Snow! Snow is on the way to Virginia. Apparently it’s been snowing in PC’s neck of the woods for quite a while. I know, I know—how are we supposed to glean that from an M.I.A. leader? I think he’s putting together something special out there in the Windy City. Word on the street is that it’s a time machine.
Really, this time of year, what better kind of twist is there? Well, perhaps twisting the lid off a nice box of cookies.
Funky, groovy, bluesy, boogie.
And now, our annual feature on Hardrock, Coco, and Joe, an undisputable holiday classic.
Every Christmas morning the short was played on Garfield Goose (and later Bozo’s Circus) on Chicago superstation WGN. Though once a Chicago-land classic, the short is now a cherished childhood memory for many people who watched it broadcast each year. Definitive info on Hardrock, Coco, and Joe is certainly hard to pin down. Though the film has copyright info, the video quality is so poor, it’s nearly impossible to read. IMDB dates the film to 1951 and Wikipedia credits it to a company called Centaur Prodictions. It’s certainly unlike anything you’ve ever seen and a definite pre-cursor to the Rankin-Bass style.
Originally called “The Three Little Dwarfs,” most remember this song as simply “Hardrock, Coco, and Joe.” Those three are Santa’s helpers and deliver an unforgettable chorus—and who doesn’t love Joe the best? Gene Autry recorded a version of the tune. But why do it? Nothing beats the original. Still, I’m shocked that some unoriginal (and striking) writer in Hollywood hasn’t revamped this into a full-blown computer animation film. It seems only a matter of time.
2 comments:
Based on the following sentence, I was expecting something different.
"And now, our annual feature on Hardrock, Cock, and Joe, an undisputable holiday classic."
Oh geez! Noted and fixed.
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