Shinbone Alley

Starring:Eddie Bracken, Carol Channing, Joan Gerber, Hal Smith, Alan Reed, Ken Sansom, John Carradine
Director: John D. Wilson
Studio: Aae Films
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Very good source material, not handled with grace
toujours gai, toujours gai, wotthehell, wotthehell there's a dance in the old gal yet
My Opinion of Shinbone Alley
Fun Kids and Kid-wannabes
A treasure in its way. Wonderful performances.

Shinbone Alley
Starring: Eddie Bracken , Carol Channing , Joan Gerber , Hal Smith , and Alan Reed
Director: John D. Wilson
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Animation | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Anime & Manga | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Archy And Mehitabel: Carnival of the Animals
Archy and Mehitabel
Archyology : The Long Lost Tales of Archy and Mehitabel
Archyology II : (The Final Dig) : The Long Lost Tales of Archy and Mehitabel
Journey Back to Oz

ASIN: B000FUF76C
Release Date: 2006-08-08

Description

Join the fun and laugh along with the "misadventures" of Archy the cockroach, a poet in his former life now having to jump on his typewriter keys to peck out his poems. Archie adores the huge-eyed, blonde, hip-swaying Mehitabel the Cat, and along with a colorful cast of characters, they embark on an animated, musical treat the whole family will love!

Written by Mel Brooks and Joe Darion.

Customer Reviews:

Very good source material, not handled with grace.......2006-08-23

This is based on the great Don Marquis's long running newspaper columns about a fictional cockroach and his impossible love for a (very) alley cat. The Marquis material, in several collections, is priceless and well illustrated by the great Herriman (of Krazy Kat). The original LP of musical material (issued in the 50s and now on CD) was very good and Channing and Bracken excellent in the roles. This cartoon can't decide if it's for children or adults (it could have been a very sleek and sophisticated "Fritz the Cat"); what's worse the production values are Saturday morning level, the kids won't notice. The imaginative sequences really betray this. But there are several songs here that are not on the LP/CD; there are also several songs on the Bracken / Eartha Kitt complete live double CD missing on either. There was also another animated version with Tammy Grimes as Mehitibel that was released on a bootleg LP, which I've not heard or seen. But a really good stage or animated version of the source material remains to be done. It certainly hasn't dated. The ravages of human behavior are more widely recognized in popular entertainment than they were when Marquis began this tale around the time of the FIRST world war. The only filmmaker I can imagine now who would do it right would be Terry Gilliam, who might benefit from going back to animation too.

toujours gai, toujours gai, wotthehell, wotthehell there's a dance in the old gal yet.......2006-02-07

Archie the cokroach poet first called himself to public notice in 1916 when he began leaving notes on the typewriter of New York Sun columnist Don Marquis (pronounced MAR-kwess, incidentally).

Since the typewriter was a manual model, archie had to type (quite slowly) by climbing up on top and jumping on the keys one by one. He couldn't handle the shift key, so he used no capital letters.

Besides being a "vers libre bard", archie also was a raconteur, rather in the style of Will Rogers, and often told tales of the goings-on in Shinbone Alley, where he and Mehitbel the alley cat (a reincarnated Cleopatra) resided.

The columns featuring archie and mehitabel were quite popular, and were first collected in book form in 1927 ("archie and mehitabel") [still in print], followed by more volumes in 1933 ("archies life of mehitabel") and 1935 ("archiue does his part").

The books were illustrated by George Herriman, creator of "Krazy Kat", and his lanky loose-limbed but tight style fit the characters and material beautifully.

There were stage productions in the 50s and 60s (Mel Brooks was involved in the Broadway version), with first Carroll Channing and then Eartha Kitt as Mehitabel (Eddie Bracken played archie opposite Channing.)

And then, in 1971, came this film.

The animation (except in one sequence) is simplified in style compared to Herriman's art and Mehitabel is a caricature of Channing rather than basically a Krazy Kat klone (sorry), but it captures the feel.

My own favourite moments:

John Carradine as the old-style theatre cat who saved the day for a famous Shakespearean actor (i fear i have forgotten whom) when a jealous understudy hid the star's beard just before the performance. The cat, as he explains, knowing the show must go on, leapt to the star's aid... and clung to him throughout the performance, playing the beard.

Archie's declaration of war against humanity, in which the animation drops into full Herriman-style.

And Archie's report of his interview with a moth, trying to fathom why moths fly into candle flames. "Have you ever seen the beauty that exists in the heart of a flame?" the moth asks in turn, and archie concludes:

"...and, boss, i wish there
were one thing that i
wanted half as much
as that guy
wanted
to fry..."

Wonderful film -- but do not make the mistake of assuming that "It's a cartoon -- it's a kiddie film." As a quick rule of thumb, if you can't or don't want to pre-screen it, call it PG13, though i wouldn't hesitate in showing it to younger kids if i thought they would enjoy it and understand some of the issues raised.

Or, on the other hand, perhaps it ought be labelled, as a shelf card in the bookstore in one of Will Shetterley's "Bordertown" stories reads: "Children and Unusually Perceptive Adults"

(To give credit where credit is due, i consulted Don Markstein's massive online reference, the Toonopedia, for the relevant dates opf archie and mehitabel's first and subsequent appearances.)

My Opinion of Shinbone Alley.......2005-08-10

Shinbone Alley is a good movie, but to me there is way to much singing.

Fun Kids and Kid-wannabes.......2004-04-05

It starts off with an attempted suicide, but that is just the beginning. don marquis' archy & mehitabel comes to life on this video (unfortunately I've never seen it in a theater). Carol Channing was one of my favorite actresses. Her voice is totally unmistakble. Who else could have done Romeo & Juliette with such zest? archy's wonder at the passions and the drama of life at the lowest level is a great way to comment on life at marquis' level. Flotsam & Jetsam is one of my favorite musical scenes. Music vidoes now don't reach this level of creativity. archy and mehitabel show a great lust for life even as they experience extreme hardship. I've shown this film to my nieces, who at the time were about 7 & 8 yrs old. They quickly became fans too. There are many things that are too sophisticated and would be missed by children, but there is enough for them too.

A treasure in its way. Wonderful performances........2003-03-18

Although it could have been better, it's a shame this film has been buried from the start. It has some really superb music, written by George Kleinsinger, a couple of fantastic performances by Carol Channing & Eddie Bracken, - & best of all, it's based on the great Don Marquis series from (I believe) the old New York World - Archy & Mehitabel. The compilation book was illustrated by the peerless George Herriman (Krazy Kat - & Mehitabel really was Krazy Kat!) & some of the scenes in this film are Herriman-inspired, another reason to treasure it.

Customer Reviews:

Very good source material, not handled with grace.......2006-08-23

toujours gai, toujours gai, wotthehell, wotthehell there's a dance in the old gal yet.......2006-02-07

My Opinion of Shinbone Alley.......2005-08-10

Shinbone Alley is a good movie, but to me there is way to much singing.

Fun Kids and Kid-wannabes.......2004-04-05

A treasure in its way. Wonderful performances........2003-03-18

Pity the poor wimps who are traumatized by any animation that isn't filled with fluffy bunnies.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

My Uncle Silas - Series 2

Far Country

Confusion of Genders (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: Blue Collar

Hulk