The Little Match Girl; The Marzipan Pig

Produced and directed by gifted animator Michael Sporn (Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, The Red Shoes), these two programs are a definite cut above most children's video fare. Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale The Little Match Girl is given an interesting modern twist in this adaptation by Maxine Fisher which is set in New York on New Year's Eve 1999. The story opens with young Angela leaving the subway station where her family and countless other homeless families reside, in order to sell her matches on the streets of New York. With her little dog in tow, Angela beseeches the bustling passersby to buy her matches, to no avail. As the temperature drops, she is forced to light her matches, one by one, for warmth. After each match is lit, Angela has a vision, in which she is whisked away by a spirit to a scene of warmth and festivity. Yet, always lurking at the outside of the circle are the needy, the hungry, the homeless--ignored, or downright despised by the more fortunate. When Angela ultimately succumbs to the cold, the people finally notice. F. Murray Abraham provides the narration for this cautionary tale of our near future. The Marzipan Pig is that rare mix of perfect ingredients: a wonderful story by noted children's picture book author and novelist Russell Hoban; inspired narration by actor Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show); imaginative animation and direction by Tissa David and Michael Sporn, respectively; and a memorable piano soundtrack by Caleb Sampson. Right from the outset, The Marzipan Pig dares to be different: a candy pig falls behind the sofa and grows lonely waiting for someone to find him. He is, indeed, found by a small mouse who promptly eats him. The mouse, now lonely in turn, takes residence inside a large grandfather clock whose ticking pendulum offers comfort--only, one day the mouse is eaten by an owl, which causes the clock to wonder where its furry little companion has disappeared to. Meanwhile, the owl pursues the object of its affections: a taxi meter, whose glow sends shivers of love bristling through the owl's feathers. And so on... One event leads to the next, as we meet a curious bee, a world-weary hibiscus flower, and a mouse (not the same mouse as above) who has a most winning independent spirit. While hard to describe in terms of plot, the overall effect of The Marzipan Pig is purely magical. I would rank it alongside Beauty and the Beast and The Snowman as one of the finest animated treats for children (of any age) available on home video. Now for the bad news: the screeners I received were duplicated in the standard play mode, but the boxes carry the following message: "This product has been recorded in the SLP mode; some adjustment to your VCR tracking may be required." I'm going to lodge a pro forma bitch with LIVE Home Video, but more and more children's videos are appearing in slow-speed recorded modes, and unless a lot of people raise their voices, I suspect that manufacturers will continue to take the cheaper (and poor quality) route. Because of the SLP-recording, I cannot recommend these otherwise wonderful titles. (Available from most distributors.)