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n/a
deleted
339 Posts |
 Posted - 12/04/2006 : 01:36:03 AM
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Is making a live-action version of a Rankin-Bass Christmas special a good idea?
Is making a live-action version of THIS Rankin-Bass Christmas special a good idea?
http://www.nbc.com/The_Year_Without_A_Santa_Claus/
[Amazingly, in the few places where I've seen people talking about this, no one's made the obvious Harvey Fierstein joke.] |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2006 : 6:05:01 PM
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To the second question, I would say yes. I loved TYWASC as a kid (what kid didn't dig the Miser Brothers) but as an adult I have to say the original special doesn't wear well at all. The plot makes no sense, the jokes might make preschoolers giggle but no one else, and there are huge continuity errors, story holes, and general gaps in logic.
So in theory remaking TYWASC would be a good idea if they actually fixed the flaws. Possibly the new version could turn out to be boring, but I can't imagine it possibly being worse.
My concern is that somebody at NBC will get the bright idea to add more songs. Unless they're established Christmas carols, bad idea.. Anyone ever seen the stage version of The Lion King? Name for me one new song out the nearly a dozen added to the stage musical that even hold a candle to the half-dozen original songs written for the movie. All the new songs did was drag the play out longer than it needed to be and forced me to keep looking at my watch. |
Edited by - zombiewhacker on 12/08/2006 6:06:56 PM |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2006 : 6:08:31 PM
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| BTW, wasn't the original TYWASC a special for ABC, not NBC? |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2006 : 4:55:29 PM
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This thread might be getting more action if someone changed the topic heading to "Year Without a Santa Claus Remake" or something similar.
"Um. Er." doesn't seeming to be raking in the Rankin-Bass fanboy crowd. |
Edited by - zombiewhacker on 12/14/2006 4:56:10 PM |
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Paul LoJ
Supreme Potentate
USA
420 Posts |
Posted - 12/18/2006 : 9:16:59 PM
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I recorded this remake on my media PC, and boy do I regret that. I don't know if this was a desperate act of self-preservation, or if my computer was simply following the First Law of Robotics, but within 5 minutes of starting to watch it, the PC went kablooie in a big way. Afterwards, it literally wouldn't even boot without blue-screening.
I've gotten most everything working again, *except* my primary media storage device (which housed all of my recordings, this one included). That remains inaccessible.
Based on the 5 minutes I saw, I do believe this was an act of heroism on my computer's part; it was oh so, er... "updated." Picture Chris Kattan as an Uber-hip, cell-phone-addict toy mogul -- complete with sleazy-looking groupies -- trying to force an under-the-weather Santa Claus to bust a rap (yo) as part of a public appearance. I agree with Zombiewhacker that the original special doesn't weather all that well, but boy was it a relief to put that DVD in after even a brief exposure to this load of crap.
"...You know perfectly well what is the matter with you. You have known it for years, though you have fought against the knowledge. You are mentally deranged." |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 12/18/2006 : 9:42:15 PM
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Zombiewhacker, while your points about the original are true, let's face it, it's not about logic. None of the Rankin-Bass specials hold up logically. The thing about them is that they each have one or two catchy tunes and even if illogical, they have an earnest happiness. My wife loves TYWASC. I have seen it quite a few times.
Luckily I was able to avoid watching the new version. But, the new version was 2 hours long and not a musical!?!? The mentality involved in doing this is unbelievable.
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. - |
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Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 12/18/2006 : 9:50:30 PM
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I was always kind of pissed that Heatmiser was practicly BLACKMAILED into letting "Southtown" get snowed on. And from the dialog, it was a HEAVY snow, something no one in a town that NEVER had any snow (or cold wheather) would have been prepared for, not to mention the nessisary below-freezing tempertures.
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 12/19/2006 : 06:10:19 AM
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Let's face it, Heatmiser was the black sheep of the family.
In a similar vein, I always liked to argue that the Grinch was the aggrieved party in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Did the Whos ever show any concern about the amount of noise they made? Did they ever invite him to their Christmas celebrations? It used to drive a girl I knew nuts when I would argue that.
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. - |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 01:39:30 AM
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For the record, IMHO the only Rankin-Bass cartoon that has aged well at all is Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Strangely enough, that seems to be least fondly remembered of all the R-B cartoon shows.
As stated, Year Without... had its moments, but that's about it. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is almost unwatchable. I'll probably catch some flack for saying that, but it's true. The Rudolph sequels are even worse. I can tolerate the Frosty specials, except those where he was paired with Rudolph. By the time R-B unfurled Nestor the Long-Eared Donkey, you knew they were scraping the bottom of the barrel.
But if the other R-B specials are so bad, why do they seem to get more positive buzz than Santa Claus is Coming to Town? Real simple. Characterization. The Abominable Snowman, Yukon Cornelius, Heat Miser, Freeze Miser, and all those stupid misfit toys are far more vividly realized characters than anyone depicted in SCiCtT. Little kids can relate to them. You can slap them on a lunchbox. You can sell them as tree ornaments, and kids will go, "Look, Mommy, it's the Abominable Snowman." By contrast, Kris, Topper, whatsherface, and Burgermeister Meisterburger just aren't colorful enough to capture a kid's imagination. (Winter Warlock comes the closest, but he turns into a bland softy way too soon.)
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 07:03:50 AM
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Actually, I always liked the soldiers with their spiked German helmets.
While I disagree with you over the original Rudolph, the sequels were trash. The follow-up Frosty shows are trash too. The one with John Goodman as the voice is poorly animated and completely unwatchable from any standpoint.
The one other thing you're forgetting is the songs. SCiCtT has some nice tunes, but none are as catchy as the ones RtRNR and YwaSC.
- While science has societal benefits, science is not a social virtue. - |
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Civanfan
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 12:33:49 PM
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I've always had a soft spot for "Jack Frost", which doesn't seem to get much attention these days...
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Asked my baby could she stand to see me cry/She said, ‘Yes, I could stand to see you buried alive.’ |
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Altair IV
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
Japan
110 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2006 : 08:07:02 AM
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Speaking of Rankin-bass, I just noticed that Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey has been [url="http://www.rifftrax.com/Html/Download_Nestor.html"]RiffTraxed[/url]
It's only $.99, if you have access to the video. Personally, I don't remember ever seeing this one.
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