Shinbone Alley (1970)

A Disappointing Continuation

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I only just now ran across this film on IMDb because for years, I couldn't remember its title. I first saw it when I was around the age of 10 in the mid eighties. I picked it up at the video rental store thinking it was a kids animated movie. I didn't get the dark humor and adult themes but the melancholy certainly came through loud and clear. I would feel depressed after watching it. And yet I loved it at the same time. I was (and am) a weird kid :) The film obviously suffered from a mismatched marketing campaign. Had it received the "independant animated feature" -type of advertising and presented as a mature satire, maybe reactions would have been a little different. But it's difficult to say, since the Broadway musical it was based on didn't fare very well either. I have yet to go back and watch it as an adult but will definitely do that next chance I get. For a long time, I was very confused by this film. It's definitely a mixed bag. There are some dark themes and yet the animation style is rather juvenile and visually similar to that of Hanna-Barbera.I think most people would feel confused by this film. It seems as though it's trying to be several different things and none of these themes seem to blend together too well. IMO, it seems much less random when one considers its background. According to Wikipedia, the characters of Mehitabel and Archy originate from a series of newspaper columns written by Don Marquis in the 1910's and 1920's for the New York Evening Sun. They served as fictional social commentary.Later, a musical was written and recorded in the 1950's and sold as part of a Columbia Masterworks series. A few years after the album release, the material was used as the basis for a short-running Broadway musical titled Shinbone Alley, one of whose collaborators on the project was Mel Brooks (which explains some of the randomness for me). The musical was then adapted into an animated film in 1971.I remember at the time realizing there was more to this film than I could fully understand. The weight of the material was palpable for me but went over my head as a 10 year old. But one thing that was very clear to me was that this wasn't an animated feature aimed at children. Looking back, I appreciate what this film was attempting to do. I had never watched an animated film that was so serious in subject matter. It was a little shocking to me at the time but gave me a very early view of what animation could be. I recommend this film based mostly on its uniqueness. It is certainly a flawed film and somewhat odd but that seems to add to its quirky allure.

I have been a fan of archy and mehitabel for a long time. I like don marquis's commentary of life using a cockroach to speak for him. The animated film has music and wonderful voices to supplement the books of his columns. I have known several children that love the film too. It is not too depressing. Quite the opposite. archy and mehitabel show a remarkable joy of life even as they suffer from being an insect or an alley cat. Carol Channing was a favorite of mine for as long as I knew her. Her voice is unmistakable. Who else could have done Romeo & Juliette with such zest! Some of the musical scenes such as "flotsam & jetsam" are outstanding. archy's wonder of the passions of the world at ground level gives one pause for thought. He even envies a moth that wants to burn itself to death because of its desire for that one brief moment of intense beauty. He no longer wants to kill himself when he experiences so much richness, however mean and coarse it might be.

It's a shame this film has been buried from the start. It has some really superb music, written by George Kleinsinger, a couple of fantastic performances by Carol Channing & Eddie Bracken, - & best of all, it's based on the great Don Marquis series from (I believe) the old New York World - Archy & Mehitabel. The compilation book was illustrated by the peerless George Herriman (Krazy Kat - & Mehitabel really was Krazy Kat!) & some of the scenes in this film are Herriman-inspired, another reason to treasure it.Pity the poor wimps who are traumatized by any animation that isn't filled with fluffy bunnies.

Okay, so there's better (far better!) animation out there. And the music is to kill for. (Not 'die for;' kill for.) Not even Carol Channing can save it. But 'Shinbone Alley' is special in its tributes to a great writer, Don Marquis, and an even greater cartoonist, George Herriman. The story is true to Marquis's "Archy" poems; the depiction of the footloose Mehitabel is right on target. The newcomer to Archy and Mehitabel would do well to read some of Marquis's newspaper columns and poetry before tackling the film. The effort won't be wasted. The real surprise to me, though, was the cartooning style of Herriman, eminently featured in mid-film. It's a treat no Krazy Kat fan should miss.