Watch Shinbone Alley For Free

Overrated

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A Masterpiece!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Even with its release on DVD a few years ago, "Shinbone Alley" has stayed pretty obscure over the years, and seeing it you'll understand why. I imagine many people will be turned off by the animation style, which is similar to animation found in the early years of "Sesame Street", pretty crude and sketchy. It still could have worked if it was engaging in other areas, but it isn't. Those who are unfamiliar with the original "Archy and Mehitabel" stories (especially kids) will be confused by some parts of the screenplay. Some kids who are more sensitive may be upset by elements such as suicide, though I think most kids who manage to sit through this will be bored stiff. But what really sinks the movie are the characters. Archy the cockroach is an annoying whiner who will get on your nerves, and Mehitabel the cat is a dim-witted slut who only thinks of herself. I would recommend this movie only for adults who are die-hard fans of animation, though I would suggest they don't watch it all at once.

I have been a fan of archy and mehitabel for a long time. I like don marquis's commentary of life using a cockroach to speak for him. The animated film has music and wonderful voices to supplement the books of his columns. I have known several children that love the film too. It is not too depressing. Quite the opposite. archy and mehitabel show a remarkable joy of life even as they suffer from being an insect or an alley cat. Carol Channing was a favorite of mine for as long as I knew her. Her voice is unmistakable. Who else could have done Romeo & Juliette with such zest! Some of the musical scenes such as "flotsam & jetsam" are outstanding. archy's wonder of the passions of the world at ground level gives one pause for thought. He even envies a moth that wants to burn itself to death because of its desire for that one brief moment of intense beauty. He no longer wants to kill himself when he experiences so much richness, however mean and coarse it might be.

"shinbone alley" is one of the most powerful and interesting animated features I've ever seen. It is also one of the most mismarketed animated features as well. The distributor, Allied Artists, states in this add that it is "SOPHISTICATED ENOUGH FOR KIDS".It is not. Kids simply won't understand the dark humor of the Don Marquis stories and the Mel Brooks-Joe Darion musical on which this is based. They'll also be brought down by the bleak tone of the film, which opens with what I'll simply describe as suicide, to spare your feelings. However, I highly recommend this film to older teenagers and adults. "shinbone alley" is a visionary wonder; kind of like "Yellow Submarine" combined with "Dark City". The story involves archy (voiced by Eddie Bracken), a lovesick roach who is the reincarnation of the suicide victim in the opening moments. (The title of the film and names of characters are written in lower case on purpose; one of the plot strands is that archy writes essays and poems on a typewriter by jumping on the keys; in his human form, archy was a lovesick poet) The object of his affections is mehitabel (Carol Channing), a cat who I'll simply describe as the town floozy. Basically, the film is about their friendship and various trials and tribulations."shinbone alley" is bleak, but what visuals! New York is used as a backdrop for various psychodelic musical numbers lifted from the musical. The songs are very good here. As in all great musicals, they enhance the story instead of being set pieces. The vocal performances are excellent as well, especially Carol Channing as mehitabel. I don't understand why most people are down on Channing's vocals. I think she's perfectly cast as mehitabel and is an asset to the success of the film. Eddie Bracken is also well cast as archy and I think he is responsible for much of the humor infused in the character. And Flintstones fans will recognize Alan Reed as the boss cat in the gang mehitabel hangs around."shinbone alley" is a wonderful movie, but I urge all parents to take my advice and not to let their kids see this film. It has parts in it that made me break down and I'm sure kids will take it even harder. But is a rewarding experience for teens and adults. **** out of 4 stars

As a child, I saw some TV filler on the making of this film and waited for it to come to town. Months later it surfaced at a local theater as a one weekend only kiddie feature. Naturally I went, and endured hours of blue & bleak imagery, a depressing story, and the voice of Carol Channing. I remember kids in the theater crying because it depressed them so. The whole experience was a childhood trauma I tried to forget. For god's sake, the cartoon opens with a guy's suicide!Years later I'd described this forgotten film to friends, but not even hardcore toon heads knew about it. However, I did learn that the songs came from an early 60's Broadway flop of the same name which featured Eartha Kitt in the Carol Channing role, and that was based on an earlier series of "humorous" stories from the 1930's.I managed to track down a copy of this film and give it another look from an adult's perspective. Man, no wonder we kids of the 70's are so messed up! This film really is possessed of a dark dreary depressing vision. I can't see how it resembles Yellow Submarine. Yes, it has a trippy pallet, but it's one bad trip. If anything, it's thick black lines and cross-hatched shading resemble TV's "School House Rock", and even more so those terrible "Time For Timer" bits that ABC subjected us to.I'll cut the film some slack, because I know it was not aimed at kids, and thus suffered the same fate that `Watership Down' and `Twice Upon A Time' would later know. Namely, that all feature animation gets marked as kiddie fare regardless of content. Not only do the creators suffer, but the kids suffer more. Speaking as a former kid, I must tell you to spare your kids and yourselves this animated curiosity.