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Released by: Severin Films
Released on: 11/11/2006
Director: Don Jurwich
Cast: N/A
Year: 1976
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The Movie:
Don Jurwich is best known for his work at for the world famous Hanna-Barbera Studios where he worked on such certifiably classic cartoons as The Flintstones and of course, the original Scooby-Doo series. With the Mother Goose inspired Once Upon A Girl, however, we see a different (and far, far naughtier) side of Jurwich's animated output, now presented completely uncut for the first time on home video thanks to Severin Films.
Somewhere in the mid-west of the United States, an old woman who may or may not be a man in drag and who claims to be the one and only Mother Goose has been charged with telling obscene fairy tales. As such, she is brought to trial where she disputes the charges and claims that she didn't make this stuff up but instead simply exposed the truth behind these stories. To defend herself, she tells the court room the real stories of Jack and the Beanstalk (where Jack's randy behavior finds him in the kingdom of a giant and his insatiable wife), Cinderella (who is the love child of a man and a witch and who, despite her household duties, manages to turn the local prince's crank in just the right fashion), and Little Red Riding Hood (who finds herslef at the mercy of some rough forest dwelling men while trying to get to a wedding on the other side of the woods).
While, aside from the book end segments, the film really only focuses in on three separate fairy tales (when there are hundreds, if not thousands of them out there to choose from), Jurwich was clever enough to work in some funny little cameos from other recognizeable fairy tale characters such as a famous dwarf and a few other notables. This, and a keen attention to background detail, ensures that Once Upon A Girl is as funny as it is filthy and that even if the humor leans towards the juvenille, it's still efective.
The taboo breaking idea of having normally pure and chaste fairy tale characters curse like truck drivers and bump some serious uglies might sound like a pretty base idea for a movie (and it is) but things don't ever go so far as to really get too nasty. There is some rather graphic footage scattered throughout the movie but it never gets so trashy as to lose the humor that it's shooting for. The animation style is quite nice, bringing some style and flair to the story without feeling over done. There is some obvious padding in a few spots here and there that seem to exist for the sole purpose of extending the running time of the movie to feature length but thankfully there's more killer than filler and the end result is a funny and uniquely seventies cartoon that should, thanks to this fine home video release, find its place alongside other more risque animated movies of the era like Fritz the Cat or even Heavy Metal.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Severin's 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer for Once Upon A Girl is solid indeed. Color reproduction is fantastic with the black levels staying strong but not killing the background (well, what there is, this being a cartoon and all) detail even during the darker scenes. Print damage is never a problem and while there's a very fine coat of grain noticeable in a few scenes it looks natural and is never too heavy. Don't worry about edge enhancement or mpeg compression artifacts as they're a non-issue here, and while some mild line shimmering does creep into the picture in a few spots it's never so harsh as to prove distracting.
The English language Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack sounds about as good as one can rightfully expect from an older low budget production such as this. The dialogue is clean and clear and there are no problems here with hiss or distortion.
The main extra feature on this release is a nine-minute interview with William Silberkleit who served as the producer on the film. He talks briefly about his career then goes on to explain how this unusual film came about and what his role was in getting it made. Rounding out the extra features is the original theatrical trailer for the film, menus, and chapter stops.
The Final Word:
A genuinely off the wall animated fairy tale for grown-ups, Once Upon A Girl receives a fine (and uncut!) presentation from Severin who continue to impress with quality editions of truly esoteric product.
