It is difficult to rate International Family Classics II as a series as an overall whole. It's easier for me to judge each of the 13 stories featured individually. I have to say I found much to like about all of the stories. All of them are great stories that are a generally ideal way to introduce children to. The Burbank Animation Studios animations I wouldn't say are perfect, some of them do have animation that lacks vibrancy and finesse, cheesy dialogue and clichéd voice acting but I generally love the storytelling. Actually with this series there are some that I do regard as among Burbank's best. Neither are among their worst.
The ones I have always enjoyed the most are The Count of Monte Cristo, The Adventures of Robin Hood and The New Adventures of William Tell. The Count of Monte Cristo is not the best version(Robert Donat) but of the two animated versions it is the better one(I disliked Blye Migicovsky's). The story is thrilling and the animation is some of the more fluid of Burbank's output. The dialogue has its wit, the music rouses and the characters maintain their likability while not as complex as the book(considering the length that's understandable). The Adventures of Robin Hood I also enjoy very much, even with Vikings it does have the charm and fun of the stories I grew up hearing and reading and is told coherently at least. The animation is even better than it is in Count of Monte Cristo. I am familiar with the William Tell story from Rossini's opera and it is told to hugely enjoyable effect, with a couple of scenes such as Tell shooting an apple from his son's head that I was familiar with. Gessler is a good villain, with his voice actor less stereotypical than that of D4: The Trojan Dog for example, and Tell is appropriately heroic.
Also very good are White Fang and Hans and the Silver Skates. White Fang does have some poor dubbing and some draggy moments, but is the best-looking of Burbank's animations and has a haunting music score and a well-meaning story. Hans and the Silver Skates' best assets are the touching story, lilting music and the endearing characters, only let down by some cheesy dialogue and an uneven voice cast. Goldilocks and the Three Bears was one of my first Burbanks along with Hansel and Gretel and Pocahontas. It is not as good as when I watched it as a kid, but I still like it. The character designs are rather rough-around-the edges especially with Goldilocks' facial expressions, Benny the rabbit's voice did annoy me and the Ring-Master occasionally sounded overdone. However it was interesting to see the basic essence of the story while seeing scenes before Goldilocks got lost in the woods and after she meets the bears, and Bartholomew the baby bear is very cute.
Most of the animations here belong in the decent category. Sinbad did have some clichéd voice acting and the animation was uneven with rough character designs but nice colours and backgrounds. However, the story is a good one and is often thrillingly told even if some scenes are a little too brief. Of the characters the one I identified most with was the old man. Ali Baba is pretty much the same, yet along with the criticisms of Sinbad there is some corny dialogue. Frank Einstein was also interesting. Some characters are on the stiff side and there are a couple of scenes that feel padded. But it gets plaudits for its likable titular characters, beautiful backgrounds and mostly snappy(though with some cheesiness) dialogue.
Pied Piper of Hamlin and The Emperor's New Clothes fit into decent territory also. The former does feel padded and occasionally corny with some lack of finesse in the character designs, but has its charm, the backgrounds are vibrant and the characters are likable. The latter gave me the same reactions, though the backgrounds are not as vibrant this time around. Faring weakest are Puss in Boots and Thumbelina. Puss in Boots I do like for the villain Yurak, the cunning and appealing titular character and the hilarious line "how dare he die! He didn't have my permission!", however the Marquis Carebas and Princess characters are bland, the voice work is uneven and the character designs are inelegant. Thumbelina is also not bad, the titular character is sweet and engaging and the story is charming but the animation is rather dully coloured and scratchy and I was indifferent to the villainous character the pig Percival.
Overall, a fun series with its ups and downs, though easier to rate as individual animations than as a series on the whole. Bethany Cox
The ones I have always enjoyed the most are The Count of Monte Cristo, The Adventures of Robin Hood and The New Adventures of William Tell. The Count of Monte Cristo is not the best version(Robert Donat) but of the two animated versions it is the better one(I disliked Blye Migicovsky's). The story is thrilling and the animation is some of the more fluid of Burbank's output. The dialogue has its wit, the music rouses and the characters maintain their likability while not as complex as the book(considering the length that's understandable). The Adventures of Robin Hood I also enjoy very much, even with Vikings it does have the charm and fun of the stories I grew up hearing and reading and is told coherently at least. The animation is even better than it is in Count of Monte Cristo. I am familiar with the William Tell story from Rossini's opera and it is told to hugely enjoyable effect, with a couple of scenes such as Tell shooting an apple from his son's head that I was familiar with. Gessler is a good villain, with his voice actor less stereotypical than that of D4: The Trojan Dog for example, and Tell is appropriately heroic.
Also very good are White Fang and Hans and the Silver Skates. White Fang does have some poor dubbing and some draggy moments, but is the best-looking of Burbank's animations and has a haunting music score and a well-meaning story. Hans and the Silver Skates' best assets are the touching story, lilting music and the endearing characters, only let down by some cheesy dialogue and an uneven voice cast. Goldilocks and the Three Bears was one of my first Burbanks along with Hansel and Gretel and Pocahontas. It is not as good as when I watched it as a kid, but I still like it. The character designs are rather rough-around-the edges especially with Goldilocks' facial expressions, Benny the rabbit's voice did annoy me and the Ring-Master occasionally sounded overdone. However it was interesting to see the basic essence of the story while seeing scenes before Goldilocks got lost in the woods and after she meets the bears, and Bartholomew the baby bear is very cute.
Most of the animations here belong in the decent category. Sinbad did have some clichéd voice acting and the animation was uneven with rough character designs but nice colours and backgrounds. However, the story is a good one and is often thrillingly told even if some scenes are a little too brief. Of the characters the one I identified most with was the old man. Ali Baba is pretty much the same, yet along with the criticisms of Sinbad there is some corny dialogue. Frank Einstein was also interesting. Some characters are on the stiff side and there are a couple of scenes that feel padded. But it gets plaudits for its likable titular characters, beautiful backgrounds and mostly snappy(though with some cheesiness) dialogue.
Pied Piper of Hamlin and The Emperor's New Clothes fit into decent territory also. The former does feel padded and occasionally corny with some lack of finesse in the character designs, but has its charm, the backgrounds are vibrant and the characters are likable. The latter gave me the same reactions, though the backgrounds are not as vibrant this time around. Faring weakest are Puss in Boots and Thumbelina. Puss in Boots I do like for the villain Yurak, the cunning and appealing titular character and the hilarious line "how dare he die! He didn't have my permission!", however the Marquis Carebas and Princess characters are bland, the voice work is uneven and the character designs are inelegant. Thumbelina is also not bad, the titular character is sweet and engaging and the story is charming but the animation is rather dully coloured and scratchy and I was indifferent to the villainous character the pig Percival.
Overall, a fun series with its ups and downs, though easier to rate as individual animations than as a series on the whole. Bethany Cox
