The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)

Director:

Will Vinton

Writers:

Susan Shadburne
Mark Twain (segments)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family

Tagline:

Where dreams become reality.

Plot:

Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn join Mark Twain on his airship to meet Halley's Comet.

Plot Keywords:

Comet | Halleys Comet | Stowaway | Balloon | Portal

Cast

James Whitmore	...	Mark Twain (voice)
Michele Mariana	...	Becky Thatcher / The Mysterious Stranger / Girl In Crowd (voice)
Gary Krug	...	Huck Finn (voice)
Chris Ritchie	...	Tom Sawyer (voice)
John Morrison	...	Adam (voice)
Carol Edelman	...	Eve (voice)
Dal McKennon	...	Jim Smiley (voice) (as Dallas McKennon)
Herb Smith	...	The Stranger (voice)
Marley Stone	...	Aunt Polly (voice)
Wilbur Vincent	...	The Mysterious Stranger (voice)
Wally Newman	...	Captain Stormfield (voice)
Tim Conner	...	Three-Headed Alien (voice)
Todd Tolces	...	Saint Peter (voice)
Billy Scream	...	The Indexivator / Animals (voice)
Bob Griggs	...	First Heckler (voice)
Coward Wholesale	...	Second Heckler (voice)
Tom Gasek	...	Man in Crowd / Homer / Calaveras Miner / Mud People (voice)
Sally Sopwith	...	Woman in Crowd (voice)
Will Vinton	...	Dan'l Webster (voice) (as Wilf Innton)
Andrew Edwards	...	First Miner (voice)
Harvey Brown	...	Second Miner (voice)
Craig Bartlett	...	Calaveras Miner (voice)
Mark Gustafson	...	Calaveras Miner (voice)
Bruce McKean	...	Calaveras Miner (voice)
Billy Victor	...	God (voice)
Compton Downs	...	Injun Joe (voice)
Nell Suza	...	Animals / Mud People (voice)
Tim Kahn	...	Animals (voice)
Stashu Beencof	...	Animals (voice)
Kim Tonner	...	Mud People (voice)
Gary Thompson	...	Baby Cain (voice)

Directed by
Will Vinton

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Susan Shadburne
Mark Twain		segments "The Jumping Frog of Calavaras County, " "The Diary of Adam and Eve, " "Captain Stormfield's Diary, " "The Mysterious Stranger"

Produced by
Susan Shadburne	....	associate producer
Hugh Kennedy Tirrell	....	associate producer
Will Vinton	....	producer

Original Music by
Billy Scream

Film Editing by
Kelley Baker
Michael Gall
Ed Geis
Skeets McGrew
Will Vinton

Set Decoration by
Joan C. Gratz

Production Management
David Altschul	....	production supervisor
Andy Wiskes	....	post-production supervisor

Art Department
Joan C. Gratz	....	stage design
Don Merkt	....	stage design

Sound Department
Kelley Baker	....	sound effects editor
Kelley Baker	....	sound recordist
Jan Baross	....	sound editor
Paul Diener	....	sound effects editor
Luther Greene	....	foley artist
Luther Greene	....	sound mixer
Will Harvey	....	sound mixer
Gary McRobert	....	sound recordist
Larry Oatfield	....	foley mixer
Andy Wiskes	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Gary McRobert	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
George Lockwood	....	special optical effects
Sam Longoria	....	front projection designer/camera
Sam Longoria	....	motion control designer/camera
Pat O'Neill	....	special optical effects
Will Vinton	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Bruce McKean	....	still photographer

Animation Department
Barry Bruce	....	character designer
Barry Bruce	....	lead animator

Editorial Department
Kelley Baker	....	negative conforming
Bob Zurcher	....	negative conforming

Music Department
Paul Diener	....	music editor
Will Vinton	....	music editor

Other crew
Douglas Aberle	....	claymation artist
Craig Bartlett	....	claymation artist
Arnold Biskar	....	accountant
Peter Dekom	....	legal consultant
Michael Duffield	....	title designer: main titles
William Fiesterman	....	claymation artist
Jim Fischer	....	synthesizer effects
Tom Gasek	....	claymation artist
Mark Gustafson	....	claymation artist
Carol Hart	....	production assistant
James McAllister	....	claymation artist
Bruce McKean	....	claymation artist
Don Merket	....	claymation artist
Walter Murch	....	creative consultant
Billy Scream	....	synthesizer effects
Leslie Sears	....	assistant to director (as Leslie M. Sears)
Dennis Tbor	....	title designer: main titles
Will Vinton	....	claymation artist
Matt Wuerker	....	claymation artist
Marilyn Zornado	....	assistant to director
Marilyn Zornado	....	title layout
Adam D. Wright	....	distribution executive (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Atlantic
• Harbour Towns
• Will Vinton Associates
• Will Vinton Productions

Distributors

• Clubhouse Pictures (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1985) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Entertainment in Video (1987) (UK) (VHS)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Eureka Entertainment (2011) (UK) (video)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Magnolia Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Lookout Mountain Films (special optical effects)

Other Companies

• Studio C. San Francisco  post-production sound services
• Teknifilm  negative cutting

Also Known As:

"The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huck Finn" - USA (closing credits title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

Company:

Atlantic

Trivia:

The segments based on "The Diary of Adam and Eve" had been released earlier as a separate short to procure investors for the final feature film.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): All the characters pronounce Halley's Comet with a long a. The comet is named for Sir Edmund Halley, whose name is pronounced with a short a.

Quotes:

Mark Twain:Let me see, there are a number of things I want to say to you before I go.
[Clears throat]
Mark Twain:Always obey your parents.
Mark Twain:[Dark side] ... when they are present.
Mark Twain:Be respectful of your superiors.
Mark Twain:[Dark side] ... if you have any.
Mark Twain:Rise early, for it is the early bird that catches the worm.
Mark Twain:[Dark side] I once knew a man who tried it. Got up at sunrise. Horse bit him.

Movie Connections:

References Neighbours (1952)

Soundtrack:

Heroes

Pure Joy!

I saw this when I was small at my grandmother's house. I saw it only once more, years later somewhere on TV. I had never loved a claymation film more until Tim Burton's NBC. I was lucky enough to find it on DVD, and promptly rented and watched it last night. I fell in love all over again. Tim could learn much from this gem. The facial expressions are spot-on, almost photographic, the story is great, and the sly humour is wonderfully refreshing. This is such a huge labor of love,for the art itself and for the man that inspired it,leagues away from anything animation has been for the past 15 years or so. I loved it because it never talked down to me as a kid, and wasn't afraid to show me that innocence can be terrifying. "I can do no wrong, for I do not know what it is" is the most chilling line I have ever heard spoken in any film. Rent this or buy it as soon as you can, you won't be sorry.