A sentimental mental journey
Another animated musical starring Timer, keeper of "body time" and star of a series of interstitials and specials about the human body, produced for ABC by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, of Pink Panther fame. If you've seen its predecessor The Incredible, Indelible, Magical, Physical Mystery Trip, you're in for more of the same, more or less.
To better understand the relationship between the body, heart and mind, and how feelings work, two youngsters are shrunken down into their teenage sister Red's head for a tour of the inner workings. What ensues is another Alice-In-Wonderland-style adventure, meeting one set of weirdos as quickly as the next, all allegorical representations of functions of the human head. Adding onto storybook parallels, this Red finds herself in a predicament just like Riding Hood, which comes to an exciting climax when she realizes her grandma is in fact "The Critter", a notoriously cunning wolf the police have been after.
Len Maxwell put on quite the tour-de-force in the first Timer program, giving very distinct voices to the host of quirky characters inhabiting Uncle Carl. In this program, Lennie Weinrib is put to the same task, and while his range is decent, his performances pale by comparison, with greater similarities in the inflections between his characters.
The animation quality, like the previous Timer special, is below the usual standard of the DFE studio, but certainly not their worst effort, which in my opinion goes to their output on Doctor Snuggles (perhaps the episodes done by Topcraft have spoiled me, and yes, I'd say they were even worse looking than their Road Runners!). Fortunately, the characters and their movement are cleverly, appealingly and economically designed to work around the low budget. Some animation sequences and backgrounds are even recycled from the first Mystery Trip!
This special, as you may have guessed, is very much of its time. Lots of psychedelic "mod" imagery, then-nostalgic homages to golden-age Hollywood actors, and a bit schmaltzy at times. Unfortunately you also get a few cultural stereotypes and some nightmarish figures that might unsettle the younger set. Still, the show is spangled with positive messages that still ring true, particularly regarding how to productively handle negativity.
No matter which of the two Timer programs you choose to watch (this one was just recently uploaded to YouTube), you'll be guaranteed a similarly low budget but imaginative adventure, and you or your kids may just learn something all the while!
To better understand the relationship between the body, heart and mind, and how feelings work, two youngsters are shrunken down into their teenage sister Red's head for a tour of the inner workings. What ensues is another Alice-In-Wonderland-style adventure, meeting one set of weirdos as quickly as the next, all allegorical representations of functions of the human head. Adding onto storybook parallels, this Red finds herself in a predicament just like Riding Hood, which comes to an exciting climax when she realizes her grandma is in fact "The Critter", a notoriously cunning wolf the police have been after.
Len Maxwell put on quite the tour-de-force in the first Timer program, giving very distinct voices to the host of quirky characters inhabiting Uncle Carl. In this program, Lennie Weinrib is put to the same task, and while his range is decent, his performances pale by comparison, with greater similarities in the inflections between his characters.
The animation quality, like the previous Timer special, is below the usual standard of the DFE studio, but certainly not their worst effort, which in my opinion goes to their output on Doctor Snuggles (perhaps the episodes done by Topcraft have spoiled me, and yes, I'd say they were even worse looking than their Road Runners!). Fortunately, the characters and their movement are cleverly, appealingly and economically designed to work around the low budget. Some animation sequences and backgrounds are even recycled from the first Mystery Trip!
This special, as you may have guessed, is very much of its time. Lots of psychedelic "mod" imagery, then-nostalgic homages to golden-age Hollywood actors, and a bit schmaltzy at times. Unfortunately you also get a few cultural stereotypes and some nightmarish figures that might unsettle the younger set. Still, the show is spangled with positive messages that still ring true, particularly regarding how to productively handle negativity.
No matter which of the two Timer programs you choose to watch (this one was just recently uploaded to YouTube), you'll be guaranteed a similarly low budget but imaginative adventure, and you or your kids may just learn something all the while!
- qtracy-77844
- Mar 3, 2022