Rembrandt Films Greatest Hits

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Rembrandt Films was a small studio that produced more than 50 cartoons between 1959 and 1970. Its main director was Gene Deitch, a veteran of UPA and Terrytoons, where he worked on the minimal Tom Terrific. Those influences can clearly be seen in Deitch's short films. In The Frozen Logger, he attempts to re-create Rooty-Toot-Toot, John Hubley's brilliant retelling of the story of Frankie and Johnnie (UPA, 1952). But the animation is too limited and the timing too slow to give the film much appeal. The Oscar-winning Munro, based on Jules Feiffer's cartoon story about a 4-year-old boy inadvertently drafted into the U.S. Army, also shows the influences of Hubley and UPA. But Feiffer's send-up of the military and government bureaucracies retains its sting. The four "Self Help" cartoons are modeled after Disney's How To series for Goofy and the Mr. Know-It-All segments on Rocky and His Friends. Arthur Treacher supplies a properly snooty narration, but the visuals lack the punch needed to provide an effective foil for such useful lessons as How to Avoid Friendship. The remainder of the films are more interesting as examples of '60s-style humor and design than as entertainment. Suitable for all ages. --Charles Solomon

Description

Between 1959 and 1970, Rembrandt Films produced more than 50 cartoons, including Tom and Jerry for MGM/UA and Popeye for King Features. The company also produced its own theatrical shorts, which won five Academy Award nominations and one Oscar. This compilation includes: "Munro" - Written by Jules Feiffer, this Oscar-winner about a four-year-old boy inadvertently drafted by the United States Army is one of America's classic cartoons; "Frozen Logger" - Based on the song by Lee Hayes of the Weavers, a waitress falls in love with a fanciful woodsman who stirs his coffee with his thumb; "Self-Help Series" - Narrated by the sardonic Arthur Treacher, these cartoons--"Self Defense for Cowards," "How to Avoid Friendship," "How to Win on the Thruway," "How to Live with a Neurotic Dog"--help to humorously explore the contemporary human condition; "Anatole" - Rembrandt Films pioneered the animation of classic children's books. This is the cream of the crop, an adaptation of the book by Eve Titus; "Terrible Tessie," "Big Sam" and "Punky" - These series pilots have not been seen in more than three decades; "Three Nudnik Shorts" - Nudnik is Rembrandt Films' signature character, the star of the company's half-hour television series, "The Nudnick Show," airing in more than 20 countries.

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