The Puppetoon Movie

The Puppetoon Movie Review

Indeed,what IS that fumigating the atmosphere,as the scarecrow wondered aloud in "Jaspar and the Haunted House"? Well it is pioneer animator/puppeteer George Pal.Arnold Leibovit has packaged and presents a myriad of cartoon shorts from George Pals'prolific era of output for our enjoyment.
George Pal,born Gyorgy Pal Marczincsák in Hungary,was 20 years old when he graduated from the Budapest Acadamy of Arts with a degree in Architecture.He was a very fine drawer and moved into the area of films where he drew lobby posters and embellished film titles.Gradually he learned the art of film animation.In the early 30s he worked for the famed German company UFA where he became head of their cartoon department and where he would finally delve into the world of stop motion animation.His work and repuation got him a job in Holland where he honed his skills doing film commercials for Phillips radio.He would utilize in his shorts top name talents such as British bands led by Henry Hall,Ambrose and Jack Hylton.
With the war looming Pal decided to move with his new born son to the States where his work got him a job with Paramount pictures.He would return back to Holland once more to retrieve his wife and then permanently return to the U.S. where he sealed his legendary reputation in stop motion animation.Instead of using just one puppet many times in different poses,he would create many different expressions that he would interchange for each emotion he wanted to project.
Pal and his fine crew,which would include for a time King Kong creator Willis O'Brien and the man he in turn influenced Ray Harryhausen(he worked on Pal's first 12 shorts),made upwards of 40 films.The only reason Pal stopped was to go into feature films where he created some memorable ones,such as "War of the Worlds" and "The Time Machine".
The first presentation on the DVD is "The Puppetoon Movie" that Leibovit wrote and produced some years ago,which comes in around 80 minutes.You can view the movie in toto or view each puppetoon in the movie seperately.The second segment of this DVD includes more puppetoon shorts,some from the movie which didn't have all the credits included and other different ones.My favourite Pal puppetoons have always been(and always will be)those starring Jaspar.There are only four included here and I hope that more can be released later.As an aside,a recent auction on Oct.9/09 at [...] of over 100 original Jaspar puppets along with the scarecrow,fetched a cool ,000!Pal paraphenalia is certainly hot stuff!Also I must tell you that there is a clipping of the dialogue in "Jaspar and the Haunted House".Right at the start where the scarecrow says"What's dat fumigatin' de atmosphere?",blackbirds' response is not heard due to a glitch in the source film soundtrack.This is disappointing.In case you're wondering,what he is supposed to say is "Yeah,what's that smellin' up the landscape?".
There is also an interview with one of Pal's animators Bob Baker,the theatrical trailer for the movie and a production photo gallery.
All in all this DVD is a very welcome release and an historical treasure of stop motion animation by one of its' legendary exponents.The shorts range in dates from the the late 30s to the late 40s,and everywhere in between.They have been culled from various film depositories in the U.S. and in Europe.Their conditions vary but all things considered they look and sound pretty good.This release certainly whets ones' appetite for more and it is hoped by this reviewer that that is indeed what transpires in the near future.But for now I advise you to get your copy while the gettings good. Enter a world of animated movie magic from eight time Academy Award winner George Pal. Hosted by Gumby, Pokey, and new pal "Arnie the Dinosaur," "The Puppetoon Movie" features classic characters like "Tubby the Tuba," "Jasper in a Jam," and "Speedy Alka-Seltzer." With hip jazz tunes from Charlie Barnet and Louis Armstrong, and as many as 5,000 individually carved puppets per short, "The Puppetoon Movie" will astound and delight children and film buffs of all ages!