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Rock Odyssey

January 01, 1970

Rock Odyssey is an animated feature film produced by Hanna-Barbera for a television release in 1987.[2] Directed by Robert Taylor (but credited to William Hanna and Joseph Barbera on the final print),[3] with storyboards by Pete Alvarado.[4] This features Scatman Crothers in his final film appearance, released following his death. The film was dedicated to his memory.

Rock Odyssey
Directed byJoseph Barbera
William Hanna
Additional director:
Robert Taylor (uncredited) [1]
Written byRobert Taylor
Joseph Barbera
Neal Barbera
Produced byJoseph Barbera
William Hanna
StarringScatman Crothers
Edited byWarner E. Leighton
Margaret Webb
Music byHoyt Curtin
Production
company
Distributed byWorldvision Enterprises
Release date
  • July 13, 1987 (1987-07-13) (Los Angeles International Animation Celebration)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot edit

Idol Laura seeks out to find her one true love after being separated as children through the history of music.

In the 1950s, she meets greaser Billy. Their relationship is born out of a love for dancing and rock and roll. However, Billy gets into trouble with a street gang who beat him up. Laura helps him get back on his feet by giving him a prize she won at a carnival game. Billy’s car becomes out of control, which worsens the relationship despite attempts to make things better such as going to a drive-in movie and prom. At prom, Billy crashes his car, and later that night, Laura decides to break up with him. Billy tries to win her back by singing, but inadvertently floods the venue with a tidal wave of punch. The singing alerts a string on monsters, which chase after Billy, resulting in the prom being a disaster and ending with him all alone.

In the 1960s, Laura meets Bob, a piano playing hippie, while at a peace rally. The two of them hit it off after Bob saves Laura from being chased by police officers with siren heads. Upon heading to his apartment, Laura learns about Bob’s past as a musical activist and begins to recall traumatic memories. To get his mind off, he and Laura read a storybook titled Sir Gleam Fights the Evil Tooth. Despite the book being cartoony in nature, Bob and Laura are shocked by its depiction of warfare. While Bob recounts how he got his ways to Laura, an officer begins rapping at his door. Upon opening, the officer turns into an undead soldier who delivers Bob a draft notice which in turn transforms into a death certificate for Bob. To get their minds off of things, the two head for a walk in the park, where Bob begins to perceive inanimate objects as military weapons, terrifying him further. No longer able to view the real world, Bob starts seeing hellish scenery through two women using a Quija board. Unable to deal with Bob's trauma, Laura decides to leave and gets on a bus to get out of town, only to be taunted by her own monsters. Bob returns, now controlled by marionette strings, morphes into a skeleton soldier and catches fire, leaving Laura heartbroken.

In the 1970s, Jack, a fisherman at a winter port and his pet lobster head out to sea. The lobster informs Jack of Laura, who is discovered to be frozen in ice. She quickly thaws and Jack helps provide her with warmth, humor and comfort. While another, bigger boat tries to harpoon a nearby whale, the three express opposition to killing it and succeed in cutting the harpoon line. However Jack gets caught in the rope and the two boats collide, causing him to drown. Laura, the lobster and a seagull make it to the lifeboat, and the lobster retrieves Jack’s body. Looking at him, Laura begins to flashback to her days as a youth sailing and exploring with her male friend, culminating with her having to witness the death of her friend, mirroring her having to say goodbye to Jack. The lifeboat’s motor backfires and falls into the water, the three are greeted by monsters, and a thunderstorm occurs. Jack’s spirit comes by and the lobster gladly goes with him. After waving goodbye, the seagull hands Laura the remains of a bottle containing alcohol, which helps her get her mind off of things.

In the 1980s, Laura, now under the alias of Peggy Sue, moves into a new apartment and gets a job working at a technology company. At her apartment, she meets the Joker, a monster who has several affairs with her. Laura becomes more clumsy at work and after trying to use a supercomputer gets knocked out. Upon waking up, she is greeted by the man from the computer screen, who is kind and gives her a cab ride home. The man morphs into Billy, Bob and Jack, which inspires Laura to retrace her steps. Sloppily by a dealership, she gets a new car, drives to the port town and mistakes a fisherman for Jack. At a gas station, she notices a man playing piano inside of a shipping truck and is disappointed upon learning that it is not Bob. She finds an abandoned diner and plugs in a jukebox, causing the spirit of Billy to briefly appear, disappointing her more. The Joker returns, holding a jewel Laura left behind in Billy’s car on prom night. Laura follows him and he reveals himself to be Laura’s True Love, being a combination of Billy, Bob, and Jack. The Joker takes the form of his truest self and he and Laura happily reunite.

Characters edit

  • The Jukebox, the narrator of the story. He is voiced by Scatman Crothers and Frank Welker (additional dialogue). He is the only character in the film with lines of dialogue.[2]
  • Laura, also known as Peggy Sue. A romantic, mysterious idol who sets out to find her one true love.
  • Billy, a stereotypical 1950s greaser and Laura’s love interest for the decade.
  • Bob, a traumatized musical activist and hippie who is Laura’s love interest in the 1960s.
  • Jack, a fisherman and Laura’s love interest in the 1970s. Accompanying him are his pet lobster and a seagull.
  • True Love, introduced as the Joker in his initial form, is the combination of Billy, Bob, and Jack and is Laura’s one true love.

[5]

Production notes edit

Production of Rock Odyssey began in 1981 at Hanna-Barbera's short-lived feature animation unit, as a follow-up project to Heidi's Song. It was intended as a prime-time TV special for ABC, and was mentioned in a fall 1981 H-B trade ad as being slated to air in the spring of 1982, but the project was shelved after executives at H-B and corporate parent Taft Entertainment saw the film's graphic imagery, particularly relating to the 1960s and the Vietnam War. (Subsequently, Robert Taylor left the studio, and H-B closed their feature animation unit, after the box-office failure of Heidi's Song.)[6]

The program was shelved by Hanna-Barbera, who intended to retool the program; at a March 1983 Congressional hearing on children's television, ABC children's programming VP Squire Rushnell mentioned that it was slated to air that year.[7] However, the film remained on the shelf until the mid-80s, at which time a new sequence was added, featuring classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon clips set to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". This sequence was intended to bring the film "up to date", since the rest of the soundtrack only covered songs up to 1980. Hanna-Barbera and Worldvision Enterprises made Rock Odyssey available for international television distribution in 1987, and the film is mentioned in trade advertisements from that year. (Ironically, this final completed and released version seems to retain all of the "offensive" scenes which had led H-B to shelve the project back in the early 80s.)

Rock Odyssey has not yet been aired on TV, or released on VHS, DVD or Blu-ray in the United States by Warner Home Video, however, it was screened at the Second Los Angeles International Animation Celebration in July 1987. It has also aired on TV in Spain and several Latin American countries, with the narration dubbed into Spanish.

Despite all this, clips from the film were used for HBTV and a poster of Rock Odyssey can be seen in The Flintstones TV movie Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby.

In the fall of 2010, the film was aired (in English) on Boomerang Southeast Asia.

As of 2023, the film is available (unofficially) to watch in its entirety on the Internet Archive.

Songs edit

The film has no dialogue and few sound effects, instead relying almost entirely on music for its soundtrack. Below is a list of all the songs featured in the film.

Opening edit

1950s edit

1960s edit

1970s edit

1980s edit

  1. ^ This song also appears during the 1980s segment.

References edit

  1. ^ Hanna Barbera's Lost "Rock Odyessy"-Cartoon Brew
  2. ^ a b Cartoon Research article on the 1987 production
  3. ^ MUBI
  4. ^ PETE ALVARADO Interview
  5. ^ Animation's Legendary (Semi-) Lost Film-Animation Magazine
  6. ^ Michael Sporn Animation-Splog » Heidi's Song
  7. ^ Full text of "Children and television : hearing before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Consumer Protection, and Finance of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, first session, March 16, 1983"

External links edit

January 01, 1970
rock, odyssey, animated, feature, film, produced, hanna, barbera, television, release, 1987, directed, robert, taylor, credited, william, hanna, joseph, barbera, final, print, with, storyboards, pete, alvarado, this, features, scatman, crothers, final, film, a. Rock Odyssey is an animated feature film produced by Hanna Barbera for a television release in 1987 2 Directed by Robert Taylor but credited to William Hanna and Joseph Barbera on the final print 3 with storyboards by Pete Alvarado 4 This features Scatman Crothers in his final film appearance released following his death The film was dedicated to his memory Rock OdysseyDirected byJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaAdditional director Robert Taylor uncredited 1 Written byRobert TaylorJoseph BarberaNeal BarberaProduced byJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarringScatman CrothersEdited byWarner E LeightonMargaret WebbMusic byHoyt CurtinProductioncompanyHanna Barbera ProductionsDistributed byWorldvision EnterprisesRelease dateJuly 13 1987 1987 07 13 Los Angeles International Animation Celebration Running time72 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish Contents 1 Plot 2 Characters 3 Production notes 4 Songs 4 1 Opening 4 2 1950s 4 3 1960s 4 4 1970s 4 5 1980s 5 References 6 External linksPlot editIdol Laura seeks out to find her one true love after being separated as children through the history of music In the 1950s she meets greaser Billy Their relationship is born out of a love for dancing and rock and roll However Billy gets into trouble with a street gang who beat him up Laura helps him get back on his feet by giving him a prize she won at a carnival game Billy s car becomes out of control which worsens the relationship despite attempts to make things better such as going to a drive in movie and prom At prom Billy crashes his car and later that night Laura decides to break up with him Billy tries to win her back by singing but inadvertently floods the venue with a tidal wave of punch The singing alerts a string on monsters which chase after Billy resulting in the prom being a disaster and ending with him all alone In the 1960s Laura meets Bob a piano playing hippie while at a peace rally The two of them hit it off after Bob saves Laura from being chased by police officers with siren heads Upon heading to his apartment Laura learns about Bob s past as a musical activist and begins to recall traumatic memories To get his mind off he and Laura read a storybook titled Sir Gleam Fights the Evil Tooth Despite the book being cartoony in nature Bob and Laura are shocked by its depiction of warfare While Bob recounts how he got his ways to Laura an officer begins rapping at his door Upon opening the officer turns into an undead soldier who delivers Bob a draft notice which in turn transforms into a death certificate for Bob To get their minds off of things the two head for a walk in the park where Bob begins to perceive inanimate objects as military weapons terrifying him further No longer able to view the real world Bob starts seeing hellish scenery through two women using a Quija board Unable to deal with Bob s trauma Laura decides to leave and gets on a bus to get out of town only to be taunted by her own monsters Bob returns now controlled by marionette strings morphes into a skeleton soldier and catches fire leaving Laura heartbroken In the 1970s Jack a fisherman at a winter port and his pet lobster head out to sea The lobster informs Jack of Laura who is discovered to be frozen in ice She quickly thaws and Jack helps provide her with warmth humor and comfort While another bigger boat tries to harpoon a nearby whale the three express opposition to killing it and succeed in cutting the harpoon line However Jack gets caught in the rope and the two boats collide causing him to drown Laura the lobster and a seagull make it to the lifeboat and the lobster retrieves Jack s body Looking at him Laura begins to flashback to her days as a youth sailing and exploring with her male friend culminating with her having to witness the death of her friend mirroring her having to say goodbye to Jack The lifeboat s motor backfires and falls into the water the three are greeted by monsters and a thunderstorm occurs Jack s spirit comes by and the lobster gladly goes with him After waving goodbye the seagull hands Laura the remains of a bottle containing alcohol which helps her get her mind off of things In the 1980s Laura now under the alias of Peggy Sue moves into a new apartment and gets a job working at a technology company At her apartment she meets the Joker a monster who has several affairs with her Laura becomes more clumsy at work and after trying to use a supercomputer gets knocked out Upon waking up she is greeted by the man from the computer screen who is kind and gives her a cab ride home The man morphs into Billy Bob and Jack which inspires Laura to retrace her steps Sloppily by a dealership she gets a new car drives to the port town and mistakes a fisherman for Jack At a gas station she notices a man playing piano inside of a shipping truck and is disappointed upon learning that it is not Bob She finds an abandoned diner and plugs in a jukebox causing the spirit of Billy to briefly appear disappointing her more The Joker returns holding a jewel Laura left behind in Billy s car on prom night Laura follows him and he reveals himself to be Laura s True Love being a combination of Billy Bob and Jack The Joker takes the form of his truest self and he and Laura happily reunite Characters editThe Jukebox the narrator of the story He is voiced by Scatman Crothers and Frank Welker additional dialogue He is the only character in the film with lines of dialogue 2 Laura also known as Peggy Sue A romantic mysterious idol who sets out to find her one true love Billy a stereotypical 1950s greaser and Laura s love interest for the decade Bob a traumatized musical activist and hippie who is Laura s love interest in the 1960s Jack a fisherman and Laura s love interest in the 1970s Accompanying him are his pet lobster and a seagull True Love introduced as the Joker in his initial form is the combination of Billy Bob and Jack and is Laura s one true love 5 Production notes editProduction of Rock Odyssey began in 1981 at Hanna Barbera s short lived feature animation unit as a follow up project to Heidi s Song It was intended as a prime time TV special for ABC and was mentioned in a fall 1981 H B trade ad as being slated to air in the spring of 1982 but the project was shelved after executives at H B and corporate parent Taft Entertainment saw the film s graphic imagery particularly relating to the 1960s and the Vietnam War Subsequently Robert Taylor left the studio and H B closed their feature animation unit after the box office failure of Heidi s Song 6 The program was shelved by Hanna Barbera who intended to retool the program at a March 1983 Congressional hearing on children s television ABC children s programming VP Squire Rushnell mentioned that it was slated to air that year 7 However the film remained on the shelf until the mid 80s at which time a new sequence was added featuring classic Hanna Barbera cartoon clips set to Wake Me Up Before You Go Go This sequence was intended to bring the film up to date since the rest of the soundtrack only covered songs up to 1980 Hanna Barbera and Worldvision Enterprises made Rock Odyssey available for international television distribution in 1987 and the film is mentioned in trade advertisements from that year Ironically this final completed and released version seems to retain all of the offensive scenes which had led H B to shelve the project back in the early 80s Rock Odyssey has not yet been aired on TV or released on VHS DVD or Blu ray in the United States by Warner Home Video however it was screened at the Second Los Angeles International Animation Celebration in July 1987 It has also aired on TV in Spain and several Latin American countries with the narration dubbed into Spanish Despite all this clips from the film were used for HBTV and a poster of Rock Odyssey can be seen in The Flintstones TV movie Hollyrock a Bye Baby In the fall of 2010 the film was aired in English on Boomerang Southeast Asia As of 2023 the film is available unofficially to watch in its entirety on the Internet Archive Songs editThe film has no dialogue and few sound effects instead relying almost entirely on music for its soundtrack Below is a list of all the songs featured in the film Opening edit Rock It Paul DeKorte Doug Boyd a 1950s edit Blue Suede Shoes Robert Jason The Great Pretender Paul DeKorte Mitch Gordon Richard Bolks Jim Gilstrap Ron Hicklin Searchin Billy Richards Herman Channey Bobby Sheen Bobby Nunn Blueberry Hill Jim Gilstrap Great Balls of Fire Robert Jason Bye Bye Love Jerry Whitman Ron Hicklin Till We Meet Again Loulie Jean Norman Roll Over Beethoven Robert Jason 1960s edit Help Paul DeKorte Doug Boyd Ron Hicklin Satisfaction Jim Haas Ron Hicklin For What It s Worth Paul DeKorte Robert Jason Aquarius Ron Harris Edie Lehman Paul DeKorte Mitch Gordon Myrna Mathews Sandie Hall Ron Hicklin Purple Haze Instrumental Blowin in the Wind Instrumental You Keep Me Hangin On Edie Lehman Myrna Mathews Sandie Hall 1970s edit Bad Bad Leroy Brown Myrna Mathews Sandie Hall Robert Jason Gail Farrell Rock the Boat Jess Harnell Jon Paul Joyce Sandie Hall Yesterday Doug Boyd I Really Don t Want to Know Paul DeKorte Mitch Gordon Richard Bolks Robert Jason Ron Harris Summer Breeze Paul DeKorte Doug Boyd I m a Woman Madeline Yergari 1980s edit Stayin Alive Robert Jason On the Road Again Paul DeKorte Robert Jason Wake Me Up Before You Go Go Paul DeKorte Sandie Hall Ron Hicklin Edie Lehman Just the Way You Are Paul DeKorte Sandie Hall Ron Hicklin Edie Lehman Old Time Rock and Roll Jess Harnell Jon Paul Joyce Sandie Hall This song also appears during the 1980s segment References edit Hanna Barbera s Lost Rock Odyessy Cartoon Brew a b Cartoon Research article on the 1987 production MUBI PETE ALVARADO Interview Animation s Legendary Semi Lost Film Animation Magazine Michael Sporn Animation Splog Heidi s Song Full text of Children and television hearing before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications Consumer Protection and Finance of the Committee on Energy and Commerce House of Representatives Ninety eighth Congress first session March 16 1983 External links editRock Odyssey at IMDb nbsp Rock Odyssey at the Big Cartoon Database Rock Odyessy Blog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rock Odyssey amp oldid 1223247486, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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