Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure is a 1977 animated musical fantasy film loosely adapted from the 1924 novel Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees. It was directed by Richard Williams, produced by the Bobbs-Merrill Company, and released theatrically by 20th Century Fox. A 1941 short film had previously featured the Raggedy Ann and Andy characters created by Johnny Gruelle. The first feature-length animated musical comedy produced in the United States, the plot follows Raggedy Ann and Andy, who, along with other toys, live in the nursery of a little girl named Marcella. During Marcella's seventh birthday, Babette, from France, is introduced as the new doll from a large package. Meanwhile, the infatuated Captain Contagious kidnaps Babette in his pirate ship and escapes from the nursery. Ann and Andy must explore and find Babette in the Deep Deep Woods to save her.
The film began development when producer Richard Horner chose the characters from a conversation surrounding promotions of children's products. The Bobbs-Merrill Company became its financer, and the film was a stage musical and a live-action television special before it was decided to become an animated film. Director Williams controlled most of production, which lasted for more than two years, budgeting to the cost of $4 million. As a result, the release date was pushed back for an extra three months of work. Joe Raposo contributed all of the music and songs for the film. The film's promotional campaign cost $2 million.
Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure premiered on March 20, 1977, in nine major cities before it was generally released on April 1, 1977, in the United States. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Some critics lauded the animation, voice cast, and songs, while others criticized some of the characters and its writing. Since its release, there were a few home video releases and some television broadcasts of the film. It was adapted by the 1981 drama adaptation and the 1986 Broadway musical Raggedy Ann. In recent years, it has developed a cult following for its songs and characters.
Plot Marcella returns home and goes to her nursery playroom to put away her favorite doll, Raggedy Ann. When Marcella leaves, the toys come to life, and Ann tells them of the wonders of the outside world. She then shares that it is Marcella's seventh birthday, and the toys notice a large package in the corner. Marcella opens the present to reveal a beautiful bisque doll from Paris, France, named Babette. Ann and the other toys welcome Babette, but she is too homesick. Meanwhile, Captain Contagious notices Babette and he becomes immediately smitten. After tricking Ann into freeing him, he kidnaps Babette with his band of pirates and leaps out of the nursery window. Ann and Andy decide to rescue Babette.
Ann and Andy enter the Deep Deep Woods. As the dolls travel, they meet the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees, a blue stuffed animal who has been abandoned and hallucinates ghostly camels beckoning him to a home. Ann promises that once they find Babette, he may return with them. With Ann and Andy in tow, the Camel chases down the caravan and mindlessly rushes off a cliff. They find themselves in the Taffy Pit, where the Greedy lives. The Greedy explains that he feels unsatisfied despite endlessly eating. He thus attempts to take the candy heart inside Ann, but the toys successfully escape.
The toys then encounter the looniest knight Sir Leonard Looney, who welcomes them to Looney Land. Looney pursues the toys into the court of its monarch, King Koo Koo. Koo Koo laments his tiny stature and explains that he can only grow by laughing at other people. He intends to keep the toys as his prisoners, but they are able to distract him and escape on a boat. The furious king follows them with an enormous sea monster, Gazooks; as he finds hilarity in seeing heroes in trouble, Koo Koo intends to get the "last laugh" by having Gazooks tickle all the heroes with his many arms.
While sailing, Ann, Andy, and the Camel notice Contagious' ship, only to discover that Babette had become the new captain while imprisoning Contagious. When Ann tries to tell Babette to return, Babette is enraged and has the trio tied to the mast. Meanwhile, Contagious' parrot Queasy successfully unlocks the captain's shackles, allowing him to return above deck, free the others, and pledge his love for Babette. King Koo Koo and Gazooks then attack the ship and capture all but Ann and Babette. He subjects them to tickling, making the monarch swell to mammoth proportions by laughing. Babette begs for forgiveness, only for her and Ann to be captured and tickled. The dolls realize that King Koo Koo's inflated ego is "full of hot air," and Andy tells Queasy to pop him, which creates a massive explosion that sends them spiraling.
The following day, Marcella discovers the toys lying in her backyard. She returns all but the Camel to the playroom, where Babette apologizes for her actions and accepts Ann's offer of friendship and Contagious' affection. While in harmony, Ann notices the Camel through the window. The dolls welcome him to their family. The next day, Marcella finds the Camel among the dolls and hugs him tightly, accepting him.
Cast Live-action cast Claire Williams as Marcella, a 7-year-old girl who owns a playroom nursery. Joe Raposo (uncredited) as Joe the Bus Driver, who drops off Marcella from school at the beginning of the film.
Voice cast Didi Conn as Raggedy Ann, an innocent, kind rag doll. In April 1975, Conn visited the studio, thinking it was a "voice-over commercial." She was asked to sing a song by Richard Williams and Joe Raposo. Conn selected the song "Where is Love?" for the part. Although they loved it, they suggested acting more with her distinctive "gravelly" voice, so Conn sang the song again with her low register. Conn was chosen afterward. Conn had a cold with laryngitis during a few recording sessions for the film. While Conn was unhappy about her voice in "Home", Williams kept these recording sessions, as he thought that Conn's laryngitis had more emotion to her voice. Her main animators are Tissa David and Chrystal Russell. David was hired by Williams to demonstrate an animation test of 25 seconds for the film. By the end of January 1975, she agreed to do so. David became one of the first women to animate a leading character in a major film. Mark Baker as Raggedy Andy, a spunky, confident rag doll who is Raggedy Ann's younger brother. Baker was chosen as the voice of Raggedy Andy, as he proved to have a "boyish, spunky voice" they needed. His main animator is Tissa David. Niki Flacks as Babette, a French doll from Paris, France, of whom Marcella received for her seventh birthday. Her main animators are Hal Ambro and Richard Williams. George S. Irving as Captain Contagious, the sneezing pirate captain who kidnaps Babette as his miracle and his prize. His main animator is Charlie Downs. Arnold Stang as Queasy, the parrot who serves as Captain Contagious' sidekick. His main animator is Art Vitello. Marty Brill as King Koo Koo, the monarch and ruler of the Loony Land. His main animator is Gerry Chiniquy. Fred Stuthman as the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees, a lonely blue camel who is abandoned in the Deep Deep Woods. Raposo noticed Stuthman from the "demo room" due to his similarity to the Camel. He entered the studio and was asked to read the script and sing a song. Stuthman once admitted that he ad-libbed the line "Look at mah poor knees!" while recording the pirate scene. His main animator is Art Babbitt. He took several weeks to develop the Camel's three personalities before he designed him on paper. Babbitt divided the design of the character into three personalities: a "pretty dumb" back end, a "little bit smarter" front end, and a head. Joe Silver as the Greedy, a taffy pit that eats sweets and candy. Silver was chosen by casting director Howard Feuer to play the Greedy. His main animator is Emery Hawkins. Alan Sues as Sir Leonard Loony (The Loony Knight), the server of the Loony Land. His main animator is John Kimball. Paul Dooley as Gazooks, a sea monster that is accompanied by King Koo Koo. His main animator is George Bakes. Mason Adams as Grandpa, a doll that advises whether Marcella is coming in or out of the playroom nursery. His main animator is John Bruno. Allen Swift as Maxi Fix-it, the repairer of the toys. His main animator is Spencer Peel. Hetty Galen as Suzy Pincushion, the sewer of the toys. Her main animator is Spencer Peel. Margery Gray and Lynne Stuart as the Twin Pennies, the toys that performed in brief musical numbers towards the beginning of the film. Their main animator is Gerry Chiniquy. He has once admitted that animating the Twin Pennies was a challenge since their dances had "eighth beats and a rock feel". Ardith Kaiser as Turvy-Topsy, the toy clown. Her main animator is Spencer Peel. Sheldon Harnick as Barney Beanbag, a beanbag with a painted face. The animator for the character is Spencer Peel. He also voices the Sockworm, a toy sock in a shoe. His main animator is Chrystal Russell. Richard Williams and Joe Raposo (uncredited) as the Pirates, all of whom aboard the ship with Captain Contagious. In addition, all the cast provided the voices of the Loonies. Their animator is Grim Natwick.
Production Development and writing After the success of the live-action television adaptation of The Littlest Angel, producer Richard Horner was looking for a similar project. One day, Horner was in a conversation surrounding the promotions of an independent merchandiser of children's products during lunch. Raggedy Ann & Andy was chosen, and after it got popularity from a Friars Club roast for Johnny Carson, he acquired permission to The Bobbs-Merrill Company to begin the project. When the project was greenlit, it started out as a stage musical before it was transformed into a live-action television special for Hallmark Hall of Fame named Rag Dolly: The Raggedy Ann Musical. Horner brought in writer Pat Thackray for permission to research Johnny Gruelle's material and write a live-action script as a treatment. Afterwards, Pat Thackray and Max Wilk wrote the script for the special. They included new characters in the screenplay, including Captain Contagious and the Greedy. Considerations for Raggedy Ann include Liza Minnelli and Goldie Hawn, while a consideration star for Raggedy Andy was Dick Van Dyke. Over time, composer Joe Raposo decided that a live-action television special involving Raggedy Ann and Andy would be too unbelievable. The project was then transformed into an animated project, leading to Hallmark being dropped from the project. The team were amused about the idea, as they were convinced that the technique was the correct path to follow. As a result, the team decided to make a film based on the characters instead of a television special. Shortly, the company accepted the agreement to finance the film.