The Scarecrow

I actually like this film ,despite it's terrible half-assed looking animation and some of the music is so out of place it seems wrong, I loved Richard Rich's previous stuff as well Including The Swan Princess and his remake of The King and I. I can actually sit and watch this film over and over and not get bored. Some of the songs are horrible whilst the others grow on you and you find them forever stuck in your head, My favourites being "In Your arms" and "When she looks at me". I just hope there'll eventually be a DVD release because although I own it on VHS...it's starting to get worn out and I'll need to replace!

Seriously folks,if you have kids don't neglect this movie...it has a nice story and unlike everything else that seems to be made at the moment, is done in traditional 2D animation, I suppose that's what made me like it so much...

I'm an animation fanatic, and so when I saw that Cartoon Network was airing The Scarecrow, I thought it looked interesting. So I watched it. I have to say that it was very good. Most of the smaller animation studios eke out films that are barely decent, but this film was surprisingly good. The animation was extremely smooth and the colors vibrant, while the voices were excellent. (Except for the fairy in the beginning; I found the prologue to be a little annoying on her part.) The dance sequence at the competition was brilliantly executed. The music was done by Kurt Bestor, who did one of my favorite movies, Rigoletto. There was, of course, several hokey things done "for the kiddies" that were just dumb, like Chezwick's "Melvin" deal. But I found the movie to be for the most part excellent.

If you were to look at the basic nuts and bolts of The Scarecrow's story on paper you'd probably think it would make for a decent enough movie. I myself am easily won over by romantic movies with characters trying to work against some flaw that prevents people from seeing their inner beauty. Notable examples being Warm Bodies, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phantom of the Opera, or Beauty and the Beast. The Scarecrow is loosely adapted from a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne titled "Feathertop"(and when I say loosely adapted that take the scarecrow coming to life part and the name then add everything else).

The story follows indentured servant Polly and a Scarecrow (brought to life by a good witch) who is secretly in love with her. Polly hides her money beneath the Scarecrow in the hopes of buying not only her own freedom, but the freedom of three other orphans who she has befriended. However when the arrogant Count Grisham who lusts after Polly discovers her intentions he goes to great lengths to stop her and force her to marry him. the scarecrow donning a magical disguise as Feathertop then comes to her aid to try help her secure freedom. The general plot as you can see isn't bad for an animated movie, even if it does seem to be inspired by Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Hunchback of Notre Dame films. There is charm to be had from this movie, but there's also some rather obnoxious elements.

The Scarecrow is played in a fashion very similar to how Aladdin was played, and Max the mouse and a living broom named Bristles are clearly inspired by Carpet and Iago from the movie as well. The villains of Grisham and Cheswick are also rather underwhelming coming off as second rate versions of Gaston and Le Fou (with fairly similar character designs too). Despite my issues with the overly cocky way that the Scarecrow is portrayed, he does make for a likable character as does Polly.

The animation is hit and miss, some scenes look almost as good as Beauty and the Beast, while others feel more in line with a straight to video project. And then there's the tone....The movie seems to be set in colonial America with the abundance of tri corner hats, powdered wigs and a off hand reference to "the colonies" but the dialogue is filled with anachronisms that permeated many post Aladdin animated films because EVERYONE was trying to capture the magic of Robin William's Genie without understanding why it worked. It would be one thing if Bee Bee the witch were making the anachronisms(her being magic and all) but when you have characters saying "cool" "hang out" or referencing Max Factor it becomes needlessly distracting. Unfortunately the tone also isn't helped by the songs. the two romantic songs are okay, but the rest of them are tone destroying and filled with anachronisms including a lengthy sequence where the characters dance the Charleston, the Jitterbug, and yes even the Hustle from the 1970s.

The Scarecrow is the kind of movie you wish were better than it is. Richard Rich when he began his directing career at Disney with The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron made some very interesting(albeit flawed in Black Cauldron's case) animated films that felt unique and connected on an emotional level, unfortunately most of his work since Swan Princess in 1994 has been rather bland and forgettable fare that is often only made profitable from brisk home video sales(hence why we still have Swan Princess movies being made) The Scarecrow comes close to being at the same level of his first two movies, it just doesn't quite make it. It works well enough and it'll keep kids entertained so a marginal recommendation.

When it comes to Richard Rich, he is rather inconsistent. The Swan Princess was surprisingly good, while The Fox and the Hound is one of Disney's most touching and underrated films. The Black Cauldron was okay thanks to John Hurt and the music but suffered from badly underdeveloped characters, while The King and I had a lot of problems but not quite as bad as it is made out to be. I'd say his weakest films are The Trumpet of the Swan, while not terrible it wasn't exactly good either and this, The Scarecrow, an example of a film that had its good points but a lot of bad ones too.

What I did like about The Scarecrow was the story. It was a very interesting concept and worked well. The film started off very nicely with a nicely done prologue in the viewpoint of Bebe. Bebe is a character you either love or hate, while I don't love her I can tolerate her. She is humorous and narrates the prologue fine, but I have never always been accustomed to her voice which dependent on who you are can grate. I have to say though, the weakest part of the story was the conclusion, I personally think there could have been a stronger finish to that. For me it came across as rather rushed and perhaps predictable, and the last few minutes have a that's it? feeling to it.

If I had to sum up the animation in one word, I'd say inconsistent. There are some beautiful backgrounds in fluidity and colour, and Polly is nicely drawn. Plus I loved the lovingly rendered dance sequence. However, the editing is rather choppy especially in the later part of the film, and I personally didn't entirely like how Max was drawn. His colours seemed washed out and his movements didn't always convince.

The music is also mixed. The incidental music is lovely, with some poignant melodies and some nostalgic like rhythms(ie. what sounded like the jitterbug at one point). Where The Scarecrow is not so successful is in the songs. In Your Arms is wonderful, and When She Looks At Me is also pretty pleasant, but the first song is overlong and very forgettable with some very uninspired lyrics, while some of the other music was so out of place they took away from any authenticity. And out of the singing really only Polly's singing voice really wowed me. Everyone else ranged from good to reasonably adequate.

The dialogue has its moments. The prologue was nicely written, and I liked Scarecrow's slang, but Grisham's came across as somewhat lame. And the pacing while brisk to start with, meanders towards the end. Then there are the characters. My two favourites are Polly, who is beautiful and has a nice personality, and the broom who is quite endearing and sweet without speaking. Bebe is tolerable, and Scarecrow/Feathertop is likable enough if occasionally too serious. Max is okay sometimes, but when it comes to comic relief and giving advice that is a different story. Speaking about comic relief, it doesn't gel really in The Scarecrow. It does try, with Max and Cheswick. But with Cheswick the running gag about his big belly becomes tiresome and unfunny after the second or third try. The worst character? Easy for me- hate to say it, but it was the villain Grisham, who is a contender for the most annoying villain in an animated film ever.

The voice acting is variable. Polly and Feathertop are reasonable, but Ray Porter trying no doubt to do something with his awful dialogue no doubt overacts dreadfully. In fact, I am sorry to say Grisham's voice is one of the main reasons why he comes across as annoying, as well as his uninspired motive.

So in conclusion, I wouldn't say it is awful, but it isn't exactly good either. It has a great story and decent protagonists but with better music and a better villain it could have been better. 5/10 Bethany Cox

To those who don't know, I sort of have a liking for Richard Rich. The Fox and the Hound was an underrated film back at 1981. The story, while dark in the second of the film, is still intact and very original with tear-jerking moments, likable characters, an excellent voice cast, and one of the greatest climaxes ever to put in Disney history. The Black Cauldron was underrated as well, but suffered from it's bare resemblance to the first two books and it's lack of character development and The Swan Princess was also underrated as well as my childhood favorite, but suffered from it's mediocre story and the one of the main characters named Derek was bland and shallow. Then, his career went downhill with box office bombs including The King and I remake and The Trumpet of the Swan. With this... well, let's say I remembered watching this on the Cartoon Network Movie Marathon when I was a 10 year old and I have to say I kind of enjoyed, but as a young adult, however, this film seems to have some flaws.

I haven't seen the play it was based on, but I actually found the story in this film to be pretty decent. Despite it's weak ending, it has a nice concept about a scarecrow who comes to life due to a magical feather and has motivational lessons including listen to your heart and do the right thing. It was a tale of hope, faith, and sacrifice and it has some very touching moments.

The characters aren't that bad. The Scarecrow/Feathertop (a love child of Aladdin and Peter Pan), although bland, is tolerable and manages to save Polly from the evil Grisham (we'll get to him in a moment). Polly is also tolerable as a damsel in distress. In fact, her singing voice really amazed me. Bebe, on the other hand, is my least favorite character, but wasn't as bad as I thought she would be. She only appeared in the beginning of the film, but then disappears. That doesn't mean I can't tolerate her. The sidekicks like Max and the broomstick are OK, but nothing special. The weakest character is Cheswick whose running gag about his belly becomes tiresome and unfunny, but the worst character in the movie this far is Grisham who is an example of being the most annoying non-Disney villain in the history of animation cinema.

The dialogue has some humorous and touching moments where Scarecrow/Feathertop sacrifices his life to save Polly from danger on the destruction of a bridge. The prologue told by Bebe was great and Scarecrow's slang is good, but Grisham's was plainly pathetic. Polly's dialogue was also good as well while the sidekicks' are OK.

The animation is pretty much a mixed bag. It has some beautiful backgrounds, and fluidity character animations. I found the dance sequences to be nicely choreographed, but it's editing seemed too choppy at times especially the ending and the way Max was drawn seemed too poorly due to his washed out colors.

The music is mediocre. "When She Looks At Me", "Come On, Everybody", and "In Your Arms" were good, but the first song in the beginning was overlong and had uninspiring lyrics and the rest of the music seemed out of place.

The strongest aspect is the voice acting. Scarecrow and Polly were tolerable and Corey Feldman's voice for Max really suited him well, but Ray Porter gives out some of his terrible dialogue and no doubt overreacts so painfully which is the reason why Grisham was the most annoying character to begin with.

In short, The Scarecrow isn't a great film, but in terms of animated features, this is good for kids young and old. With a decent story, decent protagonists and excellent voice acting, it's certainly not that bad, but would've been better with a better villain and better music.