Fat Albert voice artists

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I know, what I loved about the Easter special was how they differentiated between guilt and shame. Guilt is when you feel bad for the person you hurt; shame is when you mainly concentrate on how bad you feel for your mistakes. (From a religious pov, Judas allowed shame to overpower and destroy him. Whereas Peter managed to overcome his guilt). It would be perfectly normal and healthy for Rudy to feel guilty for what he did. And thankfully he does, he tries to help pay Mudwell's bills. But at the same time he takes it too far and gives into shame. He goes to work in a dangerous place without caring about his own safety and keeps putting himself down.

"I don't get hurt, I just cause hurt."

"You're not going to help anyone if you get hurt Rudy, this is a dangerous place to work!"

"I don't care about me..."

And Mudwell tells the story about the nasty guy in his neighborhood whom everyone helped out. People should realize that it takes more character to help a nasty person than a kind one. And knowing that Rudy is in such misery and needs his forgiveness gives Mudwell the strength to keep going. So the special also channels the religious story of Easter, in that it is about new and redeemed life, both Mudwell's and Rudy's.

I was also very disapointed when the sets were discontinued.

Yeah Peanuts is the main holiday special that mentions religion, and it's becoming increasing rare today unfortunately. Though a few of the old claymation specials bring it up. For instance, in "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", Santa decides to deliver his toys "on the holiest day of the year...Christmas Eve." Implying that Christmas was already an important religious holiday before Santa came along.

 

[Xerus]

Yes, those Christmas and Easter stories were very touching. I liked in the Christmas special how Mudfoot set that grumpy man straight.

I also remember the Halloween special where the kids go trick or treating. When they arrived at Mudfoot's house. Instead of giving them candy, Mudfoot took all the candy from their bags.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah Peanuts is the main holiday special that mentions religion, and it's becoming increasing rare today unfortunately. Though a few of the old claymation specials bring it up. For instance, in "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", Santa decides to deliver his toys "on the holiest day of the year...Christmas Eve." Implying that Christmas was already an important religious holiday before Santa came along.

Well, in this day and age, it's hard to spot a good Christmas special at all. They all seem to want to be the next Rudolph, and just come off annoying and pointless (Freezerbernt Christmas anyone?). My personal favorite Christmas specials are the ones that are strange or bizzarre. Earthworm Jim's "For whom the Jingle Bell Tolls," Invaider Zim's "The Most Horribel X-Mas ever!" And that Futurama one where Fry spends his first X-mas in the future. Second one was good too.

But back to Fat Albert, I was watching the Halloween spedcial Last Night, and I have a few Addendums to the list...

BILL COSBY: Searchlight Johnson (the Usher and owner of the Movie Theater)LOU SCHEIMER: The owner of the Root and Rummage store
GERALD EDWARDS: Devery
ERIKA SCHEIMER: Melba (Devery's sister)
JAY SCHEIMER:Mrs. Bakewell (the lonely old woman)

I gotta admit, this one had a pretty good message to it as well. Devery keeps trying to scare "old people" because he thinks they're cranky and just wants to get a laugh at their expense. His actions get Fat Albert and the Gang kicked out of the Root and Rummage store and the Movies. Fat Albert doesn't like his behavior, but Rudy (being School on a Saturday) loves it, and even helps him carry out some of them. However, Devery is a chicken himself. When trying to scare Mudfoot Brown, he saw a headless figure in his weird little shack, and runs screaming. Turns out, Mudfoot was just putting on a coat, and didn't get his head out of the neck opening yet.

He is also terrified of Mrs. Bakewell, dispite the fact he was trying to play a joke on them. And as it turns out, Mrs. Bakewell is just a lonely old woman that just so happens to live in a creepy house. While all the other kids were searching for Russle and Melba (who actually trusted her a little before), they found out she never gets any visitors. they are rewarded with treats, and to thank her Fat Albert and the gang say they're going to visit her more often and help her clean up her yard. Devery is still hiding in the shadows, too scared to pull a practical joke. He then finds out she's a nice old woman after all, and then his father finds out about all the mean stuff he's been doing. And his father is BIG!

I especially loved Mudfoot's part in the special. He wound up tricking the gang out of all their candy. And he told this hillarious story about how great Halloween used to be before everyone became too safe. Like how he dressed up in the darkest clothes he could find, and how they had unwrapped unsanitary candies that melted into a giant blob by the end of the night. He adds, "Sure, you'll be sick as a dog in bed for 2 days, but it was worth it."

 

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Devery is still hiding in the shadows, too scared to pull a practical joke. He then finds out she's a nice old woman after all, and then his father finds out about all the mean stuff he's been doing. And his father is BIG!

Yeah I know his father was huge! Lol

::Ohh, they're playing Monster Mash on the radio!::

Hehe sorry. Anyway, yeah Devery was more the trouble maker in that special, though Rudy participated. I read somewhere that the writers took pains to make sure Rudy never came across as too "villianious." He made mistakes, but he was still part of the gang. Notice he ends up siding with Fat Albert in the end.

Regarding Christmas specials, I think a few decades ago many of the Christmas stories and specials seemed secular but in some way actually mirrored the spirtual Christmas story. It was simply good story telling that appealed to both kids and adults. Somewhere along the line, writers distanced themselves from the spiritual aspect.

Though, I think that was our own fault too. One thing all those old specials have in common is the characters worrying that Christmas was becoming too commercial. Jesus was being lost in the shuffle of bright lights and presents and money. Christmas as a spiritual holiday was left as a vulnerable target. We weren't careful, and now Christmas has become increasingly secular. Now I know not everyone celebrates Christmas as a religious holiday and that's fine, I have no problem with that. But the people who do celebrate Jesus' birth shouldn't be short changed either. It's not a contest, you know? Heh

 

[Drtooth]

Yea

Hehe sorry. Anyway, yeah Devery was more the trouble maker in that special, though Rudy participated. I read somewhere that the writers took pains to make sure Rudy never came across as too "villianious." He made mistakes, but he was still part of the gang. Notice he ends up siding with Fat Albert in the end.

Rudy... now he's a great character. He seems like a jerk, he likes to go aorund show boating, but deep down, he's just as vunerable as the other characters. That's why Rudy and Russel are such great characters together. Rudy builds himself up, and Russel just tears him down back to where he should be.

Regarding Christmas specials, I think a few decades ago many of the Christmas stories and specials seemed secular but in some way actually mirrored the spirtual Christmas story. It was simply good story telling that appealed to both kids and adults. Somewhere along the line, writers distanced themselves from the spiritual aspect.

I'll explain this on another thread closer to the holidays. Personally, I think you can have it both ways. I can state a few examples like "Garfield's Christmas Special" which didn't delve into religion, but it focused on a nice Family holiday. Personally, I just dislike the multiple attempts to make the next Rudolph by a bunch of untalented hacks. I loved Olive the other Reindeer, and it seems that they had enough creative types to make it work. But Freezer Bernt was a nightmare. Dispite the fact I love Claymation.

 

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Rudy... now he's a great character. He seems like a jerk, he likes to go aorund show boating, but deep down, he's just as vunerable as the other characters. That's why Rudy and Russel are such great characters together. Rudy builds himself up, and Russel just tears him down back to where he should be.

They made it clear in a couple episodes that Rudy's kind of a rich kid, his father can afford to buy him nicer clothes and toys than the other boys. So he ends up showing off a lot to get people's admiration (which of course never works). I think Fat Albert is his best friend, but he's also jealous of his leadership status within the group. There are times when Rudy genuniely tries to help people but ignores Fat Albert's advice and does it his own way (which is usually the wrong way lol). So I think his problem is mainly that he's insecure and doesn't know how to get the proper attention from people. Sort of reminds me of Angelica from Rugrats actually, lol.

I'll explain this on another thread closer to the holidays. Personally, I think you can have it both ways. I can state a few examples like "Garfield's Christmas Special" which didn't delve into religion, but it focused on a nice Family holiday. Personally, I just dislike the multiple attempts to make the next Rudolph by a bunch of untalented hacks. I loved Olive the other Reindeer, and it seems that they had enough creative types to make it work. But Freezer Bernt was a nightmare. Dispite the fact I love Claymation.

I remember the Garfield special, that was wonderful! Yeah, like I said, I don't mind secular Christmas specials that concentrate on a more general sense of morality (at least it's not all about presents, right?). I just say it's wrong for the spiritual aspect of the story to be pushed aside as well (and it is being pushed aside heh). You're right, you should be able to have it both ways. We all need to learn how to live together.

 

[Xerus]

I also remember in a Bill Cosby scene, Bill says that Rudy is not really a bad kid and he isn't called Rudy because he's rude.

I too liked the Garfield special a lot where they all get together with John's family down on the farm. And Grandma was great, she stole the show in both humor and the sensitive moment when she remembers her deceased husband.

I also remember a rare Rankin/Bass Christmas Special called Nestor the Long Eared Christmas Donkey where we see the life of the donkey that carried the Virgin Mary.

And there was R/B's special, The Little Drummer Boy where the Drummer Boy goes on an adventure and ends up meeting the Baby Jesus in the end.

Rankin/Bass sure knew how to make great and heartwarming Christmas specials.