The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians is a 1970 American animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. After the Christmas special Frosty the Snowman (1969), it was Rankin/Bass' second hand-drawn animated work to be outsourced to Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production in Tokyo, Japan. The show aired on ABC on April 7, 1970 before the airing of that year's Oscars.[1] It was a tribute to early vaudeville, and featured animated reworkings of various famous comedians' acts.[2]

The Mad, Mad, Mad Comedians
GenreAnimated television special
Written byRomeo Muller
(special material)
Directed byArthur Rankin, Jr.
Jules Bass
Starring(See article)
Theme music composerMaury Laws
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
Production
Producer(s)Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Jules Bass
CinematographySteve Nakagawa
(animation supervisor)
Editor(s)Irwin Goldress
Running time25 minutes
Production company(s)Rankin/Bass Productions
Atlantic Records
(Flip Wilson segment)
Mushi Studios
(animation)
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseApril 7, 1970 (1970-04-07)

Production and Marx Brothers

Most of the comedians provided their own voices for their animated counterparts, except for Chico Marx and W. C. Fields, both deceased, Zeppo Marx, who had left show business in 1933, and Harpo, also deceased, but no voice was needed for him since his stage persona did not speak. Groucho Marx, 80 years old, was still playing himself. Voice actor Paul Frees narrated the show and filled in for those actors who were not able to do their own voices. Although Jack Benny's Maxwell automobile makes an appearance, it was not voiced by its usual voice actor Mel Blanc, and Frees presumably provided the effects for the Maxwell as well.

The show included such segments as a Marx Brothers skit, which was a reworking of a scene from their Broadway play I'll Say She Is (1924). The skit included their famous Napoleon parody, with Napoleon played by Groucho. The sketch featured animated representations. Romeo Muller is credited as having written special material for the show in addition to the original scripts that came from the various comedians' sketches.

This special and Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (released later that year) gave Rankin/Bass their highest TV ratings, even higher than Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). More recently, Behr Entertainment was in talks to produce a similar show that would feature cartoon renditions of Jack Benny, George Burns, Abbott and Costello, and Bob Hope. 13 half-hour episodes were proposed.

Plot

The majority of the special is an animated vaudeville-style show featuring numerous comedians performing the greatest skits at the palace.

  • Flip Wilson's "Columbus" sketch (with audio taken directly from his 1967 Atlantic Records album Cowboys and Colored People) is set to animation, as Queen Isabel Johnson sends Christopher Columbus to the New World to find, among other things, Ray Charles.
  • Jack Benny and George Burns take a trip in Jack's infamous Maxwell, where Jack attempts to weasel his way out of paying an increased bridge toll.
  • Groucho Marx recreates the Napoleon parody act from the Marx Brothers' 1925 Broadway revue I'll Say She Is, with Groucho reprising his role as Napoleon, and animated representations of Chico, Zeppo, and Harpo playing his advisors, Alphonse, Francois, and Gaston, respectively.
  • W.C. Fields (voiced here by voice actor and comedian Paul Frees) has trouble trying to prove that he is a sportsman and impress a woman to marry her daughter at the ski resort, while at the same time has a comical encounter with a Saint Bernard.
  • The Smothers Brothers try their best to cooperate in singing a song to woo a princess, but their attempt doesn't go well as planned.

In between the skits, various comedians including Henny Youngman, Jack E. Leonard, George Jessel, and Phyllis Diller tell a few funny jokes as the TV special progresses. Also making silent cameos in the special are Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Ray Charles, Charlie Chaplin (in silhouette form), The Beatles, Queen Elizabeth II, Ronald Reagan, The Munsters, Jed and Granny Clampett, and cartoon stars Popeye the Sailor, Charlie Brown, Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse and Yogi Bear.

Cast

Crew
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References
  1. Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 260–261. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 292. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
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