The Story of the Dancing Frog (1989) - full transcript
Two very unusual frogs, George and Gertrude, dance around the globe in this wonderful cartoon.
(theatrical opening music)
(upbeat ragtime music)
- Tell me another story.
About our family.
- Oh Joe, I'm really
a bit tired, love.
- If I make some
cocoa and sandwiches?
- Alright then, it's a deal.
What have I told you already?
Uncle Jeffrey and the iceberg,
Aunt Sarah, and her lions.
Do you know about Great
Aunt Gertrude Gotkin
and the dancing frog?
- No, can you tell that please?
- You get the cocoa and I'll
see how much I can remember.
(gentle piano music)
- When Gertrude
was a young woman,
she married an
officer in the Navy.
He was very handsome,
with his black beard
and smart uniform.
The trouble with being
married to a sailor
is that he has to
go with his ship.
So that a lot of the
time you can't be
with the person you
most want to be with.
(waves crashing and
seagulls calling)
Anyway they were happy
when they were together.
And they had a house by the sea.
Gertrude would watch
for his ship returning.
(soft piano music)
And when he came home he brought
her presents from abroad.
- [Joe] What sort of presents?
- [Mother] Little brass
tables with folding legs,
wooden camels,
ornamental daggers,
that sort of thing.
(mailman's whistle)
- This one looks special.
- Excuse me.
- [Mother] One day the
ship didn't come back.
There was a letter
from the Navy to say
that the ship had sunk,
and Gertrude's
sailor was drowned.
(sobbing)
You can imagine how
awful it must have been
to get a letter like that.
- Yes.
- There can't have
seemed anything in
life worth living for.
And she was on the point of
throwing herself into the river,
so that she could
be drowned too,
like her husband,
and finished.
But she noticed something
which stopped her.
On one of the lily pads
in the river, was a frog.
It was dancing.
(quiet piano)
The next day Gertrude dug a pond
for her frog in the garden.
(lighthearted ragtime piano)
(scratchy record playing)
That evening Gertrude put
a record on the gramophone,
and the frog started to
do a new kind of dance.
Dance to music.
And then, we don't know
quite how it happened,
but the frog went on the stage.
(man laughs)
Perhaps Gertrude knew
someone at the local theater.
A dancing frog is a
rather unusual thing.
And no doubt Gertrude
didn't have much money
after her husband disappeared,
and she was glad of
anything they could earn.
Anyway for the first time
the frog's name appeared
on a theater poster
right at the bottom.
George, the dancing frog.
- Was that his name then?
- [Mother] I don't know really.
Maybe it was just
his stage name.
After that they traveled
around the country
wherever they could get work.
It must have been a
hard life for Gertrude.
Staying in cheap lodgings,
arguing with landladies
who didn't want a frog
in their rooms.
- Wait a minute!
No frogs in my house!
- Oh please, he doesn't
make much noise.
- No frogs!
- I promise!
You won't even notice
that he's here.
- Out!
- [Mother] But they also
made lots of friends.
At one theater a magician
made George disappear.
At another theater he
jumped out of a hat
when the comedian
pretended to be drunk.
- [Joe] What Daddy
used to call plastered.
- [Mother] Yes, that's right.
George learned
lots of new dances.
A soft-shoe,
the cakewalk,
the polka.
Then one day Gertrude
was told something
that changed their lives.
There was a job at a
big theater in the city.
A talking dog had been taken
ill with a sore throat,
and they were desperate
for a replacement.
(drum roll)
(show music)
*With two left feet
and both offbeat
*It's best you don't
slow down at all
*They'll call you
Art, not a la carte
*If you waltz into the wall
*Go strut your stuff
and smile enough
*But keep your
excursions quite small
*For if they're grand
you're sure to land
*Into the band not the wall
*If you cannot dance you
should still say you dance
*Or your apt to be
scrapped, not employed
*Just lean to one side,
give a wink, then glide
*They will cheer, they
will stand overjoyed
*They're well aware
you're not Astaire
*Just look like
you're having a ball
*So be a frog,
they'll just applaud
*As you waltz into the wall
*One more refrain,
ignore the pain
*Just give the musicians a call
*Then pray they'll
stop before you drop
*Straight to the
floor not the wall
*When starting to smart you
should start getting smart
*I believe you should
leave while you can
*If they demand more
yell sorry senior
* Gotta hop or I'm
popped in a pan
*If that won't do
to calm the zoo
*There's one sure
quick way to the hall
*Just stand up
tall and caterwaul
*Heave-ho, then
waltz right through
*the wall
(musical grand finale)
(crowd cheers)
- And when did you find him?
(camera flashes)
- [Mother] Suddenly
everbody wanted to see him.
- Heh huh huh.
(train chugging)
(crowd applauding)
(train chugging)
- Well George, at least
we're no longer poor.
But there's so much work to do.
Arrange for the
trains, the luggage,
and the money we get paid.
It's so exhausting.
And you, poor dear.
All that dancing.
There's so little
time for you to relax.
It is exciting though.
Traveling around the world.
Strange cities,
warm nights.
Maybe I'm just tired.
- [Mother] In
Paris, George danced
with a woman in the Follies.
He danced with Spanish dancers.
He also did a wonderful
dance with a woman
who waved shawls.
It was in Monte Carlo that
Gertrude had her offer.
An English lord asked
her to marry him.
- This is no life for a woman.
I have a house in the country.
And another in London.
Everything shall be
provided for you.
- It certainly is
a great temptation,
Lord Belvedere,
but it's so sudden,
I'll need time to
think about it.
- Leave all this and live
with me as Lady Belvedere.
Who knows how long George
will be successful?
- But we have to
complete the tour.
- Must I be content
with no for an answer?
(orchestra playing Swan Lake)
- [Mother] Lord
Belvedere followed her
to Russia where George
danced in a special version
of Swan Lake.
(crowd cheers)
(ships horn blows)
- Can you honestly tell
me you like this life?
(wind howling)
(upbeat ragtime music)
You must give me an answer.
Please, say you will marry me
and leave this world behind you.
(stage hands clapping)
(somber music)
- What answer can I give him?
It's so complicated now.
How can I choose between
George and Lord Belvedere?
*Choosing which of
two fates to pursue
*Should I stay near
footlights or say I do
*Choosing, it's not easy
*How to see
*Which of these two roads lead
*To all the best
*The best in me
*I could be a smashing
Lady Belvedere
*Serving tea and cakes
*Soaked in champagne
*But would one day I awaken
*Shaken with the fear
*I chose all wrong
*Yes that old song
*Choosing
*I am lost here
*In this fog
*Should I wed the wealthy man
*Or the dancing frog
- Oh, look at that smoke.
- It's a fire in the hotel!
- Our hotel.
George!
George!
(siren wailing)
George, he's still up there!
- Don't worry, all the
guests were evacuated.
- No, look, there he is.
On the window ledge.
- [Firefighter] All
I see is a frog.
- George, over here!
Jump!
- [Mother] It must have been
the most extraordinary thing
he ever did on stage or off.
A hundred and twenty foot
jump into a bucket of water
with perfect precision.
(onlookers cheer)
(crowd cheering)
(simple piano)
(upbeat show music)
(audience cheers)
- And it went on like that.
Nobody remembers
them much nowadays,
but they really were
a great success.
- Was Gertrude ever sorry
that she didn't
marry Lord Belvedere?
- I don't think she ever
told anybody if she was.
- She preferred the frog.
- Well, I suppose you could say
they looked after each
other over the years.
- And what happened in the end?
- The last time anyone in
the family saw them was
before the war.
They had a little house
in the South of France.
- Are they dead now?
- Well that was a long time ago,
so I suppose they must be.
- Was that a true story?
- More or less.
- But frogs don't really dance.
Do they?
- Not normally, no.
- And no one could really
put a frog on stage.
- You can do all kinds of things
if you need to enough.
(rain falling gently)
(soft music)
(upbeat ragtime)
(upbeat ragtime music)
- Tell me another story.
About our family.
- Oh Joe, I'm really
a bit tired, love.
- If I make some
cocoa and sandwiches?
- Alright then, it's a deal.
What have I told you already?
Uncle Jeffrey and the iceberg,
Aunt Sarah, and her lions.
Do you know about Great
Aunt Gertrude Gotkin
and the dancing frog?
- No, can you tell that please?
- You get the cocoa and I'll
see how much I can remember.
(gentle piano music)
- When Gertrude
was a young woman,
she married an
officer in the Navy.
He was very handsome,
with his black beard
and smart uniform.
The trouble with being
married to a sailor
is that he has to
go with his ship.
So that a lot of the
time you can't be
with the person you
most want to be with.
(waves crashing and
seagulls calling)
Anyway they were happy
when they were together.
And they had a house by the sea.
Gertrude would watch
for his ship returning.
(soft piano music)
And when he came home he brought
her presents from abroad.
- [Joe] What sort of presents?
- [Mother] Little brass
tables with folding legs,
wooden camels,
ornamental daggers,
that sort of thing.
(mailman's whistle)
- This one looks special.
- Excuse me.
- [Mother] One day the
ship didn't come back.
There was a letter
from the Navy to say
that the ship had sunk,
and Gertrude's
sailor was drowned.
(sobbing)
You can imagine how
awful it must have been
to get a letter like that.
- Yes.
- There can't have
seemed anything in
life worth living for.
And she was on the point of
throwing herself into the river,
so that she could
be drowned too,
like her husband,
and finished.
But she noticed something
which stopped her.
On one of the lily pads
in the river, was a frog.
It was dancing.
(quiet piano)
The next day Gertrude dug a pond
for her frog in the garden.
(lighthearted ragtime piano)
(scratchy record playing)
That evening Gertrude put
a record on the gramophone,
and the frog started to
do a new kind of dance.
Dance to music.
And then, we don't know
quite how it happened,
but the frog went on the stage.
(man laughs)
Perhaps Gertrude knew
someone at the local theater.
A dancing frog is a
rather unusual thing.
And no doubt Gertrude
didn't have much money
after her husband disappeared,
and she was glad of
anything they could earn.
Anyway for the first time
the frog's name appeared
on a theater poster
right at the bottom.
George, the dancing frog.
- Was that his name then?
- [Mother] I don't know really.
Maybe it was just
his stage name.
After that they traveled
around the country
wherever they could get work.
It must have been a
hard life for Gertrude.
Staying in cheap lodgings,
arguing with landladies
who didn't want a frog
in their rooms.
- Wait a minute!
No frogs in my house!
- Oh please, he doesn't
make much noise.
- No frogs!
- I promise!
You won't even notice
that he's here.
- Out!
- [Mother] But they also
made lots of friends.
At one theater a magician
made George disappear.
At another theater he
jumped out of a hat
when the comedian
pretended to be drunk.
- [Joe] What Daddy
used to call plastered.
- [Mother] Yes, that's right.
George learned
lots of new dances.
A soft-shoe,
the cakewalk,
the polka.
Then one day Gertrude
was told something
that changed their lives.
There was a job at a
big theater in the city.
A talking dog had been taken
ill with a sore throat,
and they were desperate
for a replacement.
(drum roll)
(show music)
*With two left feet
and both offbeat
*It's best you don't
slow down at all
*They'll call you
Art, not a la carte
*If you waltz into the wall
*Go strut your stuff
and smile enough
*But keep your
excursions quite small
*For if they're grand
you're sure to land
*Into the band not the wall
*If you cannot dance you
should still say you dance
*Or your apt to be
scrapped, not employed
*Just lean to one side,
give a wink, then glide
*They will cheer, they
will stand overjoyed
*They're well aware
you're not Astaire
*Just look like
you're having a ball
*So be a frog,
they'll just applaud
*As you waltz into the wall
*One more refrain,
ignore the pain
*Just give the musicians a call
*Then pray they'll
stop before you drop
*Straight to the
floor not the wall
*When starting to smart you
should start getting smart
*I believe you should
leave while you can
*If they demand more
yell sorry senior
* Gotta hop or I'm
popped in a pan
*If that won't do
to calm the zoo
*There's one sure
quick way to the hall
*Just stand up
tall and caterwaul
*Heave-ho, then
waltz right through
*the wall
(musical grand finale)
(crowd cheers)
- And when did you find him?
(camera flashes)
- [Mother] Suddenly
everbody wanted to see him.
- Heh huh huh.
(train chugging)
(crowd applauding)
(train chugging)
- Well George, at least
we're no longer poor.
But there's so much work to do.
Arrange for the
trains, the luggage,
and the money we get paid.
It's so exhausting.
And you, poor dear.
All that dancing.
There's so little
time for you to relax.
It is exciting though.
Traveling around the world.
Strange cities,
warm nights.
Maybe I'm just tired.
- [Mother] In
Paris, George danced
with a woman in the Follies.
He danced with Spanish dancers.
He also did a wonderful
dance with a woman
who waved shawls.
It was in Monte Carlo that
Gertrude had her offer.
An English lord asked
her to marry him.
- This is no life for a woman.
I have a house in the country.
And another in London.
Everything shall be
provided for you.
- It certainly is
a great temptation,
Lord Belvedere,
but it's so sudden,
I'll need time to
think about it.
- Leave all this and live
with me as Lady Belvedere.
Who knows how long George
will be successful?
- But we have to
complete the tour.
- Must I be content
with no for an answer?
(orchestra playing Swan Lake)
- [Mother] Lord
Belvedere followed her
to Russia where George
danced in a special version
of Swan Lake.
(crowd cheers)
(ships horn blows)
- Can you honestly tell
me you like this life?
(wind howling)
(upbeat ragtime music)
You must give me an answer.
Please, say you will marry me
and leave this world behind you.
(stage hands clapping)
(somber music)
- What answer can I give him?
It's so complicated now.
How can I choose between
George and Lord Belvedere?
*Choosing which of
two fates to pursue
*Should I stay near
footlights or say I do
*Choosing, it's not easy
*How to see
*Which of these two roads lead
*To all the best
*The best in me
*I could be a smashing
Lady Belvedere
*Serving tea and cakes
*Soaked in champagne
*But would one day I awaken
*Shaken with the fear
*I chose all wrong
*Yes that old song
*Choosing
*I am lost here
*In this fog
*Should I wed the wealthy man
*Or the dancing frog
- Oh, look at that smoke.
- It's a fire in the hotel!
- Our hotel.
George!
George!
(siren wailing)
George, he's still up there!
- Don't worry, all the
guests were evacuated.
- No, look, there he is.
On the window ledge.
- [Firefighter] All
I see is a frog.
- George, over here!
Jump!
- [Mother] It must have been
the most extraordinary thing
he ever did on stage or off.
A hundred and twenty foot
jump into a bucket of water
with perfect precision.
(onlookers cheer)
(crowd cheering)
(simple piano)
(upbeat show music)
(audience cheers)
- And it went on like that.
Nobody remembers
them much nowadays,
but they really were
a great success.
- Was Gertrude ever sorry
that she didn't
marry Lord Belvedere?
- I don't think she ever
told anybody if she was.
- She preferred the frog.
- Well, I suppose you could say
they looked after each
other over the years.
- And what happened in the end?
- The last time anyone in
the family saw them was
before the war.
They had a little house
in the South of France.
- Are they dead now?
- Well that was a long time ago,
so I suppose they must be.
- Was that a true story?
- More or less.
- But frogs don't really dance.
Do they?
- Not normally, no.
- And no one could really
put a frog on stage.
- You can do all kinds of things
if you need to enough.
(rain falling gently)
(soft music)
(upbeat ragtime)