same old Ichabod

It was a dark and stormy afternoon.

A perfect afternoon to spend on the couch.  Reading.  And a perfect opportunity to finally pick up the copy of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow that I bought last summer.  In Sleepy Hollow.  I have never read the original story, but as I began the tale of Ichabod, a familiar mental image sprung to mind.

I was surprised by this.  Until now, the version of the story with which I've been mainly familiar is the Disney animated version.   But I expected the original story to bear no more than a passing resemblance.  Disney usually "sweetens" the stories it turns into films, sometimes rendering them unrecognizable.  But as I read the story, I recognized Ichabod immediately.  His mannerisms.  His gait.  His unwieldy arms and legs.  Even his noble steed.  It was all there. 

Disney remained remarkably true to the original text.  And then added the musical stylings of Bing Crosby.  I wonder if Washington Irving would have approved.

Boris Karloff Blogathon: Mr. Grinch

It wasn't long after my introduction to Boris Karloff through Tales of Mystery, the comic book which bore his name, that I made another astounding discovery.



Sitting in front of our floor-model black-and-white television one December evening, engrossed in the yearly presentation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I noticed a familiar name pass by among the credits: Boris Karloff. The creepy comic book guy!

Apparently, he was narrating the story. And giving a voice to the Grinch. Well, that certainly explained it. No wonder this Grinch character seemed a little disturbing. No wonder I covered my eyes during the scene in which ". . . the Grinch had a wonderful, awful idea."



Years later, long after I was able to watch the entire cartoon without even once covering my eyes, Dr. Seuss's tale of Christmastime redemption became a favourite holiday bedtime story for my children. And each time I read the story aloud, I'd try to mimic Karloff's voice. The rhythm. The cadence. The intonations. With only limited success of course. Because his was the definitive Grinch. The perfect voice. The way the story should be told.

His voice and persona made him an ideal choice to narrate the story. Despite Dr. Seuss's fear that he would make the Grinch too scary. Instead, he helped make it a classic, which went on to win a Grammy when it was released as a spoken word recording.



I still watch it whenever I encounter it on television during the Christmas season. Even though I now own a copy. And if asked to list my favourite Boris Karloff performances, The Grinch would be a close second only to Frankenstein's monster.

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treehouse of horror XX

Rejoice!

This year The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror actually appeared before Halloween. And from the Hitchcock homage to the final musical number, it didn't disappoint. This year's episode was made even more enjoyable by skeleton cookies. But I digress. More on those later.

Halloween in Duckburg

The great Carl Barks, the artist and writer responsible for giving us Scrooge McDuck and many of the other inhabitants of the sleepy town of Duckburg, was asked in the 1950's to create a comic book version of Disney's animated short film, Trick or Treat. Unable to stretch the plot of the cartoon to fill a comic book, he added a few classic Halloween characters to expand the story. The result, also entitled Trick or Treat, was later immortalized by Carl Barks in this beautiful lithograph: Halloween in Duckburg.

I wonder if it's too early to start my Christmas wish list.

which Witch Hazel?

I grew up in rural Cape Breton in the 1970's. Which means that I, and other television-loving children like me, had the overwhelming choice of two channels. CBC and CTV. And the French version of CBC, but that didn't count. That being said, two programs loomed large in my young life. The Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Hour on Saturdays at 6pm and The Wonderful World of Disney on Sundays at 6pm.

Years of devoted Bugs Bunny watching have resulted in the wascally wabbit's exploits being seared into my memory and I can't count the number of times I've watched him outwit or otherwise escape from poor old Witch Hazel.

From the first time he encountered her in Bewitched Bunny. Where Bugs was able to save Hansel and Gretel (and himself) with the aid of some "magic powder".

And later when he arrived at her door one Halloween night in Broomstick Bunny. And foiled her goal of being the ugliest witch in the land.

Until finally, when for reasons never explained, he was held captive in A Witch's Tangled Hare before playing matchmaker to Hazel and William Shakespeare.

Through the years, I never felt much sympathy for Bugs' broom-wielding nemesis. She was mean. Greedy. Cruel. Shrill. Not at all like that nice Witch Hazel in the Disney cartoon, Trick or Treat. The one who helped Huey, Dewey and Louie take their Halloween revenge on Donald after he greeted them with tricks instead of treats.


This Witch Hazel had a soft side. A sweetness. She seemed as though she could be the other Witch Hazel's hillbilly cousin. But I never suspected for a minute that they might actually be related.

But related they are. As I discovered when, like the Special Features addict I am, I absorbed every moment of the interviews and documentaries included with my classic Looney Tunes collection.

The story goes that Disney's Witch Hazel appeared on the scene first. Brought to life by the wonderful voice actor, June Foray. The story is well-known. Hazel swooped into Duckburg one Halloween night, stayed long enough to make Donald's life miserable (which is never difficult to do), and then she was gone. But she had not gone unnoticed.

She had caught the attention of Chuck Jones, who thought a witch named Hazel would be an ideal match for Bugs Bunny. And he asked June Foray to put on the witch's hat once more. She said no. Not because of any dislike of Hazel, but because she feared Disney would sue. After all, Warner Brothers was using the same name for their character, even if she bore absolutely no resemblance to her predecessor.

But Disney didn't sue. But not because of a sudden burst of old-fashioned Halloween spirit. No. Apparently it was because witch hazel is the name of an unassuming little plant and the medicine derived from it. Disney held no rights to it. Which is why witches named Hazel can pop up anywhere. Disney. Warner Brothers. Little Lulu. Tom and Jerry. Sabrina. And probably a zillion other places I'm not aware of.

So June Foray stepped under the witch's hat for Bugs Bunny's next two encounters with Hazel.

I think that learning the history of the Hazels makes me feel a little closer to both of them. Although if I had to encounter one of them on Halloween night, I think I'd prefer Disney's version. Altogether a kinder, gentler Hazel. The other Hazel would have me constantly looking over my shoulder.

I was reminded of the two Witch Hazels recently while gathering up my remaining VHS tapes and deciding which of them to part with and which to keep a little longer. While I own most of Bugs Bunny's run-ins with Witch Hazel on DVD, I'm still holding on to my VHS copy of Trick-or-Treat. At least until I get around to picking it up on a DVD collection. Or maybe Blu-ray if I wait long enough. Whatever I end up with, it has to have Special Features. Plenty of Special Features.

christmas nightmare

In Octobers past, I would journey through the swirling leaves to my local movie shops in search of a copy of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The perfect choice for Halloween movie viewing. Or so I believed. I searched the aisles and walls of DVD's in Blockbuster, in Video Difference, in HMV, in Music World, even in Wal-Mart, only to be greeted with the same resounding: "No". "No, we don't stock that movie until a little closer to Christmas. It's actually a Christmas movie. Sorry." Christmas movie? But it's The Nightmare Before Christmas, I reasoned. Unsuccessfully. Bewildered, I would return home empty-handed to console myself with the Treehouse of Horror and the Great Pumpkin.

Until this year . . .

Yes, this year a new DVD version of said movie was released. And released, no less, in October, putting a merciful end to my futile quests and, once and for all, answering that age-old question: is it a Halloween movie or is it a Christmas Movie? Happily the answer is: Yes! Yes, the classic tale of Jack and his identity crisis is a Halloween movie. Of course it is. But, if, like some of us, your Halloween movie-viewing was dominated by classic Universal monster movies and you simply weren't able to fit it in before October 31st, no problem. It doesn't have to remain on the DVD shelf until next autumn. No. Because this tale of goodwill is also a Christmas movie. Equally enjoyable with a glass of eggnog as with miniature chocolate bars. Halloween or Christmas. Halloween and Christmas. You simply can't watch it too many times. And you'll want to save some eggnog for (arguably) the best scene in the movie in which one of Jack's well-intentioned but miguided Christmas presents, a giant snake, devours a silver aluminum Christmas tree. Classic.

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