Rupert and the Frog Song

"Rupert and the Frog Song" is a 1984 animated film written and produced by Paul McCartney and directed by Geoff Dunbar and Raymond 'George' Taylor with the protagonist of Rupert Bear. The making of "Rupert and the Frog Song" began in 1981 and ended in 1983. In 1984, the year of its release, it won a UK BAFTA (British Academy Award) for Best Animated Short Film. The film was also released theatrically as an accompaniment to McCartney's feature film "Give My Regards to Broad Street". The song "We All Stand Together" reached #3 when released in the UK Singles Chart.

The Film

One day Rupert decides to climb the hill. With his Mother's blessing he sets off for a jolly trip. On the way he encounters his friends Bill and Edward. Rupert asks them if they will join him on his trip to the hills, but Edward has to do some shopping while Bill has to look after Baby Brother. Rupert accepts that his friends are busy, as he sets out to the hills and wishes them a good day. Once there, he props himself up against the trunk of an oak and sucks in the glory of the countryside. He suddenly finds himself enveloped by a rainbow cloud of butterflies, and all of them swarm away from the leafless oak towards a rocky outcrop and Rupert could not resist following them. Once he leaves, a large white Barn Owl lands on the barren tree along with two black cats. All three of them soon follow Rupert.

Upon the rocks, Rupert finds a large number of multicolored frogs. He walks into a cave behind a waterfall and sees three signs: "Frogs only beyond this Point", "Everything except frogs must be kept on a lead", and "Guard frogs operating". He sneaks into the palace, trying to avoid getting caught by the frog guards. After a moment of silence, most of the frogs sing "We All Stand Together". Around the end, the frog King and Queen rise out of the water before the crowd. After a thunderous applause from the frogs, Rupert yells, "Look Out!" and all the frogs quickly disappear. The king and queen are almost snatched by the barn owl, who leaves, along with the cats, disappointed. Rupert's mother calls him back home, and Rupert excitedly tells her about what he saw of the Frog Song.

The video was released simultaneously with the single "We All Stand Together" and became the biggest selling video of 1985 as well as being nominated for the 'Best Music Video - Short Form' at the Grammy Awards in 1986. The video also included two other shorts with music by Linda McCartney: "Seaside Woman" and "The Oriental Nightfish". In September 2004 the film was re-released on DVD to mark its 20th Anniversary, along with two other shorts directed by Geoff Dunbar, "Tropic Island Hum" and "Tuesday". This version contains an alternate opening, which begins in an old bedroom filled with Rupert merchandise. We see Paul McCartney opening a large chest and digging through a bunch of old dusty books until he comes upon an old Rupert book. He takes it out of the chest, blows on it, and sparkling dust flies away from the book. Paul then opens the book to reveal his childhood house address, a possible reference to the VHS covers of this film. The page then turns to the title card. The print of this version is also matted, cropping the top and bottom of the image to an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen, which was how the film was exhibited theatrically.

The film is displayed as a looping video at the Museum of Canterbury in England.

External links

*imdb title|id=0261265|title=Rupert and the Frog Song
* [http://www.filmandtvfavourites.com/store/view_product.php?product=PAUKMQ8W20 Rupert and the Frog Song on DVD]
* [http://www.rupertandthefrogsong.co.uk Official Website]