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Like the rest of the stop-motion animated series, the film featured a three-dimensional Paddington puppet alongside a cast of drawn-and-cut-out humans with narrative and voices provided by one of the great storytellers of his age (and a not inconsiderable classic actor to boot) Sir Michael Hordern.
The 'special' tells how Paddington, caught in a rainstorm while shopping, tries to take shelter in the local Podium cinema where the 1952 musical, Singin' in the Rain is being screened...
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Refused admission (not because he's a bear but on the grounds of age!), the impressionable bear takes a peep through an emergency exit, sees Gene Kelly's celebrated "singin' and dancin' in the rain" number...
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...and immediately goes into his own homage homage performance of what is one of the best-loved and most recognisable sequences in cinema history...
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And, on the subject of Singin' in the Rain pastiches, I just have to add the classic sketch by the great British comedy duo Morecambe and Wise who presented a 'rainless' version of the film's titular song-and-dance routine which featuring a loving recreation of the original set and (by Ernie) Kelly's choreography, but with only the Policeman (the hapless Eric, of course) getting wet...
Hope you have a fine - and rain-free - day, today!
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4 comments:
Oh what a way to start the day! I can just imagine the noise Paddington's feet would have really made in the rain instead of the tap-tap. It would have gone "splooff splooff".
I don't think I ever did see the complete clip of Gene Kelly singing in the rain, but I regularly watch Eric & Ernie's spoof! One of the funniest things on TV!
I haven't watched the whole of the Paddington dance episode before: it's brilliant. I'm not sure when it was made, but it looks to me as though Paddington did the Moonwalk before Michael Jackson.
What terrific synchronicity, I've written here before of the connection I had with Paddington from my Mom reading his books to me as a child. Singing in the Rain is a film she's always loved dearly. These details coupled with the fact that we almost lost her in the last 48 hours from internal bleeding- thank God the source- only a busted blood vessel that was simply stapled shut as soon as it was discovered, lead me to want to Sing in the Rain, which I actually did last night after hearing the good news.
SHEILA - Paddington as an inspiration for Michael Jackson! I knew it looked familiar!
BILL FIELD - I'm so glad for you and the family that all has ended happily for your Mom. And I'm sure Paddington sends his love, too...
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