| JANUARY 2004 NEWS! |
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Rankin/Bass Makes Plans For 2004!
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From L to R: Arthur Rankin, Jr., Masaki Iizuka and Peter Bakalian
Many people have asked me over the Holidays, "Are RANKIN/BASS still working on projects?"
The Answer is YES. JULES BASS is in FRANCE these days and has penned books like HEADHUNTERS
and has sold the film rights for that property and he did a series of Children's books for
BAREFOOT BOOKS based on HERB, THE VEGETARIAN DRAGON. ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. has recently
Produced the Animated feature THE KING AND I and the FOX TV Special SANTA BABY starring
Eartha Kitt with His Co-Producer PETER BAKALIAN and his TOKYO Animation Producer MASAKI
IIZUKA (Pacific Animation). There are several Properties in various stages of Pre-Production,
which of course we can't discuss. Some young animators have e-mailed us interested in
submitting work. At this time, RANKIN/BASS are not looking to hire any outside talent.
Hopefully you will see something NEW from RANKIN/BASS in the future with the same kind of
feeling and warmth they have exhibited in the past. We will keep you posted.
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MUSEUM OF TV & RADIO!
For those of you who missed the EVENING WITH ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. Event...you can view the video of the event at the MUSEUM in NY. The tape is available to view in their archives. It was well shot and ARTHUR RANKIN had GREAT answers to the audiences' questions and he was quite funny with many of his behind the scenes stories....His WHITE CHRISTMAS/Irving Berlin story was especially funny! |
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| Glenn Yarbrough Looks Back at Hobbit and Return of the King! |
Here's a link to a great article by Claude Flowers about singer Glenn Yarbrough and his memories
surrounding the recording of the songs for Rankin/Bass' productions of The Hobbit and
Return of the King! Glenn's voice can be unmistakenly remembered for singing “The Greatest Adventure (The Ballad of the Hobbit)” and “Frodo of the Nine Fingers.”
(Article tipped to us by Scott Tomlinson. Thanks, Scott!)
CLICK HERE to to read the article now!
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Murray In The Morning Interviews Rick!
Radio discjockey Murray In The Morning and his crew interviewed Rankin/Bass Historian
Rick Goldschmidt over the holidays!
CLICK HERE to to listen to the broadcast at murrayinthemorning.com now!
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WGN's Larry Potash Interviews Rick!
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WGN TV News Reporter Larry Potash also interviewed Rankin/Bass Historian
Rick Goldschmidt over the holidays!
CLICK HERE to to read his December 12th article on Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas In July!
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DVD News: The Last Unicorn Coming Soon! R/B Tolkien Sale!
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Amazon.com has announced that the Rankin/Bass animated feature THE LAST UNICORN will be
released on DVD!  They are currently taking preorders with a scheduled street date of
March 16!
CLICK HERE to place an advanced order for your copy at amazon.com!
Also, we hear through the grapevine that the Rankin/Bass animated
versions of J. R. R. Tolkien's THE HOBBIT and THE RETURN OF THE KING on DVD are now ON SALE
at
Walmart for the low price of $7.99 each! If you don't have 'em yet, now's the time to get them cheap! Go see
the fantastic epic by Peter Jackson, then snuggle up at home and watch the Rankin/Bass
treatment of RETURN OF THE KING! Compare and contrast! Break up into study groups and discuss!
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Six Degrees to Green Bay Packers?
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OK. So you want to know what the heck could Rankin/Bass possibly have to do with the NFL's Green Bay Packers?
Well, Rankin/Bass' music composer Maury Laws has recently finished
working on a new DVD, The Legends of Lambeau Field, the story of the greatest stadium in
professional football! This film chronicles all the epic moments that have made Lambeau
Field the most storied stadium in football. 90 minutes long. Price: only $19.95!
CLICK HERE to order your copy at packersproshop.com!
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Our Annual Christmas Card From Paul Coker!
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Rankin/Bass and Brach's!
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As we looked through the aftermath of CHRISTMAS items at WALGREENS stores, we discovered mark
down RANKIN/BASS candy including this nicely packaged BRACH'S White Chocolate Marshmallows!
In fact, the art used on the packages was created by our friends PATRICK OWSLEY and MIKE
FONTANELLI for the WARNER BROS CONSUMER PRODUCTS' FROSTY Style Guide. To view other samples
of PATRICK's art
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Disney Book Updates!
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Our Friends GREG EHRBAR and TIM HOLLIS are writing a book for the UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI
PRESS for an OCTOBER 2005 release on THE WALT DISNEY RECORDS STORY! Many have asked about
TIM LAWSON's book on THE VOICES BEHIND THE MAGIC that was advertised in my first book. We
are happy to report that the UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI PRESS is also Publishing that book
and possibly subsequent volumes for a 2004 release!
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THANKS for the support of RANKINBASS.COM in 2003!
In 2004, RUDOLPH'S Nose will shine even
brighter in his 40th ANNIVERSARY year!
- Rick and Mark
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