Rank - Tumblr Posts
BUSH CHRISTMAS (Dir: Ralph Smart, 1947).
Set during the Christmas holidays in the small valley community of Mara Mara, Bush Christmas follows the adventures of five children: brothers John (Morris Unicomb) and Snow (Nicky Yardley), their big sister Helen (Helen Grieve), English evacuee Michael (Michael Yardley) and friend Nesa (Nesa Saunders). After some horses are stolen from their ranch home, the kids decide to take the law into their own hands and set out into the Australian bush in order to track down the thieves and rescue the precious animals.
Bush Christmas was one of the first feature films from Rank Organisation's Children's Entertainment Film unit; a department which would eventually evolve into the Children's Film Foundation (CFF).
Although low budget, it feels significantly more polished than the usual, appealingly amateur, CFF output. Director Ralph Smart keeps the action moving at a steady pace while cinematographer George Heath captures the locations beautifully. Filmed in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, the location photography is a definite plus and lends an atmosphere unique in family movies of the era.
Chips Rafferty, then Australia's biggest homegrown movie star, hams it up nicely as Long Bill, the leader of the horse thieves. John Fernside and Stan Tolhurst are his cohorts, alternating some broad comedy with the required menace, as they are outwitted every step of the way by the kids.
Performances from the youngsters, none of whom had significant acting careers as adults, are appealing and natural. Nesa, the only indigenous lad, is slightly stereotyped, perhaps to be expected considering the era in which the movie was made. However, I feel the stereotyping is more naive than negative; with his knowledge of bush crafts he is shown to be the most intelligent and resourceful of the gang.
Set during the Australian summer, Bush Christmas is not especially festive for western audiences and is suitable viewing all year round. It is a modest little movie, but an engaging one at that. Perhaps a mite dated, but with enough comedy and action as to make it a worthwhile watch, especially for those looking for an alternative to modern family fare.
For a longer, more in-depth review of BUSH CHRISTMAS visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
Feelin’ kinda sad because I’ve thought up a new furry fart OC, but I can’t try drawing him for this blog because my art style is too distinctive and I already post non-kink stuff online...
So you’ll just have to hear about him through text!
He’s a half-raccoon, half-skunk hybrid named Ravi. However, ever since childhood, most people have saddled him with the nickname “Rank,” partly because of him being a raccoon-skunk (no amount of “I’m a Skoon!” changed anyone’s mind), partly because his skunk-spraying genes got warped into having constant flatulence instead.
Ravi used to hate being called “Rank,” but once he got into college, he made a few fart-loving friends who called him “Rank” lovingly, almost like it was a point of pride. The change of context was more important than he expected. To strangers and acquaintances, he’s Ravi, but if you’re a pal and can share a room with him after binging on wings and milkshakes, you can call him Rank all you want.
Rank is a cute pudgy guy who, while big in the middle, is pretty short. He doesn’t look like a kid per se, but his size and sweet nature makes everyone love to baby him. The only thing that drives people away is his butt, which - while large and just as invitingly fluffy as the rest of him - is often spewing out the results of his snack binges. He’s got em all: nervous farts, angry farts, silent ones, rumbly ones… Rank’s friends could fill out a catalogue with the classifications.
However, none of his farts beat his “spray” farts. Despite being half-skunk, Rank can’t actually spray. He just doesn’t have the glands for it. But his body must have retained a memory of what it needed to do, as Ravi’s farts do change when he’s angry, threatened, or wants to enact revenge. They get louder, longer, and a LOT more condensed. Those farts will stick to you all day. If he quickly turns around, points his butt at you, and raises his tail…. yeah, you better run.
Let me know if you guys wanna hear more about my new furry guy!
New thought about my raccoon/skunk fart OC Ravi!
His nickname “Rank” is most accurate at two times: when he uses his “spray” farts and when he eats spicy food. We’ve covered the former before, but the latter is also important to know. If Ravi eats food that’s too spicy, he’ll end up lying flat on his back as stinging farts flow out of him.
He already has trouble keeping in his gas, but you can tell by the sound and consistency of his spicy farts that these are a bit more troubling. His spicy farts have less pressure behind them, but are much more long and windy, and you can tell that Ravi can do nothing to stop them from flowing out. The smell doesn’t help matters either: it’s only a mystery why they aren’t true SBDs, instead vibrating his fluffy butt juuuuust enough for everyone’s attention to focus on him.
Another post about Ravi, my new furry OC:
Ravi gets mad whenever people make assumptions about him based on his raccoon half or his skunk half: mainly, that he'd love eating garbage and that he stinks.
Unfortunately, since Ravi’s a living garbage disposal - always finishing the scraps left by his friends and trying any food, no matter how odd it seems to others - and since his butt’s eternally belching gas, he can’t escape these allegations.
More Ravi thoughts:
80% of the time, Ravi is a cute tooter. He clutches his tummy with a flustered look on his face when it grumbles and bloats, and he blushes wonderfully when his gas rumbles out. He’s the absolute best person to tease when he farts, which is why his friends do it to him almost naturally.
15% of the time, he’s a carefree farter. This happens when he’s with people he trusts wholeheartedly, or when he’s high.
5% of the time, he’s a slightly sadistic and almost shameless farter. This only happens when he’s using his “spray” farts, and feels that someone must be punished.
How does Ravi react when people fart near him?
Ooh, good question!
So, since Ravi’s farts are pretty rank (hence his nickname “Rank”) and he’s half skunk, his nose is pretty well-suited for other strong smells. If someone farts around him, he won’t be disgusted on that front. And while he’s a bashful farter himself, he won’t judge if someone else needs to do it. Ravi may be a gas factory, but he’s no hypocrite.
Mostly, his reaction depends on the person who’s farting. If the farter is a stranger who let it out accidentally, or who pushed one out because they just had to let off some steam, Ravi won’t mind at all. In fact, he’ll smile or chuckle (or ignore it, if that’s what the person needs), letting the other person know there’s no reason to worry.
If it’s a friend, then Ravi will definitely respond with a joking groan or complaint, or even a compliment. If it’s a romantic partner, he’ll absolutely compliment or tease them. Farts are fun in these situations!
Now, if it’s a stranger (or someone he doesn’t like) forcing out a fart just to be gross or obnoxious, then the situation changes. He finds these people annoying, and their farts gross on moral grounds. And if he sees someone tormenting somebody else with their gas, such as doing it repeatedly despite being told to stop, or force-farting in someone's face?
Well, that’s when Ravi busts out his “spray” farts and shows the offending farter what a REAL fart is.
Thanks for asking about my newest furry guy!
You know, I’ve described Ravi’s farts a bunch, but he’s not a bad belcher!
Like I’ve mentioned before, Ravi’s “I’ll try everything/You gonna finish that?” diet leads to a lot of gas. This includes gas escaping from the top as well as the bottom. He doesn’t burp as constantly as he farts, but they’ll still bubble up after a big meal, or after his stomach gets some strong jostling. He’s also had his fair share of belches interrupting his speech. While his burps never turn into table-shaking roars, they can definitely can loud enough to turn heads, especially since they’re coming from such a cute little face.
Curiously, Ravi’s a lot less shy about belching than he is about farting. He’ll still apologize for it around strangers to be polite, but it’s way different than when he apologizes for his farts.
Ravi apologizing for a burp: Oof, excuse me! :3 (rubs stomach) Lotta air in there today!
Ravi apologizing for a fart: (blushing as he shamefully clutches his stomach) oh my god, I’m so sorry...