The Magic Voyage: How Corey Feldman Saved Columbus Day

In honor of the all-American holiday that gets me a day off from classes, this topic is dedicated to a classic animated film that celebrates the achievements of one of the first Europeans to discover populated lands in the western hemisphere and encourage the exploitation of said lands' populations for centuries to come. I am speaking, of course, of The Magic Voyage, a German animated film based on the life of the great German hero Christopher Columbus. This cartoon may have fallen into obscurity since its release in 1992, but its legacy is not forgotten; it was truly revolutionary for inspiring many other films in the Historically Accurate Animated Musical subgenre, including Pocahontas, Anastasia, and Titanic: The Legend Lives On.

So how do these German animators handle the story of an American/Italian legend? Vincent Donato explains in a review on Amazon.com:

Quote :

I felt that this movie was a true family movie.The story is full of imagination,you can dance to the very cool songs,and laugh your socks off! The year was 1492-while most still believed the world to be flat,Christopher Columbus had a good idea:he rhough the world was square!Together with his new woodworm named Pico,Columbus embarks on a wonderful adventure to discover America! With the help of the crew,some animals and a lot of luck,Pico and Christopher make it to the New World.But the battle is not over as Marilyn,a pretty and magical firefly is captured by the evil "Swarm Lord".It's up to Pico and Christopher to save the day! "The Magical Voyage"features a colorful collection of fun and memorable characters,brought to life with the voices of an international all-star cast.It's a classic the entire family can enjoy,time and time again! Cast Dom DeLuise-voice of Christopher Columbus Corey Feldman-voice of Pico,the woodworm Irene Cara-voice of Marilyn,the firefly
Dan Hagerty-voice of Swarm Lord Mickey Rooney-voice of your narrator

I do recall from my 5th grade Social Studies class that Christopher Columbus was mostly interested in finding a western trade route that didn't involve Turkish middle men, and that few people other than some very sheltered monks believed in a flat earth during the Middle Ages. Even as far back as 1st grade, when I once rented this movie from Blockbuster and watched it with nary a trace of irony, I am sure I questioned the extent to which Columbus was motivated by the distress of a fairy princess from the Moon Kingdom in his journey to the west (I already knew at this time that the moon had once been populated by Sailor Scouts, not fairies).

However, I'm sure the viewer can overlook these trifles for the film's all-star cast, especially that guy who did the voice of Tiger in An American Tail and Fievel Goes West. You'll surely enjoy their talent enough to appreciate that no one character stays silent for more than three seconds throughout all ninety minutes of this film, save for the groovy '80s pop song that plays immediately after Columbus predicts the construction of New York City in what would now be somewhere in the Bahamas.

And if you're still not convinced of this movie's ineffable charm, you can laugh your socks off at the first ten minutes, where you'll be treated to two of the film's three "very cool songs" that you can dance to. If you simply skip to 8:03, I know you'll want to tap your toes to Pico's scratchy Just Started Puberty tenor. It's a wonderful number that YouTube lets you enjoy time and time again!

I... wow.

Just reading about it makes me think that everyone involved was high on some serious crack when they made this. Or, hell, even pitched this to the studio. Or, hell, even woke up at 3 a.m. with the idea that Christopher Columbus + fairies + talking insects + whatever the hell else is in this piece of crap = PROFIT!

Oh man, we should totally watch this for movie night, since we're doing awful cartoons.

Dom Deluise sure did a lot of voicework for shitty 90's cartoons, wow.

Pico...Pico, Pico, where do I know that name froOH MY GOD

Man, I remember this vaguely from my childhood, but it's very vaguely. I think I only watched it once because I thought it was lame even then, and all I can remember is the wormy thing chewing the corners off a square globe and the crew attempting to lynch Columbus while he was stark nude for some bizarre reason. ...actually, that scene probably would have been fetish fuel for me in any other movie, but this one sucked so much that I just remember being distinctly uncomfortable. I kind of remember the fireflies now...we so have to watch this, if not this week then at some point. Thanks for bringing this one up, Mae.

Delcat wrote:

and the crew attempting to lynch Columbus while he was stark nude for some bizarre reason.

It's even more disturbing when Columbus spends the rest of the movie running around in polka dot boxers while gibbering mindlessly about gold.

I have never seen this atrocity before, but the one thing that bugs me about the animation is this - in the middle of the whole "What if you sail west and go around - because the world is round!"-spiel Columbus does, he suddenly goes from wearing a frilly yellow shirt to wearing a frilly yellow shirt and a red vest. For about three seconds. And then he changes back again.

Why? Nobody knows.

And oh my me, the songs. They're... horrible. o.O

I remember trying to show this to my son when he was four years old. I turned it off less than a third of the way through because I didn't want him to have to watch such a mockery of real history. It's definitely a negative influence on children, especially if they take the movie to be true and don't have anyone teach them otherwise. With today's education system as it stands, I wouldn't be surprised if certain details of the movie linger with them.

Needless to say, my son has turned out fine.

OH God, my BFF owns this. I have totally seen it recently. It was so WTF.

Holy shit I saw this as a kid. I thought I had repressed those memories.

Finally, a true and accurate of the tale of Columbus has been released. I have always known that Washington Irving is nothing but a liar. How can a man ride a horse if he is acephalus? It makes no sense! His biography of Christopher Columbus, therefore, must be of a similarly mendacious nature. I did not know up until this point, however, just how far from the truth it is! My Lord, I must tell the world!

Ahahaha. I remember watching this as a kid and enjoying it. On the other hand, I was very easily entertained. I enjoyed Thumbelina and Snow Day. :|

I also knew it was all fantasy.