If I kill my nephew, would it be murder or charity?

Rock-a-Doodle

Why did I choose this Don Bluth movie to be the first one discussed on the blog? Surely I could have done Anastasia, one of my favorites, instead? Well, I think I wanted to start with one that doesn't quite work. The story, unlike Anastasia and The Secret of NIMH, is quite confusing. The live-action portions with Edmund and his family are useless, and the final live-action/animated sequence looks generally awful. Bedknobs and Broomsticks's mixed sequences look a thousand times better…and that was made in 1971. The songs are pretty mediocre, and they don't even come close to the brilliance of Beauty and the Beast, which was released the same year.

In fact, when comparing this to Beauty and the Beast at all, you really shouldn't. One is a masterpiece and the other…not so much.

Plot in a Nutshell: Okay I think I got it. The rooster Chanticleer is left despondent once he realizes his crow doesn't actually make the sun rise every morning, and the other animals make him leave. Big mistake. Now it won't stop raining and the owls, led by the scenery-munching Christopher Plummer (yes, Captain von Trapp is the villain) as the Grand Duke conspire to eat all the animals. Meanwhile, in real life, Edmund's family farm is dealing with Biblical amounts of flooding on their farm. The Grand Duke barfs magic onto Edmund, turning him into a cat. There's a subplot with a sexy bird and an evil manager but whatever. In the end, Chanticleer crows, the sun comes back, Edmund is turned back into a real boy, and the Grand Duke and his singing owls are defeated forever.

WTF: Why didn't Edmund's family evacuate the animals sooner? Didn't they know the flooding was coming? Don't they watch The Weather Channel?

Fun Facts are Fun: Phil Harris, who voiced the basset hound Patou, also was the voice of Baloo in The Jungle Book and Little John in Robin Hood. This was also Phil Harris's last role. Tony Award-winner Christian Hoff portrayed one of Edmund's older brothers. Connecticut's own Charles Nelson Reilly was the voice of Hunch, the Grand Duke's stupid nephew.

The Verdict: Meh. At least Christopher Plummer seemed to be enjoying himself as the Grand Duke.

Next week it's time for everyone's favorite young girls' coming of age movie---Now and Then.