Witch's Night Out

I am on a search since i was 9 for this man. I am a animator working in the bizz . his film was the reason I went into animation. I was able to talk to a person that knew him but had know idea where he is now. Tony molesworth the voice of Small was very nice but had know idea where he is. If anyone has any info on this great man please let me know. I would like to thank him for putting me on the path of what I love to do. And it all started with Witch's Night Out that I watched over a million times. So much that I broke the tape back in 89. LOL. But with the power of DVD I was able to burn it. I mean really the art work the BG"s I was in love from day one. People started looking like these characters to me. i wanted to live in a world were we are all different colors. I loved the voice work as well as the music. I wish he would have used these characters more.

Now many people may not know but Leach and Rankin , the husband and wife team, was one of the earlier Canadian animation studio's. The backgrounds are gently rendered by Jean Rankin and the animation is drawn by JohnLeach and a small crew. The voice of Gilda Radner supplies a beautiful Gloria Swanson , Sunset Blvd type witch . Having had success with another earlier film " Gift Of Winter" , John and Jean managed to get this film produced. Their animation process was unique in both how the backgrounds and animation were rendered. The animation was drawn directly on cel with ink pens and with no predrawings . This was Johns way of forcing himself to let it happen and quite frankly his animation was odd yet terrific. He was a powerful painter and his hand was sure and dynamic because of it . It blended beautifully with Gildas eccentric witch voice and is still unique after all these years . The two creators broke up later just before John started work on the ill fated "Lets Play Grown Ups" but they have left a wonderful film that is worthy of being rescued and restored as a Canadian Classic. Definately worthy of watching.

Witch's Night Out is a bizarre late 70s Halloween cartoon with some surprisingly adult subtexts. It follows the adventures of a witch who helps some trick or treaters by changing them into their favorite monsters.

There are a number of things that set this special apart, starting with its soundtrack. It has an electronic, disco-influenced score, reminding one a bit of Electric Light Orchestra. This goes well with the at times psychedelic animation style. Although the animation itself is rather clunky, the character designs are rather interesting, with the witch looking like a dominatrix.

However, the film's most distinctive quality is a subtext of emotional and even sexual repression. For example, one timid character ends up transformed into a very sexualized vampire. It'll go over the kids' heads, but adults might have a laugh.

I love, love, love this movie! I remember watching it as a kid. Then, when I was lucky enough to find a copy on a "bargain basement" online shop, I was thrilled! My three year old watched it 4 times, yesterday (It's 26 minutes long, so I suppose that wasn't long enough for her). The only questionable portion, for me, is the suggestiveness of the females in the animation. It's not terrible, but when one of the characters becomes a vampiress, It's kind of funny that her costume is a bikini.

A great holiday film!

I haven't seen this cartoon since I was a kid in the late 70's and until I found some info on the web (search under Bazooey) I couldn't even remember its name. All these years I've remembered the name Bazooey.......friends though I made it up... It was a great cartoon, although very dated. I recommend it to anyone who has kids. With reference to the previous comments regarding sexual innuendo or imagery, I can tell you it would be totally lost on most kids, so nothing to worry about.

I really liked the artistry and the animation; the weird nature of the characters, the odd shapes and mono colored people.