Yankee Doodle - Animated by StarMaker Review

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(More customer reviews)Let me help you figure out what this item is since it is hard to tell from the listing. First of all it was NOT animated by Starmaker as the listing states at the time of this review. They only published it to Video. This is actually a Rankin/Bass animated cartoon, (but not one of their "Animagic" stop motion features), about the revolutionary war. It was one of the 30 minute episodes of the Festival of Family Classics that Rankin Bass Productions made for television broadcast on ABC in 1972-73. Rankin Bass made the many great holiday classics we all remember such as Frosty and Rudolph. If you are a fan of their films you will enjoy this great series very much.
This particular episode is the story of a group of young boys that participate in the American Revolution in their own way, and help to slow down the British army with some unusual tactics, such as when they launder the soldier's uniforms and melt them with lye so that soldiers cannot leave their fort to march on Saratoga. We learn that "Doing what you do well is important" and the lead character Danny is a good role model for kids. There are enough historical elements thrown in with Paul Revere, George Washington and others so that kids can learn a bit of history too.
Some of the 18 episodes were very much part of Americana with tales from fact and fiction such as Tom Sawyer, the Ballad of Paul Bunyan, Yankee Doodle, Johnny Appleseed, and Hiawatha. The other episodes in the series include classic literature and famous fables: Swiss Family Robinson, Cinderella, Puss `n Boots, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Robinson Crusoe, Alice in Wonderland, A Christmas Tree, The Arabian Nights, Robin Hood, and two double length episodes - Around the World in 80 Days, and 20,000 Leagues Below the Sea.
VERSIONS TO LOOK FOR - The label Prism Entertainment or Video Craft International released these episodes as possibly the first vhs release in a clamshell package as a set of two episodes per vhs tape. For example Jack O'Lantern and Yankee Doodle were on one tape. I am unsure of the year of this release since it is not listed on package or tape. These are very good quality video, sound and packaging, and the art on the box is authentic from the film. (There is a bad habit among video companies to use some hack art for animation covers that is not from the film, and makes the film look worse on the cover than what is actually on the tape, seems self defeating to me.) In 1988 Prism and Videocraft (now one word rather than Video Craft) released vhs copies in a slipcover package with one episode per tape, but the artwork on the cover does not look anything like the film. Both of the before mentioned Prism/Videocraft releases also say "Childrens Video Playground" on the front cover. In 1989 "Starmaker Entertainment" released some of the episodes, but their copies are not as good a quality as the Prism copies in my viewing. Also their cover art is not as good as what you will se in the film itself. I will update quality and episode details this as I learn more. The most recent vhs re-release is from Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1989 but I am unsure yet of the quality or packaging.
Also "Puss-n-Boots" has been recently re-mastered and is featured on DVD as an extra feature on the holiday Animagic release "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" by Golden Books Entertainment who now owns the whole series and is treating their DVD releases very well with extras and remastering. Maybe they will release more of the episodes, hopefully the full 18, remastered on a multi disc DVD set.


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Watch and be part of the Revolutionary War by joining 12 year old Danny and his Midnight Militia friends.

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