Animalympics

Beatfully executed parody of the Olympic games, with animated animals as the athletes, coaches, sports announcers and other characters. Imitation is the sincerest form of adulation, and this affectionate satire is as much a tribute as it is a satire to the Games. All the signature elements that we've seen over the years of network coverage of the Olympics are sent up in sweet and playful fashion, and the animal versions of the wide array of both Summer and Winter events are applied ingeniously. Even those bio/interview spots they always do on athletes to show you the arrogant, the hopeful, the ones who "carry the dreams of a nation," and so on; it's all here. It's put together to mirror the real thing so well, with some amusing and lovable characters. Gilda Radner's classic Bawbwa Wawa impression is utilized perfectly as a wacky sportscaster, and the voice talents doing Jim McKay and Howard Cosell had them down perfectly. Many of the athletes are colorful and cleverly written in spite of their brief screen appearances. Probably best is the recurring marathon story which eventually unfolds a sweet subplot with a cool and unexpected happy ending. Copies are hard to find; but this rare treasure is worth the looking.

I was one of the lucky Kids to have HBO in the late 70s and this movie was really big at our home. Even my father loved the film! This film is like a spoof on the Olympics and it really showcases the voice talents of Billy Crystal and the late Gilda Radner. This film really focuses on detail as with Dean Wilson driving a van! I find this film to be for mun then the real thing. The real stand out though is the music... Graham Gouldman really outdid himself with some real slamming tunes. I have a Mint copy of the LP and a copy on cassette and it really fits the film nicely. There are also spoofs of some famous people of the time as well, but the film is a real fun treat that the little ones can enjoy again and again. I hope that there is a DVD release in the future... This film should have gotten better treatment when it was first released...

This is one of my favorite movies, and I'm surprised not that many people have seen it. I love the music and the plot.It's not long, and since it's in sections, can easily hold a child's attention. I am so lucky that I found this at a flea market, now all i need is the soundtrack.

One of my all time favorites. This is great for kids of all ages AND adults. It has Ice Hockey, Marathon, track, Skiing, bob-sled, ice skating, field events; hammer throw/shot put/poll vault/etc] , Soccer, field hockey, disco dancing, fashion modeling, swimming, gymnastics/horse/u.parallel bars /floor routine, Fencing, Boxing, and more. It also shows great sportsmanship, Love, friendship, honour, diversity of countries, - oh just go get this movie! The music in it will stay with you. This movie truly is already a classic. Not because it is 26 years old, but because it is so great and there are no others like it. I also recommend, "Dot & the Kangaroo" & "Emmett Otter's Jug band Christmas" Be well fellow humans.

The theme song by 10CC (Graham Gouldman) "Love's not for me" from time to time rings inside my head the past twenty odd years. The melody is lovely and the lyrics is subtle. I remember I watched this family movie with my mom, my sister and my brother in the small cinema house located inside our housing project. Of course I do remember the scenes and the story but I don't know the voices of Billy Crystal, Michael Fremer, Gilda Radner, Harry Shearer because the voice-over was done by the local professionals in Cantonese. In addition, I was about ten and still learning English, if it were in English, how could I understand it. ^_^. Another real Olympics is right about the corner, a few good moments for reminiscence is appropriate. Looking back, the travesty is a great one for family, at least I still remember how happy we felt after having seen it two and a half decades ago.

So with the Winter Olympics in Sochi upon us I thought I would take time to write about this film involving an Olympic them with animated animals over 34 years ago. Animalympics, the story of animals competing in the Olympics and the backgrounds to their life story play out well. Some great segments of the movie involve an octopus bobsledding team, a California surfing otter named Dean Wilson and my personal favorite, a foot race involving Rene Fromage (a goat) and Kit Mambo (a lioness). If you haven't seen the film just take a guess at what will happen to them while competing together. The songs are good as well. Former 10CC lead singer Graham Gouldman gives his voice to the songs. My only complaint with the movie is the excessive use of stereotypes. Other than that a good film to watch on a chill day.

I first saw this film on the Disney Channel circa 1993. I was about 7 years old at the time, I remember it was right after Disney Channel had aired "Barcelona '92: 16 Days of Glory", meaning I had Olympics on the brain when I first saw it, a bit of a bias. I was enthralled by it at first, the whole film had a kind of surreal, mesmerizing quality to it and the music was great as well. Of course I had no idea who Billy Crystal, Gilda Radner, Harry Shearer, Michael Fremer, Graham Gouldman were. After seeing the film several years later, I thought it had its flaws, and some dialogue and scenes were questionable to say the least for young viewers. All of the spoofs on the old TV personalities like Howard Cosell, Keith Jackson, Pele, Jackie Stewart and Barbera Walters were rather funny. This film basically took the same approach as "Animaniacs", making the humor appealing to kids, while at the same time adding an element of satire, to appeal to the older generation. While this film is by no means a stroke of genius, it has its many flaws (compounded by the fact that it was never theatrically released because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games in 1980), it is definitely worth a look.