"Classical Baby" REVIEWS
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"Classical Baby"
Tonight at 7:30 on HBO
NOT since that wonderful, old book, "My Little Bunny," has there been
as sweet and gentle an amusement for babies as "Classical Baby" a
four-star special from the Emmy-winning producers of "Goodnight Moon
and Other Sleepytime Tales."
"Classical Baby" (7:30 tonight on HBO) isn't so much an animated story
as it is a precious mobile that parents and babies can enjoy together.
And failing that, it's a special that babies can enjoy while you
parents catch a break away from the set.
Melding together classical music, art, and dance, in an animated
format, this special begins with a tiny baby in a diaper conducting an
imaginary orchestra of some of the most beautiful music ever written
from Bach to Bartok, to Bizet to Berlin.
Then director Amy Schatz and animator Maciek Albrecht go off on flights
of fancy with each bit of music - animated animals dance to ballets
originally choreographed by the greats like Balanchine, or play with
paintings by Monet and da Vinci, or dance like Fred and Ginger in the
clouds.
It's so sweet you're heart will melt.
* * *
NY DAILY NEWS/DAVID BIANCULLI
The people behind the sweet and delightful animated TV show "Goodnight
Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales" have crafted another HBO family
special.
It's less satisfying than its predecessor, but it's significantly more
ambitious.
"Classical Baby," premiering tonight at 7:30 on HBO, aims to take
pieces of classical music (and a ringer or two, such as "Cheek to
Cheek" by Irving Berlin), and animate them in kid-friendly fashion,
usually to themes and images inspired by recognizable works of art.
Sometimes it works great, as when the surrealistic shapes of Joan Miro
become animated - very animated, almost balletic - to the music of
Johann Sebastian Bach. Other times, the music seems almost incidental,
as when Erik Satie's themes don't appear to match what's happening as
frogs work their way across a lily pond. Their destination is an
animated re-creation of Monet's water lilies, but it's not worth the
journey.
The concept of "Classical Baby" is one that should have delighted,
attracted and inspired the world's best animators to marry classical
music to kid-friendly images. This special, produced and directed by
Amy Schatz, doesn't share the wealth.
All the animation is created and designed by Maciek Albrecht, who in
this case isn't up to the range of styles necessary to make "Classical
Baby" as varied as its counterparts.
The idea, though, is terrific, and should be widened rather than
abandoned. Think of Walt Disney's "Fantasia," or its equally inventive
Italian counterpart, "Allegro Non Troppo," and how fabulously they
melded animation and music.
Here, though, the operatic music of Delibes - the gorgeous vocal that
stopped the convicts in their tracks when piped over the prison
loudspeaker in "The Shawshank Redemption" - doesn't seem even remotely
connected to the dancing polar bears shown in "Classical Baby."
"Art Faces," where one artistic portrait paints another in a tag-team
version of art history, works much better, though it could be set to
anything, not just Bizet. And though the second Satie piece is
beautiful to hear, the choreography re-created on screen, while
matching the music, looks like pastel gingerbread men dancing, and
comes off about as clumsy.
Albrecht's work has been well-suited to this team's previous efforts,
with "Through a Child's Eyes: September 11, 2001" and "'Twas the Night"
being particular favorites. This one, though, misses the mark, and
cries out for a more varied approach. Even so, as children's TV goes,
it's harmless, and occasionally beautiful.