Romeo Muller Movies
Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr.'s 1974 animated classic comes to vivid life for a whole new generation of viewers in this live action holiday adventure starring John Goodman, Chris Kattan, Eddie Griffin, Ethan Suplee, and Carol Kane. When a depressed Santa Claus (Goodman) announces plans to take the year off after becoming convinced that the masses have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, loyal elves Jingle (Suplee) and Jangle (Griffin) make it their mission to prove their boss wrong. Saving Christmas is going to be no easy task though, because in order to truly show Santa that the spirit of Christmas is alive and well Jingle and Jangle will first have to settle a longstanding feud between Mother Nature (Kane)'s tempestuous sons Heatmiser and Snowmiser. Perhaps, with a little luck and a bit of help from Mother Nature's notoriously disagreeable siblings, Jingle and Jangle may be able to lift Santa's spirits in time to get his sleigh in flight by the time the sun goes down on the biggest night of the year. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Goodman, Chris Kattan, (more)
- 1980
Pinnochio struggles to earn enough money to buy his father Gepetto a Christmas present in this animated holiday puppet show. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The 1979 Rankin/Bass production Jack Frost is a made-for-TV stop motion animation feature. Buddy Hacket narrates the story as the voice of groundhog Pardon-Me-Pete. The spirit of winter, Jack Frost (voice of Robert Morse) falls for a young woman named Elisa (voice of Debra Clinger). He asks Father Winter to make him into a human so he can win her love. However, she is already engaged to the brave knight, Sir Danny. When the villianous King Kubla Kraus (voice of Paul Frees) kidnaps her, Jack has to turn back into his spirit form in order to use his powers to save her. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Morse, Buddy Hackett, (more)
- 1979
Rudolph is again a hero when he comes to the rescue of Baby New Year (otherwise time would stand still!). This animation/puppet combo features the talented voices of Red Skelton and Frank Gorshin. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1977
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An animated Fred Astaire stars in this animated holiday story, which offers a fanciful story of how the Easter Bunny came to be. Sunny (voice of Skip Hinnat) is an orphaned bunny rabbit who finds a home in Kidsville, a town populated entirely by children. Sunny makes himself useful in Kidsville by delivering eggs, which he colors to disguise them from mean-spirited monster Gadzooks. When Sunny learns that the neighboring town is has no children at all other than a boy ruler who is being kept under wraps by his aunt, Sunny and his pals come up with a plan to free him. The Easter Bunny Is Coming To Town was directed and produced by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., who made a number of popular animated television specials in the 1960's and 70's. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In this animated holiday outing, a good-hearted little donkey is the butt of many jokes because of his exceptionally long ears. Despite the constant ribbing, Nestor grows up to perform a very important task on the very first Christmas Eve. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
This colorful, lively musical employs a combination of live action and animation to chronicle the great journey of Marco Polo to the mysterious Orient. Much of the story centers on Polo's relationship with the powerful Kublai Khan. Songs include: "By Damn," "Walls," "A Family Man," and "Spaghetti." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Who better to narrate this Rankin-Bass Animagic version of The Emperor's New Clothes than Danny Kaye, who starred as celebrated Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen in the 1952 musical film of the same name? Taking more than a few delightful liberties with Andersen's original tale, this version is all about the pompous, self-impressed Emperor Klockenlocher, whose vanity proves his undoing when he is hoodwinked by a pair of con artists into spending a million dollars on a new wardrobe spun from "invisible cloth." Cyril Ritchard, best remembered as Captain Hook in Mary Martin's adaptation of Peter Pan, provides the voice of the Emperor, with TV legend Imogene Coca voicing the role of the Emperor's daughter, Princess Jane. The usual Rankin-Bass creative team is well in attendance, including artist Paul Coker Jr., who provided the character design, and Maury Laws, who penned the wonderful musical numbers "Come Along With Me," "Creation," "The Tailor's Song," "Clothes Make the Man," and "I See What I Want to See." Enhanced with a handful of live-action sequences filmed on location in Denmark, The Emperor's New Clothes debuted as an ABC network special on February 21, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass have produced such animated holiday classics as Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. The holiday cheer continues with this video. Screenwriter Romeo Muller has adapted the popular children's song into an exciting Easter tale. Peter Cottontail (voice of Casey Kasem) is challenged by the evil Irontail (voiced by the incomparable Vincent Price) to a contest to see who can deliver the most decorated eggs. The winner receives the title of Easter Bunny. You can guess what will happen to Easter if Irontail -- who blames humans and the holiday for the loss of his fluffy tail -- wins. Narrated by Danny Kaye, the film features great musical numbers and the unique Rankin-Bass style of puppet stop-motion animation. ~ Heather M. Fierst, All Movie Guide
The story of how Santa Claus came to be is brought to life through the magic of stop-motion animation in this Christmas-themed production for the family. A friendly postman (voiced by Fred Astaire) explains how friendly Kris Kringle (voice of Mickey Rooney), a foundling taken in by a family of toymakers, took it upon himself to bring some happiness to the children of Sombertown, despite the grumpy opposition of Burgermeister Meisterburger (voice of Paul Frees) and the Winter Warlock (voice of Keenan Wynn). Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town was directed and produced by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., who created another popular animated story of the season, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Frosty the Snowman is an animated television special based on the classic song about a magic snowman who comes to life and befriends several children. Jimmy Durante narrates the special and sings the title song. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jimmy Durante, Jackie Vernon, (more)
The perennial Yuletide animated classic The Little Drummer Boy gets a new look on home video with this release. Actually, the program itself will be familiar to those who watch it every December; only the packaging has changed. This moving story, about a poor boy who can offer no gift to the baby Jesus other than his song, will entertain and inspire the entire family. The soundtrack was recorded by the Vienna Boys Choir. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Ferrer
- 1967
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In this animated children's film, Mother Goose and her fairytale friends must stop a group of sneaky spies. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
This stop-motion animagic version of the classic Christmas tale adds a bit of a twist when Rudolph encounters an abominable snowman. This was made for TV and features Burl Ives as the narrator. ~ All Movie Guide
