African American Comedy
Animation
Black Comedy
British
Classic Comedies
Comic Criminals
Cult Classics
Documentaries, Real & Fake
Farce
Frighteningly Funny
Gay & Lesbian
General
Kids & Family
Military & War
Musicals
Parody & Spoof
Romantic Comedies
Satire
School Days
Screwball Comedy
Series & Sequels
Slapstick
Sports
Stand-Up
Teen
Television
Urban
|
 |
The Puppetoon Movie |
List Price: $9.99
Your Price: $9.99 |
 |
|
|
|
| Product Info |
Reviews |
Features:
Description:
Before Wallace and Gromit, before Gumby and Pokey, Hungarian-born animator and director George Pal (1908-1980) created the stop-motion shorts he dubbed "Puppetoons." Arnold Leibovit has assembled an affectionate tribute to Pal that includes animation from 11 "Puppetoons." Twelve other films are included on the DVD version, although there's some overlap. Pal used his charming little figures in miniature Busby Berkeley numbers and simple boy-meets-girl stories. But he could tackle more serious subjects, as he proved in "Tulips Shall Grow" (1943). He caricatured the Nazi wehrmacht as the goose-stepping, robotic Screwball Army, attacking Holland (where the artist had made his first films before coming to America). His most endearing short is probably "Tubby the Tuba" (1947), the story of an eager little horn who wants his song to be heard. In 1947, Ebony praised Pal's "John Henry and the Inky Poo" (1946) as "that rarest of Hollywood products that has no Negro stereotypes, but rather treats the Negro with dignity, imagination, poetry, and love." But the magazine criticized his series about Jasper, a little African American boy. These films have aged less gracefully, and modern viewers may find jokes about watermelon, haunted houses, and other standards of ethnic humor objectionable. Not rated: suitable for ages 8 and up. Parents may want to monitor the use of ethnic stereotypes. --Charles Solomon
|
|
|
|
