Really Surprised!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I mean that in a good sense of course. I first saw this cartoon short on a a video entitled "6 Hour Cartoons." It was what introduced me to Raggedy Ann and at the time I had no idea how popular she was. When I first watched it, I was a kid and didn't understand story structure at the time, so I didn't understand until my adult years, that Billie was blind. The story goes, like so, Raggedy Ann in sort of a running joke based off her trademark rag doll appearance; gets thrown out presumably by a previous owner. Officer Patrick Flannigan picks her up and decides it would make a nice present, for the nice blind girl Billie. Once given, Raggedy comes to life (The only doll show other than Toy Story to do this without scaring people.) and teaches Billie how to see through imagination. Prompting her to believe that her rundown New York Neighborhood is a wonderful fantasy world, filled with friendly people and fun games to play. The song "You can see with your heart." Is a recurring theme in the short, which teaches us that you don't have to rely on your eyes to live your life wonderfully. Aside from Ann, there are wonderful characters who help Billie on her adventure, such as Giuseppe the Organ Grinder and the Halloween kids. In my opinion, this movie should have won an Oscar. If it did, then it would be the best way to remember the Raggedy Ann franchise, before the Musical adventure movie tarnished it with it's trippy imagery.

'The Enchanted Square' is one of those animated shorts like most of the other shorts from Famous Studios that has sadly gotten the s**t end of the stick (most of the non Popeye shorts produced by Fleischer & Famous Studios that were released by Paramont Studios got sold to various film distribution firms in the mid to late 1950's in 16mm to television stations,and subsequently got lost in a black hole in space in the late 1960's,making them extremely hard to find,although badly scratched prints have turned up on cheaply produced VHS video copies years later). This is one of the few Raggedy Ann shorts that Famous Studios produced. The story concerns a Raggedy Ann doll,found in the trash & found by a kind policeman (voiced by Jackson Beck),and is given to the mother of a little blind girl. When Ann comes to life (in the girl's fantasy),and points out to the girl about how she can see more than she can with eyes. This is a beautifully illustrated & animated short that is a depart from the usual laugh filled shorts (i.e. Popeye,Little Lulu,etc)that Famous was known for. Pity that these long lost shorts aren't available for a generation that could appreciate early cell animation.

This is a true masterpiece of storytelling, one that has lasted me over 45 years when I saw it as a child. I hope to see it again as I have not seen it since then but have fond memories of its heartwarming power. In many ways I believe it has influenced my life's work in deep and meaningful ways. I'm a video producer who has devoted the past 25 years to creating videos the encourage people and uplift them. I wish we could have a network devoted to these treasures for new generations to be touched by. If anyone knows of other classic cartoons like this one I would like to know so that we could start a classic cartoon club and have home screenings to ensure that new generations get to see the artistry and storytelling from the past.

A little blind girl is given an abandoned doll (who just happens to be Raggedy Ann) by a kind-hearted policeman. Through Raggedy Ann the girl's imagination comes splendidly alive in this wonderful forgotten Famous Studios cartoon that is filled with vibrant scenes, touching characters, a good score and grand direction. This cartoon is highly recommended for animation buffs of all ages and especially families looking for good entertainment. The policeman may have been played by radio and cartoon actor/announcer Jackson Beck (Bluto of the Popeye series). Available in the Public Domain in very good quality. Find it if you can, it's a gem!