Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure facts for kids

Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Richard Williams
Produced by	Richard Horner Stanley Sills
Screenplay by	Patricia Thackray Max Wilk
Starring	Claire Williams Didi Conn Mark Baker
Music by	Joe Raposo
Cinematography	Dick Mingalone (Live-action) Al Rezek (Animation)
Editing by	Harry Chang Lee Kent Ken McIlwaine Maxwell Seligman
Studio	The Bobbs-Merrill Company Richard Williams Productions
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	April 1, 1977 (1977-04-01)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4 million
Money made	$1.35 million (Rentals)

Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure is a 1977 American live-action/animated musical fantasy film directed by Richard Williams, produced by the Bobbs-Merrill Company, and released theatrically by 20th Century Fox. A 1941 short film had previously featured the Raggedy Ann and Andy characters created by Johnny Gruelle.

Plot

A little girl named Marcella returns home from school one day and immediately rushes upstairs to her nursery playroom to put away Raggedy Ann, her favorite doll. When Marcella leaves, the various toys in the playroom come to life, and Raggedy Ann tells them of the wonders of the outside world ("What Do I See?"). She then shares the news that it is Marcella's seventh birthday, and the toys notice a large package in the corner, presumably a present for her. Ann's brother Raggedy Andy is trapped under the package, and, after being freed, complains about the feminine nature of the nursery ("No Girl's Toy"). Marcella opens the present to reveal a beautiful bisque doll from France named Babette. Raggedy Ann leads the toys in welcoming Babette to their nursery ("Rag Dolly"), but she is too homesick for Paris to accept their greeting ("Poor Babette").

Trouble begins when Captain Contagious, a ceramic pirate who lives in a snow globe, notices Babette and immediately becomes smitten ("A Miracle"). After tricking Raggedy Ann into freeing him, he kidnaps the French doll and leaps out the nursery window with his crew ("The Abduction/Yo Ho!"). Raggedy Ann decides to rescue Babette, with Andy volunteering to accompany her. They leave the playroom and enter the woods, where they reaffirm their courage and love for one another while exploring ("Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers"). As the dolls travel, they come across the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees, a blue stuffed animal who has been abandoned by his previous owners ("Blue"). The Camel admits that he longs for a home of his own, and Raggedy Ann promises that once they find Babette, he may return with them. The prospect of a home sends the Camel into a trance, and he rushes off a cliff with the dolls in tow. They find themselves in the Taffy Pit, where an enormous, sentient blob of candy known only as the Greedy lives. The Greedy explains that, despite endlessly eating the various sweets that compose his body, he never feels satisfied, as he lacks a "sweetheart" ("I Never Get Enough"). He thus attempts to take the candy heart sewn inside of Raggedy Ann, but the toys successfully escape his lair and continue their journey.

The trio next encounter the obnoxious Sir Leonard Looney, a knight with a penchant for mean-spirited practical jokes. Looney begins chasing after the toys to play more tricks on them ("I Love You") and ends up luring them into Looney Land, a surreal realm full of bizarre architecture and giggling, robotic inhabitants. While trying to avoid the knight, Ann, Andy, and the Camel wander into the throne room of King Koo Koo, Looney Land's extremely diminutive ruler. Koo Koo laments his tiny stature ("It's Not Easy Being King") and explains that the only way he can grow is by laughing at the misfortune and suffering of others. He thus intends to keep the toys his prisoners forever, so they can be subjected to nasty pranks and make him larger permanently. The dolls escape this fate by triggering a large fight with cream pies, then slipping away and fleeing Looney Land in a boat. The furious King Koo Koo follows them with the aid of an enormous sea monster named Gazooks.

While sailing, Ann, Andy, and the Camel notice Contagious's pirate ship and eagerly board, only to discover that Babette has staged a mutiny and made herself the new captain to return to Paris ("Hooray for Me!") while imprisoning Contagious in the galley with only his pet parrot Queasy for company ("You're My Friend"). When Ann tries to tell Babette that she must go back to Marcella, the French doll becomes enraged and has the trio tied to the mast. Meanwhile, Queasy successfully unlocks Contagious's shackles, and he returns above deck, freeing the other dolls and pledging his love for Babette. Before she can respond, King Koo Koo and Gazooks attack the ship and seize all but Ann, Babette, and Queasy to subject them to tickle torture, making the monarch swell to mammoth proportions. Babette sees that her selfishness has endangered everyone and begs forgiveness, only for her and Ann to be captured as well. The dolls realize that King Koo Koo's literally-inflated ego is "full of hot air" and tell Queasy to pop him, which creates a massive explosion that sends them spiraling through space.

The next morning, Marcella discovers the dolls and toys lying among the leaves in her backyard, having been presumably blown back there by the force of Koo Koo's demise. She returns all but the Camel to the nursery, where Babette apologizes for her actions and accepts both Ann's offer of friendship and Contagious's affections. The heroes are happy to be back in the playroom ("Home"), and Ann notices the Camel gazing at them through the window. The dolls eagerly welcome him to their family and express joy at being together once more ("Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers Reprise"). The next day, Marcella finds the Camel among the dolls and, after a moment's confusion, hugs him tightly, accepting him as her newest friend.

Cast

• Claire Williams as Marcella
• Joe Raposo (uncredited) as the Bus Driver

Voices

• Didi Conn as Raggedy Ann
  • Animated by Tissa David
• Mark Baker as Raggedy Andy
• Mason Adams as Grandpa
  • Animated by John Bruno
• Allen Swift as Maxi-Fixit
  • Animated by Spencer Peel
• Hetty Galen as Susie Pincushion
  • Animated by Spencer Peel
• Sheldon Harnick as Barney Beanbag / Socko
  • Socko was animated by Crystal Russell
• Ardyth Kaiser as Topsy
  • Animated by Spencer Peel
• Margery Gray and Lynne Stuart as the Twin Pennies
• Niki Flacks as Babette
  • Animated by Hal Ambro
• George S. Irving as Captain Contagious (The Captain)
  • Animated by Charlie Downs
• Arnold Stang as Queasy
  • Animated by Art Vitello
• Fred Stuthman as the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees
  • Animated by Art Babbitt
• Joe Silver as the Greedy
  • Animated by Emery Hawkins
• Alan Sues as Sir Leonard Loony (The Loony Knight)
  • Animated by John Kimball
• Marty Brill as King Koo Koo
  • Animated by Gerry Chiniquy
• Paul Dooley as Gazooks
  • Animated by George Bakes

Soundtrack

Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by various artists
Released	1977
Recorded	February 8, 1977
Genre	Soundtrack
Label	Columbia Records
Producer	Joe Raposo

Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure soundtrack was released on vinyl, cassette tape and 8-track tape by Columbia Records in 1977.

Side 1:

1. "Main Title" – Rag Dolly
2. "Where'd You Go?" – Twin Penny Dolls
3. "I Look, And What Do I See?" – Raggedy Ann and the dolls in the nursery
4. "I'm No Girl's Toy" – Raggedy Andy and the dolls in the nursery
5. "Rag Dolly" – Raggedy Ann, Raggedy Andy and the dolls in the nursery
6. "Poor Babette" – Babette
7. "A Miracle" – Captain and the Parrot
8. "The Abduction & Yo-Ho!" – Captain, Parrot and the Pirates
9. "Really Scary!" - Twin Penny Dolls
10. "Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers" – Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy

Side 2:

1. "Blue" – The Camel
2. "Camel's Mirage" – The Camel and the Camels in the Sky
3. "I Never Get Enough" – The Greedy
4. "I Love You" – The Loony Knight
5. "Hail to Our Glorious King!" – The Loonies
6. "It's Not Easy Being King" – King Koo Koo
7. "Hooray For Me!" – Babette and the Pirates
8. "You're My Friend" – Captain and the Parrot
9. "The Plot Thickens" – The entire cast and Gazooks
10. "The Tickling and the Last Laugh" – The King, et al.
11. "Home" – Raggedy Ann, Raggedy Andy, The Camel, et al.

Artists

• ANIMATORS: Hal Ambro, Cosmo Anzilotti, Art Babbitt, George Bakes, Warren Batchelder, John Bruno, Gerry Chiniquy, Corny Cole, Doug Crane, Ray DaSilva, Tissa David, Chuck Downs, Emery Hawkins, Fred Hellmich, John Kimball, Chrystal Klabunde, Grim Natwick, Spencer Peel, Gerald Potterton, Willis Pyle, Tom Roth, Jack Schnerk, Irven Spence, Art Vitello
• ASSISTANT ANIMATORS: David Block, Loren Bowie, Michelle Clay, John Celestri, Sheldon Cohen, James A. Davis, Gerry Dvorak, Glenn Entis, Brad Frost, Jay Jacoby, Jeffrey Gatrall, John R. Gaug, Eric Goldberg, Leslie Gorin, Murad Gumen, Judith Hans, Dan Haskett, Patricia Hoyt, Helen Komar, Susan Kroyer, Judy Levitow, Jim Logan, Karen Marjoribanks, Marlene Robinson May, Carol Millican, Jack Mongovan, Alissa Myerson, Lester Pegues Jr., Karen Peterson, Kevin Petrilak, Barney Posner, Mitch Rochon, Louis Scarborough, Jr., Tom Sito, Michael Sporn, Mary Szilagyi, Peggy Tonkonogy, Duane Ullrich, Chung Yuan (James) Wang, Amanda Wilson

Stage adaptations

The film has been adapted for the stage twice.

In 1981, screenwriter Patricia Thackray reworked the story for Raggedy Ann & Andy, a play which is available to license for performances at schools and community theatres. There are many deviations in this version, most notably there are only two sets and Prince Leonard-the-Looney-Hearted (known as Sir Leonard Looney in the film) replaces The Captain.

In 1984, songwriter Joe Raposo and playwright William Gibson crafted a much darker variation of the story, first called Raggedy Ann and then briefly retitled Rag Dolly. Raposo retained two songs from the film (Rag Dolly and Blue) and reworked the opening title theme into a song called Gingham and Yarn. The plot was completely different and follows the dying young Marcella, who goes on a journey with Raggedy Ann and her friends to meet the Doll Doctor, who can mend her broken heart. This version ran in three theatres (including one in Moscow) before landing with a thud on Broadway in 1986.