Johnny Corncob
{{Short description|1973 Hungarian animated film}}
{{For|the 1939 film|Janos the Valiant}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Johnny Corncob
| image =
| caption =
| director = Marcell Jankovics
| producer =
| screenplay = Marcell Jankovics
Tamás Sipos
Péter Szoboszlay
| based_on = János vitéz by Sándor Petőfi
| starring =
| music =
| cinematography = Zoltán Bacsó
Attila Csepela
Irén Henrik
Klári Kassai
Csaba Nagy
| editing = János Czipauer
Katalin Gyöpös
Katalin Szakács
| studio =
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1973|5|1}}
| runtime = 74 minutes
| country = Hungary
| language = Hungarian
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Johnny Corncob (Hungarian: János vitéz[https://mubi.com/films/johnny-corncob MUBI]) is a 1973 Hungarian animated adventure film directed by Marcell Jankovics.[https://www.spectacletheater.com/johnny-corncob/ Spectacle Theater][http://arbelosfilms.com/films/janos-vitez/ Arbelos Films]
Summary
It tells the story of a young man who goes on an adventure as a soldier, while longing to be reunited with the woman he loves. The film is based on the 1845 epic poem János vitéz by Sándor Petőfi.[https://vimeo.com/764677308 JOHNNY CORNCOB (Marcell Jankovics, 1973) on Vimeo] It was the first Hungarian animated feature film.[https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/notebook-primer-hungarian-animation-1915-1989 Notebook Primer: Hungarian Animation, 1915-1989 on Notebook|MUBI]
Cast
- György Cserhalmi as Jancsi (Johnny)
- Anikó Nagy as Iluska (his girlfriend)
- Erzsi Pártos as the Mostoha (Iluska's step-mother)
- Antal Farkas as the Gazda (farmer)
- Gábor Mádi Szabó as the Haramiavezér (bandit leader)
- György Bárdy as the Hussar Captain
- János Körmendi as the French king
- Erzsébet Kútvölgyi as the Princess
Production
The film was commissioned by the Hungarian government for the 150th anniversary of Sándor Petőfi's birth. It was produced by Pannonia Film Studio and was Hungary's first ever animated feature film. It was made by a team of 130 people and took 22 months to produce.{{Cite web|last=Vollenbroek|first=Tunde|date=2015-05-18|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/marcell-jankovics-interview-feherlofia-why-would-one-imitate-reality-112926.html|title=Marcell Jankovics Q&A: 'Why Would One Imitate Reality?'|work=Cartoon Brew|accessdate=2015-08-18}} The visual style were inspired by Hungarian folk art and George Dunning's 1968 film Yellow Submarine, for which the director was a fan of alongside The Beatles.{{Cite web|date=2013-05-13|url=http://cultura.hu/szub-kultura/janos-vitez-40-eve/|title=János vitéz 40 éve|language=Hungarian|work=Cultura.hu|accessdate=2015-08-18}}[https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/animation_celebration_dec_2022 Animation Celebration Dives Into Hungarian...|New Haven Independent]
Legacy
In HBTV, the cartoon was set to Poco's "Crazy Love" and Stevie Wonder's "Whereabouts" even though it wasn't a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. This is because Hanna-Barbera had the distribution rights to the film at the time. Hanna-Barbera originally intended to release the film in the United States under the title "Forever Like The Rose". The film was planned to be released in 1978 but was ultimately shelved.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon-info/55850-Forever-Like-The-Rose|title = Forever Like the Rose (Hanna-Barbera, Pannónia Studios, Hungarofilm)}}{{dead link|date=January 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
It is included as an extra on the Blu-ray edition of Jankovics's 1981 epic Son of the White Mare.[https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/son-of-the-white-mare-blu-ray-review-marcell-jankovics/ Review: Marcell Jankovics’s Son of the White Mare on Arbelos Films Blu-ray - Slant Magazine]