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 DECEMBER 2005 NEWS! |
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| The Real Rudolph Shines Again After 40 Years! | ||
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November 30, 2005, Pittsburgh PA: After presumed discarded for several decades, Rudolph and Santa, the original puppet characters from the classic 1964 television special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, have been discovered and will be revealed to the public this weekend in Pittsburgh. The stop motion puppets, stars of the longest running holiday special in television history, brought instant fame to production team Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass and became icons of American pop culture.
Stored casually among the household holiday décor of a former Rankin / Bass employee, the Rudolph and Santa puppets came out every December to take their place under the family Christmas tree. With last year's 40th anniversary celebration of the television special, and the recent multi-million dollar merchandising of everyone's favorite holiday characters, the owner realized there might be some public interest in revealing these lost treasures.
TimeandSpaceToys.com has plans to restore the puppets to their original condition by bringing aboard the original Rankin / Bass puppet production team for assistance and accuracy. The detailed story of how these puppets survived the last four decades, along with a continuing progress report with photos of the restoration project, will be available on the TimeandSpaceToys.com website.
“We are excited to be involved in such a special project and present these cherished pieces to Rudolph fans everywhere” says Time and Space Toys president Kevin Kriess. “These characters have completely redefined the traditional Santa Claus mythology and have had a profound impact on American culture.”
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Time & Space Toys
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TimeandSpaceToys.com, online retailer of Rudolph dolls, figurines, and Christmas décor as well as a plethora of other pop culture icons, has purchased the pair for an undisclosed amount. The puppets will make their first public appearance at the Pittsburgh Toy, Comic and Collectibles Show 
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The Happy Elf With Harry Connick, Jr. on DVD!
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It's not from Rankin/Bass, but here's a holiday special we're proud to promote!
(Rick offered his assistance with this project, but by the time we learned about it,
it was already in postproduction.) Click on the banner to visit the official website!
Make this Christmas your most memorable ever by celebrating the holiday season with legendary performer Harry Connick, Jr., as Anchor Bay Entertainment, an IDT Entertainment company, releases the 3D CG animated direct-to-DVD family holiday special, “The Happy Elf.” In stores, December 6 (pre-book November 8), the 45 minute “Happy Elf” is available on DVD only with a suggested retail price of $19.98.
Featuring narration and music by Harry Connick, Jr. and based on the original song from his platinum smash hit Christmas album, “Harry for the Holidays,” “The Happy Elf” will air as a prime time NBC special Friday, December 2 at 8:00 pm (ET). This destined-to-be holiday classic, produced by IDT Entertainment in association with HC Productions, stars the talented voice cast of Carol Kane, Lewis Black, Mickey Rooney and Rob Paulsen and includes all new original holiday songs written and composed by Connick.
With Harry Connick as the animated narrator, “The Happy Elf” tells the adventurous story of Eubie the Elf, one of Santa’s helpers, whose overly enthusiastic, rose-colored view of the holiday season is put to the test when he sets out to save Christmas for an entire town of naughty children in a sad little place called Bluesville.
The DVD comes in a fun push-button activated package that lights up with blinking lights and plays a short snippet of the “Happy Elf” song. Jam-packed with fun-filled activities that kids can enjoy for hours, the DVD includes the following bonus features:
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Frosty & Friends Now Available At Build-A-Bear Workshop!
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The good folks at Build-A-Bear Workshop recently added a new line to their selection:
characters from Rankin/Bass' original holiday special Frosty the Snowman!
Check out the new items now available for purchase: 16" Frosty the Snowman
All of the Frostys have cheeks that light up! Also, for
a small extra charge, a Frosty the Snowman music sound chip is available! (The train pictured above is also available.)
CLICK HERE for more details or to purchase online at Build-A-Bear's website!
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King Kong Escapes Available on DVD!
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UNIVERSAL has finally released the first RANKIN/BASS Live-Action film KING KONG ESCAPES
(1968). It is the first Live-Action feature that ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. Directed and
was released here on November 29th in Wide-Screen format! It is affordably priced and packaged with a
seperate DVD release of KING KONG VS. GODZILLA.
The film was Produced as part of
a deal with RKO to Produce the famous cartoon series as well. Obviously this release
was prompted by the new PETER JACKSON film, BUT we are happy to see it finally
available to the RANKIN/BASS fans!
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An Interview With Phyllis Diller!
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| Check out this interview with the legendary Phyllis Diller! Phyllis was interviewed about Mad Monster Party by Scott Michael Bosco who was kind enough to post it on his site The Digital Cinema! |
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| This interview was recorded and originally intended to be included on the DVD! Unfortunately, it didn't make it onto the disc, but now you can read the transcript of this short interview where Phyllis reflects on her role of The Monster's Mate and the making of Rankin/Bass' feature film Mad Monster Party! | ||||||
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The Most Requested DVD This Year!
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This year we have received an extraordinary amount of emails either requesting
info on where to find this DVD or simply voicing their dissatifaction
about the fact that it has not been released on disc. The title of this highly
sought after Rankin/Bass special? OK, we'll give you a hint: It was the last Animagic
holiday special Rankin/Bass produced for network television....
Nothing? OK, how about this: It's based on a book by Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum....
Still no clue? OK, one more: This special is not the usual happy fanfare that Rankin/Bass
has been associated with in years past. It is less colorful and more somber in tone.
Give up? Alright...it's none other than 1985's
The Life and Advenures of Santa Claus!
Well, we can't deliver the news of when its inevitable DVD release will occur....so instead
we'd like to announce that another puppet has been located (or at least the puppet head)!
And, yes, it is Young Santa from The Life and Advenures of Santa Claus! Our friend from Japan,
Kazuhiko Ito, is the proud owner of this piece of Rankin/Bass history, and was kind enough to
share these photos with us. Thank you so much, Kazuhiko!
....and now we present
Young Santa!
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Order your Rudolph Book In Time For Christmas!
With the many book orders we have received this season so far, we are happy to say we usually ship the very next day PRIORITY MAIL. To be sure to receive your items in time for Christmas, PLEASE place your order before December 19th for Holiday delivery. THANKS again for all your orders! Rick |
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Nicole Kidman To Produce Film of Jules Bass Book!
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Click here to read the article at Variety.com!
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Busy, Busy, Busy!
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Rick has been super busy this season being interviewed by many radio sations and newspapers!
Some of the stations/papers that are scheduled for interviews are:
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The Denver Post WFAD (Friday, December 9th 8:40-9am ET) Wireless Flash News Service 1010 KSIR (download it off www.ksir.com on Thursday, December 22nd.) WIKZ (MIX95.1 & www.mix95.com) Rick and Lisa morning show WHAM Morning News (Rochester, NY) WANB Radio Wild 104-FM (Morning Show) WGN Mornig News (Chicago TV, Tuesday, December 20th) ...among others! |
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Letters That Warmed Our Hearts!
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----------------------------------------- Please except my holiday wishes to you and yours. My name is Jamie Mitchell. I am a fire fighter on Brunswick Fire Department in the stae of Maine. I am contacting you, both as a father and a consumer fire fighter. As a father having grown up on Rankin/Bass holiday specials I am looking to introdue my children to them as well as develop a library for my unborn daughter. Could you please provide my a list of the Rankin/Bass features their original release dates and when the projected DVD release may be? As a fire fighter It is important to note that one of the reasons for my being in the profession is greatly in part due to the Ballad of Smokey the Bear. I watch that show as a child over 35 years ago, atleast. Since I wanted nothing else but to be a fire fighter. Now here I am in the fire service and teaching kids about fire safety through education and prevention. Could you please point me in the direction of getting The Ballad of Smokey the Bear so that I may use it in my fire education class.
Fighting Fire, Saving Lives ----------------------------------------- I recently ordered from you the book “The Making of Rudolph & the Island of Misfit Toys” and the GE ad for the show and have received them both. I ordered these for my fiancé for Christmas. I was unable to wait to give him the book so gave it to him for Thanksgiving (he had been requesting it for the last two Christmas’ but I had been unable to find it in stock anywhere.) I was so excited upon receiving the autographed copy that I had to give it to him right away. From his reaction, it was the best present I have ever given him. Win (that’s his name) is a fanatic about Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys. He collects everything he can find. Our home is decorated at Christmas with all things Rudolph. All of his friends know and kid him about his obsession. I even have my office decorated with “extra duplicate” figures this year. So of course (as annually) we watched the show on Wednesday evening this week (the new digitally re-mastered version) - while he had your book in hand.
Happy Holidays,
----------------------------------------- Dear Mr. Goldschmidt, My name is Matthew Gonzalez, I am 12 years old and I have some questions for you. How do S.D. Kluger, Kris Kringle, Rudolph, Hermey, Clarice etc., blink? How do people like S.D. Kluger's mouth move? I borrowed your books, The Making Of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and The Enchanted World Of Rankin/Bass from my library and I really like them!!! Who are your favorite Rankin/Bass characters? The book I borrowed from my library called The Making Of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer had your autograph in it!!!!!! Which is your favorite book you have written? Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Matthew Gonzalez
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Shopping For Rankin/Bass on VHS and DVD?
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Many of you have been writing us asking which R/B specials and features are available to purchase either on vhs or dvd. Well, we've supplied an alphabetical list below with hyperlinks where you can easily browse through all of your Rankin/Bass favorites currently available for convenient home viewing! Click on the pictures below to purchase through Amazon.com!
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| A Couple Of Coker Holiday Cartoons! | ||
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...And finally, to wrap up our December News, here's a couple of cartoons for your enjoyment that we dug out of the vaults which poke some fun at the holiday by Rankin/Bass
Charater Desighner Paul Coker!
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Merry Christmas! - Rick and Mark |
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