I slept in this morning and didn't really get going until 10:30! As I had a quick breakfast, I decided to take a look at one of the videos I bought on Saturday from that estate sale, the home-recorded one that said "Disney Halloween." Turns out that the "Disney Halloween" in question was Disney's Halloween Treat, which I do already have.
Fast-forwarding to the end of the video uncovered another special I haven't seen in years. Chuck Jones did two holiday specials revolving around Raggedy Ann and Andy in the late 70s, and one of them was the Halloween-themed The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile. The rag doll brother-sister duo team up with their puppy Raggedy Arthur to deliver a very sad pumpkin to a little boy whose grouchy aunt won't let him go out on Halloween. June Foray is the voice of the aunt and Ann; Daws Butler is Andy. Character actor Les Tremayne is the pumpkin who thinks his glum expression means he'll never find a place to spend the holiday.
Nothing special, but very cute. Chuck Jones had some fun with the animation here, especially on the pumpkin. It's a shame neither of the Chuck Jones Raggedy Ann & Andy specials or the bizarre movie are on DVD. Your best bet to find the specials would be You Tube.
Raggedy Ann & Andy and the Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile
I headed out for today's errand run after Ann & Andy ended. It was another gorgeous day, once again sunny and bright and in the mid-70s. I got such a late start that I didn't have the time to fool around, though. I went straight past Cuthbert to Dollar Tree. I needed grape fruit spread and picked up two cards for friends who have October birthdays, Amanda and Lauren.
The Haddon Township Library was my next stop. I needed to return last week's DVDs and do this week's volunteering session. I did what I could with the DVDs. The "S" sections of both the adult and kids' titles are overloaded to the point where I can't squeeze anymore in. It being busy didn't help.
I did find some more DVDs to check out this week. There was another new Scooby Doo 13-episode set, this one revolving around robots and sci-fi. I grabbed The Backyardigans set Mission to Mars, which features two spooky episodes that feel vaguely Halloween-y. I also found the new live-action Hobbit movie. While I still haven't seen the final two Lord of the Rings movies, I always kind of liked the Hobbit book better anyway and enjoyed the animated film as a kid, so I thought I'd give this one a shot.
It was past 2:30 by the time I got out. I really wanted lunch, and I wanted it fast...but not fast food. The Shamrock Deli had no tables, so I moved on Genovia Pizza a block or so down Cuthbert. I ordered a Turkey Club Wrap and fries. I was a little annoyed that the wrap didn't come with bacon like it was supposed to, but otherwise, it was fine. I enjoyed it quickly in a quiet building that was only occupied by the owner, the cook, and me.
When I got home, I called Mom. She and Dad are still supervising work on the garage and didn't have a lot of time to talk. I told Mom about the Town Picnic and my quiet week. She told me about the garage and how she needs to find siding that'll match, since the siding on their house has since been discontinued.
Spent the next hour or so cleaning the bathroom and running Backyardigans episodes. Uniqua, Austin, and Pablo go on a "Mission to Mars" to find out what's been making that "boinga" sound. Great pie master Tyrone teaches his eager apprentice Austin to make "Samurai Pie" for Empress Tasha...if pie-snitching ninjas Uniqua and Pablo don't get it first! Austin has to retrieve Mummy King Tyrone, Werewolf Uniqua, and Vampire Pablo for Mad Scientist Tasha's party. The monsters are so "Scared of You," they're hard to persuade. Austin's upset because his boss seems to have forgotten his birthday...but Tasha has a big surprise in store for him and the monsters at the end. And in "Whodunnit," Detective Pablo has to find out who stole Lady Tasha's jewels! Could it be Tyrone the Butler? Uniqua Underhood, who knew about the jewels before they were stolen? Or Austin Frothingslosh, who has been seen sneaking around the grounds?
As soon as the bathroom was clean, I went right into my newly-scrubbed tub. I soaked in green tea and chamomile-scented water for about 40 minutes while listening to jazz and going over Christmas books. I wasn't in there for as long as Saturday, but it still felt really nice.
Ran Pagan Love Song while making a simple, thrown-together Bean-Vegetable Soup and Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins for dinner. We switch from a studio pool to the real waters of the South Pacific for this laid-back tropical romance. Williams is a swimming instructor in Tahiti who is bored with the tropical life and wants to find more excitement. Howard Keel is a teacher from Ohio who is tired of dealing with unruly kids and wants to find a quieter lifestyle. What they both end up discovering is the charms of Tahiti and its people.
That's about all there is to the plot, but that's ok. This was such a cute movie, I didn't mind the lack of story. Williams looks like she's having far more fun in the real Pacific waters (this was actually filmed in Hawaii) than she ever did in MGM's pools. Howard Keel is a much more charismatic and interesting leading man than Victor Mature or Johnnie Johnston, and sings the heck out of the score. If you're a fan of Williams or Keel and don't mind musicals with more atmosphere than plot, you'll feel just as home here as Keel did.
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