Willy McBean and His Magic Machine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Willy McBean and His Magic Machine |
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Official release poster
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| Directed by | Arthur Rankin, Jr. Kizo Nagashima |
| Produced by | Arthur Rankin, Jr. |
| Written by | Arthur Rankin, Jr. Anthony Peters (continuity design) |
| Starring | Larry D. Mann Billie Mae Richards Alfie Scopp Paul Kligman Claude Ray Corrine Connely James Doohan Peggi Loder Paul Soles |
| Music by | Edward Thomas |
| Cinematography | Tadahito Mochinaga |
| Studio | Videocraft International Dentsu Motion Pictures |
| Distributed by | Magna Pictures Distribution Corporation |
| Release date(s) | June 23, 1965 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States Canada Japan |
| Language | English |
Willy McBean and His Magic Machine is a 1965 animated movie made using a special technique called stop motion. This means that objects are moved in tiny steps and photographed, making them look like they are moving on their own. The film was created by Videocraft International (now Rankin/Bass Productions) in the United States and Dentsu Motion Pictures in Japan. It was released on June 23, 1965.
The story is about a young schoolboy named Willy McBean. He teams up with a talking monkey named Pablo. Together, they try to stop a bad guy, Professor Rasputin Von Rotten. The professor wants to change history using his new "magic" time machine.
Arthur Rankin, Jr. wrote, produced, and directed the movie. A team of voice actors brought the characters to life. Larry D. Mann voiced Professor Von Rotten, and Billie Mae Richards was the voice of Willy. The amazing stop motion animation was supervised by Tadahito Mochinaga in Japan. This same team also worked on other famous animations like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Contents
Willy McBean's Time-Traveling Adventure
Willy McBean is tired of studying history for school. Meanwhile, an evil scientist, Professor Rasputin Von Rotten, is building a special time machine. He plans to go back in time and become the most famous person ever.
A monkey named Pablo, who can speak both Spanish and English, climbs into Willy's window. Pablo explains that he escaped from Von Rotten. He also tells Willy about the professor's sneaky plan. Pablo even managed to steal the plans for the time machine!
Building a Time Machine
Willy decides to build his own time machine to stop Von Rotten. However, Willy's machine doesn't work perfectly at first. They accidentally end up with General George Armstrong Custer. Luckily, they escape just moments before Custer faces a famous battle.
Adventures in the Wild West
Next, Willy and Pablo arrive in the Wild West. Here, they meet famous figures like Buffalo Bill Cody and his friend, Sitting Bull. Von Rotten's plan is to become the fastest gun in the West. He challenges Buffalo Bill to a showdown. But before anyone can get hurt, both guns are secretly made unable to fire.
Stopping Columbus's Mutiny
Von Rotten then travels to the time of Christopher Columbus. He disguises himself as a Chinese trader. He tries to convince Columbus's crew to rebel against him. But Willy and Pablo stop the evil professor again. They show the crew that land is very close, saving Columbus's journey.
Knights, Dragons, and Pyramids
After that, Von Rotten goes to England in the days of King Arthur and Camelot. But Pablo and Willy help King Arthur pull Excalibur, a magic sword that can talk. A talking green dragon then crashes into Camelot, trying to eat everyone. King Arthur and Excalibur manage to scare the dragon away.
Willy and Pablo also make a quick stop at the Roman Colosseum. Later, they go to Ancient Egypt. Their mission there is to stop Von Rotten from building the Great Pyramid for himself.
Prehistoric Discoveries
Finally, they travel back to prehistoric times. They encourage cavemen to discover fire and invent the wheel. They do this before Von Rotten can claim these important discoveries for himself.
As Willy and Pablo return to the present, Von Rotten is showing history to students. He uses his "magic machine" like a movie projector during history class.
Who Are the Voices?
Many talented actors lent their voices to the characters in Willy McBean and His Magic Machine:
- Larry D. Mann as Professor Rasputin Von Rotten
- Billie Mae Richards as Willy McBean
- Paul Soles as Pablo the Monkey and King Ferdinand
- Alfie Scopp as Buffalo Bill Cody, The Dragon, and General Custer
- Paul Kligman as Christopher Columbus and Sitting Bull
- Bunny Cowan as King Tut and Ned the Caveman
- Peggi Loder as Morgan le Fay
- Claude Ray
- Corrine Connely
- James Doohan
Songs from the Movie
The film features several fun songs that help tell the story:
- "The Magical Magic Machine" (opening) – Sung by the Chorus
- "Professor Rasputin Von Rotten" – Sung by Professor Rasputin Von Rotten
- "We Got Showbiz" – Sung by Buffalo Bill Cody and Sitting Bull
- "Gotta Go West to Get East" – Sung by Christopher Columbus and the Sailors
- "I Am for Hire" – Sung by Professor Rasputin Von Rotten (with a Chinese accent)
- "We're Knights of the Round Table (Not of the Square)" – Sung by the Knights, King Arthur, and Merlin
- "I'm the Most Exciting, Horrible Dragon (In All of Camelot)" – Sung by The Dragon
- "Poorest Queen" – Sung by Nefertiti and Tut
- "A Caveman's Lot" – Sung by Ned the Caveman and Pablo the Monkey
- "The Magical Magic Machine" (closing) – Sung by the Chorus
