[TV SHOW REVIEW] The Bremen Town Musicians (1993)

 

OR

Title: The Bremen Town Musicians

Starring: Bob Hoskins

Genre: Comedy / Fantasy / Germany / Animals / Fairy Tale

Company: Rabbit Ears Productions

Directed by: John McCally

Year: 1993

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

Buy on:  Amazon

The story starts off with a donkey who has become so old that he can't do anymore work on the farm.  Because of this, the farmer decided to kill the donkey and when the donkey finds this out, he decided to run away from the farm and go out to the town of Bremen to start a musical band. Along the way, the donkey meets up with a dog, a cat and a rooster, who are all also running away from home and they all decided to form a band together.  But along the way, the four friends ended up coming to a den of robbers and they decided to try to sing to them in order to not be killed by them.

So, I've been familiar with the fairy tale "The Bremen Town Musicians" for years now and I was surprised that Rabbit Ears Productions actually made their own version of this classic fairy tale.  I really enjoyed the late Bob Hoskins' narration for this story.  To be honest, when I was younger, I only knew Bob Hoskins through "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and there, he was able to pull off a fantastic American accent.  It was only when I watched "The Bremen Town Musicians" that I realized that Bob Hoskins is actually British.  Anyway, Bob Hoskins did a fantastic job at sounding so energetic with the characters, especially with the cocky rooster.  Another thing that I liked about this story was the music by Eugene Friesen. The music was very well done and I loved how kooky yet catchy the music sounds.  I also really enjoyed the story as it's rare to read a story about a bunch of animals trying to form a band together.

My only issue with this story was the artwork.  While I enjoyed David Johnson's artwork in other Rabbit Ears stories like "Thumbelina" and "The Boy Who Drew Cats," I felt that the artwork here was a bit too out of place with this story.  The artwork looked a bit too weird, what with the characters having cartoonish mismatched eyes on realistic bodies and that always made me feel a bit disturbed when watching this story.

Overall, even though the artwork clashes heavily with the story, this was such an enjoyable story to watch and anyone who is a huge fan of the Brothers Grimm classic fairy tale "The Bremen Town Musicians" will definitely enjoy this one!

• The Fool and the Flying Ship
• Crashbox
• Brer Rabbit and the Wonderful Tar Baby

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[TV SHOW REVIEW] Brer Rabbit and the Wonderful Tar Baby (1990)

 

OR

Title: Brer Rabbit and the Wonderful Tar Baby

Starring: Danny Glover

Genre: Comedy / Fantasy / African American / Folktale

Company: Rabbit Ears Productions

Directed by: Tim Raglin

Year: 1990

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

Buy on:  Amazon

Brer Rabbit was known as the sassiest critter around the woods and because of this, Brer Rabbit always got one over Brer Fox.  Brer Fox got so sick of this, that he decided to create a Tar Baby that he will use to trap Brer Rabbit and eat him.  Now, Brer Rabbit has to find a way to get out of the Tar Baby trap to escape Brer Fox's hungry clutches!

So, I was actually familiar with the "Brer Rabbit" tales as a little kid and one of the Brer Rabbit stories that I used to watch a lot as a kid, besides "Brer Rabbit and Boss Lion," was "Brer Rabbit and the Wonderful Tar Baby." I was actually surprised that Rabbit Ears Productions had actually made their own version of the famous Tar Baby story and I actually had a pretty fun time with this version!  The story was pretty hilarious and intense as I really enjoyed the crazy antics that Brer Rabbit gets into throughout this story and the scenes with Brer Fox were pretty intense, especially with him trying to eat Brer Rabbit. Danny Glover's energetic and relaxing narration was definitely the highlight of this story for me as Danny Glover made the story come to life in the most intriguing way possible and I especially loved how Danny Glover provided the voices for both Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox as he made Brer Fox sound so deep and threatening throughout the story, while with Brer Rabbit, he made him sound high pitched and energetic throughout the story, that strongly contrasts with Brer Fox's more menacing portrayal.  I also loved Taj Mahal's music as the music sounded so relaxing and fits so well with the somewhat calm nature of this story.

My only issue with this story is the artwork.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm a huge fan of Henrik Drescher's artwork and I especially loved his artwork in the other Rabbit Ears story called "The Fool and the Flying Ship."  However, due to the more calming nature of this story, the chaotic artwork clashes heavily with the mood of this story and they often distracted me from the story, as well as creep me out a bit.

Overall, even though the artwork clashes heavily with the calming nature of the story, Danny Glover's narration and Taj Mahal's music all come together to create a truly unique and soothing tale!

• The Fool and the Flying Ship
• Crashbox
• Too Many Cooks

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[TV SHOW REVIEW] The Fool and the Flying Ship (1991)

OR

Title: The Fool and the Flying Ship

Starring: Robin Williams

Genre: Comedy / Russia / Fantasy 

Company: Rabbit Ears Productions

Directed by: C.W. Rogers

Year: 1991

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

Buy on:  Amazon

Once upon a time in Russia, the Tsar had made a proclamation throughout the land that whoever brings him a flying ship will marry his daughter, the princess.  When a country bumpkin, known as the Fool, hears about this proclamation, he decides to go out and build himself a flying ship.  Once he is able to obtain a flying ship, the Fool meets up with several strange men who have unusual abilities and they head off to the Tsar's palace together.  But, when the Tsar saw that the Fool and his friends were nothing but peasants, he decides to set them three impossible tasks for them to complete before the Fool marries the princess.

Will the Fool and his friends be able to complete these tasks?

Honestly, this is my most favorite story from the Rabbit Ears series because it has everything that you would want to see happen in a fairy tale: comedy, fantasy and creative storytelling!  Robin Williams was brilliant in narrating this story as he gave each character a distinctive voice and brought so much life to this story!  I really enjoyed the creative tone of this story as the idea about having a flying ship that can take you anywhere in the world and having friends who have special abilities that can help you in a tight situation was really amusing to me!  I also loved the characters in this story, with my favorite characters being the Runner and the Fool as they were extremely hilarious and interesting to look at.  I also loved the focus on humor in this story as it made the situation and the characters much more memorable and lovable.  Henrik Drescher's artwork is what truly made this story worth watching as the illustrations are bizarre yet hilarious to look at and I always loved the artwork of all the characters, especially of the Fool (who almost looks like Pinocchio), the Runner who has antlers in his head and the Puffer who looks like He-Man when he transforms into his muscular self.

The only problem with this story is that Henrik Drescher's illustrations might be an acquired taste for many people.  Some people might like Henrik Drescher's illustrations for its creativity and its bizarre style while others might hate the artwork for being too ugly or too bizarre.

Overall, "The Fool and the Flying Ship" is a fun and creative video to watch and I am sure that many viewers will enjoy this story for its surreal humor and creative tone!