Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure
When I first saw TOY STORY, I couldn't help but recall the film that holds the distinction of being the very first I saw in a movie theatre, RAGGEDY ANN & ANDY: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE. The plot of the two films bears a rather uncanny similarity: toys which only come to life when nobody's around go off on an adventure when one of their own escapes from the nursery. But where the characters from TOY STORY venture off into the real world, the RAGGEDY ANN characters essentially embark on an acid trip filled with disconcerting perversities and atrocities (it was the '70s, after all!) when a snowglobe-pirate kidnaps the new porcelain doll. The film gets a bad rap for a variety of reasons -- but it features some of the greatest, most outlandishly inventive animation I've ever seen.
The backstory on the film is interesting. Animation director Richard Williams agreed to helm the movie as an attempt to prove himself and finance his life's work, the ill-fated THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER (it was another 16 years before that film was finally released -- under various titles and not as Williams had envisioned it). It was quickly decided that RAGGEDY ANN was going to rival Disney's films in scope, but have its own unique style of animation. Matter of fact, each of the characters were predominantly done by a sole animator named in the opening credits sequence(!), each with their own distinctive style, which adds to the warmth of the film. Despite the unevenness of the story, it's clear watching the film that it was a labor of love for many talented artists and actors. Much of the animation is absolutely breathtaking, and there's a handful of catchy songs (by Joe Raposo, of "Sesame Street" fame)... but there's so many songs that the pace of the story is completely off-kilter. Musical overkill.
The movie was supposed to be the big Christmas hit in '76, but the troubled production ran over schedule -- which was the main contributing factor to the scenes with sloppy animation -- and it didn't debut until the following April. Many critics blasted it and, despite heavy promotion, the film flopped when it premiered at the box office in 1977. A few years later, the film was released on video and Nickelodeon began airing it on their movie showcase, "Special Delivery," where it gained a lot of attention from youngsters. In 1986, the story was reworked and some of the songs were recycled for a forgotten "Raggedy Ann" Broadway show (that was too bleak for children and too bizarre for adults) which ran a scant 15 previews and 5 performances -- but it was a hit in Russia under the title "Rag Dolly." By the end of the '80s, The Disney Channel (rather ironically) added the film to their schedule and continued to air it from time to time until the late '90s. Unfortunately, the pan and scan TV version doesn't begin to do justice to the widescreen Panavision film.
By the turn of the century, the film basically fell off the map... until 2008, when the same guys who recobbled THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER (which restored Williams' original vision for that film) obtained s print from a collector and leaked a self-remastered widescreen copy of the film online For the first time in decades, the film could be seen in all its widescreen splendor! There are some scratches here and there (mostly only noticeable during reel changes) but it marks the first time that many fans have been able to see the film as it was intended to be seen. And I gotta say, some of the visuals are truly dazzling: the Raggedys move fluidly as though they lack skeletal systems (check out the sexually ambiguous Andy's movement in "I'm No Girl's Toy"), the shapeshifting Greedy is the trippiest, most nightmarishly beautiful piece of animation I've ever seen, there's some overt sexuality (mostly courtesy of the pelvic-gyrating Cap'n, the busty Babette and King Koo-Koo, who seems to be a Freudian textbook case), the black and white sequence is utterly awesome, some of the songs are charming (though there's still way too many songs), and the phallus-like Camel is a delightfully deranged emo who appears to suffer from Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (aka LSD flashbacks). Greatest kids movie ever.
The soundtrack was issued on vinyl and 8-track (probably cassette too) and, like most old kiddie records, it's very difficult to find a copy that's in good condition. The album features full versions of several songs that are barely heard in the film and it's in stereo (unlike any print of the film). Released in an era before home video was the norm, they opted to include a lot of pieces of dialogue on the album to tell the story. Strangely, the twins brief songs "What's in the Box?" and "Really Scary!" were entirely omitted from the LP.
As promotion for the film, composer Joe Raposo appeared appeared on a 1977 episode of "Wonderama" for a segment which featured dancers dressed up as the film's dolls and danced to a hideous disco remix of the song "Rag Dolly." Unfortunately, video of this segment is not known to exist, and the sound quality is less than sparkling... but it was captured by a fan and leaked online.
As RAGGEDY ANN & ANDY was being produced, John Canemaker was hard at work documenting the making of the film. His book, "The Animated Raggedy Ann & Andy - An Intimate Look at the Art of Animation: Its History, Techniques, and Artists" is one of the earliest and best books to document the process of how an animated film is made. Here's a blurb from an old magazine (which is sort of misleading about the film's success):
Although the focal point is this movie, the book delves into the general history of animation and features the stories of many legendary animators who were involved in the making of this film -- there's a lot of talk of Disney and other classic studios. The book was highly regarded but it's been out of print for decades and now copies rarely sell for less than $30 (I've seen 'em priced over $100). A barebones proof of the manuscript sans all photos has also surfaced online.
What the future holds for this oddity is uncertain, but it would be nice if the studio would give it the promotion and hi-def special edition release that it so desperately deserves.... but since that seems to be CBS, I'm not holding my breath.
