The Phoenix and the Carpet, a beloved children’s novel, published in 1904, was adapted into a six-part BBC TV series in 1976. Set in the late Victorian era, it captured the imaginations of children and adults alike, showcasing a world of innocence and wonder. Looking through the cultural lens of the 1970s, we can see the shifting attitudes toward childhood and nostalgia during that time.

“The Phoenix and the Carpet” TV series, set in London during the late Victorian era, revolves around the lives of five siblings: Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother, known as the Lamb. The story takes off when the children receive a magical carpet from an eccentric curio dealer. To their astonishment, the carpet possesses the power to fly and grants them thrilling adventures beyond their wildest dreams.

Hidden within the carpet, is an egg. The egg hatches into a magical talking phoenix, who has an ego to match his mythical existence. This wise and fiery creature becomes their trusted companion, providing guidance and comic relief throughout their escapades. Their adventurous play is always limited to 3 daily wishes, split between 4 children of various ages. Together, they encounter ancient civilizations, discover mysterious treasures, and face off against mischievous characters who seek to exploit the carpet’s powers for their own gain.

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The series beautifully captures the essence of childhood innocence, depicting the siblings’ curiosity, resourcefulness, and unwavering bond. Viewers are immersed in a world where the imagination can take you anywhere, and the boundaries between reality and fantasy blur. Through their encounters and mishaps, the children learn valuable life lessons about responsibility, loyalty, and the importance of family.

“The Phoenix and the Carpet” provides a window into the late Victorian era, showcasing the culture, norms, and values of the time. The period-accurate costumes, set designs, and attention to detail transport viewers to a bygone era, offering a nostalgic glimpse into the past. From horse-drawn carriages and gas-lit streets to the elaborate interiors of middle-class Victorian homes, the series captures the essence of a time when childhood was a precious and protected stage of life.
This series is very much a family-oriented feel-good adventure that you can enjoy with your children or grandchildren.

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The Dark Crystal, was the first feature film collaboration of directors by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It is Jim Henson Productions 3rd full length film, after 2 successful Muppet movies. But Henson and Oz’s project is very unlike the whimsical Muppet tv or movies that preceded it. A whole planet, named Thra was created for the fantasy setting of the Dark Crystal. Thra is a place of magic and wonderment, the movie a heroic journey and battle of good versus evil.

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The viewer is transported to the world of Thra by the in-depth, pre-CGI set development. The stunning visual effects are handcrafted, not digitally designed. The old school artistry of creatures and lush landscapes is captivating. The directing team’s mastery of puppetry and hands-on special effects are the life-force behind the Dark Crystal. Making the mythical characters real, dynamic and believable.

The main character Jen is a male gelfling. Gelflings are a species of elf-like creatures between 2 and 3 feet tall, females of which have wings. Gelfling’s have the ability to share thoughts and manifest dreams through touch. Because of a prophecy, many, including Jen’s parent’s, were slaughtered in an attempted genocide. This horrendous act created imbalance between the forces of good and evil across the planet. Jen is the hero chosen to make the dangerous journey in an attempt to restore that balance by healing the title Dark Crystal and bringing it back to where it belongs.

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A true hero’s tale, Jen’s escapade is filled with self-discovery, adventure and danger. His bravery and determination and bravery are inspirational. His good nature is embodied in the well developed and touching relationships he has with the other characters, particularly wise Aughra, the powerful leader of the Thra, and kindly Kira, a brave fellow Gelfling. If you have never before seen The Dark Crystal, you won’t be disappointed. This is a film whose skillful development is a disappearing art, but so wonderful, that Netflick’s in it’s prequel remake, tried to go old-school and limit CGI effects.

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How the Grinch stole Christmas written by Dr. Seuss. He was a celebrated author had only been writing children’s books for 3 years, having started in 1954 with the Cat in the Hat as a literacy project to encourage 1st grade reading. By 1966, when the animated special How the Grinch Stole Christmas aired on television, he was a household name. And the beloved special airing year after year became a favorite for many referred to simply as The Grinch.

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The television adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas did more than bring to life the rhymes of Dr. Seuss with the eerie baritone voice of Boris Karloff. It gave us music. The song, “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch”, also written By Dr. Seuss, is a holiday favorite. Just as the Grinch has become an icon to represent any cankerous person lacking the well-wishing, good-nature holiday spirit. But he does more than replace the Victorian penny pinching Ebenezer Scrooge, who was a cut throat business man. The Grinch, by comparison, is a common thief, who could be from any walk of life. An outcast in his hatred, from all the righteous qualities that traditionally have flourished in this season.

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The silly rhymes of Dr. Seuss stick with us through the years. Although the particular scenes of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, are visually unforgettable. Seeing him sneaking and snaking around. The decorations disappearing up the chimney, pour Max burdened with the load, how he conned Little Cindy Lou Who. But I believe the real beauty of the story is the redemption of the Grinch. He gets away, but the people of Whoville celebrated anyway and he has an epiphany. He returns to undo his terrible deed and the people welcome him as one of them. Doesn’t everyone with regrets wish that they could undo things just as easily, and feel that warmth and love?

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Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was created before Rankin Bass and their stop motion animation films made them a household name. The Christmas special became a staple for children annually from it’s first transmission in 1964. Being shown with various edits and deletions along the way. This version is most complete, with the misfit song, the whole instrumental section of the “We are Santa’s Elves” song, Yukon Cornelius striking peppermint, and of course Santa’s stop on the Ilse of Misfit Toys.

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Everyone knows the children’s song Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, which was released in 1949. The boomers and every subsequent generation, literally grew up with this magical image of Santa’s sleigh being pulled by these flying reindeer. Re-watching it as an adult I was at first taken aback at Santa’s initially callous attitude towards Rudolph. But as a child, I hadn’t even noticed this beloved adult joining in the ridicule. Reflecting on everything, I have come to the conclusion that this animation captured a social reality that has been clouded by woke ideologies and domination of the current narrative.

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So I hope as you watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer this year you take these things to heart. One, misfits are everywhere, and they often come together when ostracized; but even among the misfits there are cliques; Cornelius, Hermey and Rudolph were not welcome to live with the toys. (We are tribal, you can’t force everyone to love you). our individualism can even save the day when we embrace our uniqueness. Two, true friends don’t care what if you are different, and there is someone out there for everyone; Clarice liked Rudolph and not only didn’t care what other’s thought, but joined his family to hunt for him. (Love is blind, and conquers all) . Three, when someone who doesn’t fit in, does something exceptional, he is a hero. Rudolph wasn’t the only hero; Herbie, who pursued his dream to be a dentist, pulled the teeth from the Abominable Snowman, nullifying his ability to terrorize everyone.

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Rankin and Bass won the animators battle to finish the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings with their version of the Return of the King. But their original working title: Frodo : Hobbit 2, was much more appropriate as they failed to leave behind their cartoonish, sing-song children’s entertainment despite more adult-oriented content. For Ralph Bakshi fans this was very disappointing, for Tolkien fans…until Jackson’s epic movies, it would have to do.

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This Return of the King animation begins at Bag End. Home of the infamous Bilbo Baggins, where he notices that his nephew has returned from a long absence missing his ring finger. With the help of a lute player the story progresses, recounting the events that led to the destruction of the evil ring and the beginning of the age of men.

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Watching the epic films that Jackson made more recently, I found that Elija Wood’s portrayal of Frodo reflected the vision that Rankin-Bass had given us, in this Return of the King, rather than what Tolkien wrote. Maybe it was the fact that a 17 year old was cast to play a 50 year old hobbit, and that reeks of childlike. I can’t be sure. But juxtaposed against Sean Austin’s perfect portrayal of Samwise, Frodo’s faithful sidekick, Wood’s knowledge of the character seems to stem entirely from this Rankin-Bass Return of the King, rather than Tolkien’s novels, which Austin obviously read.

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This Return of the King ends a rather disjointed animated trilogy beginning with the Hobbit. But if you are a true fan of the story or either a fan of Rankin-Bass or Bakshi, you should watch all three to appreciate what is, as well as what could have been. And while you are taking it all in for the umpteenth time, ask yourself who read the epic novel and who just watched the films. Can you tell? What is your favorite adaptation, or are you a diehard book enthusiast?

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By now the world is familiar with the Hobbit because of the live action trilogy films. But before the special effects and New Zealand built Hobbiton, all we had was JRR Tolkien’s 1937 novel, and then this delightful cartoon, by Rankin and Bass. Rankin and Bass were known for all their children’s holiday specials throughout the 70s. So unsurprisingly this version of the Hobbit, (like the original novel), is directed at a juvenile audience.

The 1977 cartoon version is 90 minutes long.

Keeping in mind that the Hobbit, in it’s 1977 version, is an hour and a half cartoon. This was made for the attention spans of children (and ADHD sufferers alike). As such, it is nothing like the recent 3 part extended cinematic series. This animated version of the Hobbit keeps the spirit of the novel intact, and it serves it’s purpose to introduce the imagination of JRR Tolkien to a generation of would-be readers. Because if you’re not a reader, picking up the 200 page the Hobbit book is a daunting task. And unless you are an avid reader, the challenging Lord of the Rings, is no place to start until you have a hunger for the world Tolkien recounts. Because the Lord of the Rings, for which the Hobbit is a prequel; is a true trilogy, in which Tolkien even invented languages.

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The animation of the Hobbit was good for its time, but it lacks the vibrancy typical in modern highly technological cartoon offerings. Still, it is also less affronting to the senses. This is a definite must watch if you have kids in grade school. Or maybe for your own curiosity, if you have never seen it before. Rankin and Bass don’t disappoint, and a condensed version of the Hobbit is much easier to absorb in one go that any other current offering. Enjoy!

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The underlying theme in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is about being outcasts in society. These Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have to hide in the sewers of NY to keep anyone from knowing of their existence. Only venturing out at night under the cover of darkness; it’s a tough existence for individualistic teens trying to establish a sense of self. The Turtles with their mentor Splinter (a mutant Japanese immigrant ninja rat) are a close knit family living off the refuse of society. The TMNT family situation is paralleled by the Penningtons, father Charles runs a news station, and he can provide everything his son Danny could want. But Danny as a motherless 15 year old with an overworked father, feels unloved. Enter the antagonist Shedder and his thieving group of ninja foot-soldiers known as the Foot Clan. Shredder preaches how everyone under his authority is family, and how he provides a home for the rejects of society, Although Danny has not finished his training (Is not a full Clan member), he still steals for the organization and skips school to hang out with other teenage outcasts.

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If you are looking for a fun family film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has it all. This is no cartoon, but a live action, using costumes created by the amazing Jim Henson (Creator of the Muppets). TMNT opens on NY city with television reports of a crime wave that is being ignored by the political offices (As familiar as that sounds, this is a movie suitable for children, so the criminals are unseen, and therefore NOT violent). This is a family positive movie and while it is great for the whole family, males in particular should watch this.

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Reporter April O’Neil (who works for Charles Pennington) the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Casey Jones, are all fighting back against the Foot Clan; individually at first and finally as a team. April keeps fearlessly putting herself in danger, while the Turtles have to get better at fighting as a unit. Casey is sort of like a big brother in Splinter’s absence and the scene with him and Donatello working on a truck together is pure male bonding.

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Based on the 1930s comic strip character, the movie brought larger than life personalities to the silver screen. Starring the incomparable Robin Williams, in the title role; his first motion picture. Robin Williams personified Popeye with such zeal, right down to the iconic laugh from the cartoons, that one could imagine the role was made for him. However the fast-mouthed stand-up comic turned quirky alien (Mork & Mindy), had an uphill battle to be taken seriously as a movie star. Needless to say, Popeye is just one of dozens of great examples of this character actor/comedian’s genius.

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Joining the cast of character’s are Shelley Duvall as the twig figured Olive Oil and Paul L.Smith as the burly Bluto. The movie plot introduces all the main characters of the Popeye story-line including Swee’Pea, Poopdeck Pappy (Popeye’s dad) and the ever hungry and broke J. Wellington Wimpy. We also learn that Popeye actual hates his spinach. That is until his father convinces him to eat it, and his vitamin enriched super power strength takes over, to save the day and our beloved from certain doom.

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Production of the film was in Malta and the over-built set is apparently still available to visit as a tourist attraction. Popeye is a musical that was meant to go head to head with the film Annie, so critics tore apart the script and soundtrack that had to be pieced together from scratch instead of being tested out on Broadway. Actors in Popeye even recorded some of their songs live action instead of lip-syncing to prerecorded in studio songs, which is customary for musical movies.

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The Brady Bunch first aired in 1969 and continued through until 1974, going into syndication the following year continuing to mesmerize young audiences with it’s simplified idealistic family life. The premise, if you’ve yet to see an episode, sees a widow, played by Robert Reed, with three sons, marry a woman played by Florence Henderson, who has three daughters. As if this wasn’t enough people living under one roof, stay-at-home mom Carol, gets a live-in housekeeper / assistant, Alice, as part of the deal when she marries Mike Brady.

The show has stood the test of time by focusing on universal childhood/ teenage dilemmas: sibling rivalry, battles of the sexes, self-esteem and other coming of age traumas, rather than political upheavals or current events from the time in which it was produced. The show also dealt with jealousies / insecurities that are unique to blended families. Issues are always addressed without violence and in the end even the kids have a reasonable maturity. There never seems to be any real financial stress on the family, save for one episode about responsibilities and a telephone, which for most large or blended families watching, really was an escape from reality.

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