Wonderful character development!
... View MoreA film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
... View MoreOne of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
... View MoreThe movie really just wants to entertain people.
... View More"Really Rosie" is an American animated short film from 1975, so this one is already over 40 years old. It runs for a bit under half an hour and is one of the rare occasions where prolific children's literature author Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) also directed his own material. The outcome is decent and Sendak also has a minor voice acting part in here. The 1970s sure weren't a revelation in animation really and neither is this one here, but looks-wise it is sub-par too I guess. The highlight, however, is the singing by Emmy nominee Carole King, who voices the title character. As a whole I would say this was a fairly pointless movie, but still fun at times. The songs are really catchy from start to finish and the characters are somewhat interesting overall. To really appreciate it, however, you probably must have come across this one as a child and really have some memories linked to it. It's a close call, but I give it a cautious thumbs-up. Worth checking out if you like old animation.
... View MoreI had a copy of this video when I was a kid and used to watch it all the time! It was my first exposure to the awesomeness that is Carole King, and further proof of the awesomeness of the late great Maurice Sendak! I highly recommend this movie to both kids and adults, both for the educational and musical value it has! Screaming and Yelling may seem superfluous, but it's not terrible, Carole still does a great job, as usual! Also, fun fact, her two daughters were back up singers on the album! I've heard that she's lost her talent in recent years, but I don't want to know about it, because I want to think of her as I've heard her, perfect and pure!
... View MoreAs a child, this was one of the shorts that I played a lot (it came in one of those clamshell cases as part of a series, another with it was The Snowman for example). It didn't really sink in that Maurice Sendak was the creative force behind it (aside from Carole King, who is unmistakable in the lead role), but seeing it today it's so Sendak's work that it works as the kind of musical other side of what he could do from Where the Wild Things Are. Where that had lots of monsters and adventure, this is more grounded in the urban area, with kids singing along and playing with the big-hatted/flamboyantly dressed Rosie - and it also comes, from what I've read, from books by Sendak, so it makes sense he would want to spear-head the direction of the TV special.I think that a big part of the enjoyment for me was the songs. They're catchy and memorable, but they also have things that kids can relate to: Chicken Soup with Rice is something kids like, and when the one kid whines "I Don't Care!" it inspires one of the songs that has stayed with me for my entire life: a story of what happens if you keep repeating 'I don't care' over and over to the things you don't want to try or do. If you don't take to the songs as a kid then it might not stick with you, but the combination of animation that has a quality that is all Sendak's - a little rough but also warm at the same time, an odd combination but that was the artist and author for you - and the music, worked for me many times over, as it seems to have for other generations of kids (whether you were born in 1970 or 1980 or 1990).Is it perfect? I don't know, but it's all about the joys of being expressive and being a child and not holding too much inside - enjoying life, in other words, which was one of Sendak's chief concerns. It's jubilant, soulful and, in its unassuming way, masterful. I hope to show my children this special one day.
... View MoreI like Maurice Sendak's work. I mean, who doesn't like Where the Wild Things Are?And Carole King never bothered me too much. But pair them together and you end up with this lame special that CBS aired at least a handful of times, from the unfortunate feel-good / let's-use-our-imaginations / "Free To Be You and Me" era of the mid-1970s. I think you had to be a little rich girl living in Manhattan to appreciate this yawner of a cartoon. Or maybe you had to be a little rich girl living in a suburb of New York. Because all the girls in my class were singing the mostly forgettable songs the next day. Then it was back to their overpriced and equally pretentious Shel Silverstein books. Having said that, the song "Chicken Soup with Rice" has stayed with me all these years. I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse.All I know is if this thing was on at eight p.m., I'd play with my Legos until it was over and come back to the TV set at 8:30 for the infinitely superior Rikki Tikki Tavi.
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