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Golden Book Videos

1986 Aesop's Fables of Contentment & Kindness. The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse; The Lion and the Mouse. Golden Book Video. About 25 minutes. ©1986 Dolmatch. Racine: Western Publishing Company. One extra copy.

Simple, even rudimentary animation. The framework is provided by three monkeys, who appear before the first fable, between the two, and after the last. TMCM (about 10 minutes) presents little Mike bored in the country telling his mama that he needs to go see the world. The train takes him to town, where he meets cousin Max fresh from being chased by a cat. They eat well--chocolate and cheese!--in Max's well furnished hole. Mike is frightened at night by an "owl" clock and next morning by traffic and a ringing bell. They sneak past the sleeping cat only to be chased. A woman attacks with a broom. Mike is happy to return to Mama. The monkeys moralize variously, even contradictorily: "Sometimes things are better than you may think, and we should all appreciate what we have. Follow your heart but be prepared for the consequences. Mike had to find out for himself that country life wasn't such a bad thing after all." In LM (about 10 minutes), Malcolm is bringing cactus fruit home to his sick mother. He is followed and then chased by a fox into a hollow log, which the fox rolls over the cliff. Malcolm staggers home. His sister Amanda goes back ahead of him to get the cactus fruit; by now the fox has it on a string. Amanda jabs him in the foot. In running off, Amanda runs onto a lion. Malcolm begs the lion to spare her. The lion does not laugh but yields since they would not make much of a meal. Amanda soon announces that the lion has been caught. After being released by them, the lion apologizes.

1986 Aesop's Fables of Patience & Honesty. The Wolf and the Lamb; The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Golden Book Video. About 25 minutes. ©1986 Dolmatch. Racine: Western Publishing Company. One extra copy.

Simple, even rudimentary animation. The framework is provided by three monkeys, who appear before the first fable, between the two, and after the last. About ten minutes each for the two fables. In WL there is lots of flute-playing before a rabbit ever shows up. There is wonderful lamb-dancing and leaping. I think this version of the story misses the "creative suggestion" character of the lamb's asking the wolf to play the flute, since the wolf has been holding the flute for a long time before the lamb is caught. Flattery helps lead to the wolf's downfall. Moral: "One thing at a time." In BW Nathan begins by falling into a river. There he thinks he sees a wolf. He goes to town and brings the people back, but the wolf is nowhere to be found. The mayor has come out without putting on his pants. The next day Nathan wonders what to do for excitement. Now he runs into town crying "Wolf!" The mayor is soon up a tree, falls, and is laughed at. The next day Nathan plays his trick again. The mayor cuts his moustache in half. "Your joke wasn't funny!" When the wolf does show up, Nathan runs through town: there is a great chase and great desperate screaming. The chase is going on as the fable ends.

1986 Aesop's Fables of Pride & Perseverance. The Hare and the Tortoise; The Vain Crow. Golden Book Video. About 25 minutes. ©1986 Dolmatch. Racine: Western Publishing Company. One extra copy.

Simple, even rudimentary animation. The framework is provided by three monkeys, who appear before the first fable, between the two, and after the last. TH features Scamper McRabbit and Thelma Tortoise. Scamper plays a sports announcer. There is a strong element of sports-TV parody all the way through the tape, including slow motion at the end. The tape's narrator clarifies early that "tortoise" is the same as turtle and "hare" as rabbit. Scamper stops for some of the mice's egg-salad at their picnic. Scamper has racing car sounds for his movements. Thelma hums along her way. A rain storm drives the hare to a tree. Scamper catches up to Thelma six times along the way! Scamper gets chased by a fox, loses direction, and finds his way to a bunny fast-food counter. There are many puns along the way. Moral: "Be sure but steady." About ten minutes. In "Vain Crow," King Zeus announces that he will appoint a king of the birds. The crow sleeps as attention goes to the owl and the eagle. The crow notices ducks' feathers in the river. He picks them up and is soon stealing feathers, especially peacock feathers, in funny ways. The crow dreams of himself as king. At the contest itself, the crow shows up late, looks stupid, and gets initial admiration. Zeus declares him the king of the birds. The peacock recognizes his own feather. All gang up and strip away all his feathers. Moral: The crow lost by not being himself, by trying to be what he was not. About ten minutes.

 

1991 Aesop's Fables: The Hare and the Tortoise; The Vain Crow. Golden Book Video. About 25 minutes. ©1986 Dolmatch. Racine: Western Publishing Company. Found somewhere in early '95.

This is a simple re-issue of the 1986 tape titled Aesop's Fables of Pride & Perseverance, including the monkey-games that occur before, between, and after the fables. The tape package gets the Hare's name wrong; he is Scamper, not Speedy, McRabbit. See my comments there.

1991 Aesop's Fables: The Wolf and the Lamb; The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Golden Book Video. About 25 minutes. ©1986 Dolmatch. Racine: Western Publishing Company. $2.25 from Tina Pardi, Sumter, SC, through Ebay, Oct., '99.

This seems a simple re-issue of the 1986 tape titled Aesop's Fables of Patience & Honesty. See my comments there.

1991 Aesop's Fables: The Ant and the Grasshopper; The Wind and the Sun. Golden Book Video. About 25 minutes. ©1986 Dolmatch. Racine: Western Publishing Company. $2.25 from Tina Pardi, Sumter, SC, through Ebay, Oct., '99. Extra copy for $2 from Edward Price, Pennsauken, NJ, through Ebay, June, '00.

This tape seems to reproduce a 1986 original that I have not found.

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