Fred the Ostrich & His Friends Go To The Movies (or Fred the Ostrisk & His Friends Go To The Movies as incorrectly spelled by David the Duck) is a 58-minute special that aired on Nick-at-Nite on August 26, 2011. It was used to help promote Fred the Ostrich in The Great Diamond Caper.
Plot[]
With the aid of Russell Brand and Natalie Portman, Fred the Ostrich and his pals show spoofs of different movies at the Fred the Ostrich Theater.
- The special opens with a 20th Century Ostrich logo. The Announcer (Tom Kenny) provides an introduction over clips from the special.
- Fred the Ostrich comes on stage to introduce the show, informing the audience that the Fred the Ostrich gang plan on paying tribute to some of their favorite movies.
- The entire cast sing their rendition "Hey, a Movie!", a song originally from "The Great Muppet Caper".
- David the Duck introduces the first film, a spoof of The Three Musketeers. Hilton and Ramada attempt to leave, but are stopped by elastic ropes tied around their ankles. In this first parody, The Amazing Darnold, Peter Olsen, and Hippo Potamus play Athos, Porthos, and Dumbo. The trio have to stop The Scarlet Pimpernel. Hippo flies on a chandelier, landing him backstage, and onto Julie Simpson. Julie karate chops Hippo, sending him flying back onstage, and onto Fred during an introduction for the next movie parody.
- The film Invasion of the Unpleasant Things from Outer Space has Russell and Natalie facing giant alien squirrels. In addition to Science fiction movies, the parody also pokes fun at foreign films. Russell spends most of the sketch speaking in a foreign language, with English subtitles appearing on the screen. Hilton and Ramada comment on the strangeness of English-dubbed movies.
- Janet introduces her favorite film The Wizard of Oz. She mentions that she likes the Land of Oz and might move there. When Janet is about to mention the part of Dorothy Gale, Julie's voice is heard saying "I'm not ready." Janet attempts to fill in for the role, but Julie automatically says, "I'm ready." As the scene begins, Julie (as Dorothy) and Fifi as (Toto) start out in black and white. Julie sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". When it changes to color, Julie is joined by Peter as the Scarecrow, Darnold as the Tin Man, and David as the Cowardly Lion in a rendition of "If I Only Had a Brain/a Heart/the Nerve" and "We're Off to See the Wizard".
- Darnold introduces the next parody. In Metro-Goldwyn-Duck's The Fool of the Roman Empire, Russell Brand portrays a jazz piano-playing Julius Caesar. Russell plays a melody on the piano, while Darnold, Bozark, and Lou Hampshire have a chariot race. Darnold's chariot is pulled by a chicken, Bozark's chariot is pulled by squirrels, and Lew Hampshire's chariot is pulled by a shark. Hilton and Ramada comment on the parody.
- Backstage, D'Abruzzo the Squirrel complains to Fred about the previous sketch, claiming that it was an insult to squirrels. D'Abruzzo and his squirrel buddies try to convince Fred to put them in a glamorous squirrel production number. Fred tells the squirrels that the gang have already done a similar production number in "Fred the Ostrich in The Great Diamond Caper". A clip from the film, featuring "The First Time It Happens" is shown.
- Natalie Portman attempts to flirt with Fred, but Julie interrupts them. Fred suggests that Natalie shall introduce the horror movie genre. In her introduction, Natalie insists that she hates horror movies. She's soon attacked by a group of ugly, hideous monsters. In J. Arthur Hippo's The Nephew of Frankenstein, David visits his uncle (played by Dr. Claudius Iguana) who is working on a comedian monster (played by Munch). They attempt to do a "Hot Cross Bunnies" joke. The experiment blows Munch up and burns the film screen. Firefighters are called, but joke that they are unable to put out a fire that was caused in the 19th Century as "our hoses won't reach!". The segment ends with Fred parodying Porky Pig's "That's all folks!" line.
- Ralph the Bear presents a silent movie featuring Fred the Ostrich and Dromedary the Camel. Munch drops in finally getting the "Hot Cross Bunnies" joke.
- George Rhino comes on stage to translate an Ingmar Bergman film. Lloyd Zeppelin comes on stage, informing George that the film is not by Ingmar, but by his brother Dumbo. The film Silent Strawberries parodies Bergman's films. It features The Italian Chef, Sneeker (as "The Angel of Death"), David the Duck, and Fred the Ostrich. As the film is not in English, George has to translate. Much to George's disgust, the translations make absolutely no sense. The film ends with a rendition of "Hooray for Hollywood". Ramada claims he doesn't believe in "The Angel of Death", but is automatically frightened by someone over his shoulder (a popcorn girl).
- A spoof of Casablanca is shown where Fred the Ostrich is saying his goodbyes to Julie Simpson while the wind of the airplane is blowing.
- Backstage, Lloyd and Janet sing "Act Naturally".
- Russell Brand tells the audience about his love for artistic French films. He then explains that because of his fondness for those films, he asked the cast members not to parody them, but instead to do a "tasteless tribute to the Western". In Tantamount Picture's Small in the Saddle, a couple of cowboys, their horses, two outlaws, and the outlaws' cows sing "Ragtime Cowboy Joe." Lou Hampshire shows up paddling a boat. Much to Ramada's shock, Hilton has apparently turned into a cow.
- Fred introduces a spoof of Tarzan with Darnold as Tarzan and Natalie Portman as Jane Porter.
- Backstage, Fred tells Bozark that it is time for his tribute to the Hollywood stuntman. A clip from "Fred the Ostrich in The Great Diamond Caper" featuring Bozark driving Fred, David, and Darnold in a taxi is shown.
- Fred introduces the next musical number. Julie performs "Heat Wave" in the style of Marilyn Monroe and is backed up by a chorus of penguins and seals.
- Backstage, Fred congratulates Julie on her performance. Julie wants everyone to see what a great performer Fred is, by showing a Fred Astaire tribute that he did in "Fred the Ostrich in The Great Diamond Caper". A clip from the film, featuring the song "Stepping Out With a Star" is shown. After the clip, Ramada does his own "tap dance" routine.
- In Goon with the Wind, Russell Brand and Julie portray Rhett and Scarlett as they watch a fire in the background. The sketch is interrupted by the firefighters from earlier on. Hilton and Ramada decide to give the sketch three big cheers. Three big chairs are thrown at the two.
- Lou Hampshire introduces the final sketch. The film, Colossal Pictures' "An Ostrich Too Far", has Fred the Ostrich playing a World War II air force pilot and Natalie Portman playing various love interests.
- The characters in all the film spoofs sing "We'll Meet Again."
During the credits, the gang leave the Fred the Ostrich Theater as Fred locks up the stage door oblivious that he has locked Russell and Natalie in.
Cast[]
- Russell Brand as himself
- Natalie Portman as herself
| Voice actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jim Ward | Fred/Hippo/Gladiator Pig |
| Dee Bradley Baker | David/Sneeker/Anthromorph |
| Tom Kenny | Announcer/Lou Hampshire/Dr. Claudius Iguana/Gramps/Deputy/Gladiator Lizard/Fireman/Squirrel |
| Jeff Bennett | Darnold/George/Italian Chef/Sheriff/Squirrel/Cow |
| Grey Delisle | Popcorn Girl |
| Greg Cipes | Peter Olsen |
| Carlos Alazraqui | Lloyd |
| Kevin Michael Richardson | Ralph |
| James Arnold Taylor | Janet |
| Keith Ferguson | Fifi/Scarlet Pimpernel/Jed/Fireman |
| Daran Norris | Bozark/Joe/Fireman/Trumpet Blower/Squirrel |
| Drew Massey | Ramada |
| Victor Yerrid | Hilton |
- Additional Voices by Jennifer Hale, Ben Diskin, Mark Hamill, Cree Summer Francks, Kath Soucie, and Rob Paulsen.
- Professor Bunscombe, Boogedy, Glare, three unnamed Creeps, a Shark, some Chickens, the Nathsmician Sood, a member of the Geriatrics, a White Rabbit, Ernie Monster, Larry the Dairy Monster, Undergrowth, Johnny Johnson, and Harris Margongagle appear but have no lines, though they can be heard singing "Hey, A Movie!".
Trivia[]
- The same sets from The Fred the Ostrich Show are used for this special.
- Later syndicated alongside The Fred the Ostrich Show.
- The first time a camera shot at the entrance to the Fred the Ostrich Theater is shown at the special's conclusion.