The Puppetoon Movie

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The Puppetoon Movie
PuppetoonMovie(2).jpg
DVD Cover
Directed byArnold Leibovit
Written byArnold Leibovit
Produced byArnold Leibovit
Starringvoices of
Music byBuddy Baker
Production
company
Arnold Leibovit Entertainment
Distributed byExpanded Entertainment[1]
Release date
  • June 12, 1987 (1987-06-12)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Puppetoon Movie is a 1987 animated film written, produced, and directed by Arnold Leibovit.[2] It is based on the Puppetoons characters created by George Pal in the 1930s and 1940s which feature the eponymous Puppetoon animation, and features Gumby, Pokey and Arnie the Dinosaur, who host the framing story.[3] Its framing story stars the voices of Dick Beals, Art Clokey, Paul Frees and Dallas McKennon as the main characters.[4]

The original 1987 release of The Puppetoon Movie contained 11 Puppetoons.[5] The 2000 DVD release included 9 additional Puppetoons and the 2013 Blu-ray release added 7 more.[6]

In 2020, The Puppetoon Movie Volume 2 was released on Blu-ray and DVD, featuring 17 shorts not included on any of the Puppetoon Movie releases and The Ship of the Ether.[7]

Plot[]

The film opens on a film set, where Gumby and his friends are filming a dinosaur movie. A ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex named Arnie charges on set and is about to devour a young doe named Barbara when suddenly, he removes his false teeth and lets the doe go out of sympathy. Gumby as a director cuts the scene and questions Arnie on his hesitation to act ferocious. Although Arnie knows it is all just acting, he feels unfit for the part because it just isn't him. He explains that he once was ferocious, but thanks to the influence of George Pal, he has reformed and is now a vegetarian without a bad bone in his body. Gumby fails to understand the profound effect of George Pal on Arnie's persona, so Arnie and Pokey show Gumby a set of George Pal shorts to show him the significance of the artist, thus starting The Puppetoon Movie.

A number of George Pal's short films are featured in the film:

°Oscar nominated film

After all the shorts, Gumby and the others meet other characters who George Pal animated, such as the Pillsbury Doughboy and the Alka-Seltzer mascot Speedy. Gumby then thanks George Pal for making all this possible, and everybody cheers. The screen pans out and shows a gremlin, from the 1984 film Gremlins who looks at the audience, says "George Pal!" in a raspy voice, then climbs up a support beam while laughing hysterically.

Home Video[]

In addition to the film shorts listed above, the following Pal film shorts are also included in the 2000 DVD edition from Image Entertainment and the 2013 Blu-ray edition from B2MP: What Ho She Bumps, Mr. Strauss Takes a Walk, Olio for Jasper, Jasper's Derby, Ether Symphony, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, The Magic Atlas, Jasper and the Haunted House, and The Ship of the Ether.

The 2013 Blu-ray also includes the following short films previously unavailable on home video (all of which sublicensed by Puppetoons' original distributor Paramount): The Oscar-nominated And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Sky Princess, Rhapsody in Wood, Date with Duke, Jasper and the Beanstalk, and Rhythm in the Ranks. In addition, the Blu-ray also includes The Great Rupert which was produced by George Pal and the documentary The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal.

A DVD edition from B2MP was released in 2013. [8] [9][10]

Reception[]

The film received mixed to positive reviews.[11][12][13][14]

Awards[]

George Pal's Puppetoon body of work was recognized by a Special Oscar at the 16th Academy Awards in 1944. Pal received the Special Oscar "for the development of novel methods and techniques in the production of short subjects known as Puppetoons."[15]

References[]

  1. ^ Trailers From Hell
  2. ^ Solomon, Charles (1987-03-08). "Afi Film Fest: A Window On Some Far Shores : Thursday - Los Angeles Times". articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  3. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (2009). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons (3rd ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. pp. 216–217. ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1.
  4. ^ "The Puppetoon Movie (1987) - IMDb". imdb.com. 12 June 1987. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  5. ^ "The Puppetoon Movie". DVD Review & High Definition. November 8, 2000.
  6. ^ ""The Puppetoon Movie" on Blu-Ray". cartoonresearch.com. 2013-08-06.
  7. ^ "'The Puppetoon Movie Volume 2' Now Available on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack". AWN. December 1, 2020.
  8. ^ A Puppetoon Break: “Aladdin and The Magic Lamp” (1936)|Cartoon Research
  9. ^ The Puppetoon Movie DVD edition|B2MP « B2MP
  10. ^ Puppetoon Movie on Blu-ray « B2MP
  11. ^ James, Caryn (June 12, 1987). "FILM - 'PUPPETOON MOVIE'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  12. ^ "The Puppetoon Movie (Blu-ray) : DVD Talk Review of the Blu-ray". dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  13. ^ Solomon, Charles (1987-06-12). "Paying Homage To Pal's 'Puppetoons' - Los Angeles Times". articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  14. ^ "Puppetoon Movie, The (1987) - Home Video Reviews - TCM.com". tcm.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  15. ^ "George Pal: A Career in Perspective | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences". oscars.org. Retrieved 2014-04-05.

External links[]

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