Rankin/Bass

[KremlingWhatnot]

Anybody been into Rankin/Bass, not just their Christmas specials, I mean their stuff like ThunderCats, SilverHawks, Mad Monster Party, etc. what's your favorite Rankin/Bass related special/movie/TV show. I'm not sure if there's already a thread for this.

 

[Drtooth]

Totally can't choose between Thundercats and SilverHawks. Silverhawks is doomed to forever live in the shadow of Thundercats. There's no revival cartoon, retro-merchandising, or Family Guy cutscenes of it. And it's a shame. I really like that whole police force angle that makes it totally different.

Plus, Janice from FRIENDS is a villain in this show. One of the most maniacally designed women in animation. She makes the Misfits from Jem look conservatively dressed....

Someone was on something when they designed her.

 

[D'Snowth]

Their attempts at doing a Jackson 5ive cartoon and an Osmond family cartoon in the 70s were . . . eugh, talk about cheese and crackers entertainment.

 

[Dominicboo1]

Anybody been into Rankin/Bass, not just their Christmas specials, I mean their stuff like ThunderCats, SilverHawks, Mad Monster Party, etc. what's your favorite Rankin/Bass related special/movie/TV show. I'm not sure if there's already a thread for this.

Where's A Year Without A Santa Claus

 

[Bliffenstimmers]

Tales of the Wizard of Oz. As cheap as the animation may be, it's a clever, witty, aesthetically pleasing 60s cartoon series, and perhaps one of my favorite Oz adaptations that isn't the MGM movie.

On a similar note, there's also their TV special Return To Oz (which was released the same year as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer) which has marginally better animation, still a bit off kilter, but still corny and fun as well, despite the fact that it's just a re-hash of the plot of the MGM movie. (I believe Arthur Rankin Jr. or Jules Bass admitted to it being essentially an animated version of the 1939 Oz movie in one interview.)

I'm surprised nobody's yet brought up the crowdfunding campaign going on for a Rankin/Bass documentary made in cooperation with historian Rick Goldschmidt (who also runs a wonderful blog filled with 60s animation art and assorted TV memorabilia) which would be exciting to see if it comes through...

I could go on all day with the other Rankin/Bass classics...

 

[Drtooth]

I like how Rakin Bass was the first American Animation company to outsource to Japan. Loving certain 80's cartoons stylistically as I do, I've always been a huge fan of that. Especially Tokyo Movie's great work for Warner Bros and Disney in the 80's and 90's. And Galaxy High as well. Seriously. Check that show out. The visuals are amazing.

Anyone ever see their King Kong cartoon? It has that cheesy 1960's Hanna Barbera action show style. The animation was from Toei, their first outsource job, in fact. A company that would later go onto animating Transformers, G.I. Joe, and of course Muppet Babies. Apparently, Rakin Bass also did a weird Saturday Morning "movie" with That Girl using Toei. I'd love to see that. Anime Marlo Thomas... hawt.

 

[Xerus]

After Silverhawks, R/B made a weekend variety show cartoon called, The Comic Strip. Featuring 4 different shows. Karate Kat, Mini Monsters, Street Frogs, and Tigersharks. Tigersharks was like Thundercats and Silverhakws, only these were characters who were half human, half fish.

 

[Xerus]

Another Rankin/Bass show that looked cool was Tomfoolery. It reminds me a lot of the Muppet Show with it's weird characters, jokes, and musical numbers.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey. If you're the least bit sensitive, you won't make it through without crying. One scene in particular will break your heart. Still has a happy ending, but you'll go through several boxes of Kleenex before you're done.

 

[Drtooth]

If there's one project I feel is unfairly underrated due in part of the way it was released, it's Mad, Mad Monsters. The odd semi-continuation of Mad Monster Party which aired only as a 1970's ABC Saturday Morning Movie. It was released briefly to DVD a few years back, and I don't know how much scalpers are going to charge for it now. It's not the greatest thing, but it's interesting to watch. Especially since Mad Monster Party was written by creator of Mad Magazine, Harvey Kurtzman and Mad Mad Monsters was written by Cracked creator (who did work at Mad first) Lou Silverstone.