Bill and Coo

For me, it's hard to attach a rating onto a genuine oddity like B&C. In my many years of movie viewing, the flick remains a true one-of-a-kind. I don't know how the producers did it, but the birds manage a whole array of intricate tricks and self-control. The amazing results don't look like animation. Yet, I wonder whether ordinary looking birds can truly be trained for sliding down wires or standing on their heads. I wish IMDB had more info on this key matter.

Anyway, the story is about young feathered lovers Bill and Coo and their bird town Chirpendale. Much of the charm and amusement comes from converting people-talk into birdie-talk, like Chirpendale. Most screen time is taken up with the Starling Circus where the acrobats do their people-like stuff. Then too, viewers never know what trick is coming next. Intruding now and again, however, is the looming menace of the big crow, but instead of a black moustache to twirl, he struts around in domineering fashion. So it's good guy Bill against bad guy Crow. It seems some Hollywood cliches never change even in bird land.

Anyway, I can see today's kids being entertained by the oddity just as my generation was many years ago. But viewing it again as a geezer, I think many adults could also happily catch a novelty that somehow escaped the Hollywood assembly line. Meanwhile, I'm off to happily double the goodies in my patio birdfeeder.

This film received a special Oscar for "patience and persistence." Not so remarkable in these days of CGI, but astonishing back then. There must have been bushels of outtakes, but the final story works fine with its many avian actors. The town of Chirpendale is rife with puns (such as a burlesque theater that features "beautiful gulls"), and some of the action seems a bit strange, but the story flows. The reason to see the film is to behold the "acting" of the incredibly trained birds.

Later animal films, such as "The Adventures of Milo and Otis" are more realistic, but the fantasy world of Chirpendale is internally consistent, and a lot of fun to visit.

I first saw this in a theater when I was small. I remembered it always, and when I taught a "movie sleepers" class, I finally acquired it in 16 mm. It stars mostly birds, but other animals as well, all trained for "Bill and Coo", a unique love story. You must still retain a very young soul to really get into this. "Charming" is often a sticky, say-nothing word, but not in the case of "Bill and Coo". It charms the viewer, and astounds--how DID they get all those birds to do those things?! A person must see this to believe it, but children beware: Adults should not be allowed to view this unless in the presence of children.

I saw this movie for the first time in a Spanish translation in Cuba, circa 1950. It was such memorable film that I never forgot it. I was about 10 years old at the time.

The trainers of the parakeets, love birds, and other creatures must have spent years to make this film! Bill and Coo, hero and heroine, are endearing. But the evil crow is the most wonderful villain a child could ever wish for. And the village idiot who saves the day is a real warm character.

In fact, each and every character seems to share human traits and personalities, thanks to the great editing, music, and narration of this charming movie. It should return to the video stores for new generations to enjoy.

Technically, "Bill and Coo" is a pretty amazing film. After all, the picture stars a whole lot of adorable birds (mostly lovebirds but some parakeets and other birds) doing a lot of adorable tricks...and making the film must have been very slow and difficult because of this. But, it also reminds me of a bird show at the zoo...interesting but not something you'd want to see for an hour. Additionally, the narration is often a bit heavy-handed and I am sure calling the villain 'The Black Menace' won't go over very well in this more politically correct world. The bottom line is that the film is cute to see...at least clips of the film. If you can actually hold on for the hour without losing interest, I applaud you. For me, the novelty quickly wore off--much like those god- awful shorts they made back in the 1930s with dogs dressed as people and with terrible voice-overs. A little bit goes a long, long way.

If you are curious about seeing the film, it can be downloaded for free from archive.org--a site often linked to many of the films on IMDb.