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Suggest pagesRupert and the Frog Song
| Rupert and the Frog Song | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Geoff Dunbar |
| Produced by | Paul McCartney |
| Written by | Paul McCartney Linda McCartney Geoff Dunbar |
| Starring | Paul McCartney Windsor Davies June Whitfield |
| Music by | Paul McCartney |
| Editing by | Tony Fish Peter Hearn |
| Distributed by |
Veronica Omroep Organisatie (1986, Netherlands) |
| Release date(s) | May 3, 1984 |
| Running time | 13 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Rupert and the Frog Song is a 1984 animated film written and produced by Paul McCartney and directed by Geoff Dunbar and Raymond 'George' Taylor. The making of Rupert and the Frog Song began in 1981 and ended in 1983. The film was released theatrically as an accompaniment to McCartney's feature film Give My Regards to Broad Street. The song We All Stand Together from the film's soundtrack reached #3 when released in the UK Singles Chart. It was released in 2004 as one of the segments of Paul McCartney: Music & Animation.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
- Windsor Davies (voice) - Rupert's Father / Father Frog
- Paul McCartney (voice) - Rupert / Edward / Bill / Boy Frog
- June Whitfield (voice) - Rupert's Mother
[edit] Plot
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One day Rupert decides to climb the hills. With his Mother's blessing he sets off for a jolly trip. On the way he encounters his friends Bill and Edward. Rupert asks them if they join him on his trip to the hills, but Edward has to go do some shopping while Bill has to look after his Baby Brother. Rupert accepts his friends are busy, as he sets out to the hills and wishes them a good day. Once there, he props himself up against the trunk of an oak tree and sucks in the glory of the countryside. Suddenly he finds himself enveloped by a rainbow cloud of butterflies, and all of them swarm away from the leafless oak tree towards a rocky outcrop and Rupert could not resist following them. Once he leaves, a large white Barn Owl lands on the barren tree along with two black cats. All three of them soon follow Rupert.
Upon the rocks, Rupert finds a large number of multicolored frogs. He walks into a cave behind a waterfall and sees three signs: "Frogs only beyond this Point", "Everything except frogs must be kept on a lead", and "Guard frogs operating". He sneaks into the palace, trying to avoid getting caught by the frog guards. After a moment of silence, most of the frogs sing "We All Stand Together". Around the end, the frog King and Queen rise out of the water before the crowd. After a thunderous applause from the frogs, The owl, (who sneaked in also undetected with the cats), launches for an attack on the royals, Rupert yells, "Look out!" and all the frogs quickly disappear. The king and queen are almost snatched by the barn owl, but they re-submerge just in time, the owl leaves, along with the cats, disappointed. Rupert's mother soon after calls him back home, and Rupert excitedly tells her about what he saw of the Frog Song.
[edit] Release
McCartney had been planning his Rupert movie since at least the early 1970s.[1] At one point, the song "Little Lamb Dragonfly," which was recorded in 1971 and released on the 1973 album Red Rose Speedway, was intended for the film.[1][2]
The video was released simultaneously with the single We All Stand Together and became the biggest selling video of 1985 as well as being nominated for the 'Best Music Video - Short Form' at the Grammy Awards in 1986. The video also included two other shorts with music by Linda McCartney: Seaside Woman (a song credited to Suzy and the Red Stripes) and, The Oriental Nightfish.
In 2002 and September 2004 the film was re-released on DVD Tales of Wonder Music and Animation Classics (also called Paul McCartney - Music & Animation Collection), to mark its 20th Anniversary, along with Calling All Toddlers 2 (which featured that opening as a music video) and two other shorts directed by Geoff Dunbar, Tropic Island Hum and Tuesday. This version contains an alternative opening, which begins in an old bedroom filled with Rupert merchandise. We see Paul McCartney opening a large chest and digging through old dusty books until he comes upon an old Rupert book. He takes it out of the chest, blows on it, and sparkling dust flies away from the book. McCartney opens the book to reveal his childhood house address, a possible reference to the VHS covers of this film. The page then turns to the title card. The print of this version is also matted, cropping the top and bottom of the image to an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen, which was how the film was exhibited theatrically.
The film is displayed as a looping video at the Museum of Canterbury in England.
[edit] Awards and nominations
In 1984, the year of its release, it won a UK BAFTA (British Academy Award) for Best Animated Short Film.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Madiger, C. & Easter, M. (2000). Eight Arms to Hold You. 44.1 Productions. p. 176. ISBN 0615117244.
- ^ Benitez, V.P. (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. Praeger. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-0313349690.
[edit] External links
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