Let’s start with the very first non-holiday and the first of its kind as a completely stop-motion feature length film since Hansel and Gretel, Willy McBean and his Magic Machine.

Originally I was going to review The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show, but video of it doesn’t exist yet, and only exist of Black and White stills.

Now let’s hear a little backstory. Before this film came out, majority of stop-motion (in America) were mostly used in 7 minute shorts such as the Puppetoons and Gumby (both of them processed by Video Craft) or effect for creatures in films such as Lou Bunin’s Alice in Wonderland or Jason and the Argonauts. Just like with every medium of art will have their first film, for hand drawn with Snow White, for CGI with Toy Story, or for flash animation with Magos y Gigantes or Golden Blaze that we’re better off forgetting about. Technically the first is Hansel and Gretel, but that film was rarely brought up, and this is the first not based on fairy tales.

Any who, let’s get on with the synopsis.

Rasputin VonRotten created a magic machine (two words that doesn’t work together than science babble, but I digress) to travel back in time to replace the iconic figures to become the replacement. His caged Mexican Monkey named Pablo escaped from his castle to warn to the nearest person to stop him, which is a little boy named Willy McBean.

Willy happened to be a young inventor and able to build an exact magic machine thanks to the plans from Pablo. They time traveled to many time and place, including the Olde West with Buffalo Bill, Spain with Christopher Columbus, Camelot (Patsy: Tis only a model) with King Arthur, Egypt with King Tut, and assuming Africa with a specific caveman.  

Willy is an innocent kid, yet being an inventor and happens to have mostly the exact parts for the machine just sound too convenient. What other invention he was going to make with those parts is beyond me, or he got them as part of the My First Science Kit (now with your Dr. Insano goggles). It does sound a bit distracting that we’re hearing Billie Mae Richard’s Rudolph voice coming out of Hermy’s body with Rudolph’s fur color for his hair, as Pablo is voiced by Hermy’s voice actor, Paul Soles. So yes, Rudolph in Hermy’s body is talking to a monkey voiced by Hermy. While I’m aware this film was released six months after Rudolph, so few of the characters had to be reused for the films with different parts, even the same voice actors. Especially Alfie Scopp voiced a dragon in Camelot, who you may know him as Jack.

Charlie In the Box: No, Charlie!

The villain, Rasputin is a riot. That’s Larry D. Mann voicing him, the same actor who voiced Yukon Cornelius (Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer) and he has the same enjoyment and the same laugh only manically. It’s a shame it’s the last time we hear his voice in that range until the extent of Filmation’s Snow White’s Christmas as the Magic Mirror. His plan isn’t bad, and execution on executing is kind of sneaky. Though if he had made a time machine to travel any time exactly, couldn’t he just kill them while they’re in a crapper or otherwise?

He at least has ways to outshine the icons such as trying to shoot first, or loosen the rust, or disguise as a Chinese man to trick Columbus.

Yeah, as much as I don’t want to talk about stereotypes, there’s about a few of them in this film. There’s Mexican, Native American, Chinese, maybe for the dragon, and less extent of Egyptians. I could say Italian or Spain, but I wouldn’t say much since the story of Christopher has a bad reputation with Magic Voyage. Maybe this is part of the reason why there wasn’t a DVD release in this film in this PC world. If that was the case, then why is the Puppetoon Movie on DVD including the Jasper In A Jam and other Jasper episodes in the special feature? I don’t want to understand this world. This is part of the reason why the very first feature length stop-motion isn’t widely known much today compare to Snow White, Toy Story, and even Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in terms of holiday tv special.

Do I recommend watching this film? Yes, just for watching an historical piece, as a completion to seen every Rankin Bass films, and for fun entertainment. The only people who wouldn’t watch this is those who’s too sensitive on stereotype, knowing better time traveling films, or just not a fan of Rankin Bass films.

                        If you have a time to spare, check it out!