THE PUPPETOON MOVIE
A film review by eli!oz
Copyright 1987 eli!oz
OZ: Hi dear, it's OZ. Would you like to see a movie tonight?
DEAR: Love to. What are we going to see?
OZ: The Puppetoon movie, it's playing at the Biograph.
DEAR: The Puppetoon Movie?
OZ: Yeah. It's annimation done with puppets. Remember, we
saw the previews for it when we went to the Claymation Festival.
DEAR: I just remembered it's my turn to simonize the cat, sorry.
These are the sacrifices that I make to see new animation. Well, I guess you can't call George Pal's Puppetoons "new" animation, but I had never seen them before so they were new to me. I wasn't sure what to expect even after seeing the previews but am I glad that I went.
Puppetoons were a form of animation where George Pal took various puppets and moved them, carved new ones, and otherwise manipulated them in the annimation process. There is a fluid movement to his Puppetoons which was particularly fun to watch, especially during his dance sequences. As with most of the early animation these seem to revolve around presenting popular music of the day. The clips shown in the movie come primarily from the 1930's and 1940's.
The movie starts with Gumby and friends (take me now, Lord) talking about George Pal. You get a series of useless discussions and then finally they get down to showing the puppetoons.
Most of the clips shown are just that, clips that are thrown together. I found that to be a little disconcerting, but I imagine that they wanted to show us as much as possible. There are a few Puppetoons shown in their entirety and they are gems. "Tulips Shall Grow," "In Stormy Weather" and especially "Tubby the Tuba" are excellent stories, well-animated and just a joy to watch. The movie got me interested in finding out more about Puppetoons.
Overall I can't wholeheartedly recommend the movie. The clips get tiresome to watch and there is no connection between the different Puppetoons shown. Still, if you would like to learn about another form of animation and see some wonderful 'toons, go see this movie when it comes to your town.
OZ
seismo!sundc!eli!oz
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