comments

1. Sheila Ryan on March 16th, 2011 at 2:13 pm

   IMDB plot keywords: Christmas, squirrel, tuba, harp, soda jerk.

2. Sheila Ryan on March 16th, 2011 at 2:19 pm

   Amazon customer review:

   True to life squirrel behavior in a fun movie:

   We have a tame (uncaged) squirrel and a bagpiper in the family so when I saw this dvd in a used bookstore I had to buy it. I put it on today, intending to grab 5 minutes to see how they managed the puppetry. The next thing I knew my entire family was riveted and laughing out loud, so we dropped everything and watched the whole thing. It was much better than I’d have expected. It’s a great story, and my son kept saying it was essentially the same tale as a favorite childhood book called The Sqouse about a half squirrel, half mouse.

   The behavior of the squirrel, especially when she (Rupert is actually played by a female) found the money, was dead on, except that she would have feathered her drey (nest) with the bills instead of tossing them away. Leaf sized paper and fabric is a favorite of our squirrel. Today I retrieved a chiffon scarf, a WW2 food ration book (it was my MIL’s) and some jewelry from our squirrel’s drey.

   We all found the characters interesting and more complex than found in most movies of the era, and even though some of the time their actions made little sense (the author was quite lazy when it came to moving the story along), this didn’t detract from the overall film, because the whole premise was a bit goofy to begin with.

   When the movie ended each of us named someone we want to share it with, and hours later we’re still laughing at some of the antics.

3. Cindy Scroggins on March 16th, 2011 at 2:26 pm

   Oh, I love this! Rupert is, indeed, one talented squirrel. The next time any of y’all see a squirrel eating your pomegranates, I hope you’ll think of Rupert and smile.

4. Deron Bauman on March 16th, 2011 at 4:27 pm

   That’s getting real avant garde.

5. Sheila Ryan on March 16th, 2011 at 4:37 pm

   But not as good as rural civil defense marionettes.

   (Y’all, I’m trawling for archival footage for possible incorporation within Deron’s costume documentary, and somehow I keep stumbling over things like “The Great Rupert.” And civil defense PSAs for farmers. Featuring clumsy marionettes.)

6. Sheila Ryan on March 16th, 2011 at 5:00 pm

   Oh, and one of the rural civil defense clips features, in addition to marionettes, a squirrel. A real squirrel, albeit a static one. Not like Rupert.

7. Deron Bauman on March 16th, 2011 at 5:01 pm

   Those civil defense clips are so good.

8. Sheila Ryan on March 16th, 2011 at 5:03 pm

   Marionettes make almost everything better.

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