Product Details

• Actors: Willie Mcbean & His Magic Machine, Arthur Rankin Jr., James Doohan
• Format: Animated, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Umgd - Vivendi Enter
• VHS Release Date: May 21, 1992
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302457378
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,003 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From Rankin/Bass, the creators of holiday staples such as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" & "Mad Monster Party", comes yet another gem filmed in their trademark "Animagic" stop-motion animation process. This movie, which was made at the same time as "Rudolph" was not a made-for-TV special, but a full-length feature released in theaters. Little Willy McBean joins up with a Mexican monkey named Pablo to travel back in time and stop the evil Prof. Rasputin Van Rotton from changing history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Children's Sci Fi, November 2, 2000

By 

Keith Richardson (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Willie Mcbean & His Magic Machine [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a "thinking child's" animation and musical. Using a time machine as a device to examine historical situations, the heros and a power-mad villain joke and sing from beginning to end. My sisters and I memorized all the songs, some of which I can remember 30 years later. Unlike Saturday cartoons then and now, the scenery doesn't just serve as a backdrop for cliches: the charaters interact meaningfully.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunately, you have to use your "time machine" to watch this on VHS, August 26, 2010

By 

Joseph Brando (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Willie Mcbean & His Magic Machine [VHS] (VHS Tape)

From Rankin/Bass, the creators of holiday staples such as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" & "Mad Monster Party", comes yet another gem filmed in their trademark "Animagic" stop-motion animation process. This movie, which was made at the same time as "Rudolph" was not a made-for-TV special, but a full-length feature released in theaters.

It concerns a young boy, Willy, who learns of the Mad Professor Rasputin Van Rotton's plans to go back into time so that he can take credit for different feats and inventions (such as the discovery of America, invention of fire, etc...) by beating the real heroes to the punch. I guess he felt that building the world's first time machine would not provide enough stature! Anyway, with the help of a stereotypical Spanish monkey, Pablo, who takes great pride in announcing the fact that he is "one great lateen luvur" (that's "latin lover" in Spanish monkey talk), Willy builds his own "Magic Machine" and travels through the ages to foil the Mad Professor's plans just in the nick of time.

Packed with dinosaurs, mad professors, the wild west, cavemen, knights, pirates, Indians, cowboys and many other such subjects, this is sure to delight any young boy (well.... maybe any young boy from the 1950's) but may be a bit tedious for adults if they are not a fan of stop-motion animation. But if you were a young boy in the 50's AND are a stop-motion fan then this movie with its retro-puppet-appeal will rock your world!!! I was born in the '70's and it certainly rocked mine!!

By now, everything made by Rankin/Bass SHOULD be readily available on DVD. Unfortunately, many are not... Fans of the the company's other works should not be disappointed by this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Willie McBean's Magic Machine Review, June 12, 2010

By 

Binks Human Boca "Rankin Bass Fan!" (Boca Raton, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Willie Mcbean & His Magic Machine [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is another great example of Rankin/Bass at their best! I am so grateful to have grown up with the Rankin/Bass family of magical movies!!! Nothing can compare to them! This film will make your kids think! Unlike so many kids shows today, this wonderfully animated film tries to immerse kids in thought and hopefully take it a step further to learn more about history. It's fun for another reason, as well... IT'S STOP MOTION ANIMATION! How cool is that? I remember wishing I could play with the actual puppets used to make the Rankin/Bass AniMagic films. There is something so very tangible about these treasured films! It's great that they are available on DVD and VHS for future generations to enjoy!