#Allen Swift

[citizenscreen]

MAD MONSTER PARTY (1967) featuring the voices of voices of Boris Karloff, Allen Swift, Gale Garnett, and Phyllis Diller. Directed by Jules Bass.

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[ambersadventuresinwonderland]

I now have only one Mad Monster Party pin to find and then I will have the complete released collection by NadaFinga Pin Design 🖤

[adamwatchesmovies]

Pinocchio's Christmas (1980)

Pinocchio’s Christmas takes Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel and gives it a holiday twist. The results work surprisingly well. Though the songs are lousy and the animation brings up certain issues I’d never even thought of before, its short running time, combined with the good-natured story and heartwarming message allow it to squeak by and make it worth watching… if you happen upon it playing on TV.

When poor woodcarver Geppetto (voiced by George S. Irving) sculpted a wooden puppet from a log, he never expected it to come to life. Despite his best efforts, "Pinocchio” (voiced by Todd Porter) gets himself into all sorts of trouble as the Christmas season draws near.

Pinocchio’s story naturally ties itself to Christmas. He's a toy, brought to life through a miracle, he needs to learn to differentiate right from wrong, etc. Here, Geppetto wants to buy a Christmas present for his wooden son and Pinocchio wants to reciprocate. Led astray by The Fox and The Cat (Allen Swift and Pat Bright) Pinocchio goes on the same sort of adventures as he did in the novel: dismissing the Talking Cricket (Bob McFadden) that wants to give him advice, working in a puppet theater owned by Maestro Fire-Eater (Alan King), skipping school to earn money in a way that’s way too easy to be true, etc. Meanwhile, the fairy Lady Azura (Diane Leslie) watches from a distance. If finding your pops a great gift for December 25th isn’t the mark of being a good boy, I don’t know what is. It may even even be enough to earn Pinocchio the right to become a REAL boy! The solution to Pinocchio’s dilemma is a good one, particularly for little kids, who can’t exactly go to the store and buy their parents something nice.

Though the stop-motion animation is fine for a TV movie of the early 80s (really, it’s much more reminiscent of something you would’ve seen in the 60s), I’m not sure how well-suited this visual choice is for a Pinocchio story. See, Pinocchio is a puppet, and so is everyone else. He stands apart from the other characters if you look at his elbows and knees but it’s an odd effect. The initial knee-jerk reaction you have could've been reduced if everyone but the protagonist had received sewn hair instead of painted hair, or some other visual cue that they’re real and he’s not. Geppetto’s design is particularly distracting because he has those lines running down the sides of his mouth like a ventriloquist dummy. In certain scenes, he looks faker than his artificial son does!

Any issues the film might have are specks of dust compared to the dreadful songs. The same words are rhymed over and over, which makes them easy to sing along with and memorable but these earworms are the kind that will dig into your skull and start taking big chunks out of your brain. I’ll take the Ninja Turtles’ rendition of 12 Days of Christmas a dozen times if I never have to hear Pinocchio singing Dancin’ or The Fox and The Cat telling me all about It’s the Truth again.

The ending of Pinocchio’s Christmas seems to imply that it could fit somewhere in The New Adventures of Pinocchio series but I’d bet a whole money tree that the continuity wouldn’t line up, particularly with the “love interest” introduced for the protagonist. Nonetheless, if you enjoyed the series (maybe you caught it when it originally aired during the '60s or on syndication) it’s worth checking out as a companion piece. For the rest, I can also give this film/TV special a mild recommendation. Despite the awful soundtrack, the kindhearted message at its core is nice and the plot is occasionally clever. (On VHS, December 19, 2021)

[mikyapixie]

60 years ago today Underdog premiered on TV!!!

This was one of my favorites theme songs growing up!!!😆😆😆 Also I was today years old when I found out that Underdog is a spoof on the DC Comics character Superman!!!😁😁😁

[docgold13]

Profiles in Villainy

The Electric Eel

A mid-level gangster known as The Slippery Eel led a gang of hoods in an effort to knock over an armored car.  Unfortunately for them, the gang were thwarted by the super heroic Underdog and the Eel and his cronies were all incarcerated in the state penitentiary.  

Intent on escaping and getting revenge on Underdog, The Eel attempted to scale the prison’s fence.  Yet the fence was electrocuted with a powerful current of energy.  For some unknown reason, the Eel was not electrocuted and was instead imbued with fantastic super powers; specifically the ability to generate and wield incredible amounts of electricity.  He came to be known as the ��Electric Eel’ and led numerous efforts to take down Underdog.  Although he has proven a formidable threat, Underdog has managed to defeat The Electric Eel every time.

Actor Allen Swift voiced The Eel, first appearing in an episode of Underdog entitled ‘A New Villain’ that aired on December 10th, 1966.  

[ellie88-blog-blog]

The Return of Aaron and His Da Rum Pum Pum Pum

The author shares their experience rewatching "The Little Drummer Boy Book II" from the Warner Bros Archive Collection, discussing its religious undertones and comparing it to the original movie.

When I tell you this movie is NOT easy to find. Warner Bros came in clutch with their Archive Collection. They released a DVD with 4 of the obscurest Rankin/Bass movies, all of which I’ve seen in childhood, despite beings a 90s kid. I will eventually get to the other 3 on this list, but now has come the time to rewatch “The Little Drummer Boy Book II” (1976). I am assuming that because the sequel…

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[travsd]

The Allen Swift Centennial

Born 100 years ago today, the multi-talented voice-over actor, children’s entertainer and three or four other things, Allen Swift (Ira Stadlen, 1924-2010). The name may not ring an immediate bell, but if you string along with me, I think you’ll recognize one of two of his credits. A native New Yorker, Stadlen studied at Manhattan’s (now defunct) High School of Music and Art. Older New Yorkers…

[mewomanjericao]

this idea has been haunting me for days

[friith]

My first attempt at emotes! I made these for use on my AAC, but they can completely be used for other things. I’m planning on also making Peter, Roger, and Harry.

[ddavekatt]

blelel:3

some art of all the date-able characters + phonegingi in dialtown to date!! this I'd a bit older but I still rlly like it^_^

can u guys tell I have a favourite 💚💚💚

(again, my user on twt is dialtownie, hence the name at the bottom!!🐛🐛)

[lunarsanctuary]

my favorite wacky gang of wondrous funny-headed folks

[anthrophobixx]

meow meow dialing my town

[irradiatedsnakes]

rainbow scratch-card datables and phonegingi :]

(inspired by @/littlesliceofimmortality's rainbow-card drawings!)

[m1keville]

Sketches of the sillies cuz I wanna get better at drawing them