Rock Odyssey
Encyclopedia
Rock Odyssey is an animated feature movie produced by Hanna-Barbera
for a theatrical release in 1987.
Directed by Robert Taylor (but credited to William Hanna
and Joseph Barbera
on the final print), with storyboards by Pete Alvarado
.
provides the voice of a living jukebox who narrates the story.
. 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.)
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. 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, however, it was screened at the Second Los Angeles International Animation Celebration in July 1987, and is available for viewing at the Library of Congress
in Washington, D.C.. It has also aired on TV in Spain and several Latin American countries, with the narration dubbed into Spanish.
In the fall of 2010, the film was aired (in English) on Boomerang Southeast Asia
.
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
for a theatrical release in 1987.
Directed by Robert Taylor (but credited to William Hanna
William Hanna
William Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by...
and Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera
Joseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
on the final print), with storyboards by Pete Alvarado
Pete Alvarado
Peter J. Alvarado, Jr. was an American animation and comic book artist. Alvarado's animation career spanned almost 60 years. He was also a prolific contributor to Western Publishing's line of comic books.-Animation:...
.
Plot
The story of a mysterious woman named Laura, who embarks on a journey to find her true love. The movie's soundtrack is set to four decades of classic rock. Scatman CrothersScatman Crothers
Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
provides the voice of a living jukebox who narrates the story.
Production notes
Production of Rock Odyssey began in 1981 at Hanna-Barbera's short-lived feature animation unit, as a follow-up project to Heidi's SongHeidi's Song
Heidi's Song is a 1982 animated musical feature film produced by Hanna-Barbera. The film is based on the novel Heidi by Johanna Spyri. Among the voice cast of the film are Lorne Greene as Grandfather, Margery Gray as Heidi and Sammy Davis Jr...
. It was intended as a prime-time TV special for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, 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
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....
saw the film's graphic imagery, particularly relating to the 1960s and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. (Subsequently, Robert Taylor left the studio, and H-B closed their feature animation unit, after the box-office failure of Heidi's Song.)
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. 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, however, it was screened at the Second Los Angeles International Animation Celebration in July 1987, and is available for viewing at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in Washington, D.C.. It has also aired on TV in Spain and several Latin American countries, with the narration dubbed into Spanish.
In the fall of 2010, the film was aired (in English) on Boomerang Southeast Asia
Boomerang (Southeast Asia TV channel)
For the original Boomerang channel, see Boomerang .Boomerang is a cable and satellite television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner and its main flagship regional channel of Cartoon Network. The Southeast Asian version of Boomerang was launched in September, 2005 with a...
.
External links
- Rock Odyssey at the Big Cartoon DatabaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....