Rich Little Movies

Master impressionist Rich Little portrays every president of the United States from 1960-2002 during the course of this entertaining show. In addition to those figures, Little mimics Billy Carter, James Carville, Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Kissinger, Walter Cronkite, and many other public figures. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

In this take on Raging Bull, the episode "Raging Bender" starts with the Planet Express crew going out to the movies. Bender gets into a fight with another robot in the theater and knocks him out, only to find out that the robot was the champion of the Robot Fighting League. Bender immediately joins the league and wins a lot of matches because he's popular. When he starts to lose his public appeal, he asks Leela to coach him for the big match against the giant robot Destructor. She agrees because she has a grudge against Destructor's coach, Phnog, who is also her old martial arts instructor. Leela figures out the secret behind Destructor's power and she saves the day, but Bender still loses and gets kicked out of the league. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

The first mainstream animated feature film directly aimed at African American audiences, Hyperion Productions' Bebe's Kids is based on a comedy routine by the late Robin Harris. Voiced by Faison Love, Harris endures a "date from hell" when he goes out with the lovely Jamika. His romantic rendezvous is ruined when he is stuck with Jamika's son-as well as Bebe's kids, three little horrors spawned from three different fathers. The worst of the batch is unhousebroken baby Peewee. The film manages within its 74 minute timeframe to skewer such topics as Hip-Hop music, urban riots and whitebread theme parks. Further proof that this is not a Disney flick was provided by the folks from the Motion Picture Production Code office, who bestowed a PG-13 rating upon the film. Bebe's Kids was released theatrically in tandem with the cartoon short Itsy Bitsy Spider, which was later spun off into a TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tommy Lasorda was roasted by Hope, Rickles, Rich Little, Sparky Anderson and President Bush (on tape) as captured on this video. ~ Rovi

Here Rich Little puts on his one-man show which includes impersonations of many famous celebrities. ~ Rovi

John DeBello, the man who brought you The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes back in 1978, was responsible for the 1987 fantasy farce Happy Hour. The premise: a Coors-like beer manufacturer stumbles onto a secret ingredient that compels the guzzlers of America to consume its product exclusively. The complication: the magic formula has been stolen by a rival brewery. The original beermeisters send Rich Little out to steal back the formula, while the rival company dispatches Jamie Farr to prevent Little from completing his mission. Upon meeting one another, Rich and Jamie discover that they're old college chums and former student activists. Together, Little and Farr attempt to foil the mercenary machinations of both beer companies. Is Happy Hour as funny as John DeBello imagined it to be? Let us merely observe that the film's high point is a shot of a group of six-year-olds chugging beer, and that the closing image is of a pretty blonde who chastises the audience for not being smart enough to follow the plot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rich Little uses his impressionist's arsenal in this Hollywood trivia comedy piece. ~ Rovi

The Canadian animated TV series The Raccoons was shown on America's Disney Channel from 1985 to 1992. Set in the Evergreen forest, the series dealt with the adventures of Ralph, Bert and Melissa Raccoon, who lived in a "Raccoondominium" in the Evergreen Forest. The threesome also managed a weekly newspaper, which caused no end of trouble for the series' resident nemesis, Cyril Sneer (who looked like a wolf in some scenes, and like an aardvark in others). Before the series proper made its US TV debut, a pair of Raccoons specials were syndicated to local stations. In Christmas Raccoons, Cyril Sneer attempts to harvest all the trees in Evergreen forest for his own profit. His plans are scotched by Ralph, Bert and Melissa-and it's still two days before Christmas! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Master impressionist Rich Little and a few of his famous alter egos go to Sherwood Forest in this fun-filled comedy outing. In this version, Groucho Marx plays Robin, while The Duke plays Little John. Also appearing are Little's renditions of Bogart and Laurel & Hardy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

After a Harvard professor (Elliott Gould) comes into possession of a letter by George Washington, he finds that criminals are after the valuable document as well. A young reporter (Kate Jackson) just might save him, in this Canadian production. ~ John Bush, Rovi

This 90 minute program captures a 1975 TV specials starring the beloved actress and singer Doris Day, which features a number of duets with singer-songwriter John Denver including Sunshine Medley, Exactly Like You, and Follow Me. The special also includes comedy sketches with funnyman Tim Conway, and dance numbers in which Day joins the Lockers dance troupe for some exciting numbers. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

Have you ever longed for the day when James Brown, Martha Raye, and Col. Harland Sanders would appear in a movie together? Well, that's barely the tip of the improbable casting iceberg in this bizarre cold-war spoof. The leaders of the American intelligence organization the S.S.A. ("Super Secret Agency") are becoming increasingly alarmed by the disappearance of a number of B-list celebrities, who are being spirited off to Communist Albania. Eager to bring the fading stars back to the Land of the Free, the S.S.A. come up with a simple plan: They'll find four typical guys in their mid-twenties, have them form a rock group, make them into international stars, and wait until they get invited to play a gig in Albania, which will allow them to find out what's become of Rudy Vallee, Butterfly McQueen, and Huntz Hall, among others. Unemployed philosopher Michael A. Miller, Native-American honor student Ray Chippeway, phys-ed major Dennis Larden, and male model Lonny Stevens are drafted by the S.S.A., and after some intensive training by experts (Trini Lopez shows them a few guitar chords, and Richard Pryor gives them a crash course in soul), they become an overnight sensation as The Phynx (yes, it's pronounced "Finks"). Their album sells 17 million copies on the strength of songs like "What Is Your Sign?," and their groupies have to be cleared away by forklift. But fun and games have to go to the back burner when Albanian ruler Markevitch (George Tobias) and his wife, Ruby (Joan Blondell), invite the Phynx to perform at the behest of their son. Pat O'Brien, Xavier Cugat, Patty Andrews, and Dick Clark are just a few of the other notables who make cameo appearances in The Phynx, which had a very brief theatrical release before being sold to television in the early '70s. Legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller penned the songs performed by The Phynx (and Stoller composed the background score), though for some reason they're not covered nearly as often as "Jailhouse Rock," "Hound Dog," or "Yakkety Yak." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi