Shinbone Alley

It's a shame this film has been buried from the start. It has some really superb music, written by George Kleinsinger, a couple of fantastic performances by Carol Channing & Eddie Bracken, - & best of all, it's based on the great Don Marquis series from (I believe) the old New York World - Archy & Mehitabel. The compilation book was illustrated by the peerless George Herriman (Krazy Kat - & Mehitabel really was Krazy Kat!) & some of the scenes in this film are Herriman-inspired, another reason to treasure it.

Pity the poor wimps who are traumatized by any animation that isn't filled with fluffy bunnies.

Marquis wrote a daily column on "archy and mehitabel" for the New York Post in the nineteen-twenties, as a defence against the bottle and a job as a sports reporter.I read the Penguin collection of his "a and m" stories in the fifties,as an animator at the Disney studio. I tried to get the studio interested, but they were not ready for the earthy humor, and the scandalous goings on of mehitabel. Later when I had started up my own studio, Fine Arts Films,I saw the Broadway production,with Eartha Kitt,which was brilliant.I had met Carol Channing,(who I saw as mehitabel,--perfect gravel voice),and she agreed to do it.With that start,I could not fail.I found a sympathetic ear of a friend,Preston(Sandy) Fleet,who was willing to invest in the production of SHINBONE ALLEY by my studio,Fine Arts Films.By 1969,we had a talented group of storymen,designers and artists,some ex Disney and Warners.Joe Darion and George Kleinsinger,(who had done the stage musical version),did the final script and music.Eddie Bracken and Alan Reed came aboard,and that was it,except we found John Carradine,a great actor,was willing to play the part of that old roue' actor-cat, Tyrone.T.Tattersall.We stuck faithfully to Marquis,and a stunning sequence,"archy declares war", in the middle of the film,we animated in George Herriman's cartoon style,(he illustrated Marquis' poems),creating a world that Marquis lived in. Our film "SHINBONE ALLEY" has been honored as one of the all-time great animated movies by The Museum of the Moving Image in New York,as well as winning the Golden Phoenix Grand Prize at the Atlanta Film Festival of 1971.

I have been a fan of archy and mehitabel for a long time. I like don marquis's commentary of life using a cockroach to speak for him. The animated film has music and wonderful voices to supplement the books of his columns. I have known several children that love the film too. It is not too depressing. Quite the opposite. archy and mehitabel show a remarkable joy of life even as they suffer from being an insect or an alley cat. Carol Channing was a favorite of mine for as long as I knew her. Her voice is unmistakable. Who else could have done Romeo & Juliette with such zest! Some of the musical scenes such as "flotsam & jetsam" are outstanding. archy's wonder of the passions of the world at ground level gives one pause for thought. He even envies a moth that wants to burn itself to death because of its desire for that one brief moment of intense beauty. He no longer wants to kill himself when he experiences so much richness, however mean and coarse it might be.

Shinbone Alley is not like every other animated film. It brings a unique approach to animation. It is almost like viewing an animated jazz opera in some respects. The characters are well defined and quite good, and some of the backgrounds are almost works of art on the New York scene. It is true that some very small children might not understand it, but a vast majority of people who view the film will find aspects of it that they will love; like the George Herriman sequence when archy declares war on humans. Carol Channing is wonderful as mehitabel, especially when she sings Shakespeare. Eddie Bracken is great as archy. This is the type of film that can be viewed again and again, and you find something new and interesting each time you see it. It was definitely a style setter in 2D animation, and should be applauded for its unconventional approach. Throughout the years, there have been a handful of animated films that could truly be called one-off, style setting, animation treasures -- Fantasia, Yellow Submarine, Toy Story, for example. I feel that Shinbone Alley easily fits into this select group of animated films.

I remember seeing this back in the Early-Mid 80's during a Holiday weekday on STV. Obviously the station realised too late that this was not your typical Kiddy Fodder as it was never shown again (a minor miracle for anyone who knows STV). I'm not surprised.

It was Soooo depressing. Suicide-Unrequited Love-Sleaze-Despair. Fun viewing for all the Family. Has to be said though that it did stick in my mind, though maybe not for the right reasons.

An odd curiosity that was very out of place for its time. Can't believe it was made in the 70's.

Probably traumatised more kids than Bambis' Mother.