The Jay Ward Gypsy Bugle Corps & Madrigal Society - A SALUTE TO MOOSYLVANIA!! (1962)

 

Here is an extremely rare and apparently self-published vanity release from 1962.  This is a 7-inch, 33&1/3 EP that is housed in a gatefold sleeve, and it is a lot of fun.  Several years ago, I posted it on this blog as part of a (now deleted) compilation, but since I recently had the good fortune to acquire a very lovely and excellent copy, it was time to make a brand new rip!

This was made around the time that Jay Ward was in the middle of his "Statehood For Moosylvania" campaign, and you will hear Moosylvania's own anthem, along with several fun instrumental pieces--one of them being the exact recording (as in, the one used for the show) of the "Dudley Do-Right Theme." At certain points after and between songs, you can hear the voices of the musicians and the small audience (this was to mimic a Jazz Festival, apparently), and at one point in the festivities, you can even hear the voice of Bill Scott, Bullwinkle himself!

Speaking of, you would expect this release to have a stronger connection to Rocky and Bullwinkle--which tells me there would have been some rights issues, or at least more trouble than somebody wanted to go to.  There is one clue though, if you look closely at the back cover! The "Moosylvania Anthem" really should have been used on the show itself!

You can find more in-depth information at this site, which also shows you what the inside of the gatefold looks like. 

Also, don't miss the hilarious graphic on the label, where Jay Ward  is pictured in place of the RCA dog!

LINK: A Salute To Moosylvania!!

Official CAP'N CRUNCH Limited Edition Card Set (2010)

 

Since this has a Jay Ward connection (the original animated ads were produced by Jay Ward Productions--he did not create the character as some have suggested; instead that honor belongs to Allan Burns, co-creator of The Munsters!), we can surely cover this here.  Besides, is there a more iconic and beloved mascot than the Cap'n? He has surely stood the test of time.  And, he had an entire, developed mythos built up around him that made him all the more endearing.  What to Snap, Crackle and Pop do anymore? Well, these days, nothing, but they used to flit around like evil spirits and encourage your cereal to make noises.  The Cap'n embarks on adventures, searches for treasure, outwits pirates and enemies from outer space, baby! He's a hero.

Perhaps you've wondered what his height is? Well, now it can be told that he is 4 feet 11 inches, thanks to a series of six special anniversary cards that were printed on vintage-style cereal boxes of the three flagship cereals (Cap'n Crunch, Crunch Berries, Peanut Butter Crunch) way back in 2010! Each box contained two cards that celebrated the original characters, most of whom are seldom seen today.  Characters like his original enemy, Jean LaFoote, who was around stealing cereal long before the Soggies that I remember from childhood.

Smedley the Elephant is most often associated with Peanut Butter Crunch, but he was often along on adventures with the Cap'n.  It turns out that the names of the four sidekick kids are Alfie, Brunhilde, Carlyle, and Dave, but they don't get their own cards here!

"Magnolia Bulkhead" was before my time, but doesn't the sight of the Crunch Beast bring back major childhood memories?

If you have never seen the original 1960's ads, I would advise that you seek them out, because they are superbly entertaining in a Jay Ward style (and you get Daws Butler voicing the Cap'n, too).  Why these were never released on a comprehensive DVD is beyond me.  They are not only well-made mini-animated features, but extremely fun.  Hey, whoever owns these today:  nostalgia sells.  It's not like anyone would pay for a disc full of King Vitamin ads.

But of course, in Current Year, that's not the world we live in.  In fact, here's a look at most of the varieties of Cap'n Crunch that have existed over the years (this fan-made poster goes through 2019):

Apparently "Punch Crunch" was made to taste like fruit punch? Say what?

Finally, here is what the backs of the three 2010 cereal boxes looked like.  (Apologies; I had to do a bit of reconstructing because of the way they had to be scanned.)  The four plucky kids are at least included here!

Rocky & His Friends single (Golden Records, 1961)

From 1961, promoting the LP called "Rocky & His Friends," here is a wonderful Golden Records single that I just acquired.  The album features the uber-talented original cast, and is a joy to listen to.  

Both sides are on YouTube, and links are below.  Notice that the copy in the links below is a 78, made of famous Golden Records yellow "unbreakable" material, while mine is definitely 45 rpm.  Even though Bullwinkle sings the B-side, both sides are credited to just "Rocky."

"I Was Born to be Airborne"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5M6z8HSbB4
"I'm Rocky's Pal"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EI7s73X_lU

I would just embed the videos, but Blogger is being daft.

Rocky (and Bullwinkle) Kaleidoscope Puzzle (1969)

I am not only a sucker for vintage "Rack Toys," but also vintage Rocky & Bullwinkle stuff, and I just picked this up from Ebay last week.  The back of the card is unfortunately blank, but when I was examining the puzzle, I realized that the shapes looked familiar.  It turns out, they are identical to a larger, wooden version of this puzzle that I have, where the object is to build a 3-dimensional rectangle, SO, this puzzle had two different objectives, which is pretty cool...although, poor Rocky can't seem to figure it out!

Classic Children's Books: Bullwinkle, Felix the Cat, and more

Golden Books, 1960.  This is a gem of a book from start to finish, with both charming art and story.

I love old Children's books...I will buy nearly anything I find that came from the 70's or 80's, but I'm also very partial to more vintage stuff, especially anything with classic animation characters.  Here are a few I have picked up in the recent weeks! I was going to include Beany and Cecil, but I think we will look at those in a separate post.  Heck, we could go on for days!

Whitman "Tell-A-Tale" Book, 1976

Bullwinkle's Masterpiece, back.

A "Wonder Book," 1956.  This one strangely and ironically pre-dates Felix's famous run of color TV cartoons with the memorable theme song, because in this book, he's trying to get on television...and he has an OWNER, a young boy! But the art is by Joe Oriolo, so this is a must!

Merrigold Press, 1976.  The Golden version from the year before was soft cover, and cut into the shape of Bullwinkle's head!

Whitman, 1953

Tweety (back cover)

The Artful Legacy of Bill Scott (FILMFAX 45, 1994)

Here is the second excellent article from FILMFAX #45, this one about the man, the myth, the legend, Bill Scott.  In this interview, conducted in 1982, Scott shares many details of his many  jobs, including the post-Clampett Warner Bros. animation department, UPA, writing for the original BEANY & CECIL puppet show (I never knew THAT!) and his work with Jay Ward.  Extremely enjoyable, so enjoy...

Godzilla Lobby Cards (part five), Revoltech Baragon, Mothra, & Rodan, and more!

This is going to be a miscellaneous one.

Firstly, I sculpted a Mothra larva to keep my Superdeformed Godzilla company, and it turned out like this:

So now I had two figures, and it just made sense that they needed a home.  So, another diorama project was born.  It turned out like this:

I used Sculpy and a pack of model railroad trees...it was supposed to be Monster Island, but I didn't know when to stop, and I added a cardboard backdrop that was featured inside of the Godzilla Chess Pieces made by X-Plus, thusly:

And, with Mount Fuji in place, it's done.

Next up is a lovely lobby card for GHIDRAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER that I just acquired.  I love the artwork of Rodan carrying Godzilla!

When going through kitchen cabinets recently, I rediscovered two collectibles from my youth: 

"Castle Dracula" mug from defunct Universal Studios attraction, that my parents brought me from their 1980 trip to Los Angeles.

When they returned to Universal, they took us along, and I think that's where I got this (slightly dodgy and off-model) Bullwinkle mug.  Note the yellow gloves!

Next on the agenda are some super-detailed, super-articulated Japanese figures that I discovered.  I'd like to say I got these for Christmas, but I actually just bought these for myself.  These are "Revoltech" figures, made by Kaiyodo.  They did a handful of kaiju, but apparently their popularity caused Bandai to jerk back the license from them (?) to start making their OWN super-articulated kaiju, which is the recent "SH Monsterarts" line (from which one of my Christmas presents actually DID come, the '94 Godzilla).

This Baragon is completely amazing, and includes everything you need to make your own diorama of one of his FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD scenes, horse included!

With regard to paint and sculpt, this is the greatest figure of adult Mothra that I have ever seen. 

And here we have a splendid Rodan, complete with building to crush.  Having such an amazing sculpt of the classic Rodan suddenly makes me realize how little I like the "Fire Rodan" redesign!

These Revoltech kaiju figures began to come out around 2010, and are still relatively affordable.  I think all three of these were around $40 each.  There's also a "Mysterians" Mogera, as well as an Angilas and Gigan, but unfortunately those last two are pretty pricey...the Gigan alone is often around $100 on Ebay currently (see future post for these)! They also had a super-detailed Maser Cannon, but as you'd expect, it's way out of scale with their other releases...or else it wouldn't be as super-detailed, I guess. Oh, and also a classic Gamera and Gayos that are worth checking out.

Now that we are all caught up around here, and as we prepare to ring in another New Year!

Rocky & Bullwinkle Card Game (Ed-U Cards, 1962)

Crusader Rabbit Frame-Tray Puzzle (1950's)

Now here's something you don't see every day...check out this awesome 1950's frame-tray puzzle that I found last weekend.  It's Crusader Rabbit, which, in case you don't know, was not only the first (arguably) animated series on television, but also the first Jay Ward series, and a precursor to Rocky and Bullwinkle! I knew as soon as I saw it that I had to buy it.