' 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' is almost the same way: the mouse family actually knows crucial information that could help the clockmakers' family, but they DO NOTHING for months. Seriously, Rankin-Bass' idiocy makes Hanna-Barbara's idiocy look like Warner Brothers level of lunacy!
20:19 your pain isn't, but your entire review has become one of my all time favorites and part of my Christmas youtube watchlist! Merry early X-Mas, Phelous!
Fun Fact the evil boss was voiced Hans Conried (Disney`s Captain Hook). And people have the nerve to bash Secret of Nimh 2 for going of the wall in it`s third act, clearly they need to see this.
+Dalibor Jovanovic Are you fucking kidding me?? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? WHA...BU..."CRICKET ON THE HEARTH"'S THIRD ACT IS COMPAREBLY MORE SANE THAN "SECRET OF NIMH 2"'S!!! D8S At least Rankin/Bass didn't go into as surreal territory as MGM did.
Nah. Don't get me wrong, this movie is bad, but it's not "this cool and neat cartoon that has themes about animal experimentation and blends fantasy elements to it has a shitty sequel that in the end becomes fucking Pinky and the Brain".
Do you think you could try dubbing a really crappy cartoon? You seem to be pretty good at working with what the animation gives you in terms of syncing lip movements and your own voice.
I love how you can just show the two clips of the nightclub cat and the animal thugs getting shot completely out of context and go "This is a Christmas musical based on Charles Dickens!"
“Wow, if I had a nickel for every time a shapely furry character had a random musical number in the middle of a period film, I’d have three nickels - which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened three times”.
I remember this video. Man, it takes a lot to realize animation. Barring the actual idea of bloody murder, it does take some time to sketch it, animate it, colour it, voice it, potentially edit it, the works. just amazing that stuff like that happens and no one voiced concern. But, it makes it all the more special. Hope you got something festive for us this year too, Phelous.
Did they name Tackleton's bird after Uriah Heap from "David Copperfield"? If they did then the literature nerd in me has to applaud the writers on this special.👏
13:27 Hey wait an minute. He build himself a raft and THEN sailed to an island. Don't castaways usually build rafts to get out of islands? So he build himself a raft, jumped of the ship with it, and got lost.
17:53 "So ... we are not told whose gift was gold, and whose was the gift of myrrh?" Well that only leaves frankincense, which STINKS, and we ALL know whose "gift" that was. DICKENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNS!!!!
What's it with low-budget Christmas movies having actual character deaths? *Edit:* No, low-budget children's movies in general. Why the hell do they have so much death?! *Edit 2:* honestly, I didn't notice the old man was Edward until Phelous pointed it out. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention to him.
Years later, I just realized that the Jesus birth scene appears to be taking place in the Amazon for some reason? Not sure why Tenochtitlan is in the background there.
The guy shooting the bird and co seemed so much like something Phelous would actually edit that I was really surprised that it was IN THE FILM!
crazy right? It’s like it was written just for him 😂
Funny how these things work their way into stuff like this
I know. I guess back in thoughs times if you were going to make a movie about a talking cricket, you'll never know what you could expect next.
I wish I could go back in time and ask the writers why theey thought having a monkey, dog, and bird getting shot to death in a children's Christmas movie was needed....so I can thank them.
Also, did anyone else notice that Red Head McGee didn't ask where his crow/raven was after the fact?
@SuperCosmicMutantSquid obviously he didn't care that much about his pet bird I guess
"Don't give me champagne talk when we're eating fish and chips" That's actually a good line.
That even in...this ("Ego on the Hearth", "Cricket Crocket: The Sexist Cricket", "Focus Issues? In the first three seconds? On a cartoon!?")...there's a diamond in the rough line like that is indicative of why Rankin/Bass' greatest hits STILL have a large slice of the Christmas Special culture.
It's a good song, too. I even googled it, and it's "Fish 'n' Chips" by Abbe Lane.
Funny that it was sang by a cat too.
@@robertb.7772Xavier Cugat’s third wife, only 16 when they married, eventually they divorced and she married a theatrical agent (who eventually died of old age); still alive as I’m writing this, originally from New York City so no English accent, and the cat is actually very much her style though evidently not modeled after her.
I love the fact that when he kills them, to signal that they're dead, the colors change to signal each one. Just horribly dark there.
I never noticed that! But I love it!
Yeah that was dark.
Yeah and I love it XD
The yellow is the dog
The red is the monkey
The blue is the crow
I think
Rankin bass: frosty the snowman was a happy soul.
Also rankin bass: ok violence it is.
I love how this movie goes increasingly insane the more it goes on
@Katie Lewis And I hope Saberspark does this
I love how it's already bizarre enough and then we have " That cricket made a fool of me! Uriah, get professional help!" and then it just goes off the rails.
"I'm watching a movie where they seriously just put a hit out on a cricket"
This is Rankin-Bass. Logic is thrown into the wood chipper frequently with their stuff, as they struggle to get these things to a proper runtime.
How else to explain the BS about Edward sticking with that ridiculous disguise?
Apparently in the original novella, Tackleton really did suddenly have a change of heart after receiving a compliment from Bertha. But then, Dickens sure loved his contrivances.
Captain Tackleton: Merry Christmas you filthy animals! 💥🔫
And a Happy New Year!
you know, Crockett could have still been passed off as lucky if he was introduced to the family AFTER bertha went blind. at least then you can give him credit that his luck was the reason they even found work and Edward found his way back.
What? And fix the film?
I laughed my as off at "you,me,a bum off the street and a bug!family!"
They’re a found family! ❤️😂
How was Bertha fooled by the beard if she couldn't see it? Did she not know what her fiance's voice sounds like?
Maybe it was to fool her idiot dad? The disguise bit is so idiotic.
Yeah unless she kept fondling his face, what was the beard even for? And why did he have to play this stupid charade even after seeing she was blind from grief?
@@SwiftNimblefoot Guilt
@@hopemueller2658 or stupidity
Maybe she’s just really stupid
One of these days, we need to make a movie starring characters from all of the low budget cartoons Phelous has reviewed.
+CaptainJZH
In a secret underground laboratory underneath the Pentagon, where the goverment is conducting a secret military programm to revive people from a time far away. With the goal to produce specimen that are practicall invincible, a black ops unit called B.E.A.S.T. is trying to create an unstoppable special force. But a Cricket on the Hearth is bringing anything but good luck. Specimen:0-5-3 only known as the "Old Man" doenst seem to fit in the program and is about to be terminated, unfortunately he breaks free from his cryosleep programmed with one simple command: Seek and Destroy.
While a young laboratory trainee called Alice hides in the long dark hallways she cant really see but only hear
"...be our guest, be our guest. Eat our food, leave us dead..."
Old Man 2000:
"You thought he was he was completely useless now?"
*jumpscare*
HHHHHEEEEEEEEeeeeee....
meanwhile, they must hunt for the diamonds of MYGAW....for some reason.
Old Man must be the star, of course!
CaptainJZH Also Add The Hillbille Cannibals From Wrong Turn Lol
A Completely Useless Christmas Carol!
Old Man gets a visit from three ghosts: the Slut Duck Narrator of Christmas Past, the Drunk Raccoon of Christmas Present, and the Snowdin the Snowman of Christmas Future ("Yuck!")
In place of Bob Cratchet, we have Wordsworth, the underling Old Man mistreats when reading his Creepypastas.
To think Lenin walked out on a Russian play adaptation of this story because he thought it was too saccharine...
lol At first, I really thought the shooting was Phelan kidding around. wtf? lol
+John Smith You're not the only one
I had the advantage of having watched this special as a kid
I saw this movie before I saw Phelous' review of it and I was like, "Wait, WHAT? Did he actually frickin' KILL them?"
@@s.nifrum4580 same here
The ending of this movie needs some fixing... here we go:
Bertha: There'll always be a place in my heart for a fine, kind and noble and handsome gentleman such as you.
Tackleton: Nobody ever told me such nice things before!
Cricket: Ooooh, you-you-youuuu nincompoop! Paying any attention to the words of a gushing female.
Tackleton: *Weeps* Nobody loves meee~~!
*Credits roll*
"No fireplace,
No Christmas Tree,
No decorations,
Just you and me..."
+Annausagi2 I imagine after she said that to Tackleton:
Tackleton: Nobody ever told me such nice things before!
Edward: Me neither!!
(She seems eager to complement Tackleton very nicely whenever Edwards in the same room quite a bit.)
Tackleton: Nobody ever told me such nice things before!
Bertha: That's because they're not total liars, asswipe!
This comment chain was great.
Annausagi2 it needs a naked stripper panther too.
If you've seen El Arca you'd get it.
12:00 well of course the string fell apart when it hit the water, it's wet so it's completly useless now
Hhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
+Chosen One 41 I wish I could just hit "thumbs up" on this continuously. xD
LOL
Shut up Dundee
And so is the cricket.
Why does the Crow need help at all? He's a BIRD! All he needs to do is EAT the Cricket! Then there won't be a body for anybody to find!
Plus if he'd just done that then he and the other two idiots would still be alive XD
He almost did this very thing before the dumbass put him in the cage.
Didn't work for Monstro.
Ah, time for my favorite Christmas RUclips rewatch: a sea captain murdering three talking animals over a lucky cricket.
I lost it at the gunshots. I am on a treadmill at the gym dying. Thank you for that. :)
When the 'sexy cat' just appeared,I thought it was another one of Phelous' joke animations lol
Was amazed to recognise Hans Conried's voice as Captain Hook & Mr Darling from Disney's Peter Pan. Such a recognisable voice, given I haven't watched Peter Pan in over a decade.
He was Thorin Oakenshield in the Rankin Bass Hobbit, and he's the main reason to watch the 1,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Guy got around. Not as prolific as say Mel Blanc or June Foray or Paul Frees or Jim Cummings, but he got around.
Phelous' reaction to Sexy Cat Song was pretty much exactly how I was feeling! Omg lost my shit XD
Then there was that Brazilian thing about Noah's Ark with the nightclub-singer sexy lady panther singing her version of "I Will Survive" (Bobsheaux reviewed it -- El Arca I think it's called) -- I wonder if this inspired that bit?
EL Arca is not Brazilian movie. Is a Spanish movie
Kimba The Lion
Pretty sure it was made in Argentina
At least it was kind of catchy.
_Still_ better than _anything_ in _Cats (2019)._ This one at least fully looks like a cat.
"Paint costs money": Hasbro 2015, when making their Jurassic World toys
Same goes for their Transformers stuff. It shames me as a collector to have to do the touch up that they should be doing.
And the Bootlegs
@@crimsondynamo615 man times have changed. No I think you're thinking of Mattel
@@masterfarr8265 Nah currently Mattel has proven to be better than Hasbro's atrocious output. At least there's size consistency within their line as opposed to Hasbro's confusing line.
when I was in high school I put together a terrarium for pet slugs/snails and brought in dirt and moss and rocks and stuff from outside and apparently there were cricket eggs/larva/whatever in it, so teeny tiny crickets hatched out. they didn't bring any luck but they did sing.
'You know what else costs money? PEOPLE NOT BUYING YOU UNPAINTED PILES OF CRAP!'
Hasbro, this means you...
the "old man" eating the cricket near the end was a fucking hilarious addition.
I didn't believe this was how the actual story went, so I went to the Wikipedia entry on it. Needless to say, this is a very loose adaptation, but the original wasn't much more sensical. Apparently Vladimir Lenin famously walked out on a production of it. Say what you will about Marxist revolutionaries that set the stage for genocidal totalitarian dictatorships, but I think Lenin had the right idea on this one.
Um don’t trust Wikipedia
@@gracekim1998 Who are you? A teacher?
what genocidal totalitarian dictatorships? perhaps u should read stuff other than wikipedia articles
I understand this comment 0%
@@redvelvetunderground Perhaps you should read stuff other then the communist manifesto
Seriously? A guy talks to his bird and thinks an insect is out to get him--and he tells the bird to seek professional help?
Maybe he should seek professional help
+Endless Noise Somehow, I think the raven misunderstood him. "I meant a psychiatrist, you birdbrain! Not a bounty hunter!"
+Lord Voldemort This coming from the Dark Lord...
Says the birdperson.
No, but see, the captain was taking the cricket to the Animal Crossing Re-Tail shop. That's like 300 bells!
how does a disgise help him trick a blind girl?
Her father isnt blind.
@@harrysavva9630 With how shitty that disguise was, you have to wonder
it did not. movie was very useless without it being wet.
2:44 So Aladdin an Paige are still Hopping around time and Destroying the course of History?? Where's the Time force when you need them?
They destroyed them also
+TheArceusftw *BLAM BLAM BLAM*
+TheArceusftw Sounds like they are villians in a storyline from Dr Who!
+TheArceusftw 2:46 you were close.
+MegaAnimazing the the flipping fuck cares
fun fact, our dumb Scrooge stand in is voiced by the same guy as Captain Hook from Disney's Peter Pan
Did Berta actually regain her sight by the end? Because if not, maybe the people standing at the wedding are the imaginary servants her father made up? Which might be even sadder then having no one present...
I watched it proper and, from what I can gather, she's still blind at the end.
FollowTheWizard
aw man, that's sad. :(
PiranhaCupcake But hysterical blindness eventually goes away.
Hysterical blindness doesn't work in ANY way similar to this movie
Wow, that's messed up o.o Reminds me of how Golden Films' Little Mermaid ended with Lena never getting her voice back...And they lived happily ever after? lol
I laughed pretty hard when the Aladdin and the Adventure of All Time characters leaped in.
Wow, a bar scene with a sexy animal performing? What is this, The Great Mouse Detective?
Stephen Brown or el arca?
No, that was a GOOD movie
Yup, Miss Kitty Mouse's performance in that tavern was just wow.
Or Banjo, the Woodpile Cat?
You have to love a Disney movie where the hero gets drunk and dances with showgirls and where the only other songs are from the villain.
Cat Showgirl: an icon of Big Lipped Alligator Moments
Tareltonlives I think you mean the BEEG LEEPED AL-I-GATER MOMENT
Now Big bottom cat moments
*Big Crocodile Scene Happenings
There were also big lipped female cats in a Don Bluth movie.
More like "Big hipped Cat lady moment"
_Damn_.
I thought that the murder scene was a joke, but nope!
Rankin/Bass sure was edgy...
(Nice Home Alone 2 reference, btw)
4:00 Jesus's birth also took place in the middle of a jungle too, you learn something new everyday.
Kay, not gonna lie, the Sexy Cat Song is actually really catchy. I can't get it out of my head. I think I need professional help. Anyone know a crow I can ask for help?
ross cudmore same here ffs xD
Same here, man, even 3 years later.
Stupid sexy cat song...
I actually like the song
Children's movies are so tame these days. We need more murder!
+Milo Ilo Yeah, we've got sociopathic princes, another prince being turned into a vicious bear, a fairy getting her wings severed, the deconstruction of a superhero motivated by the death of a loved one, and that's just Disney nowadays.
+Milo Ilo children movies are not tame, they just don't capitalize on violence so it looks tamer than mature show.
+alucardyoici I trusted that my sarcasm was obvious, especially in the context of what happens around 10:23.
+Cabbage Head Ahh yes! My favorite kids' games, unlike that stupid Super Mario. He's completely useless now...
+Cabbage Head Hey, don't remind me! *shivers*
"Humans can never see toys come to life. Those are the rules."
Toy Story ripped off Cricket on the Hearth.
This Toy shop is probably for bootlegs.
I mean, he dont want to to paint anything, and is cheap ass.
Probably plans to do bootlegs of turtle fighters
+SamuraiMotoko Yeah, you can make out Bat Hero and Special Man in the background next to the Turtles Warriors
I now need a Christmas Carol adaptation involving talking toys, and animal nightclub where a hit on another animal is negotiated and three of them are murdered.
The only reason I can see why Christopher's disguise worked on Cricket was because they had barely met before, otherwise this makes no sense why no one recognized him.
I just thought every character was a complete idiot
Christopher? You mean Edward.
Tareltonlives I don’t think you’re wrong there. Idiocy abounds in this tale.
Yeah, only about 10% of this story aligns with the book. But the sexy nightclub cat? Yes, totally written by Dickens.
After having this special on the Rankin Bass Blu-ray collection for several years, and watching Phelous’ review several times I actually sat down and watched this special start to finish the other day. Honestly I enjoyed it for what it was, as hokey and strange as it is at times. The music is definitely the best aspect of this special.
10:23
Daymn, not often a animation like this can make me go "OH GOD WHAT."
Also, someone needs to use this as part of a "Thug Life" meme thing.
I laughed hard at this because though I liked the movie I know how sudden that moment was XD.
This is similar to "The Star Wars Holiday Special" with the unnecessary musical porn scene.
Diane Carrol IS the big-assed nightclub cat!
@@Tareltonlives Not gonna lie, that cat was awfully thick though.
@@driddick7361 I can't wait for Saberspark to do this one. He cannot escape from the catgirls
@@Tareltonlives The Catgirls cannot be escaped in general.
I’ve made it a tradition to watch this review every year around Christmas ever since it originally came out. It’s honestly one of my favorites of yours. Glad I’ve stuck around watching your stuff for this many years.
Same! It's a favorite of mine too!
15:35: How nice of the Pope to take time off from his busy schedule to officiate the wedding of these two inconsequential nobodies.
In England, of all places.
What if this final mr. Green moment is actually the hint what happy ending exists only in Berta's head, when in the real life she is still blind, her father is still poor and her fiancee is still dead?
David Lynch’s Cricket on the Hearth
For such a dumb cartoon, that scene of the captain killing his own henchmen is seriously badass.
They weren't his henchmen, they were just trying to cut a deal with him.
Darth Vader: DAYUM that's cold!
i can only assume that this was originally taken down because charles dickens flagged it to youtube...
+BobbinandGuidoShow It was originally unlisted, it could only be accessed via Phelous' site.
that makes TOO MUCH sense XD
15:39 - "Who the hell is standing for them?" Well, the three women on the left appear to be Flora, Fauna and Merryweather.
animagusurreal Why couldn't they have cured Bertha's blindness? They're fairies, right?
That Aladdin movie with Pagemaster references is so bad it is funny to enjoy.
I can't help but wonder what the thought process might have been for Arthur Rankin & Romeo Muller to include those animals getting shot.
"Okay, Romeo, so in the next scene, after the animals turn the cricket over to the captain, the captain then double-crosses the animals and shoots them dead."
"But, Mr. Rankin, sir, wouldn't Mr. Tackleton notice that his pet crow never returned after getting rid of the cricket and wonder where he went?"
"Pfft, no one will care about something that ridiculous! We've already made the story this dreary and miserable, so why stop now?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right..."
Also, that Quantum Leap sketch with Aladdin, Paige and Wordsworth was hilarious and really well edited.
8:00 If The Great Mouse Detective can get away with the sexy mouse at the bar while everyone is drunk (in a Disney film), I think this movie can get away with a sexy cat song
I think the difference is that GMD established its world as a seedy underworld of London with anthropomorphic animals right from the getgo, while this seems like a straightforward period Dickens adaptation with just a little supernatural stuff (like the Cricket) up until it throws a night club in there from literally nowhere.
SecretAgentYaya True, true.
They're both Big Lipped Alligator Moments, but at least the Great Mouse Detective was an awesome movie
My favorite part of this review is your reaction to the sexy cat dance...
WOW....this was, by far, the most rage inducing movie plot I've ever seen.
clearly you've never watched foodfight
I might have to put this one in my regular Xmas rotation. The look of it is pretty unique and charming, it shares voice actors with other Rankin Bass 'toons I like (such as the Hobbit), and it just has that wonderful spark of insanity to it.
[ahem]
Diamonds, furs, and ocean trips - they don't go with tuppence tips.
Don't feed me champagne talk when we're eating fish and chips!
The stunned reactions at the insanity are perfect.
the Crow, the cat and the Dog survived, ........they are ok ! I see their Parachutes.
+Mark Plott He shot the cargo robot!
+Gaucelm de Villaret IT'S GONE THE WAY OF THE DINOSAURS!
You just wait till they grow back!
Too bad it's Sunday, they would have actually died tomorrow.
At least its not Sunday!
I have a theory that in the original story, the reason the doll Bertha was working on did not have eyes was because the doll was supposed to represent her. The doll was in a wedding dress because Bertha was planning on getting married and the doll had no eyes because Bertha was blind.
So in other words:
SYMBOLISM!
Phelous, sometimes critics forget that something was a TV special, and ignore the pacing that they take for commercial breaks, as well as the pace they keep to vary the story for the audience. Doug Walker did it with the Star Wars Holiday Special, ignoring that it's a thanksgiving special and not a Christmas one. You wonder what the deal is with the big musical number ending. In stage plays, that's the halfway mark at the end of act II. Rankin Bass productions was known for writing their specials like plays, and if you ever watch them, regardless of how they are animated, that is how they tend to break down. There is usually a 3-4 act structure, a narrator that starts off each act, different scenes making up each act that move the story along, and lots of twists and turns. They knew how to fill up that time-slot with some contrivances and intrigues.
I saw one the other night that had Rudolph and Frosty in the desert with a wizard and cowboys. Then there was one where spirits of the elements created Santa or something.
I watched Cricket on the Hearth a few days ago and had basically the same reactions as you did. It made this review that much funnier, though!
You'd think Edward's disguise was for hiding from the Navy.
Almost none of the actual plot of Dickens's "COTH" seems to have made it into this cartoon version. Yes, I realize that oftentimes characters must be consolidated and minor plot-lines be dropped, but aside from the existence of a "guardian angel cricket," there's not much that they stayed true to.
Rankin-Bass' 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' is almost the same way: the mouse family actually knows crucial information that could help the clockmakers' family, but they DO NOTHING for months.
Seriously, Rankin-Bass' idiocy makes Hanna-Barbara's idiocy look like Warner Brothers level of lunacy!
Dude I love how Charles Dickens will forever haunt you Phelous . I’m sorry bud, but seeing you shouting out “DICKEEEENS” is just Priceless
20:19 your pain isn't, but your entire review has become one of my all time favorites and part of my Christmas youtube watchlist!
Merry early X-Mas, Phelous!
Indeed
The singing cat looked like it was animated in Japan.
Rankin-Bass specials were animated in Japan.
7:48 - Oh hi, Great Mouse Detective.
That look on your face when the animals were killed... The 60's were harsh, huh?
Man rewatching reviews never get old. That cat song is catchy 🤔
2021
I first saw this in 2020
Apparently saw in 2017 too🤷♀️
Old Man Edward looks like Mark Hamill in Episode 7
now there are some odd design choices in this movie, but am i the only one that really adore the art style??
Fun Fact the evil boss was voiced Hans Conried (Disney`s Captain Hook).
And people have the nerve to bash Secret of Nimh 2 for going of the wall in it`s third act, clearly they need to see this.
I REALLY need Eric Idle as a mad scientist mouse in this movie
+Dalibor Jovanovic
Are you fucking kidding me?? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?
WHA...BU..."CRICKET ON THE HEARTH"'S THIRD ACT IS COMPAREBLY MORE SANE THAN "SECRET OF NIMH 2"'S!!! D8S
At least Rankin/Bass didn't go into as surreal territory as MGM did.
The third act for this is bizarre, but it's still not as batshit as the third act of Secret of NIMH 2
Nah. Don't get me wrong, this movie is bad, but it's not "this cool and neat cartoon that has themes about animal experimentation and blends fantasy elements to it has a shitty sequel that in the end becomes fucking Pinky and the Brain".
♫Timmy and the Brain♫
Your cartoon reviews are the best! I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe haha
Awww more of this timeless classic with all our favorites, A-hole-laddin, Paige 'Do Something' ...Whatever, and Wordsworth the A.I.
Do you think you could try dubbing a really crappy cartoon? You seem to be pretty good at working with what the animation gives you in terms of syncing lip movements and your own voice.
+Beetle Twist I'd watch this for sure.
I love how you can just show the two clips of the nightclub cat and the animal thugs getting shot completely out of context and go "This is a Christmas musical based on Charles Dickens!"
“Wow, if I had a nickel for every time a shapely furry character had a random musical number in the middle of a period film, I’d have three nickels - which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened three times”.
And to be fair, it's the only catchy song in the entire show
Triple Homicide in a children's Christmas cartoon. Wow, now I really have seen everything.
FilmGuy7000 A FAMILY PICTURE/you know, FOR KIDS!
I remember this video.
Man, it takes a lot to realize animation. Barring the actual idea of bloody murder, it does take some time to sketch it, animate it, colour it, voice it, potentially edit it, the works. just amazing that stuff like that happens and no one voiced concern. But, it makes it all the more special.
Hope you got something festive for us this year too, Phelous.
That sexy cat song was really catchy, I thought.
A sentence I never thought I'd say/type.
Wasn't even sexy by furry standards. You know, that furry fandom that totally existed in the 1960s?
It is actually a pretty good song... Shame it's wasted here and not in Fieval Goes West.
Now I want to see "Dream to dream" dubbed over with that song
im gonna admit that i find every song on this movie legitimately great. like, if a soundtrack exists and isn't pricey as hell, I'd totally buy it.
maybe the gun man sea captain is tackletons twin brother
I don't know about the _Pope_ performing their wedding ceremony, but he _does_ look like he's at least a bishop.
Probably an Anglican bishop, since this DOES take place in England.
Actually, in the skit at the end, you sprayed bug spray at a stove. It kinda makes sense it exploded on you.
15:52 I was expecting a Nightmare Before Christmas joke there :c
11:43 Ah. Phelous' RUclips ad revenue came in.
Did they name Tackleton's bird after Uriah Heap from "David Copperfield"? If they did then the literature nerd in me has to applaud the writers on this special.👏
Romeo Mueller was indeed a literature nerd.
13:27 Hey wait an minute. He build himself a raft and THEN sailed to an island. Don't castaways usually build rafts to get out of islands? So he build himself a raft, jumped of the ship with it, and got lost.
To think he probably could've been back in a month tops......
When the cat appeared at the bar, I first thought that you added it in as a joke, because there was no way that was animated by people with a budget.
+Toasted Toast15
Well, it _is_ a Rankin-Bass production after all.
This has to be the same bar from The Great Mouse Detective
17:53 "So ... we are not told whose gift was gold, and whose was the gift of myrrh?" Well that only leaves frankincense, which STINKS, and we ALL know whose "gift" that was. DICKENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNS!!!!
+TUPRBABE it was the briefcase in Pulp Fiction obviously.
What's it with low-budget Christmas movies having actual character deaths?
*Edit:* No, low-budget children's movies in general. Why the hell do they have so much death?!
*Edit 2:* honestly, I didn't notice the old man was Edward until Phelous pointed it out. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention to him.
One good thing about this movie... Bertha looks cute.
+AmishParadise27 (AKA: Tyler) Voice actress was pretty hot
Tareltonlives I mean the character, but I will have to look her up.
+AmishParadise27 (AKA: Tyler) Especially with those soul-piercing death eyes.
Or that spine problem.
Yeah, I so go for those hellfire eyes.
Years later, I just realized that the Jesus birth scene appears to be taking place in the Amazon for some reason? Not sure why Tenochtitlan is in the background there.
Insert Mormon joke here
12:00 - Oh no! Cricket Crocket's all wet! He's completely useless now!
But then again, he was always useless.
12:52 What's Goofy doing in a Rankin Bass cartoon?