1/1/2024 0 Comments Rupert and the frogsNot only did he co-author the storyline and executive co-produce (sharing both duties with wife Linda), Sir Paul also wrote & composed the very cheerful song 'We All Stand Together,' performed several of the speaking voices and arranged the music with Sir George Martin. Sir Paul McCartney took on the project of creating RUPERT AND THE FROG SONG as a true labor of love. It is precisely these qualities which this film so perfectly grasps. ![]() Since his inception, Rupert has personified the gentle joys & sweet innocence of childhood. Rupert was created by artist Mary Tourtel in 1920 and he has won generations of fans who eagerly follow his continuing adventures in the Daily Express newspaper. Beginning subtly, it moves toward a dramatic climax during the Frog Song - exuberantly achieving its emotional apex with kaleidoscopic color & lilting sound. RUPERT AND THE FROG SONG is an utterly charming little film which should not fail to delight the most jaded viewer. In 1984, the year of its release, it won a UK BAFTA (British Academy Award) for Best Animated Short Film.An inquisitive young bear wanders into the hills where he chances upon a splendid musical performance staged only once every couple of hundred years - by frogs. The film is displayed as a looping video at the Museum of Canterbury in England. The print of this version is also matted, cropping the top and bottom of the image to an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen, which was how the film was exhibited theatrically. McCartney opens the book to reveal his childhood house address, a possible reference to the VHS covers of this film. He takes it out of the chest, blows on it, and sparkling dust flies away from the book. We see Paul McCartney opening a large chest and digging through old dusty books until he comes upon an old Rupert book. This version contains an alternative opening, which begins in an old bedroom filled with Rupert merchandise. In 2002 and September 2004 the film was re-released on DVD Tales of Wonder Music and Animation Classics (also called Paul McCartney - Music & Animation Collection), to mark its 20th Anniversary, along with Calling All Toddlers 2 (which featured that opening as a music video) and two other shorts directed by Geoff Dunbar, Tropic Island Hum and Tuesday. The video also included two other shorts with music by Linda McCartney: " Seaside Woman" (a song credited to Suzy and the Red Stripes) and, "The Oriental Nightfish". The video was released simultaneously with the single "We All Stand Together" and became the biggest selling video of 1985 as well as being nominated for the 'Best Music Video - Short Form' at the Grammy Awards in 1986. At one point, the song " Little Lamb Dragonfly," which was recorded in 1971 and released on the 1973 album Red Rose Speedway, was intended for the film. McCartney had been planning his Rupert movie since at least the early 1970s, when his company, McCartney Productions Ltd., acquired the rights to the film the day after the Beatles' break-up. After hearing his mother call him, Rupert excitedly rushes home to tell his family about what he saw. After a thunderous applause from the frogs, the owl, who had followed Rupert in order to find where the frogs were hiding, launches for an attack on the royals, but Rupert manages to warn the frogs in time and they all quickly retreat, leaving the owl empty handed and the palace completely empty. Around the end, the frog King and Queen rise out of the water before the crowd to finish off the song. There, he witnesses the Frog Song, an event that occurs only once in a few hundred years in which various frogs of all shapes and sizes come together and sing " We All Stand Together". He sneaks into the palace, trying to avoid getting caught by the frog guards. He walks into a cave behind a waterfall and sees three signs: "Frogs only beyond this point", "Everything except frogs must be kept on a lead", and "Guard frogs operating". Upon the rocks, Rupert finds a large number of multicolored frogs. As he leaves, a large white barn owl and two black cats decide to follow him. Suddenly he finds himself enveloped by a rainbow cloud of butterflies, and all of them swarm away from the leafless oak tree towards a rocky outcrop and Rupert could not resist following them. As Rupert reaches a hill he props himself up against the trunk of an oak tree and sucks in the glory of the countryside. With his Mother's blessing he sets off for a jolly trip, encountering his friends Edward Elephant and Bill Badger along the way, who are too busy to join him. One day, Rupert Bear decides to head off for a walk on the hills. ![]() Windsor Davies (voice) - Rupert's Father / Edward / Father Frog.June Whitfield (voice) - Rupert's Mother.Paul McCartney (voice) - Rupert / Bill / Boy Frog.
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