The Wacky World of Mother Goose

I haven't seen this animated film since I was a child in the early seventies. It used to come out on television and I would watch it every time the few times it did air. The songs were catchy which kept my interest going for the almost 90 minute film.

Watching it as an adult so many years later is a bit of challenge since it it's a movie aimed at children. Kids, of course, will enjoy this and I would definitely recommend it.

This animated movie has been all but forgotten today, despite it being made by Rankin/Bass, the people who gave us animated TV specials like "Frosty The Snowman". Watching it, it's easy to see why it's forgotten, and difficult to understand why it was unearthed for a DVD release! Though this movie was made for theaters, the animation is strictly at the level of Saturday morning TV cartoons of the time - which as you know wasn't that spectacular. The songs are terrible, though the song the three men in the tub does come close - but not close enough - to working. The screenplay doesn't show any feeling of a progressing story, with plenty of padding despite the running time only being 81 minutes long. And while there was one director, some jarring cuts in some scenes make it feel like several units were animating different stuff, and when put together don't have a cohesive feel. I know this movie was made for kids, but I am confident they will be bored and want to watch something else just from watching the first ten minutes. If you want to watch a GOOD Rankin/Bass animated movie, look for a copy of "The Last Unicorn".

This movie has an awful story line. Stupid dialogue. It awful acting. It was very sappy. It is one of the most sappy movies I have seen. Do not see this movie. It is a waste of time. It is an awful movie do not see it.

Please please please release these for purchase so wonderful every child will love them so simple the best stories ever

I'm actually rating this while seeing it on TCM. I'd thought that this would be fun; after all, it IS Rankin-Bass. I grew up watching their Christmas specials in the Eighties, and I'm a huge fan of The Last Unicorn. So it was natural that I'd expect good things of this.

Honestly, the only thing good about this is what an excellent job the animators did of making Mother Goose actually resemble Margaret Rutherford; but this is a severe waste of her talent, and it's a shame that this, of all features, was her last film.

I don't want to fault the animation TOO much. One must consider that this was in the early days of Japanese animation (as Rankin-Bass worked with a Japanese animation company), and that the animation is therefore going to be primitive. The flaws are in the voice acting (apart from Ms. Rutherford). For example, the villain's voice actor seems to be doing his best imitation of Christopher Lee--and his best imitation is HORRIBLE.

I'm sad to say it, but watching this is a wasted effort. I currently have it on Mute, because I can't handle it, and I plan to change the channel.