Customer Reviews

Rikki Tikki Tavi/Yankee Doodle Cricket

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was one of my favorite stories when I was a kid. I had always heard of the existence of this film, and was never able to see it until the release of this DVD. Judging from those of Jones' kid-lit adaptations I had seen (the wonderfully witty "Dot and The Line" of 1965; the glorious "Grinch" of 1966; "Horton Hears A Who" [1970]; and the lovely "Cricket In Times Square" of 1976) I was expecting great things, and was largely satisfied. The music and the writing ("oh Rikki-Tikki,
you ARE brave and beautiful!") tend to be a tad cloying. But these are minor cavils: the tone is, by and large, splendidly consistent. A good deal of the Kipling text is used, and Orson Welles reads it with terrific brio. The voice characterizations,
particularly those of June Foray, are as note-perfect as one could wish. The 4:3 transfer is decent, the mono sound perfectly adequate. The color is not as brilliant as it might be, but I suspect the source material and transfer are not to blame for this. It must be said, finally, that the production staff Jones had at his studio in 1975 were not as capable
of sustained flights of visual fancy as the staff Jones had at MGM only ten years earlier. Many of those artists were veterans
of the great Warner Bros. period, and were thus linked to a great tradition. The visual scheme in the "Rikki Tikki" film is pleasant enough, but one misses, for example, the almost manic inspiration of Gerry Chiniquy or Maurice Noble. In short: this is a terrific film by anyone else's standards, but alongside Jones' best work it must be judged a mixed bag. Still, it contains some of the finest character and action animation in any Jones film, and no animation afficionado should miss it for this reason, as well as the pleasure of seeing a great story told very well indeed.

Short and simple review- great movie for the family back in the time when the WHOLE family could watch a family movie. I've been waiting for this to be on DVD for ever!!!!!

My CBS-recorded copy was full of drop-outs, so I was delighted to find out this great Chuck Jones adaptation of the Kipling Jungle Book tale was finally on DVD. Although the story is animated in the usual Jones style, it has been done more in an effort to look like book illustrations. Although the mongoose is cute--much more adorable than the real thing--parents should be warned that all these Jungle Book stories have been taken word-for-word from the actual book and not from the cutesy-poo Disney flick, so the cold-and-sinister cobras and other snakes hissing about death may be frightening for very young children.

Included on this DVD is the third story in Jones' Chester Cricket cycle, Yankee Doodle Cricket. I had not seen this cartoon before and was quite disappointed by it, especially after reading a review saying it was the funniest of the three. It has none of the charm and humor of the original Cricket in Times Square or the delightful silliness and holiday spirit of A Very Merry Cricket. Your mileage may vary!

This DVD is practically perfect. There are some dust specks and flecks visible; however the colors and lines are bright and clean and the sound is good. The only downside to this DVD is the interminable previews that you are automatically subjected to. Hint: pressing the menu button on your DVD remote won't help, but once the previews start, you CAN skip through them by pressing the chapter button until you get to the actual menu.

I used to love telling people about this story that I barely remember watching as a little girl. Nobody ever knew what I was talking about, I loved it. I am soooo thrilled that it is now on DVD and I can finally show my son and family what the heck I was talking about. This movie and "The Rescuers" were and are my all time favorite. Great movie for families about bravery and loyalty.

I grew up with this animated feature only appearing on TV once a year. Every spring we would wait in eagerness for this show to be announced. This movie, believe it or not, is incredibly true to the original story. Most times verbatim (word for word).

This is a movie where Good and Evil are clearly marked. An excellent film.

Rikki Tikki Tavi is worth twice the purchase price. I can still remember my elementary school teachers rolling out the reel to reel projector to show it before the holiday breaks. Reel to Reel projectors people, I'm dating myself here. Every child in the world should be given the opportunity to view this masterpiece of animation and story telling.

As for the Yankee Doodle Cricket bonus story, its cute, but its nothing compared to Rikki Tikki. I'd pay twenty dollars for a copy of Rikki Tikki alone on DVD even at only 27 minutes, but most people don't feel that way I'm sure, thus dictating the addition of the bonus story. The two stories are definately not of the same calibur.

Buy this one for Rikki Tikki Tavi a must own of must owns.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a an old childhood classic that I hadn't seen in many years. Upon purchasing and watching this DVD, I discovered that it still hadn't lost its touch.

Rikki tells the tale of a mongoose, Rikki, who was found by an English family living in India. Rikki defends the family on numerous occasions from some very dangerous snakes. The film is only 25 minutes long, but it's a perfect length for children. The characters are loveable, and the story is superb.

Yankee Doodle Cricket tells the story of young America, and the the fight for independance. This film takes a fun approach to education by blending a good story with some nice historical facts. This film is bound to have young kids singing yankee doodle quite a bit.

The only reason I didn't give this a five was that I felt some more of Chuck Jones could have been included since the DVD only has around 50 minutes worth of material. However, for six dollars, I can't complain too much.

Fortunately I did not pay money for this DVD. I would have returned it had I. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a great telling of the Rudyard Kipling story. My kids enjoyed this as much as I did as a child. However, the "bonus story" of Yankee Doodle Cricket was absolutely horrid. Historical inaccuracies, a rather overt adult situation and perfectly awful story telling make it a worthless waste of time and space.

This was a movie my husband remembers seeing when he was a kid, he wanted his kids to see it and they all loved it. five kids, ages 3 to 11.

Purchased this again because my original has dissappeared. My granddaughter is inordinately fond of Rikki and his adventures with the cobras and various other critters. Kipling is a great writer and having this work on CD is an awesome treat.