I don't think there is anyone out there in Internet-land that hasn't seen the Rankin-Bass holiday special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" with 'Animagic', or their cel animation classic "The Hobbit." Out of print for many years, two of their theatrical films from the mid-60's have become available on DVD, the live-action/'Animagic' hybrid THE DAYDREAMER and the more traditional cel animated WACKY WORLD OF MOTHER GOOSE.

In THE DAYDREAMER, the Sandman introduces us to Chris, son of Danish shoemaker Papa Anderson, who is pretty inept at his job according to his few customers. Almost always broke, he wants Chris to study hard at his lessons and be a better businessman than he is; Chris just wants to have fun. Papa tells his son of the Garden of Paradise, where knowledge literally grows on trees. That night, with the help of the Sandman, Chris leaves home to find the Garden. On the river in his fishing boat, Chris falls asleep, and BINGO we're in 'Animagic' land. Tossed about by angry seas, Chris' little boat is smashed and he drowns (aww...). The Little Mermaid finds his body and takes it to the royal palace. King Neptune explains to his daughter about the frailty of humans, but she insists she loves Chris. The Mermaid goes to the Sea Witch for a revival potion, striking a deal with the hag - if Chris loves her, she will become human. If he does not, the Mermaid will be an outcast to all. The potion resurrects Chris and he resumes his quest for the Garden, but he refuses to allow the Mermaid to accompany him.

Chris wakes up, back in the 'real world.' Meanwhile, Papa discovers Chris has run away and tries to follow him. Wackiness ensues. Chris makes it across the river, and falls asleep again under a tree. Back in 'Animagic' land, he meets with two tailors on their way to see the fussy Emperor. Chris goes with them, and winds up helping them scam the Emperor with a "suit" of clothes that only the wise can see. The monarch is, of course, naked, which is made abundantly clear by a child during his royal procession through town. The villagers agree that their liege has been dishonored and run the tailors and Chris out of town. Chris wakes up back in the real world, and is arrested by the game warden for duck poaching. Chained to a tree and commanded to chop wood, Chris meets Thumbelina, who shrinks him to her diminutive size so they search for the Garden together. 'Animagically', the duo head downstream where a froggie attacks them. Making their escape, Chris and Thumbelina arrive at the house of Rat. The rodent shows them great hospitality, but secretly wants to sell Thumbelina to the horrid Mole as a bride and keep Chris as his slave. Chris overhears his wicked plan, but when Thumbelina decides to help a sparrow in need instead of escaping, Chris leaves her. Meeting the Sandman again, Chris is confronted by his selfish choices. The Sandman gives him one more chance and takes him to the Garden. Unfortunately, Chris gives into temptation and the Garden is destroyed! What will happen to Chris now?

In THE WACKY WORLD OF MOTHER GOOSE, Mother Goose herself tells the tale of the time she left Mothergooseland to see to her ailing sister on the moon. Leaving King Cole in charge, she tells the people not to worry about the 'bad omens' that seem to be occurring. However, the crooked man Count Warptwist seizes the opportunity and creates an army of twisted knights to kidnap King Cole's daughter Princess Harmony and her beau Prince Robin! Blackmailing the kindly King, Warptwist takes over Mothergooseland, making everything crooked. All the parents are enslaved to work in the Count's diamond mines, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Jack Horner resolves to find Mother Goose and set things right, reluctantly accompanied by Mary Quite Contrary. Pursued by knights, the pair finds a little lamb, which follows them to the river. The ferryman betrays them, but Jack's hope in finding Mother Goose is so strong she senses it across the miles, and uses a bit of magic to send three men in a tub to rescue them. Hiding in a pumpkin patch, Jack and Mary free Kathryn from a pumpkin shell. Her husband Peter put her there when he was twisted into one of the Counts knights. They convince a cat to play his fiddle so the cow will jump over the moon carrying Kathryn. As Kathryn and the cow leap skyward, Mary is captures by the Count's knights. Humpty Dumpty realizes the lamb will go wherever Mary went, so he and Jack track her to Warptwist's fortress. A disguised Jack attempts to rescue Mary, Harmony and Robin, but the bumbling Robin gets them caught! The Count is about to execute them with his evil candlestick, but Kathryn reaches the moon and tells Mother Goose what has happened. Will she arrive in time to save our heroes?

While both of these films are fine family fare, they have dated badly. A fine cast of character actors boost the appeal of THE DAYDREAMER, but technology has left 'Animagic' looking like a high school film project in light of recent computer animated movies such as ICE AGE. Likewise, the stilted cel animated in MOTHER GOOSE pales in comparison to today's' sophisticated cartoons - it's much like "Rocky & Bullwinkle" without the latter's wit and innuendo. Both films have the tradition 1960's deliberate pacing and musical interludes with plot moving, but really annoying, songs. I doubt today's children would sit through either movie since there's not an explosion every three seconds. However, to those of us who are older, the films act as a reminder of our youth. It's fun to watch THE DAYDREAMER and hear all those familiar voices like Tallulah Bankhead, Boris Karloff and the great Burl Ives (to name only a few!). Not only that, you get a live-action Jack Gilford doing his wacky impersonation of, well, Jack Gilford. Despite its' lackluster animation, MOTHER GOOSE is also a fun throw back to those Saturday mornings long ago. I would be remiss in not mentioning the booklets included with each DVD contain a detailed history of each film by Rankin-Bass historian Richard Goldschmidt - very informative and very interesting.

Each DVD contains a few extras such as trailers and a still photo/poster gallery. THE DAYDREAMER also includes three TV spots in black & white! Both DVDs also feature chapter search capability. The audio on each movie is very clean without crackle or hiss. The films have been struck from new masters, so picture quality is high. However, some of the 'Animagic' sequences seem slightly out of focus (probably due to the animating process), and the third reel of MOTHER GOOSE looks a little dirty.

These films are not for the youth of today - they are for those of us old enough to remember rotary phones and Jiffy Pop (what's a microwave?). So to heck with today's "sophisticated" children, these films are for the old fogies! Grab a box of "Quisp" and enjoy!