Really Rosie (1975)

So much average

Pretty Good

One of my all time favorites.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

"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.

I 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!

When the writer/singer of "I Feel the Earth Move" teams up with the author of "Where the Wild Things Are", you know you're in for something good. And "Really Rosie" is just that. Carole King had written a number of songs for other performers, having sung only a few personally, but this is one of her high points. She provides the voice of a woman who fancies herself a star and sings songs about it to the children in her Brooklyn neighborhood. Each character has a song, in fact.I first learned of "Really Rosie" when I was in fifth grade and my class was putting on a production of it. We listened to the songs on the soundtrack - side 2 had some songs that weren't in the special - but changed one of the lines in "Alligators All Around" to avoid racially insensitive lyrics. We watched the movie, but only got about two thirds of the way through. My task in the production was operating the flood light, but I was having braces put in the day of the performance, so naturally I was in no condition to operate any machinery. I later watched the class's production on the video that they made of it.The main point is that "Really Rosie" is one of the greatest animated TV specials ever. A fine achievement for both Carole King and Maurice Sendak. And remember, always care!

SOOO many memories. This is actually "before my time" since I'm a child of the 80's, but my mother got me the record, and singing Alligators all around (and Pierre, and Chicken Soup and Rice, and One was Johnny, and pretty much everything on this album!) was all part of my childhood experience. I stumbled across the CD on amazon.com, and started talking about it to my boyfriend, who surprised me with the CD. LOVED IT! Cant wait to share it with my own kids one day. If this is a lovely reminder of your childhood, as it is for mine, I would definitely recommend picking up a copy of the CD--after all, you're in it for the songs, not the images (although those don't hurt, and I suppose brainwashing the next generation to really appreciate Really Rosie may require some visual stimuli).