Rabbit Ears: Mose the Fireman

The story of "New York's Greatest Fireman" Mose Humphrey is an inspirational one always worth remembering. Rabbit Ears Productions made some truly fine adaptations of literature, have not seen a bad one, two of the standouts being in their "America's Greatest Heroes and Legends" series. Of which 'Mose the Fireman' is also part of. Michael Keaton being narrator is another interest point, a very talented actor but one where one is curious as to whether he was a good choice for narrator or not.

It turned out he was, not one of my favourites of all the narrators for the Rabbit Ears adaptations but in no way did he come over to me as inappropriate. Although it is not one of my favourites of theirs and isn't quite as good as 'Rip Van Winkle', 'John Henry' and 'Follow the Drinking Gourd' as far as the "America's Greatest Heroes and Legends" adaptations go, 'Mose the Fireman' is still excellent. Everything works here, but the mentioned three and other Rabbit Ears adaptations connected with me more emotionally.

'Mose the Fireman' succeeds in all the crucial areas. Some may find the drawings too rough for their tastes and that is an understandable opinion, being somebody who had that feeling initially after seeing so much of the rest of Rabbit Ears' output looking a lot more refined. While the visuals are a little lacking in finesse, there are numerous times where that style works well. Especially the character design of the titular character where one sees what it is like being on the job, the backgrouds though are beautifully detailed and there is some atmospheric use of colour.

Rabbit Ears nearly always succeeded when it came to the music. It is also very successful in 'Mose the Fireman', due to how spirited it was. Loved how driven and dramatically intense in the more action-heavy scenes it was, while also capturing the setting beautifully with the cool jazzy vibe in other parts. Keaton proved to be a great choice for narrator and is particularly successful in embodying the toughness and also gentle good nature of Mose himself in the creative ways he uses his voice.

Writing manages to be lots of fun but also thoughtful and well-intentioned. The story is told with a lot of energy and with an equal amount of heart, one of those stories that has always been inspiring.

Overall, excellent. 9/10.