A little help with “Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio.”
Posted on February 25th, 2009 by Mr. Eldridge
Here’s the Animaniacs’ version:
Man, can you tell how they animators are worried about attention spans? I think they need a gag every 15 sec. or so.
Here’s another version with Derek Jacobi playing Hamlet. You might remember him from the film version we’ve seen–he plays Claudius there!
And here is the famous 1948 Laurence Olivier version. Olivier was considered one of the greatest actors of his generation. But it seems a different style than we’re accustomed to today.
And here’s the one that we saw the other day:
One thing to notice is the different director’s decisions about which lines to cut. How fast should the scene run? What should we understand about Hamlet and about mortality from this scene?
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Wow! Animaniacs were SO classic. Good memories. =)
The little translator in the bottom corner reminds me of the No Fear Shakespeare version of Hamlet, except that it’s for kids.
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So is the NO FEAR HAMLET.
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BOOM ROASTED.
I used the NFS version after I read the original text, and they cut out so many important footnotes and puns that a lot seems lost in translation.
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Haha: “whoa, check out skull head.” Ah, I love the Animaniacs. Probably my favorite cartoon ever. If only they would make the whole play like that…
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If only we could watch the whole movie with the Animaniacs. It would make life so much easier hahaha. Anyway, that brings me to a fine point. I think the main technique one should apply when reading Hamlet, or Shakespeare in general, is watching it, whether it be serious or like the Animaniacs, funny. It truly does help. It is hard just to understand the play and even harder to feel the emotion at the same time so watching the movie can really help.
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im with Kashou!! we watch it in class for those of us that were busy!! and no fear Shakespeare is soo amazing!! without it i would be soo confused!! but i do read the real thing first…and try not to depend on NFS too much, only when i dont get something..
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@Kolkin:
True, but NFS was helpful in getting the overall meaning of confusing lines. The original text was still original and therefore still has the puns only if you are keen enough to catch them. When I got my NFS at B&N, they had a NFS graphic novel version of Hamlet, it looked intense.
@Michelle:
Busy?!? Says the person who didn’t even want to be in this class.
Why doth thee wallow in thine self created miseries?
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Chris "The Rininator" Rini Reply:
March 8th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
The Animaniacs were so sophisticated and educational. Without their state capitol song I’m not sure I would know any of the US capitals, but because of them I can spew them out in singsong like some sort of geography-crazed Ophelia. Remember the pigeons? Those guys were the best!
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Keith Mendoza Reply:
March 9th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
@Chris “The Rininator” Rini,
I concur, Chris Rini, that U.S. capitol song that Wakko sang was both helpful to my United States geography knowledge and enjoyable to learn. If anyone’s interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuMFugCdfaA
absolutely genius.
And, yes, Chris, I do remember the pigeons. I believe they were Italian. But I must disagree; I looked forward to the skits with the Yakko, Wakko, and Dot much more than to the skits with the three pigeons. Slappy the squirrel was a funny character as well.
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steven…being busy has nothing to do with wanting to be in the class or not…i just have alot going on every tuesday and thursday so quit being mean!!!
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I don’t try to be mean, its just that you paint a target on your face with your hypocrisies, and I am pretty sure everyone else in our class has a lot [it is two words, not one] going on every Tuesday, Thursday, and all the other days of the week as well. So what kind of cheese would you like with your whine?
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Nice pun, Steven. People can get so vicious. Mama mia!
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