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Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. (founded as Videocraft International, Ltd.) was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop-motion animation. The pre-1974 library is owned by DreamWorks Classics, while the post-1974 library is owned by Warner Bros.. Rankin/Bass stop-motion features are recognizable by their visual style of doll-like characters with spheroid body parts, and ubiquitous powdery snow using an animation technique called "Animagic." Often, traditional cel animation scenes of falling snow would be projected over the action to create the effect of a snowfall. On September 14, 2015, Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. celebrated its 55th anniversary. ==History== The company was founded by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass on September 14, 1960, as Videocraft International. The majority of Rankin/Bass' work, including all of their "Animagic" stop-motion productions, were created in Japan. Throughout the 1960s, the Animagic productions were headed by Japanese stop-motion animator Tadahito Mochinaga. Their traditionally cel-animated works were animated by Toei Animation, Crawley Films, and Mushi Production, and since the 1970s, they were animated by the Japanese studio Topcraft, which was formed in 1972 as an offshoot of Toei Animation. Many Topcraft staffers, including the studio's founder Toru Hara (who was credited in some of Rankin/Bass' specials), would go on to join its successor Studio Ghibli and work on Hayao Miyazaki's feature films, including ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' and ''My Neighbor Totoro''. In addition to the "name" talent that provided the narration for the specials, Rankin/Bass had its own company of voice actors. For the studio's early work, this group was based in Toronto, Ontario, where recording was supervised by veteran CBC announcer Bernard Cowan. This group included actors such as Paul Soles, Larry D. Mann, and Paul Kligman. Later, the most notable voice was Paul Frees, who provided the voices for: The Sea Captain and the Agent The Cricket on the Hearth, the three wise men (''The Little Drummer Boy''), Burgermeister Meisterburger (''Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town''), the traffic cop (''Frosty The Snowman''), Jack Frost (''Frosty's Winter Wonderland''), and even Santa Claus himself (both ''Frosty the Snowman'' and ''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'') among many others. Rankin/Bass celebrity voice actors have included: Andy Griffith, Larry Storch, Burl Ives, Red Buttons, Casey Kasem, Harold Peary, Frank Gorshin, Bradley Bolke, Dennis Day, Fred Astaire, Billy De Wolfe, Art Carney, Red Skelton, Walter Matthau, Danny Kaye, Orson Bean, Boris Karloff, Billie Mae Richards, Jimmy Durante, Ed Wynn, Roddy McDowall, Jone Gardner, Richard Boone, Shelby Flint, Danny Thomas, Phyllis Diller, Tom Bosley, Ethel Merman, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Vincent Price, Buddy Hackett, Bob McFadden, Jeff Bridges, Robie Lester,Alan Sues, Linda Gary, Hans Conried, Mickey Rooney, Cyril Ritchard, Keenan Wynn, Morey Amsterdam, Eddie Albert, Marlo Thomas, Thurl Ravenscroft, Greer Garson, Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury, George S. Irving, June Foray, Tallulah Bankhead, Don Messick, Charles Nelson Reilly, Jackie Vernon, Allen Swift, Hayley Mills, Robert Morse, Mia Farrow, Shirley Booth, John Huston, Dick Shawn, Otto Preminger and Shelley Winters. Outside of the holiday specials, Larry Kenney had been with Rankin/Bass for years, doing characters on ''ThunderCats'' (notably as Lion-O) and ''SilverHawks''. Maury Laws served as musical director for almost all of the animated films. Romeo Muller was another consistent contributor, serving as screenwriter for many of Rankin/Bass's best-known productions including ''Rudolph'', ''The Little Drummer Boy'', and ''Frosty the Snowman''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rankin/Bass Productions」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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