A peek behind the scenes of the stop-motion animated children's films Frog and Toad Are Friends (1985) You can see more of my work here: www.jcm51.com/...
My brother and I used to watch this on VCR when we were kids. I can hardly believe I've found it again after so many years, thank you so much for making this piece of art.
This is a memory unlocked! I used to watch Frog and Toad on VHS religiously as a kid, and this doc was on it! Thanks for posting this, and thanks for being a huge part of my childhood!
This is beyond fascinating. "Frog and Toad Together" was one of my favorite VHS tapes as a child. I have since gotten interested in songwriting, film, and media. Animation is one of my favorite forms of media in part because of its expressiveness. In my opinion, stop-motion animation/claymation often has some of the most dedicated and passionate people working behind it due to the amount of effort it takes. I am always impressed and inspired when I see behind-the-scenes action from these types of films. It is an honor to be able to see how a significant part of my early childhood was formed. Thank you for sharing this :)
Frog and Toad was my childhood and I used to love when my mom would rent videos of them from the library I am so glad to get a peek behind the scenes it's beautiful work
Somehow when you see something that represents that kind of painstaking work, you appreciate it much more. It also looks better. To me, computer animation seems soulless.
These stories were so endearing to me and I cherished your claymation episodes in elementary when the teacher popped the VHS into the small TV and we all got to see the stories come to life.
First time I ever saw this, I was stounded (So THAT'S how it's done) and it takes THAT long to do it. I have more appreciation for film making than ever, and I use it to make my own vids work. Like when I made Beast Boy sing "Got a BooBoo" from MOUSE SOUP.
my students (and I) love Frog and Toad and after we have read all the stories, we watch the movies. This is fascinating to see how the movies are made!
I was really glad that they showed the behind the scenes segment during the Long Ago and Far Away broadcast. Especially since a large percentage of the stories were in stop motion puppet animation, eg this one, Svatohor, Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Your creation is so loved by me and my sons. They watchex the vhs tapes so many times in fact frog and toad was the first book my sons read by themselves... such precious memories
I didn't even know these animations existed. I remember reading the books and loved them as a kid. But to see a stop motion animated short based off the two makes me smile. The team did an excellent job.
Thank you for your kind words. Have you seen this other behind the scenes film: Runaway Ralph - Behind the Scenes 1987 ua-cam.com/video/0mffFaYpBZ4/v-deo.html&lc=UgyRDtwS8uJBJ4PCUk94AaABAg
I saw this documentary when I was about 9 or 10 it was fascinating. I was intrigued by how they made the skeleton of the figures and then covered it with the flexible outer layer. It also brought home the point of how time consuming it was.
No telling how many times I have watched this and still love all of the work John has created. Frog and Toad, Stanly and the Dinosaurs, Ralph..SO good!
My 6 year old boy loves these books...awesome video and thanks for uploading this! Very interesting look at how these types of films were made back in the day
No matter how old I get, I never forget these movies. Even recently, something brought to mind the lesson from the "cookies" episode. I think it's sad that children don't get to experience something practical and analog like this so I am glad I did. I know these took a long time to craft and animate. Amazing work. Thanks for the memories as well as uploading these. So cool to see you here!
@@JohnClarkMatthews Mr. Matthews, if there was ever a plan for a re release of your work on a blu ray or something, what would have to happen? And would you ever make more of these if you were approached by a distributor or production company with plans to adapt something like 'frog and toad'?
@@j-555 In order to re-release my videos, the first thing would be to find out who currently owns the rights. It's very depressing that nobody seems to know who has the Frog & Toad shows (and many others). When I was working at Sony Pictures there was great interest in the Frog & Toad property. (There are a few stories here.) Anyway, the heirs to F&T were more interested in New York theater scene. Too bad! One other thing of interest: during this time I was experimenting with Motion Capture, thinking it would be a good way to make a F&T series. These tests lead to The Polar Express happening at Sony.
@@jonmcintyre1144 I’ll never retire. Right now I’m working on two books. One of them an interactive children's book that uses QR Codes to bring up short musical videos for each of the illustrations. The book’s working title: “Over the Moon - Musical Rhymes Old & New”. Here’s a link to some of that work: www.jcm51.com/books The other book is “Lesson From a Dead TV”; a more serious work about Existence based on my research into Near Death Experiences, Quantum Physics, mysticism and other arcane subjects.
Ha! Thanks for the kind words but I'm just an ordinary mortal - that works very hard. You can see better quality versions of my videos here: www.jcm51.com/videos
I cannot count the number of times I watched this as a child in the early 90s. A lot of the lessons I learned here, I ended up applying when I first started fiddling around with computer animation a few years later.
I love Frog and Toad! I have 2 vhs and books of Frog and Toad. I have watching Frog and Toad on vhs and read the boat 20 years ever since I was 3rd grade. Good movie! I always wanted to see Days with Frog and Toad and Frog and Toad all year.
I wish I could have made films of all the books and all the stories, but the truth is, I was lucky to be able to make the films I did. When I worked at Sony Pictures there was great interest in creating a series based on F&T, but the heirs to the property had other plans.
Been traditionally animating for 4 years now since 2018 and I have you to thank for that. This behind the scenes single handedly sparked my fire for animation when I first watch it as a kid back in 2005-7. I know you haven’t had the attention you deserve in this industry but to me you are my idol and someone who I constantly have on my mind. I’m one of your biggest fans sir!
@@JohnClarkMatthews honestly same. My sister and I watched your films and this behind-the-scenes featurette as children over and over again. We just discovered your UA-cam channel and words cannot describe the joy we experienced watching it again. I remembered certain images as if it were yesterday. I credit you for my passion for and professional pursuit of filmmaking!
For both Frog and Toad are Friends and Frog and Toad Together, were all the additional voice parts, other than Toad, and one female voice in the first film, performed by Will Ryan? Particularly the announcer in "The Dream" sequence?
It's been a very long time but Hal Smith did the voice of the snake in "Dragons & Giants". Other than that, I think all of the other voices were done by Will Ryan.
@@JohnClarkMatthews I listened back to it, and I think you're right. It sounds more in Hal Smith's voice range, which is odd because I always associated him with more gravelly voiced characters. Speaking of voice parts, is it just me, or on Frog and Toad Together, it almost sounds like Hal and Will's voices were pitched a little higher than usual.
My childhood has come flooding back. I remember watching this on a film reel in art class back in first grade, and thinking that I wanted to animate when I grew up (it was this and Reading Rainbow's Piggy in the Puddle, really) So...thank you, I guess! Still a very cool video!
It's hard to believe that I found this treasure after all these years. I never thought I would see it again. I am so happy to be reunited with my childhood.
Love how you shoot different movements with 1s and 2s in a very sensible way. I like how you use 1s for jolted moving to display urgency and importance, then shoot on 2s for a relaxed toned down mood. It makes the film much more watchable and grabs you into the story to see what happens next. Not many animators use the exposure of shots to display emotion. Love you work sir!
This is magnificent, I wish that more companies these days would put as much effort into the projects they do, and I wish they could take notes from amazing people such as you.
I love the fact that you worked for almost a year of hart work to make fans of the frog and toad books dreams come true including me and when I first saw this film 2 years ago on UA-cam I love the animation style and I have you to thank for that
@@overthemoon7817 so you were making stop motion films because cgi came along in the 1990's then you started working on cgi films and then I know that today you make music up in your mountain
John- re-watching this after a few years and I realize your face design used with magnets was way ahead of its time since now they have been doing it a lot. This is till my favorite bts video. :)
So much work. My homemade puppet show seems like an atom of work compared to this. I need to glue all the vids together, delete some parts, add some sound effects and other effects, a sticker of my label as a hologram. I filmed last March. Now you've inspired me to try to get it done by end of this month. 👍 it's a spider story done by a dear friend.
Have you ever noticed that Apple TV+ adapted the Frog and Toad books into an animated series which featured Nat Faxon as Frog and Kevin Michael Richardson as Toad?
@@Joshua-pw8mz In the first story of Frog and Toad All Year, "Winter", Toad goes sledding and hits some objects. I think it would've been interesting to see how a live action version of Toad would do it.
This brings back so many memories of VHS tapes during childhood! I never would have imagined that one day I would have the ability record my own stop-motion animation videos on my phone and instantly upload them to a platform like Instagram... still need to give it a try but life gets lifey! However, I know that a lot of animators today look back on these demonstrations for inspiration to see just how involved it is! Did you grow up watching Puppetoons?
Thank you for your message. Yes, I did watch a few Puppetoons but I never really cared for them. I was inspired more by Disney’s early films. Their characters and artistic moods were far beyond George Pal’s work. But Truth be told, I was an accidental tourist. I originally had serious ambitions in the realm of Visual Music - which was more on the scientific, artistic side. When I suddenly found myself with a family to support - and even though I knew hardly anything about stop-motion - there was an opportunity open, so I sort-of-lied and got a gig doing “Curious George Goes to the Hospital”. Since I knew hardly anything about stop-motion and there was no internet back then, I had to do some real research and learn all of the things that go into a stop-motion film. We learn from our mistakes, and I made many, so I learned pretty quickly. That monkey film succeeded. Then I learned more about stop-motion and filmmaking - and did many more films. My family never went without.
This is an excellent behind the scenes video and especially interesting because of the obsolete (no offense) equipment. With digital cameras, video and computers, anyone who wants to can do animation with normal office equipment and consumer products. It's hard to imagine now having to shoot on Super8 (for non-professionals) and having to wait days or even weeks for the film to come back from the lab; and then you had to cut and splice it by hand. I find this old technology fascinating, but I'm sure glad I don't have to use it.
@@JohnClarkMatthews Thank you for your reply. I only found out about your TV series because you uploaded them to UA-cam (thank you for that). By the time you were making them, I had long since stopped watching children's TV. I can't think of any stop-motion series from my childhood except for "Gumby", which may have been repeats by that time. I had no idea there was anything like what you were doing at that (somewhat later) time. It has charm and imagination, which was and is a rarity in entertainment of all kinds.
Wait a second. So there are no special effects done!? Everything is happening on set!??! That's nuts! I really like how they did the water, really going that extra mile Well considering the time it was made, it actually made a lot of sense that there's no special effects
In your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together", during the program's final segment "The Dream", did the late Will Ryan use a British-sounding accent for the unseen voice who announces which feat Toad will perform onstage?
Have you had the late Will Ryan use an English accent for the strange faraway unseen voice who announces which feat Toad will perform onstage in your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together (1972)" during the program's final segment "The Dream"?
Yes, I did pitch their voices up a little. Looking back, I wish I would not have done that. There are a lot of things in life that you can't just click "control Z" and fix.
@@samsticka The Frog and Toad films were originally made for the school markets which had limits in film length. Also, the budgets for those films dwarfed other productions at the studio. The extra story would have been a deal breaker.
@@JohnClarkMatthews Gee, that's too bad. It would've been kind of interesting to see Toad with his list, crossing out the tasks he completed, then losing the list in the wind as he walks with Frog.
Hey John What Happened To The Frog And Toad Puppets? Are They The Same In Both Films? And Do You Think You Would've Made More Frog And Toad If Lobel Didn't Die?
I started Frog & Toad are Friends in late 1983. I started Frog & Toad Together sometime in 1985, however, the Mouse and the Motorcycle came around so I put this film on the shelf. Then in 1986 I learned that the author, Arnold Lobel, was dying, so I picked it up again full steam. These two films were my first TV sales: HBO then Disney Channel and PBS.
In your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together (1972)", during the program's first segment "The Garden", did you have Toad read "The Frogs At the Rainbow's End" from the Caldecott Medal-winning book "Fables (1980)"?
During your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together", in the final segment "The Dream", did Corey Burton do the strange faraway voice that announces what Toad is going to do onstage which causes Frog to gradually shrink down into oblivion?
I'd like to know why you adapted the books "Uncle Elephant (1981)" and "Mouse Soup (1977)" even if Arnold Lobel (who wrote and illustrated both of those books) died at the age of 54 on December 4, 1987.
7:11 - So that's what the outdoor setting looks like. Could you have created a sky background? I mean take a large piece of paper and paint a blue sky with some clouds?
I'd like to know if you gave the late Hal Smith a copy of the Caldecott Medal-winning children's picture book "Fables (1980)" during production of your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together (1972)".
My brother and I used to watch this on VCR when we were kids. I can hardly believe I've found it again after so many years, thank you so much for making this piece of art.
Thank you for your kind words.
there's so much actual helpful knowledge here. I had no idea how some of these effects were done!
This is a memory unlocked! I used to watch Frog and Toad on VHS religiously as a kid, and this doc was on it! Thanks for posting this, and thanks for being a huge part of my childhood!
Such an underappreciated film.
this brings back my childhood
I've read the Frog and Toad books some years ago.
And I had watched the 2 video adaptions.
Also I'm a fan of the Railway Series books too.
i loved these animations as a kid...i appreciate the difficulty and time consumption so much more as an adult!!
4:16 Toad: Frog ooo! don’t be silly 😂 my favorite part
The time and attention you put into your work culminated in making the World a better place . Thanks Mr.Mathews !
This is beyond fascinating. "Frog and Toad Together" was one of my favorite VHS tapes as a child. I have since gotten interested in songwriting, film, and media. Animation is one of my favorite forms of media in part because of its expressiveness. In my opinion, stop-motion animation/claymation often has some of the most dedicated and passionate people working behind it due to the amount of effort it takes. I am always impressed and inspired when I see behind-the-scenes action from these types of films. It is an honor to be able to see how a significant part of my early childhood was formed. Thank you for sharing this :)
This deserves to be on TV more often. And stop motion should be taught in schools, and these Frog and Toad films are the perfect example.
Thank you for your kind words.
Frog and Toad was my childhood and I used to love when my mom would rent videos of them from the library I am so glad to get a peek behind the scenes it's beautiful work
You can definitely see how much fun those guys had making the show. That's a great visual of loving your job and having fun with your career.
Somehow when you see something that represents that kind of painstaking work, you appreciate it much more. It also looks better. To me, computer animation seems soulless.
Agreed, thats why I hand animate!
These stories were so endearing to me and I cherished your claymation episodes in elementary when the teacher popped the VHS into the small TV and we all got to see the stories come to life.
Thank you for your kind words.
I remember this from an old VHS when I was a kid.
Frog, come down from there, you can't fly!
They didn't have to go this hard for a frog and toad film but they did and I'm glad they did
First time I ever saw this, I was stounded (So THAT'S how it's done) and it takes THAT long to do it. I have more appreciation for film making than ever, and I use it to make my own vids work.
Like when I made Beast Boy sing "Got a BooBoo" from MOUSE SOUP.
my students (and I) love Frog and Toad and after we have read all the stories, we watch the movies. This is fascinating to see how the movies are made!
I love Frog and Toad, I have 2 vhs and books. Still watch it
I was really glad that they showed the behind the scenes segment during the Long Ago and Far Away broadcast. Especially since a large percentage of the stories were in stop motion puppet animation, eg this one, Svatohor, Pied Piper of Hamelin.
True, I remember this episode as well when they showed it.
Your creation is so loved by me and my sons. They watchex the vhs tapes so many times in fact frog and toad was the first book my sons read by themselves... such precious memories
Thank you!
I didn't even know these animations existed. I remember reading the books and loved them as a kid. But to see a stop motion animated short based off the two makes me smile. The team did an excellent job.
This is my bible. Bless you, Mr. Matthews
Thank you for your kind words. Have you seen this other behind the scenes film: Runaway Ralph - Behind the Scenes 1987
ua-cam.com/video/0mffFaYpBZ4/v-deo.html&lc=UgyRDtwS8uJBJ4PCUk94AaABAg
I was just watching "Frog and Toad Together". One of them must be very well off to have an original Paolo Uccello hanging over his fireplace.
I saw this documentary when I was about 9 or 10 it was fascinating. I was intrigued by how they made the skeleton of the figures and then covered it with the flexible outer layer. It also brought home the point of how time consuming it was.
No telling how many times I have watched this and still love all of the work John has created. Frog and Toad, Stanly and the Dinosaurs, Ralph..SO good!
Thank your!
My 6 year old boy loves these books...awesome video and thanks for uploading this! Very interesting look at how these types of films were made back in the day
No matter how old I get, I never forget these movies. Even recently, something brought to mind the lesson from the "cookies" episode. I think it's sad that children don't get to experience something practical and analog like this so I am glad I did. I know these took a long time to craft and animate. Amazing work. Thanks for the memories as well as uploading these. So cool to see you here!
Thank you for the kind words . . . I think I might have a cookie.
@@JohnClarkMatthews Mr. Matthews, if there was ever a plan for a re release of your work on a blu ray or something, what would have to happen? And would you ever make more of these if you were approached by a distributor or production company with plans to adapt something like 'frog and toad'?
@@j-555 In order to re-release my videos, the first thing would be to find out who currently owns the rights. It's very depressing that nobody seems to know who has the Frog & Toad shows (and many others).
When I was working at Sony Pictures there was great interest in the Frog & Toad property. (There are a few stories here.) Anyway, the heirs to F&T were more interested in New York theater scene. Too bad! One other thing of interest: during this time I was experimenting with Motion Capture, thinking it would be a good way to make a F&T series. These tests lead to The Polar Express happening at Sony.
R.I.P. Will Ryan
The voice of Frog…
Aw you beat me to it!
I had no idea Will was sick. Such a sad surprise. I will miss him.
@@JohnClarkMatthews wait, you’re still doing UA-cam. Have you retired animation?
@@jonmcintyre1144 I’ll never retire. Right now I’m working on two books. One of them an interactive children's book that uses QR Codes to bring up short musical videos for each of the illustrations. The book’s working title: “Over the Moon - Musical Rhymes Old & New”. Here’s a link to some of that work: www.jcm51.com/books
The other book is “Lesson From a Dead TV”; a more serious work about Existence based on my research into Near Death Experiences, Quantum Physics, mysticism and other arcane subjects.
I remember these films. God, my childhood...awesome.
0:50 he popped up like magic! He's probably not human!
Like you never teleported.
It is beyond me that such a powerful man is still here with us to answer questions about his art.
Ha! Thanks for the kind words but I'm just an ordinary mortal - that works very hard. You can see better quality versions of my videos here: www.jcm51.com/videos
I cannot count the number of times I watched this as a child in the early 90s. A lot of the lessons I learned here, I ended up applying when I first started fiddling around with computer animation a few years later.
I love Frog and Toad! I have 2 vhs and books of Frog and Toad. I have watching Frog and Toad on vhs and read the boat 20 years ever since I was 3rd grade. Good movie! I always wanted to see Days with Frog and Toad and Frog and Toad all year.
I wish I could have made films of all the books and all the stories, but the truth is, I was lucky to be able to make the films I did. When I worked at Sony Pictures there was great interest in creating a series based on F&T, but the heirs to the property had other plans.
@@JohnClarkMatthews I understand that. I like Uncle Elephant and Mouse Soup. I used to read books of it
@@JohnClarkMatthewsI really love those Frog and Toad vhs! Still have them. Still watch them
Been traditionally animating for 4 years now since 2018 and I have you to thank for that. This behind the scenes single handedly sparked my fire for animation when I first watch it as a kid back in 2005-7. I know you haven’t had the attention you deserve in this industry but to me you are my idol and someone who I constantly have on my mind. I’m one of your biggest fans sir!
Thank you for your kind words, it means a lot to me.
@@JohnClarkMatthews honestly same. My sister and I watched your films and this behind-the-scenes featurette as children over and over again. We just discovered your UA-cam channel and words cannot describe the joy we experienced watching it again. I remembered certain images as if it were yesterday. I credit you for my passion for and professional pursuit of filmmaking!
@@michaelrose17 Thank you for your kind words.
Seeing the Frog and Toad face tests at 2:01 looked funny to me. Bring back good old memories.
3:16 That same sound effect was used in Curious George Goes to the Hospital.
Thank you for uploading your wonderful and skilled claymation adaptations of the classic Frog And Toads! =)
For both Frog and Toad are Friends and Frog and Toad Together, were all the additional voice parts, other than Toad, and one female voice in the first film, performed by Will Ryan? Particularly the announcer in "The Dream" sequence?
It's been a very long time but Hal Smith did the voice of the snake in "Dragons & Giants". Other than that, I think all of the other voices were done by Will Ryan.
@@JohnClarkMatthews I listened back to it, and I think you're right. It sounds more in Hal Smith's voice range, which is odd because I always associated him with more gravelly voiced characters. Speaking of voice parts, is it just me, or on Frog and Toad Together, it almost sounds like Hal and Will's voices were pitched a little higher than usual.
@@elirosen1391 Yes, I did pitch Frog and Toad's voice up a little. I regret having done that.
Loved these books as a kid.
It’s so funny that John is acting like Toad.
My childhood has come flooding back. I remember watching this on a film reel in art class back in first grade, and thinking that I wanted to animate when I grew up (it was this and Reading Rainbow's Piggy in the Puddle, really) So...thank you, I guess! Still a very cool video!
This is genuinely one of the most insightful videos for how stop motion works. It's such an incredible form of storytelling
Thank you for the kind words.
Your work is amazing. I remember watching this in first grade. It was a delight to to see two of my favorite characters brought to life.
It's hard to believe that I found this treasure after all these years. I never thought I would see it again. I am so happy to be reunited with my childhood.
Love how you shoot different movements with 1s and 2s in a very sensible way. I like how you use 1s for jolted moving to display urgency and importance, then shoot on 2s for a relaxed toned down mood. It makes the film much more watchable and grabs you into the story to see what happens next. Not many animators use the exposure of shots to display emotion. Love you work sir!
Thank you for your kind words.
Haha, Frog flies!
This is magnificent, I wish that more companies these days would put as much effort into the projects they do, and I wish they could take notes from amazing people such as you.
We would watch during the library summer program.
Frog! come down from there! you can't fly!
"Frog come down from there you can't fly."
I love the fact that you worked for almost a year of hart work to make fans of the frog and toad books dreams come true including me and when I first saw this film 2 years ago on UA-cam I love the animation style and I have you to thank for that
Thank you for your kind words.
@@JohnClarkMatthews when and why did you stop making stop motion short films
@@Fridaythe13thgamelover CGI came along in the early 90's and I needed work.
@@overthemoon7817 so you were making stop motion films because cgi came along in the 1990's then you started working on cgi films and then I know that today you make music up in your mountain
ive been lookin for this for so damn long! thanks! i too first saw this on Long Ago & Far Away
It is very funny that Frog is flying from 4:06 to 4:16 when he realizes that frogs can’t fly for about 10 measly seconds.
John- re-watching this after a few years and I realize your face design used with magnets was way ahead of its time since now they have been doing it a lot. This is till my favorite bts video. :)
@Nickgamereviews
Claymation... it's a difficult art but yet so incredible magical and rewarding
There was a Star Trek parody on this. I remember vividly.
Whoa! You did both Curious George and the Frog and Toad films? Awesome. I used to watch those on HBO years ago.
I wonder, how did you make Frog disappear in The Dream?
We made a clay version of Frog and kept making him smaller and smaller until you could no longer see him.
Incredible!!! Thank you for posting this, Mr. Matthews. Heroic!
Thank you for your kind words. It appears that you are making stop-motion films. If you ever need advice you can reach me at JCM51.com Good luck!
Fabulous... my 2nd graders continue to enjoy these year after year. :)
I remember watching this as a kid
Love this so so much. Thank you for sharing your early work. ❤️
you are truly a man dictated to animation, thank you for making this masterpiece.
Yes, it's good ol' Jim Aupperle.
An excelent behind the scenes for a stop motion production! Great work.
The prototype Frog and Toad are pretty reminiscent of George Pal's Puppetoons, I think.
Speaking of which, Did you know that frog and toad made a cameo in the Puppetoon Movie back in 1987?🤔
@Mackingster Frog and Toad /is/ on DVD. It's grouped with a DVD called Curious George Comes to America.
How neat to see. I was so charmed by and loved your frog and toad films when I was a little boy, and now my young children love them as much as I do.
I remember watching this on "Long Ago and Far Away " in 1989
this is AWESOME i use it in my class ( I am an art teacher) to teach claymation and frog and toad!! Love it!!
Hello nostalgia
So much work. My homemade puppet show seems like an atom of work compared to this. I need to glue all the vids together, delete some parts, add some sound effects and other effects, a sticker of my label as a hologram. I filmed last March. Now you've inspired me to try to get it done by end of this month. 👍 it's a spider story done by a dear friend.
Have you ever noticed that Apple TV+ adapted the Frog and Toad books into an animated series which featured Nat Faxon as Frog and Kevin Michael Richardson as Toad?
I know about this series but I haven't seen any of it. I hope it's faithful to Arnold Lobel's original books.
Okay, I will try to upload The Garden as soon as I have some free time.
holy christ I love this
Did Arnold Lobel get to see "Frog And Toad Together" before he died?
Yes, he did see it, however he was very sick in a hospital bed.
@@JohnClarkMatthews Well, at least he saw it.
If he hadn’t died, then Frog and Toad All Year would’ve been released in 1989 and Days with Frog and Toad would’ve been released in 1991
@@Joshua-pw8mz In the first story of Frog and Toad All Year, "Winter", Toad goes sledding and hits some objects. I think it would've been interesting to see how a live action version of Toad would do it.
6:50 but what exactly is suspending Toad, Mr. Matthews?
"Invisible thread" which can be found at stores carrying sewing supplies. You can also use very lightweight fishing line.
@@JohnClarkMatthews thank you Mr. Matthews :).
@@JohnClarkMatthews Yep, stay classy!
Great work, John!
But I wonder how he managed to make Frog shrink in The Dream.
We made a little frog out of clay.
This brings back so many memories of VHS tapes during childhood! I never would have imagined that one day I would have the ability record my own stop-motion animation videos on my phone and instantly upload them to a platform like Instagram... still need to give it a try but life gets lifey! However, I know that a lot of animators today look back on these demonstrations for inspiration to see just how involved it is! Did you grow up watching Puppetoons?
Thank you for your message. Yes, I did watch a few Puppetoons but I never really cared for them. I was inspired more by Disney’s early films. Their characters and artistic moods were far beyond George Pal’s work.
But Truth be told, I was an accidental tourist. I originally had serious ambitions in the realm of Visual Music - which was more on the scientific, artistic side.
When I suddenly found myself with a family to support - and even though I knew hardly anything about stop-motion - there was an opportunity open, so I sort-of-lied and got a gig doing “Curious George Goes to the Hospital”. Since I knew hardly anything about stop-motion and there was no internet back then, I had to do some real research and learn all of the things that go into a stop-motion film.
We learn from our mistakes, and I made many, so I learned pretty quickly. That monkey film succeeded. Then I learned more about stop-motion and filmmaking - and did many more films. My family never went without.
This is an excellent behind the scenes video and especially interesting because of the obsolete (no offense) equipment. With digital cameras, video and computers, anyone who wants to can do animation with normal office equipment and consumer products. It's hard to imagine now having to shoot on Super8 (for non-professionals) and having to wait days or even weeks for the film to come back from the lab; and then you had to cut and splice it by hand.
I find this old technology fascinating, but I'm sure glad I don't have to use it.
I ended up working at Sony Pictures Imageworks and I can honestly say I much prefer doing CGI animation.
@@JohnClarkMatthews Thank you for your reply. I only found out about your TV series because you uploaded them to UA-cam (thank you for that). By the time you were making them, I had long since stopped watching children's TV. I can't think of any stop-motion series from my childhood except for "Gumby", which may have been repeats by that time. I had no idea there was anything like what you were doing at that (somewhat later) time. It has charm and imagination, which was and is a rarity in entertainment of all kinds.
The nightmare scene scared me when I was little though. Maybe because it was a nightmare.
This is so cool
Wait a second. So there are no special effects done!? Everything is happening on set!??! That's nuts! I really like how they did the water, really going that extra mile
Well considering the time it was made, it actually made a lot of sense that there's no special effects
Yes, it's known as a Pepper's Ghost effect. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper's_ghost
Better than the books. Could be a liminal space actually…
Hmm? This word "liminal" has different meanings. I hope you mean something nice.
In your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together", during the program's final segment "The Dream", did the late Will Ryan use a British-sounding accent for the unseen voice who announces which feat Toad will perform onstage?
Have you had the late Will Ryan use an English accent for the strange faraway unseen voice who announces which feat Toad will perform onstage in your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together (1972)" during the program's final segment "The Dream"?
How come Frog and Toad's voices are higher pitched in "Frog And Toad Together"?
Yes, I did pitch their voices up a little. Looking back, I wish I would not have done that. There are a lot of things in life that you can't just click "control Z" and fix.
@@JohnClarkMatthews Here's another question: How come you omitted the first story "A List"?
@@samsticka The Frog and Toad films were originally made for the school markets which had limits in film length. Also, the budgets for those films dwarfed other productions at the studio. The extra story would have been a deal breaker.
@@JohnClarkMatthews Gee, that's too bad. It would've been kind of interesting to see Toad with his list, crossing out the tasks he completed, then losing the list in the wind as he walks with Frog.
Hey John What Happened To The Frog And Toad Puppets? Are They The Same In Both Films? And Do You Think You Would've Made More Frog And Toad If Lobel Didn't Die?
Because of my low budgets we always "cannibalized" all of the armatures and whatever things we could save.
When did you start production on Frog and Toad Are Friends and Frog and Toad Together
I started Frog & Toad are Friends in late 1983. I started Frog & Toad Together sometime in 1985, however, the Mouse and the Motorcycle came around so I put this film on the shelf. Then in 1986 I learned that the author, Arnold Lobel, was dying, so I picked it up again full steam. These two films were my first TV sales: HBO then Disney Channel and PBS.
Arnold Lobel narrated the first film Frog And Toad Are Friends, but why not the second one Frog And Toad Together?
Arnold Lobel was very sick at the time; I had to work extra hard to finish it before he died.
@@JohnClarkMatthews Gee, that sucks.
How long have you made armatures? You and Nicky are a great team. 👏🏻
I made armatures all through the 80's & early 90's. Then I started working for Sony Pictures doing CGI - which, of course, has no need for armatures.
In your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together (1972)", during the program's first segment "The Garden", did you have Toad read "The Frogs At the Rainbow's End" from the Caldecott Medal-winning book "Fables (1980)"?
Yes, you are correct. Very clever of you to know that!
I used to watch this in special Ed even read the book
I read about that book that day
During your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together", in the final segment "The Dream", did Corey Burton do the strange faraway voice that announces what Toad is going to do onstage which causes Frog to gradually shrink down into oblivion?
Will Ryan did that voice (he did Frog's too).
I'd like to know why you adapted the books "Uncle Elephant (1981)" and "Mouse Soup (1977)" even if Arnold Lobel (who wrote and illustrated both of those books) died at the age of 54 on December 4, 1987.
7:11 - So that's what the outdoor setting looks like. Could you have created a sky background? I mean take a large piece of paper and paint a blue sky with some clouds?
The skies in the Frog and Toad books are usually pale green. I was always true to the books.
@@JohnClarkMatthews I see.
Genius 🎉
I'd like to know if you gave the late Hal Smith a copy of the Caldecott Medal-winning children's picture book "Fables (1980)" during production of your adaptation of "Frog and Toad Together (1972)".