Before the Rains Came

I awoke to a dark, cloudy, humid morning. My porch was wet but not soaked. It seemed like it had rained overnight, but not for a while. I figured it was safe to continue with today's errands, especially as I had DVDs to return. I made a very quick stop at the Oakyn Post Office to finally send out the payment for last month's doctor's appointment, then rode across a damp and largely deserted Newton River Park to the Haddon Township Library.

Between the weather and this being Storybook Hour day, Haddon Township was quite busy when I came in. Another volunteer had largely taken care of the DVDs, but more came in as I worked on organizing the children's titles. I pulled a lot of children's and foreign titles out of the adult DVD section, too. I ended up taking out five DVDs, two horror-oriented (this winter's Red Riding Hood and the original 1931 Dracula), two comedies on men behaving silly (Harvey and The Hangover), and Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, one of the many direct-to-video sequals Disney did in the 90s and early 2000s.

It was still just cloudy and humid as I went across the street to the Westmont Plaza. I wanted to check out Super Fresh's chicken sale. The Acme hasn't had a decent chicken sale in weeks. I ended up with a pack of legs, a pack of thin chicken breasts, and a small hoagie for a quick lunch when I got in. I also made a really fast stop at Dollar Tree for sponges.

Spent the rest of the afternoon at home, baking Nutella Bars and watching cartoons. Rose and I never went out. She got called into work. I almost kind of expected this. It's not the first time she's had to cancel or cut back on plans we've made because of work or sudden engagements. She's just so darn busy! She said she'd get together with me for lunch on Thursday.

I decided to try to lower the huge pile of videos to dub on the table that holds the TV and VCR. I was grateful that The Swan Princess worked. This has been a favorite of mine ever since Mom rented it from our local video store around 1995. All of us kids watched it with Mom, and we all fell in love with it.

It's (very) loosely based after Swan Lake. Princess Odette (voice of Michelle Nicastro) and Prince Derek (Howard McGillin) are expected from birth to marry, but they can't stand each other as children. When Odette grows up to become a beauty, Derek is smitten. Odette's not your typical animated heroine; when Derek comments that he wants to marry her because she's beautiful, her reply is "And what else?" His "What else is there?" just makes her realize that he only sees her as a pretty face and nothing more. She and her father are run off the road on the way back to their kingdom by the evil wizard Rothbart (Jack Palance), who kills the king and turns Odette into a swan. The rather dim Derek is determined to find Odette no matter what, even as his mother (Sandy Duncan) plans the balls to end all balls and Rothbart plans to marry her himself.

An underated gem from the 90s animation boom. Apparently, stiff competition killed this movie's chances at the box office, making it a huge flop on first release. It would finally be redeemed by home video and cable and became something of a cult favorite, enough to warrant three direct-to-home-entertainment sequels (one with a Christmas theme apparently being released this year in time for the holidays).

Odette, her three goofy animal friends, and some gorgeous animation are the highlights. Odette's three pals - Puffin the militant Irish bird, Speed the sweet-natured turtle, and Jean-Bob, the snooty frog who thinks he's a prince - are a riot. The musical numbers are enjoyably over-the-top, more so than the Disney movies from this era. Check out the Busby Berkley-inspired "Princesses On Parade" at the ball and the opening "This Is My Idea" sequence that charmingly depicts how Odette and Derek grow from annoyed antagonists to forever lovers.

Moved on to Yogi's Great Escape next. Yogi and Boo Boo have a very busy spring when they awaken to find three adorable and very hungry cubs on their doorstep, and Ranger Smith gives them the bad news that Jellystone Park is closing. Determined to stay out of the zoo, the five bears run from forest to Wild West to a haunted showboat in a bayou to a carnival to the city, encountering Hanna-Barbara-loving kids and more HB funny animal characters (including Quick Draw McGraw, Wally Gator, and Snagglepuss) on the way. Dogging the bears are Ranger Smith and Trapper and Flapper, a pair of very talkative trappers who can supposedly sniff out anything, bears included.

It's all great fun if you're a fan of the HB funny animals, especially Yogi. While the cubs don't really add much to the proceedings, Yogi and Boo Boo have some really amusing gags, including convincing a couple of kids that they're aliens and evading Quick Draw, who mistakes them for bandits. The movie is currently available on the Warner Archives as part of their Hanna Barbara Collection.

(Speaking of the Warner Archives, they finally released the last two only-on-video MacDonald/Eddy films, Girl of the Golden West and New Moon, today. While I dubbed these two last year, I am glad that they're all out now. How about some solo efforts next, hmm? His Let Freedom Ring or The Chocolate Soldier, or her Three Daring Daughters or The Merry Widow? )

Finished up the night with Flounder Dijon, pasta and Cinderella II. As with Belle's Magical World, it's a collection of three short episodes with a book-themed wrap-around sequence. In the first segment, Cinderella's first duty at the palace is to hold a royal banquet. She wants things to be bright and simple, but her new lady-in-waiting Prudence insists that that simply isn't how things are done. Cinderella finally decides that she'd rather do things her way. The second story has Jaq wanting to become human to help Cinderella with preparations for the Spring Festival. The third focuses on one of Cinderella's stepsisters Anastasia. She's fallen for a sweet baker in town, but not only is Lady Tremaine still obsessed with her daughters finding a rich husband, but Anastasia thinks she's rather plain and awkward. Cinderella helps her sister with a makeover...and both learn that true beauty really comes from the heart.

This movie has always gotten some very nasty reviews. It simply cannot live up to it's beloved predecessor or the well-regarded Cinderella III: A Twist In Time. Though the animation was too simple, even below the Beauty and the Beast movies, I ultimately thought it was kind of cute. I especially enjoyed Anastasia's tale. She ended up looking a bit like a chubby-cheeked Ariel, and I'm glad she got the baker in the end. Not too bad if your little girls are fans of Cinderella in particular or the Disney Princess line in general. Completely unnecessary for anyone else.

Oh, and it did finally rain around 6PM...and when it rained, it monsooned. The rain was so heavy, I was afraid I'd have to start building an ark. The heavy winds blew it into my apartment. I briefly closed the windows at one point. It finally slowed down around 7:30 and was only heard from once since.