Claymation Adventure Classics

The Adventures of Mark Twain was an old Claymation movie from the 80s, which was unlike any movie I had ever seen before.  In this great adventure story, Mark Twain (voice of James Whitmore) tells tales to his crew, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and Becky Thatcher, to pass the time as he flies his airship to his destination, which is Haley’s comet.  When I saw the preview for Disney’s Up, I expected a similar story line which made me look forward to seeing it.  Boy, was I disappointed.

Anyway, this movie has provided me with a better understanding of Mark Twain’s stories and that he was a riverboat pilot before he became a writer.  The different tales he tells include, “The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, “The Diary of Adam & Eve”, “Mysterious Stranger”, and “Extracts from Captain Stormfield’s Diary”.  All of which were stories written by Mark Twain himself, according to the end credits.  Mark Twain also had some interesting philosophies in this film.  Such as, “A classic is what everybody wants to have read, but nobody wants to read.” and “A cauliflower is just a cabbage with a college education.”  I certainly liked this film.  It definitely reminds me of Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Plus Halloween & Easter Celebrations with its style of animation.  That sure takes me back.

A similar title from the 80s I’ve recently discovered was Rip Van Winkle.  Like The Adventures of Mark Twain, this short Claymation film had provided me with a better understanding of the classic story.  Did I say “classic”?