Rankin-Bass
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the Beginning
Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass created animation legacies.
A Canadian studio, Rankin-Bass entered the American market in 1961 with versions of two classic stories in first-run syndication.
Tales of the Wizard of Oz (1961) is a cel animation series consisting of 130 five-minute segments. Dorothy’s trio of friends have different names than they do in the 1939 classic movie The Wizard of Oz -- Rusty the Tin Man, Socrates the Straw Man, and Dandy the Lion.
Hal Erickson analyzes the series in his 1995 book Television Cartoon Shows, 1949 - 1993.
The best elements of Tales of the Wizard of Oz were the character design and forced-perspective backgrounds. You can take your pick of its worst elements: the poor timing and coordination of the animation, the sound effects which never seemed to match the action, or the feeble updating attempts. This last yielded the greatest number of misfire ideas: the Army drafted The Tin Man, Straw Man, and Lion; the Straw Man participated in a television quiz show; the Wizard built a three-stage rocket to send Dorothy back to Kansas. Anachronisms can be funny (look at The Flintstones) but on Tales of the Wizard of Oz they leaned toward the precious and boring.
Rankin-Bass returned to L. Frank Baum’s characters in Return to Oz (1964), the studio’s first special.
The New Adventures of Pinocchio (1961) exhibits the team’s first stop-motion animation, also known as puppet animation or Animagic. Rankin-Bass’ account differs greatly from the well-known and widely accepted ‘official’ version, Disney’s 1940 film Pinocchio. In addition, individual segments play on familiar popular culture properties: Dognet, The Little Train Robbery, Not So Private Eye, The Gas Man Cometh, and The Astro-Nuts.
Rudolph and Friends
Rankin-Bass’ 1960’s Christmas specials provided the studio’s anchor programming. Arguably the mother of all holiday specials, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer premiered on December 6, 1964 on NBC’s Fantasy Hour (5:30 pm -- 6:30 pm).
Narrated by Burl Ives as a friendly, neighborhood snowman, Rudolph expands upon the central theme of a misfit using a perceived disability to save the day. Rudolph has a bright, shiny, red nose. You would even say it glows. The nose makes him a virtual pariah in his peer group. They wouldn’t let poor Rudolph play in any reindeer games.
Even Donner, Rudolph’s father and Santa’s lead reindeer, feels consternation, embarrassment, and shame. His beak blinks like a blinkin’ beacon! Donner exclaims. Ultimatetly, Rudolph’s nose guides Santa and his eight reindeer through a massive Christmas Eve fog. Rudolph saves Christmas.
Rankin-Bass’ Rudolph story adds new characters -- Doe and love interest Clarice, companion and misfit elf Hermy, prospector and practitioner of positive thinking Yukon Cornelius, and notorious Christmas villain Abominable Snowmonster.
Johnny Marks contributes new songs and lyrics to flesh out the tale. Marks composed the original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer song made famous by Gene Autry in 1949.
One curious visual occurs at the end of Rudolph. If you watch carefully during the closing scenes, you will notice that Rudolph leads a team of six reindeer, not eight!
The Rudolph character actually originated twenty-five years prior to the debut of the Rankin-Bass version.
Robert L. May, an advertising copywriter for retail giant Montgomery Ward & Company, wrote the original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer poem for the company in 1939.
According to a company press release, Montgomery Ward was looking for something really new and different for Santa Claus to hand out to children visiting him in their stores. Something they could take home with them and enjoy year after year.
After initial rejection, May teamed up with an artist friend, Denver Gillen. He approached Montgomery Ward again and received the green light.
In 1944, Max Fleischer directed an eight-minute animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer film, produced by Jam Handy.
Rankin-Bass used another popular winter holiday song as the basis for a special with another Gene Autry connection. In 1950, Autry introduced Frosty the Snowman, written by Walter ‘Jack’ Rollins and Steve Nelson. Rankin-Bass’ Frosty the Snowman (1969) boasts Jimmy Durante as the narrator. Andy Griffith narrates in the sequel Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (1976).
In 1950, Nelson and Rollins also wrote Here Comes Peter Cottontail, another Gene Autry song. In 1971, the song inspired a Rankin-Bass incarnation featuring Danny Kaye as Seymour S. Sassafrass, the story’s narrator. The 1957 novel The Easter Bunny Overslept by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich also gave Rankin-Bass a basis for the story.
The Little Drummer Boy song ignited Rankin-Bass’ The Little Drummer Boy (1968). It spawned a sequel, The Little Drummer Boy II (1976). Both versions feature Greer Garson’s narration.
In the 1970’s, Rudolph returned to the airwaves in two sequels.
Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976) uses the same theme as its predecessor. Embarrassed by his oversized ears, Happy -- the Baby New Year -- runs away from Father Time. His action causes a huge problem. No Happy = No new year. December 31st for all eternity and no Christmases forever.
Santa Claus calls on Rudolph, again because of his nose. Rudolph must find Happy through the dense fog so the new year can begin on schedule. Rudolph finds Happy and shows him that being different means being special.
Rudolph and Frosty (1979) showcases the winter icons joining forces. Originally titled Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July, this ninety-minute special features the title characters in a challenging predicament. In his 1989 book Animated TV Specials, George W. Wooley explains that the title characters battle against Winterbolt, an icy wizard who plotted to make the North Pole his own evil domain by snuffing out Rudolph’s radiant nose, thereby defeating Santa’s annual stormy-weather toy deliveries and allowing Winterbolt to reign supreme.
Other Rankin-Bass Christmas classics debuted in the 1970’s. Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (1970) stars the animated likeness and voice of Fred Astaire as narrator S.D. Kluger, a local mailman. Mickey Rooney provides the voice of Kris Kringle. Again inspired by a song, Rankin-Bass surrounds a familiar icon with new history. Santa Claus traces the evolution of a young Kris Kringle into Santa Claus.
The program addresses several of the legends surrounding Santa Claus -- why Santa has whiskers, wears a red suit, comes down chimneys, leaves presents in stockings, and why he does these things on Christmas Eve.
J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie wrote the song Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. It debuted in 1934 on Eddie Cantor’s radio show.
Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) revisits the misfit theme in a Christmas motif. The title explains the main character’s perceived defect and consequential loneliness. Like Rudolph, Nestor uses his abnormality to save Christmas. Actually, he saves the first Christmas!
Nestor accompanies Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where he protects Mary during a vicious sandstorm with his oversized ears. Ultimately, he witnesses the birth of Jesus.
Finally, an animated version of a classic Christmas tale once again adds new elements to a familiar story. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974) pokes fun at the opening line of Clement Moore’s famous poem. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.’
Rankin-Bass’ story centers around the fictional Junctionville and clockmaker Joshua Trundle and Father Mouse, played by Joel Grey and George Gobel respectively. Trundle builds a musical clock so Santa Claus will visit Junctionville on Christmas Eve. The visit is unlikely since Father Mouse’s son Albert commits a grievous act. Albert is an arrogant, superintelligent, pompous bookworm who does not believe in Santa. Albert and his friends wrote a letter to the town paper denouncing Santa Claus. The affront to Santa Claus causes clockmaker Trundle to build a huge clock that will boom out a message declaring the citizens’ belief in Santa Claus.
In 1976, Burl Ives returned to Rankin-Bass in The First Easter Rabbit (1976).
It’s A Mad, Mad World of Monsters, Comedians, and Bears
Rankin-Bass tackles the horror category with Mad Monster Party (1966), a full-length feature film in Animagic with several corny jokes. Joseph E. Levine was the Executive Producer.
Again, Rankin-Bass employs familiar characters in a new setting -- Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy, the Werewolf, the Creature, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Phyllis Diller basically plays her comedic persona as the Monster’s Mate with her edgy sense of comedy. Boris Karloff voices the main character, Baron Boris von Frankenstein. Because of his strong association with the horror genre, Karloff adds authenticity. He has ‘created the means to destroy matter’ and declares, They must all know, know that I, Baron von Frankenstein, master of the secret of creation have now mastered the secret of destruction. Hence, the ‘mad monster party.’
Among the invitees is Felix Flanken, a hyper-allergic pharmacist, von Frankenstein’s nephew, and potential heir of the monster leader position. Indeed, von Frankenstein will retire someday. When he does, he wants Felix to take over the leader role. It’s another reason for the party.
In another story line, Felix falls in love with Francesca, a robotic creation of his uncle’s. Mad Monster Party uses a final scene reminiscent of Some Like It Hot (1959).
When Francesca reveals her robotic nature and the impossibility of coupling, Felix responds that no one is perfect. He makes his statement repeatedly and...robotically! So maybe Felix and Francesca do belong together, after all.
In 1970, Rankin-Bass produced an animated, comedic smorgasbord consisting mainly of real-life comedians’ performances corresponding to their cartoon likenesses. With no real room for original elements other than Bruce Stark’s caricatures, The Mad, Mad, Mad, Comedians (1970) showcased the Marx Brothers, Henny Youngman, Flip Wilson, Phyllis Diller, George Burns, Jack Benny, and Paul Frees recreating W.C. Fields.
Additionally, George Jessel and Jack E. Leonard provide a narrative bridge of sorts between sketches. Jessel’s nickname was Toastmaster of the United States, a moniker honoring his emcee capabilities.
Shots of the cartoon ‘audience’ reveal Joe Namath, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, and Richard and Pat Nixon.
Rankin-Bass turned to a famous spokescharacter for a special and subsequent television series. The Ballad of Smokey the Bear (1966) and The Smokey Bear Show (1969) gave animated life to the American safety symbol. Smokey the Bear was based on a bear cub who was rescued from a fire.
The Short and Tall of It
Rankin-Bass’ version of King Kong (1966-67) features the title character as a domesticated ape standing ‘ten times as big as a man’ according to the show’s theme song. King Kong accompanies Professor Bond and his children, Bobby and Susan, on adventures throughout Mondo Island.
Tom of T.H.U.M.B. segments aired between the two King Kong storeis. T.H.U.M.B. stands for Tiny Human Underground Military Bureau. The stories fall under the spy genre, popular in teh 1960’s because of James Bond, President Kennedy’s legendary endorsement of Bond author Ian Fleming being his favorite author, and the Cold War. Tom and his faithful assistant, Swingin’ Jack, inadvertently encounter a shrinking ray at U.S. Intelligence, thereby creating T.H.U.M.B. with agents capable of accomplishing missions calling for diminutive proportions.
Tom of T.H.U.M.B. added to the growing list of fictional spy organization acronyms. U.N.C.L.E. had T.H.R.U.S.H. C.O.N.T.R.O.L. had K.A.O.S. T.H.U.M.B. had M.A.D. Tom describes M.A.D. (Maladjusted, Anti-Social, and Darn Mean) as an organization of scientists bent on destroying the world for their own gains in the episode For the Last Time Feller, I’m Not Bait.
Tom of T.H.U.M.B. has Don Adams parallels. Tom sounds like Maxwell Smart when addressing his boss, Chief Chief; Smart often called his boss Chief. Tom’s look and mannerisms recall Inspector Gadget, a 1980’s cartoon character voiced by Adams.
Literary Cartoons
Rankin-Bass entered the literary animation genre in 1970, its first such products having original roots in literature -- Tales of the Wizard of Oz and The New Adventures of Pinocchio.
The Tomfoolery Show (1970-71) displayed animated shorts based on 19th century literary giants, for example, Lear, Carroll, Longfellow, and Nash. Erickson claims that the show fell short of the mark.
The series was a noble attempt at ‘quality’ children’s programming that just didn’t jell. Combining the whimsical convoluted poetry of Lear and Carroll with the disjointed, flash-gag style of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In only resulted in one comic style cancelling out the other. Nor were there any compelling continuing characters for the home viewer to latch onto.
The Reluctant Dragon and Mr. Toad (1970-72) found its basis in Kenneth Grahame’s characters from the early 20th century and, coincidentally, debuted the same date as Tomfoolery on a competing network. Both shows debuted on September 12, 1970 -- Reluctant Dragon on ABC, Tomfoolery on NBC.
Exploring the world of fantasy, Rankin-Bass animated The Hobbit (1977) and The Return of the King (1980), based on stories by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Festival of Family Classics (1972-73), a syndicated series, consists of eighteen well-established stories in twenty installments. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in 80 Days aired in two parts.
Family Classics stories shares the same basic animation, look, and score.
Riding the Trend Wave
In the early 1970’s, Rankin-Bass capitalized on trends. Kid Power (1972-73) can fairly be described as Peanuts meets the Rainbow Coalition by way of The Little Rascals. Based on Morrie Turner’s comic strip Wee Kids, Kid Power centers on a group of kids and its Rainbow Club. The name signifies the members’ multi-racial and multi-ethnic composition.
Like many Saturday morning cartoons of the day, Kid Power utilizes music and psychedelic art. The music usually emphasizes the episode’s moral lesson.
Mike Curb was the show’s Music Consultant. He provided the Curbstones for the song segments. Curb also co-produced Sammy Davis, Jr.’s original recording of The Candy Man with Don Costa. Curb used the Mike Curb Congregation to effectively complement Davis. Children comprised the Curbstones and the Mike Curb Congregation.
Kid Power exemplifies the togetherness spirit of the times while occasionally poking fun at people’s differences.
For example, the episode Uncle Tom shows the kids staging the famous play Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Ralph, the tough-guy bully of the group plays Simon Legree but cannot understand why he should hate black kid Randy. He’s the ‘best football player in the whole school’ and the actor playing the title role in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Hip to Ralph’s upbringing, Randy says, Why don’t you check with your father. I’ll bet he’ll come up with at least one suggestion. Despite these elements, or perhaps because of them, Erickson heavily critiques the execution of the show’s core elements.
Like Turner’s strip, the series stressed the positive results of ethnic balance and tolerance, with concern for the environment thrown in -- and also like the strip, this was often accomplished with a heavy hand. The whole point of the series was to show a racially mixed group of kids who refused to be self-conscious about skin color. And yet, Kid Power’s theme song rammed the repeated refrain ‘Red, Yellow, Black and White’ down the audience’s throats so ruthlessly that viewers couldn’t do anything but notice the cosmetic differences among the Rainbow Club members.
Stylistically, Kid Power faltered in its overreliance on ‘psychedelic’ musical numbers which looked like chintzy Yellow Submarine imitations, and in its use of one of the most obnoxious laughtracks in all of Saturday morning television. Such intrusive ingredients are what date this series most for modern-day viewers.
Rankin-Bass animated two hot properties with massive marquee value in the early 1970’s -- The Jackson 5ive (1971-73) and The Osmonds (1972-74). Erickson opines that the series suffered from lack of quality animation and stories.
Rankin-Bass produced the [Jackson 5ive] series, meaning that the publicity art which showed up in newspapers and magazines far surpassed the actual cartoon draftsmanship. Storylines on The Jackson 5ive were little more than pegs upon which to hang the two songs per week.
The dual series represent both ends of musical popular culture -- the clean cut, white bread no crust, ever smiling Osmonds and the hip, expressive, urban Jackson Five. Mormon vs. Motown.
Missing a trend was Rankin-Bass’ special The Coneheads (1983). Based on the recurring Coneheads sketch from 1970’s installments of Saturday Night Live, The Coneheads missed the space craze of the late 1970’s sparked by Star Wars.
The Coneheads influenced the live-action 1993 film Coneheads in several story elements.
1980’s = Merchandising
By the 1980’s, television animation included toy merchandising tie-ins on a more deliberate, sophisticated, and advantageous scale than in years past. By teaming up with powerhouse syndicator Lorimar-Telepictures, Rankin-Bass strived to realize merchandising opportunities with three offerings in first-run syndication. Leisure Concepts, Inc. developed all three projects.
ThunderCats (1985) and Silverhawks (1986) clearly and without subtlety reinforced the toy and animation relationship in the actual shows and behind the scenes. Erickson describes the financial set-up.
All the...paraphernalia was unabashedly trotted out on each daily ThunderCats episode as a merchandising ploy for the tie-in toys manufactured by the LJN company. first peddled to the syndication marketplace by Telepictures in 1983, ThunderCats was offered to selected stations on a percentage-of-profits basis, predicated on the toy sales. The more cautious stations went for Telepictures’ alternate deal of profiting only off the 65 ThunderCats episodes themselves, so as not to be accused of fostering ‘thirty minute commercials.’
The third installment, The Comic Strip (1987) consisted of four segments -- Karate Kat, Min-Monsters, Street Frogs, Tiger Sharks -- and aired on Sunday mornings.
Legacy
Perhaps Rankin-Bass’ legacy stems from its stories’ formula, for lack of a better term. Rankin-Bass took pre-existing properties and characters, revamped them, and added new elements. Frequently, the stories used music and a celebrity narrator. Actually, the narrators were icons. Jimmy Durante -- Frosty the Snowman. James Cagney -- The Ballad of Smokey the Bear. Fred Astaire -- Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town.
Further, Rankin-Bass pioneered an animation practice. It farmed out its first series to Japan -- The New Adventures of Pinocchio.