Nonureva Really Surprised!

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Vastarien202 I had a chance to see this glorious film again after nearly 23 years. I was very small when I saw it for the first time, and some hint of it stayed with me all this time. I just now finished watching it again, and, for me, it has lost none of its power. I am somewhat shocked that my mum let me watch it at such a young age, considering the lusty nature of Mehitabel, and the very dark attitudes, but I'm very glad that she had enough faith in me as a child to handle it.I was quite moved by the passion and joy of life all the characters have, even in the most awful circumstances. Pride in yourself as you are, with no apologies is indeed the best way to live. Thank you,Mehitabel. Thank you,Archy.

FCWilson14 Shinbone Alley is not like every other animated film. It brings a unique approach to animation. It is almost like viewing an animated jazz opera in some respects. The characters are well defined and quite good, and some of the backgrounds are almost works of art on the New York scene. It is true that some very small children might not understand it, but a vast majority of people who view the film will find aspects of it that they will love; like the George Herriman sequence when archy declares war on humans. Carol Channing is wonderful as mehitabel, especially when she sings Shakespeare. Eddie Bracken is great as archy. This is the type of film that can be viewed again and again, and you find something new and interesting each time you see it. It was definitely a style setter in 2D animation, and should be applauded for its unconventional approach. Throughout the years, there have been a handful of animated films that could truly be called one-off, style setting, animation treasures -- Fantasia, Yellow Submarine, Toy Story, for example. I feel that Shinbone Alley easily fits into this select group of animated films.

Robert Armstrong A story I heard, that filmmakers once considered doing an animated version of the musical Cats, has just reminded me of that disappointing 1971 cartoon of Shinbone Alley, based on the Joe Darion/George Kleinsinger stage musical. Eddie Bracken and Carol Channing recreate their roles from the still-earlier "concept album" archy and mehitabel. Where these two had been cute and intimate, and, above all, musical, cockroach and cat were now rasping, whining and screeching -- characteristics that could have worked fine for those particular actors, but in sufficiently small quantities.One of the most disappointing characters was Bill, the big blackhearted tomcat originally sung by Percival Dove (best known for the singing voice of Brock Peters as Crown in Porgy and Bess). The prospect of an apparently offensive ethnic stereotype inspired filmmakers, as far as I can observe, to eliminate black performers from the piece altogether -- the part is done by Alan Reed, aka Fred Flintstone!Yes I know: Carol is "black" now.Aside from singing cats, it parallelled the Lloyd-Webber musical Cats in the deployment of a flying manhole cover, during the song Flotsam and Jetsam: "Only Mehitabel could get that high on a 'lid'" is the tag (penned by Mel Brooks, incidentally).Compared to George Pal's classic 1946 treatment of an earlier Kleinsinger work, Tubby the Tuba, the limited animation here was flat and ugly. Adult content of story is not of interest to children I suppose (although probably not harmful either), so the problems of marketing this picture probably helped bury it. I'll say this though: it just may be better than Fritz the Cat!

larry-175 Okay, so there's better (far better!) animation out there. And the music is to kill for. (Not 'die for;' kill for.) Not even Carol Channing can save it. But 'Shinbone Alley' is special in its tributes to a great writer, Don Marquis, and an even greater cartoonist, George Herriman. The story is true to Marquis's "Archy" poems; the depiction of the footloose Mehitabel is right on target. The newcomer to Archy and Mehitabel would do well to read some of Marquis's newspaper columns and poetry before tackling the film. The effort won't be wasted. The real surprise to me, though, was the cartooning style of Herriman, eminently featured in mid-film. It's a treat no Krazy Kat fan should miss.