Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack is selling the family cow. He comes upon a peddler (Gene Kelly) who sells him some magic beans. It's the classic tale except Jack and the peddler climb the beanstalk together. I do wonder if Gene Kelly should just play Jack. I don't want to throw shade at Bobby Riha. He's a child actor doing good child acting. More than that, his dancing is a good match to Gene Kelly. I have no complaints about the kid. I just wonder if a solo Gene Kelly would be more compelling although it may be good to have a Robin for the kiddie audience.

This is Hanna-Barbera doing a movie with Gene Kelly. It's a mix of live action and animation. Sometimes, the mixing gets a little blurry and sometimes, the cutout is noticeable. Mostly, it fits well enough. The animation is fine Hanna-Barbera level. This is a fascinating marriage and at the very least, it's an intriguing exercise.

In my opinion, this has got to be the best, if not one of the best, adaptations of one my favorite stories that I liked since I was a little kid. The first time I've seen Hanna-Barbera's 1967 TV movie "Jack And The Beanstalk" was when I was in 1st grade, I think, but I'm not sure. And after over 10 years, I re-watched it online and liked it even more because much of the dialogue and actions were not understood by me as a 7 year old because I wasn't paying attention to it very well. I knew who Gene Kelly was, the actor who portrayed Jeremy Keen the bean seller in the film, even when I was 7, as well as Hanna-Barbera because they created The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo and so forth. Over 20 years earlier, he "danced" with Jerry the mouse in 1945's "Anchors Aweigh". Bobby Riha does a fine job playing Jack, even though he may resemble other then-child actors during the era like Bill Mumy and Ron Howard. The songs are brilliant, the animation is exceptional for Hanna-Barbera's television production standards, the acting and voice acting was fairly realistic, the special effects were good, but when you watch closely, you can barely see the equipment, such as gym pads, props, harnesses, etc., in the shots, that kind of ruin the effect. But keep in the mind, this was the late 60s/early 70s, since technology was not as sophisticated as it is today, but nonetheless was it groundbreaking since this was Hanna-Barbera's first live- action/animation production for television. The film also includes wonderful choices for the cartoon characters. Ted Cassidy, known by most as Lurch from "The Addams Family", as the wicked but funny giant who looks kind of like a cross between Fred Flintstone and Bluto from Popeye, as I thought when I saw this flick for the first time ever. Janet Waldo, known mainly as Judy Jetson and Cindy Bear, was the speaking voice of Princess Serina, the harp and Jack's mother, who was portrayed by 1957's Miss America Marian McKnight. Princess Serina's singing voice was provided by Marni Nixon. Not to mention that on the day I post this, February 26, 2017, would mark "Jack and the Beanstalk"'s 50th anniversary of when it was first aired on television. I still really like this movie, even though it's primary audience is children, but that's OK. If you ask me, this movie isn't just for little kids, I think it's something that even childless adults would like, such as myself. Good movie, I recommend it to anyone who wants to see it.

Better than many of today's children's videos, this little gem of live action plus animation from the '60s deserves to be seen again. The Hanna-Barbera production won an Emmy when NBC first broadcast it in 1967. The principal live characters are played by Bobby Riha, as Jack, and by Gene Kelly as his adult companion. (In the original fairy tale, of course, Jack has no companion, but there are obvious reasons for including a sidekick, who in Kelly's hands becomes the main character.) The giant is a gruff but comically inept animated figure whose voice is provided by Ted Cassidy. A variety of other animated characters appear, including two hilariously weird birds who dance a tango with Kelly. All the dancing, as one might expect, is terrific, with Kelly reprising the sort of dancing-with-animation he pioneered in the 1945 film "Anchors Aweigh." The songs are by the experienced Hollywood team of Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen. As actor, singer and dancer, young Riha is a satisfying partner for Kelly. The familiar Hanna-Barbera animation may look flat and uninspired to contemporary audiences, but it does its job. Highly recommended.

I like Jack and Gene Kelly in the TV Special from the TV Special and they're dancing like in the jazz and vaudeville show. The animated by Hanna-Barbera Productions. I like Jack and Jeremy for the Giantland to see the castle of the Giant. Gene Kelly is dancing with the Princess and the Woggle Birds. Jack is marching and dancing with the mice for a fight. The Giant has the cat to searching for Jack and found the hole with a mouse trap for a mice. In fact, I need the DVD released in 2016 with Blu-ray and DVD. I'm sure Gene Kelly is the good TV Special with Hanna-Barbera Productions for 'Jack and the Beanstalk' starring Gene Kelly and directing himself. I wish you can do it for the Blu-ray and DVD in 2016.

This movie was once one of my favourites. The mixture of animation and real-life actors may remind people of "Song of the South" or, more recently, "Space Jam", but this is quite different. The animated characters aren't big stars that you know. But they still manage to be cute and funny.

Storywise, it is of course about the boy who exchanges a goat for a few beans, instead of selling it for money, thereby almost driving the family into poverty. The next morning, a giant beanstalk has grown out of those beans, and as he climbs it he enters a magical land in the clouds, inhabited by a human-eating giant. Together with a friend, he explores the giant's castle, tries to find the gold and rescue a damsel in distress in the process.

The film is funny and loveable with enough cute characters to keep kids happy (how I loved the birds dancing with Gene Kelly!)

Family fun. And the best adaptation of "Jack and the Beanstalk" I have seen to date. 8/10