- Animalympics
Infobox Film
name = Animalympics
caption = OriginalVHS cover for UAV edition
director =Steven Lisberger
producer =Donald Kushner
Steven Lisberger
writer = Steven LisbergerRoger Allers John Norton
starring =Billy Crystal Michael Fremer Gilda Radner Harry Shearer
music =Graham Gouldman
cinematography= Ted Bemiller
Paul Nevitt
(animation camera)
distributor = Theatrical:
flagicon|UK Barber-Rose International Films Ltd.cite web|url=http://www.the10ccfanclub.com/presskits/Scannen0003.jpg|title=List of territorial distributors for "Animalympics"|year=1980|publisher=Lisberger Studios|accessdate=2008-08-18]
Cable TV:
flagicon|USAWarner Bros. /Lorimar-Telepictures Disney Channel (broadcaster)
VHS:
flagicon|USA
Warner Bros.UAV Corporation Family Home Entertainment
released = 1980
runtime = 78 min.
country = USA
language = English
imdb_id = 0078780 "Animalympics" is a 1980 animated film produced byLisberger Studios . Originally commissioned by theNBC network as two separate specials, it spoofs the Summer andWinter Olympic Games , and features the voices ofBilly Crystal ,Gilda Radner ,Harry Shearer andMichael Fremer .Plot summary
The movie is a series of vignettes presented as the broadcast of the first animal Olympic Games through the fictional ZOO television network. Because of the combination of the two short cartoons, the Games combine both summer and winter Olympic events. Many of the characters presented, both ZOO crewmembers and Olympic participants, are celebrity caricatures.
Unlike the real Olympics, continents are represented rather than countries. The continents featured are
North America ,South America ,Eurasia ,Europe ,Africa , andAsia . Eurasia representedEastern Europe (in particular,Russia then theSoviet Union ), reflecting the Summer Olympics scheduled to be held in Moscow, whereas Europe represented Western and Central Europe. South America is only briefly represented in soccer. The only reference toAustralia is the use of a kangaroo as a North American boxer and a koala as a commentator.The only mention of areas other than continents are the New York Rats soccer team, Dean Wilson being from
California , a Central American marathon runner named Pepe Repanosa, marathon runner Terry Hornsby being fromBoulder, Colorado , Renee Fromage being fromFrance , and Kurt Wüfner appearing at the downhill event right before a Scandinavian is given a gold medal.Although many of the segments could easily stand alone, there are a number of recurring events and important characters. The largest such story is the coverage of the marathon, where competitors René Fromage (a French
goat ) and Kit Mambo (anAfrica nlion ess) are the favorites to win. Both determined to win — Fromage having devoted his entire life to the marathon, Mambo determined to make a name for herself — they find themselves surprised when their minds wander to thoughts of mutual admiration and then to love, culminating in the pair holding hands for the rest of the race and crossing the finish line together. Another important story is that of Kurt Wüffner, Germandachshund skier, and his disappearance to Dogra-la (a spoof ofShangri-la ) during a mountain climbing expedition shortly after the slalom event.In various parts of the film, references to past medalists and athletics are indicated. Because it is clearly stated that it is the first Animalympics, the highlights of other events must be from other events such as world championships. In fact, figure skater Dorrie Turnell is indicated as having won the Junior World Championship.
History
Originally commissioned by the NBC Television Network in 1978, it was produced as two separate shows intended to air along with the network's 1980 winter and summer Olympics coverage. [ [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=286851 Animalympics - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - New York Times ] ] [ [http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=2475 Animalympics: Summer Olympics - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - New York Times ] ] However, only the half-hour winter show made it to the small screen, as the
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan caused PresidentJimmy Carter to boycott the Moscow Summer Olympics. As America stayed away, NBC canceled its Olympic coverage, and Lisberger's hour-long companion special along with it. [ [http://www.zeek.net/film_03062.shtml Zeek: Simulacra, Simulation and Science Fiction ] ] However, from its conception, producerDonald Kushner and director Steven Lisberger intended the project as a feature-length theatrical release. The resulting version, recorded and mixed in Dolby surround sound via magnetically-striped 35mm film, had its debut at the 1980Miami Film Festival , where it was well-received. It was released in various countries overseas during the summer season that same year.Though it never found a theatrical distributor in the U.S., "Animalympics" was soon acquired by
Warner Bros. for home video and pay-TV release. The movie aired in summer 1984 onHBO andShowtime nationwide, and also on Philadelphia's PRISM. [cite web|url=http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=Animalympics&sa=N&sugg=d&as_user_ldate=1984|title=Search results for "Animalympics" news items (1984)|publisher=Google News Archive Search|accessdate=2008-08-18] Considering that the film was produced in 1979, several music-video-like sequences accompany its soundtrack by10cc 's bassistGraham Gouldman , uncommon at the time. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?JSESSIONID=cdDZGHVpCk5fzC2pWQpX2n6RqFyfQh7KCRQwqhfFBmhR9nGGtxmj!-221563471&&pid=15223 Billboard.com - Biography - Graham Gouldman ] ]Among those who worked on "Animalympics" were art director/animator
Roger Allers , animation directorBill Kroyer , and animatorBrad Bird . Allers, who animated Kit Mambo, the lion star of "Animalympics," appropriately went on to direct "The Lion King ." [ [http://www.reelzchannel.com/persondetail.aspx?personid=97623 Roger Allers - Movies, Movie Clips and Trailers ] ] Kroyer later wrote and directed the animated feature "."Brad Bird went on to work as story editor of "The Simpsons ," and later achieved even greater success writing and directing "The Iron Giant ", "The Incredibles " [ [http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/bird.php Interview - Brad Bird for "The Incredibles" ] ] and "Ratatouille".Director Lisberger went on to conceive, co-write and direct the science fiction classic "Tron", which some of the "Animalympics" crew were involved in. While "Tron" is best known for bringing computer animation to the big screen, its only two Academy Award nominations in 1982 were in the sound category. Its soundtrack supervisor was Michael Fremer, who was involved in "Animalympics" as a co-writer, voice artist, dialogue/music track editor and sound mix supervisor. [ [http://www.keyframeonline.com/Animation/Animalympics/434/ Animalympics ] at
Keyframe - the Animation Resource ]Cast
ZOO Network Staff
*Henry Hummel
*Barbara Warblers
*Rugs Turkell
*Keen Hacksaw
*Brenda SpringerCommentators
*Art Antica
*Bjorn Freeborg
*Jackie Fuelit
*Mark Spritz
*Cora Lee Perrier
*Bernard Drulinger
*MeleCoaches
*Mamo Ululu
*Toulouse LaTrac
*Bruno UrsakovCompetitors
*Marathon
**René Fromage
**Kit Mambo
*Gymnastics
**Tatyana Tushenko
**Bruce Kwakimoto
**Ludmilla Steponyatova
*Figure Skating
**Olga Cluckinsky
**Nikita Crawlinoff
**Dorrie Turnell
*Track and Field
**Boris Amphibiensky
**Bolt Jenkins
**Kip Ngogo
*Skiing
**Marcel Pourceau
**Kurt Wuffner
**Jimmy Ribbit
*Bobsled
**Commander Lance Quiller
**Calamari Brothers
*Swimming/Diving
**Dean Wilson
**Ono Nono
**Primo Cabeza
*Boxing
**Joey Gongolong
**Janos Brushteckel
*Weightlifting
**Ivan Disventsky
**Wilhelm Cvet
*Fencing
**Count Maurice Boar Deaux
**Duke Charolas
**The Contessaoundtrack
A&M Records released an "Animalympics" soundtrack album, which has long been out of print. However, a fan of the movie has started the "Animalympics Album Project" (see link below), an attempt to remaster and re-release it oncompact disc .Availability
Various companies released "Animalympics" on VHS in the U.S. and Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. The German distributor Alive released a Region 2 DVD on
October 5 ,2007 , containing the original English version and a local dub. [cite web|url=http://www.amazon.de/dp/B000VOEF2Y|title=Product information for "Die Dschungel-Olympiade"|language=German|publisher=Amazon.de|accessdate=2008-08-18] However, there have been no plans for a U.S. or British edition.The movie has recently been uploaded in its entirety on
YouTube . While its combined summer/winter format has been retained, it has been divided into nine parts of approximately seven to nine minutes in length.Altenate versions
*Throughout the 1990s, "Animalympics" was shown occasionally on the
Disney Channel , albeit with several edits, both to make the movie more family friendly and to edit jokes that are considered "offensive." Some scenes were merely shortened while others were lengthened.*Fans of the original specials have also re-edited the combined film into a close approximation of the original Winter/Summer games as separate films, and have been showing them at science fiction conventions since the 1980s.
See also
*
Olympic Games
*List of animated feature-length films References
External links
*
* [http://www.moviemistakes.com/film5329 MovieMistakes: "Animalympics"]
* [http://www.kkwow.com/album/index.shtml Animalympics Album Project]
* [http://www.the10ccfanclub.com/presskits/anim002.htm Press Kit]
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