Product Details

• Actors: Joni Mitchell, Helen Reddy, Jim Croce, Sonny & Cher, Melanie
• Studio: Video Gems
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B000PI5HVO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,932 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Voices of Joni Mitchell, Jim Croce, Helen Reddy, Sonny and Cher, Melanie, Wayne Carpenter (Kinks), Bob Moline, PLUS... Igor Stravinsky conducts his own PETROUSHKA

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A forgotten gem!, January 12, 2012

By 

Patte Rosebank "Comedy Historian & Voice Artist" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Wilson's Mini Musicals (VHS Tape)

Many of the animated music videos on this tape first appeared on "The Sonny & Cher Show", in the early 1970s. I remember watching them on TV when I was very little, so discovering them on this video was a real trip down Memory Lane.

Wilson may not be a household name, but if you've seen the movie "Grease", or watched "The Sonny & Cher Show" or "Tony Orlando & Dawn", you've seen his work in the opening credits and bumpers. And he did the animated feature film "Shinbone Alley" (based on "archy and mehitabel"). He also worked on many animated films with other studios before starting his own (Fine Arts Films). And he created the world's first computer-animated music video ("Both Sides Now", by Joni Mitchell, animated with the Scanimate system).

Wilson's website is www.fineartsfilms.com. Several years ago, I contacted him through the website, and I also purchased a multi-cel setup from the "Demon Alcohol" video.

The videos on this VHS tape are:

Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
Angie Baby (Helen Reddy) - watch for some very phallic images!
Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell) - world's first computer-animated music video
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (Sonny & Cher)
One Tin Soldier (Coven)
Dark Lady (Cher)
Sweet Gypsy Rose (Sonny)
The Candy Man (Sonny & Cher)
A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done (Sonny & Cher)
Brand New Key (Melanie)
Black and White (Sonny & Cher) - scared the hell out of me when I was little
Demon Alcohol (The Kinks, with Wayne Carpenter) - with a new *happy* ending
Higher Ground (Sonny & Cher)
You and Me Babe AKA Love Story (Sonny & Cher)
Reachin' (Bob Moline) - commissioned by a religious group
Congo Valentine (Stan Kenton's Big Band Latin Rhythm) - 1960s musical short
Petroushka (orchestra conducted by Igor Stravinsky himself)

This VHS tape has a copyright of 1975 for the content (based on its theatrical release at that time), and 1981 for the packaging. It's very hard to find, so the price can be very steep, but it's well worth hunting for!