By: preme | On: 30 Dec, 2009
Amazon.com
This 1962 special marked the last hurrah of Mr. Magoo, who starred in 43 cartoon shorts, including two Oscar® winners, from the UPA Studio between 1949 and 1959. Magoo appears as Scrooge in a Broadway production of “A Christmas Carol” in this minimally animated hour. The play-within-the-show features forgettable songs by Jules Styne and Bob Merrill: Tiny Tim (“played” by the animated character Gerald McBoing-Boing) sings, oddly, of “razzle berry dressing” and “woofle jelly cake.” This retelling of Dickens’s holiday standard is much tamer than Richard Williams’s Oscar-winning adaptation: the ghosts aren’t scary, nor does Magoo confront the specters of Ignorance and Want. Small children who might be frightened by more dramatic versions of the story will enjoy this mild program. And the self-satisfied chuckles and bromides Jim Backus gives Magoo in his lighter moments remain as delightful as ever. This film is suitable for ages 6 and older. –Charles Solomon
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By: preme | On: 29 Dec, 2009
Amazon.com
Kermit takes center stage in this hilarious, parody-laden celebration of Muppetry, pulsating with original music, a star-studded cast of human cameos, and a heartwarming story reminiscent of It’s a Wonderful Life. Joan Cusack plays the deliciously villainous Miss Bitterman, a ruthless banker who succeeds in foreclosing on the Muppet Theatre only days before Kermit’s Christmas extravaganza. As Kermit loses his livelihood, he plunges into the “I wish I’d never been born” mind-set instantly recognizable to George Bailey fans. It’s going to take some Divine intervention (Whoopi Goldberg is cast as God, no less), plus a little help from a heavenly “Clarence.” Despite some moments where the script seems adrift (how hard it must be to live up to the irresistible precedent set by the 1979 premier Muppet Movie) and some humor that borders on risqué, Fozzie and the gang are in fine form. The message is sweet: dreams are as vital to life as loyal friendships are to see (more…)
By: preme | On: 24 Dec, 2009
Spend the most wonderful time of the year with your favorite purple pal in this “dino-mite” Christmas classic. Join Barney and friends as they take a musical journey to the North Pole where they are greeted as special guests at Santa’s Workshop. With music in the air and presents everywhere, it’s a dream come true as Santa unveils his secret toys for this year’s Christmas. Watch in wonderment as Mrs. Claus takes the kids on an enchanted train ride through Santa’s Toy Factory. Then it’s off to a gift-wrapping party where everyone helps Santa put the finishing touches on this year’s presents. Give the gift of music and laughter in this classic collection of Christmas treats!
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By: preme | On: 23 Dec, 2009
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1938) Reginald Owen portrays Charles Dickens’ holiday humbug Ebenezer Scrooge, the miser’s miser who has a huge change of heart after spirits whisk him into the past, present and future. From sets to stars to story, this triumphant adaptation adds a glow to the season. Like Tiny Tim’s benediction, it blesses us – every one. CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945) A magazine columnist totally devoid of the homemaking skills espoused in her column had better get some fast: her boss has invited himself and a recently returned war hero to her home for Christmas. Laughs, romance, holiday cheer: that’s the recipe Barbara Stanwyck and a stellar company follow in this perennial favorite. IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE Home for the holidays! GI families hit by the post-World War II housing crunch take over an abandoned New York City mansion. THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER In the third of their four screen pairings, Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart engage in re (more…)
By: preme | On: 22 Dec, 2009
Amazon.com essential video
Christmas in Connecticut is a holiday film that plays 365 days of the year. Barbara Stanwyck gives a brilliant, sardonic performance as Elizabeth Lane, a columnist for Smart Housekeeping magazine, whose enticing descriptions of the exquisite meals she prepares for her husband and baby on their bucolic Connecticut farm earns her fame as “America’s Best Cook.” A writer, she is; a cook, she is not. As she types the words, “From my living room window, as I write, the good cedar logs cracking on the fire…” the view is of clothes flapping on the line outside her bachelorette Manhattan apartment. An able supporting cast keeps her lie on life support: her editor, her stuffy and detestable architect suitor, and the wonderful “Uncle” Felix (S.Z. Sakall), an English-garbling Hungarian chef who provides the recipes that fill her column. Cut to Jefferson Jones, a sailor adrift at sea for weeks after his destroyer is torpedoed. Memories of the food desc (more…)