Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Richard Williams

Writers:

Johnny Gruelle (stories)
Patricia Thackray (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 April 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Plot:

Raggedy Ann and Andy leave their playroom to rescue Babette, a beautiful French doll kidnapped by a pirate.

Plot Keywords:

Playroom | Pirate | King | Rescue | Tickle Monster

Cast

Claire Williams	...	Marcella
Didi Conn	...	Raggedy Ann (voice)
Mark Baker	...	Raggedy Andy (voice)
Fred Stuthman	...	The Camel with the Wrinkled Knees (voice)
Niki Flacks	...	Babette (voice)
George S. Irving	...	The Captain (voice)
Arnold Stang	...	Queasy (voice)
Joe Silver	...	The Greedy (voice)
Alan Sues	...	The Loonie Knight (voice)
Marty Brill	...	King Koo Koo (voice)
Paul Dooley	...	Gazooks (voice)
Mason Adams	...	Grandpa (voice)
Allen Swift	...	Maxi-Fixit (voice)
Hetty Galen	...	Susie Pincushion (voice)
Sheldon Harnick	...	Barney Beanbag / Socko (voice)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:G | Iceland:L | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Boonton, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Bobbs-Merrill

Trivia:

When the dialog was being recorded, composer Joe Raposo recorded temporary dialog for Joe Silver, who was committed to the television series "Fay" (1975). Silver came in and recorded his dialog for the Greedy after the other actors.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the camel enters through Marcella's window, one of his hind legs is behind the window, yet this does not catch him as he jumps through it.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Joe the Bus Driver: Bye-bye, Marcella! Have a nice weekend!
Marcella: Bye, Joe!

Movie Connections:

References Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Soundtrack:

I Never Get Enough

Whats In The Box?

Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy THE MOVIE is about dolls that come to life when the humans aren't around. In this adventure they must rescue a kidnapped french doll named Babette from the captain of pirates. On their way they journey though Deep Dark Woods, Taffy Pit, and even Looney Land. Will the aide of their new friend The Camel With Wrinkled Knees help them or just slow them down with his hallucinations of his friends leaving him? How will they escape the Kookoo king and his henchmen!? What will their owner Marcella say when she sees her 7th birthday present doll gone along with her other toys? Delightful surprises await the two adventurers.

All scores are out of a possible 10: Story: 8 - Very cute. Dolls that come to life when the master isn't around. Not just that because they go out into many many different places, but they are in an imaginary world so anything can happen. Meeting new characters, going to different places finding new friends, its great. The characters all work so well in this too and who doesn't love pirates?! Acting: 8 - Every character suits their voice so well. Specifically the Marlon Brando taffy pit enemy, The Greed. The french doll has a very uptight french accent, the evil Hitler-esquire king Kookoo (whos got hair that resembles Simpson's Sideshow Bob) plays his role very well, and the sorrow old black man voice for Camel works perfectly. Why is it that old dubbed animation was soo much better than new ones? Music: 10 - Nothing short of perfection here. The songs have been in my head for years, and re-watching it nearly 20 years later, i can still remember each and every one of them and will now be able to know exactly where these tunes come from. Joe Raposo of "Sesame Street" fame did an excellent job with the songs for this and everyone sings real well.

Editing: 6 - Heh, this is where it'll get confusing. I mean how far did the Raggedy's walk anyway? A lot of events just seem to occur one after another and there's no telling WHO the other dolls and toys were as you never see them in the real world of the movie, but it does follow some sort of path and you know they'll eventually get to where they need to go, its just pretty hard to follow at times.

Uniqueness: 8 - Between this and Unico i'd have to say there's parts in both movies i will never forget no matter how hard i try to. Mainly the scary parts. I've probably mentioned already how older movies were Much creepier than animation of today but this takes the cake in the scary factor. Outside of the South Park movie and some Disney films there's almost no animated musicals, or good ones of that coming out so its very unique.

Worth: 8- Its classic. Worth the hunt to get a good copy thats for sure, but the VHS copies are probably all stretched out by now. The DVD version is sold on Ebay all the time and it'll definitely be something you'll watch more than once. If anything get it for the nostalgia purposes.

Overall Score (Not an average): 8 - Its a wonderful timeless musical made in the late 70s and can still be enjoyed today. Its characters are all unique and the songs are great. So great you might find yourself humming them time and time again. Give your favorite stuffed animal a hug today! Reviewer's Insight (Including bias): This isn't like the Raggedy Ann TV series made a decade later. This was way more darker and real world. The effects in this seem like a lot of other acid-trip cartoons from the 70's, in particular, Yellow Submarine. Still, its given me memories I'll never forget, and might still influence things today. It wasn't easy to find but it'll remain a treasure to keep in my collection of DVDs and videos forever.