With them I could run forever
Couple: Kit & René from "Animalympics"
Le Moment: "Love's Not for Me"
So this was the year for our belated Olympics that was supposed to take place last year until Ms. Rona put a pause in all of that. So now we had our makeups this year. So while the main games have ended and the Paralympics is finishing today, I had almost forgot to do one key couple for #ShippingSunday, and that's a couple from one of my favorite animated movies growing up, Animalympics.
By now it's pretty obscure but a lot of people are bringing it to light in recent years. Even my husband had order me a copy of it a couple of years ago when I had a nostalgic pining to see it again without getting a virus on my electronics. But I had remember watching this on Disney growing up, but it's not a Disney film. This was actually commissioned by NBC to run alongside as two separate hour long specials during the Winter and Summer Olympics in 1980. But a whole lotta political stuff happened with Russia to where the US later dayz out of the Summer Olympics since the games were in Moscow. With this, NBC cancelled coverage of the Summer Olympics, therefore, cancelling the second hour special of Animalympics.
The studio then tried to do a theatrical release after splicing the winter and summer specials together but didn't find a distributor for it, which is a shame. I loved it anytime it came on Disney. And yup, I recorded it on VHS when I got the chance to and wore the tape smooth out. The soundtrack by Graham Gouldman of 10CC fame is awesome, the color choices and animation, even by late seventies standards were great and inventive. Very different than what Disney was producing in the 70s. Of course, there's a lot of dated humor in it and some things that won't fly today between the racist, sexist and body image issues in it, it's still a great flick. But I've yapped too much about the history, let's get into this rundown.
Quickish Rundown:
Animalympics takes us through the variety of different events taking place on Animalympic Island. The film does focus on certain athletes like a John Travolta type alligator named Bolt Jenkins who does track and field, a surfer bro otter named Dean Wilson who does swimming competitions. List goes on with a variety of different spotlights, all portrayed by four voice actors, three of which are familiar like the late Gilda Radner, Billy Crystal and Harry Shearer.
But the main focus here is the long distance marathon with Kit Mambo, a lioness from Africa and René Fromage, a goat from France. They're already talked up as being the best out of the runners and they're to run over a course that will take DAYS to finish with zero breaks. So for the most part in the race, they're neck and neck, hardly acknowledging each other. But what they don't count on is being turned on and intrigued by the other. Yes, this is a kid's film but let's call it for what it is. Kit Mambo has been animation furry fodder years. She's lithe and sexy and will use anything to break René's concentration with said sexiness. So it brings us to le moment.
Le Moment: "Love's Not For Me" (Oh, and spoilers)
While denying his feelings for the lovely runner keeping pace with him, René urges himself to keep running for the gold. Then a song called 'Love's Not For Me" and dream sequence picks up (which is my fav) where we see René at a café in France until he sees a gold medal and instantly gets hypnotized in pursuing it. Thus he begins his running career where he forsakes wealth and love in pursuit in the Olympic dream. But then the medal he's been chasing turns into a likeness of Kit and it's almost like he's unsure which he wants more. At the end of the song/dream sequence, he does get the gold but Kit is no longer there, which makes his win very hollow and lonely.
But before the conclusion of the real race, Kit and René's thought bubbles literal use explosives so they can break out of their mental prisons with only gold in mind but now they're ready to run together forever.
This baffles the news anchors and their coaches that they went from being neck and neck to hand in hand. So they run until they both cross the finish line, tying for first but winning in love. But they don't stop, they share a kiss while still running and keep going. Yes, they've been training for years, and yes, them suddenly falling in love while striving for gold, but they also found love and acceptance with each other as they will continue to run as one in the future.
Where to Find It:
Available at some online stores like Wal-Mart and Best Buy. But someone does have it on YouTube and there's some clips. I just loved this movie growing up and was a great walk through memory lane seeing it again.
Read & Ship On. :)
Jazz
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