WGN Channel 9 - Sunday Matinee - "The World of Hans Christian Andersen" (Opening, 1977)

Here's the opening moments of the Sunday Matinee presentation of the 1971 animated feature "The World of Hans Christian Andersen" on WGN Channel 9. Includes:

"Season's Greetings From The WGN Family" bumper

Sunday Matinee "camera and filmstrip" slide, with Raymond Lefevre and His Orchestra's version of The Young Rascals' "Groovin'," and voiceover (by ?) introducing the movie and having a little flub with "Christmas Dray..."

"NTA Release" animated bumper (from the early 1970's - this was on many a film they syndicated to local stations)

First few seconds of opening titles for "The World of Hans Christian Andersen" before the recording cut out (with characters, and title typesetting, resembling that of several Rankin/Bass animated Christmas specials of the period including Frosty the Snowman)

Film Note: This is not to be confused with the 1952 Danny Kaye musical "Hans Christian Andersen" which was part of the Samuel Goldwyn library that was held by WGN from 1970 until the mid-1980's. Before that, the Goldwyn films (minus "Hans Christian Andersen," "Guys and Dolls" and "Porgy and Bess") were at WBBM Channel 2 from 1965 to 1970, with the first film shown being "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (another Danny Kaye flick, from 1947) on The Best of CBS on January 15th 1965.

As for this cartoon, one of the directors - and voices - was Chuck McCann, who first became famous in New York City as a kids' show host first at WPIX Channel 11 (WGN's sister station) and then at WNEW Channel 5 (future sister station to our own WFLD Channel 32) before making it big in Hollywood starting in the late 1960's.

This aired on local Chicago TV on Sunday, December 25th 1977.

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