The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes

The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes is a stop-motion television special by Rankin/Bass. It originally aired on February 2, 1972, in association with Tomorrow Entertainment, a subsidiary of General Electric.

Synopsis
Danny Kaye, our host, tells a group of children the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes", from the point of view of his character Marmaduke, a smooth-talking, yet kindly trickster. As the story begins, he and his loyal sidekick Mufti are kicked out of the kingdom of Kongo. Marmaduke looks over the list of countries and cities they have been kicked out of for their trickery, coming down to the very last name: the empire of Bibbentucker. Marmaduke says that he'd rather become honest than face Bibbentucker. He dries his eyes on a poster, advertising a contest, offering 1,000,000 grinklens to the tailor who makes the best for the emperor of Bibbentucker, Emperor Klockenlocker. With the thoughts of a 1,000,000 grinklens dancing in their heads, the duo dash off to the empire of Bibbentucker, in hopes of winning the money for themselves.

As they reach their destination, they find themselves within a huge crowd gathered in the town square. There, the emperor's court jester Jasper announces the 174th monthly presentation of the Award for the Best-Dressed Man in Bibbentucker. The winner of course proves to be Emperor Klockenlocker. The emperor himself appears to the applause of the crowd, accompanied by (in order of appearance) his royal pets Archibald the pussycat and Percival the ape, the Imperial Council (which consists of the Prime Minister, the Primer Minister, and the Prime-est Minister), and his lovely daughter Princess Jane. As the emperor accepts his award, thanking everyone who worked hard to make his regal outfit, Jane sits alone by herself, bored with her father's speech. That's when Marmaduke appears and introduces himself to her. Jane, who instantly takes a liking to Marmaduke, tells him all about a conspiracy to overthrow the emperor. Unknown to the emperor, Jasper secretly wants to rule the empire. Two years earlier, before the story took place, Klockenlocker was a kind and good ruler, until the death of his wife made him sad and lonely. Jasper took advantage of the emperor's grief, by flattering him and as a result, the vain emperor became interested clothes, and his wardrobe became the only thing he thought about. He left Jasper in charge of matters of state, and the evil jester encouraged the emperor to spend sums of his money on clothes to "pay the tailors," who all work for Jasper and whom are paid slaves' wages, whilst the rest of the money he keeps for himself. Marmaduke vows to Jane that he will save her father's empire from falling into Jasper's clutches, which catches the attention of the emperor. Jane tells her father she has a new beau. Klockenlocker, after his first look at Marmaduke, is disgusted by his appearance, as is Jasper, who is shocked that Marmaduke would dress in such a ragged fashion before royalty. He whispers to the emperor, and Klockenlocker orders his meanest palace guard Ivan to arrest Marmaduke and Mufti and toss them into the Boulevard of Rogues, despite his daughter's plea not to do so.

Ivan throws the duo into the Boulevard of Rogues, where they find it isn't so bad. There, all the poor folk, who cannot dress as fancy as Klockenlocker are thrown in, live and thrive. While making a patched-up, old suit for the emperor, Marmaduke, looking for more materials for the suit, hears a small cry, and finds an orphaned boy named Buski, sobbing. He and Mufti "de-orphan" the boy and adopt, with Marmaduke posing as his new uncle, and Mufti as his grandpa. Together, they finish the suit, and the following midnight, they attempt to escape the Boulevard, when they come to a moat, filled with crocodiles, alligators, a shark, and an octopus. Marmaduke sentimentally compliments each of the animals in the moat, and the creatures instantly turn from vicious to docile, even giving them a ride across the moat.

Inside the palace, Klockenlocker and Marmaduke meet face to face. Marmaduke explains to the emperor that he and Mufti are tailors' tailors and that they have brought a suit for him. When they show him the ragged suit, he orders them to leave. Jasper, seeing this as his chance to seize the throne, asks them if they have anything else to show the emperor. Marmaduke, thinking quickly, tells the emperor that he has a very "enchanted" cloth, and that the cloth itself is invisible to anyone who is very stupid or unfit to hold office. He pretends to show it off to the emperor, who orders them to make a suit out of it, not admitting that he cannot see it.

During his time in the palace, Jane confides in Marmaduke, telling him that as of late, Jasper plans to marry her, because even with all the treasury, he cannot rule unless he marries into the royal family. Marmaduke vows he won't let Jasper have Jane. Jasper, who despises Marmaduke spending time with Jane, threatens him to do as he says, or he'll order Ivan (who is secretly working for Jasper) to cut off his head. When Marmaduke asks Jasper what will happen if Jane doesn't love him, the sneaky jester says he will trick her into a wedding, and Marmaduke find out how when Jasper wants him to.

Each day, Marmaduke, along with Mufti, Buski and several stray dogs, work on the suit that isn't there. Each night, the emperor studies his arithmetic, spelling and history, trying to become less stupid, in order to see the cloth, and not have everyone believe he is a fool. Jasper, at one point, begins to grow impatient with Marmaduke and his assistants, taking their time with the suit. In order to make them finish faster, he warns them that if they do not do as he tells them, he'll have Ivan fire the cannon at the Boulevard of Rogues, destroying their friends. He also tells them that Marmaduke and Mufti will receive 1 grinklen each, while the rest of the 1,000,000 they were promised they will give to him.

Marmaduke and his friends concoct a plan to foil the evil jester's scheme. jane gives Mufti her father's brass statues, which he saws into makeshift coins. Marmaduke tells the emperor his uit is ready and "presents" it to him. Klockenlocker gives them the money. The duo then put the fake money into another sack and hide it in Ivan's cannon. Jasper comes to pick up what he thinks is the real money and tells Ivan to put the sack of fake money away with the rest of the treasury he stole.

Later, the emperor shows off his new "suit." The council gasp at the sight of their emperor naked. Jasper tells the stunned group, as well as the royal pets, to applaud, which they do so. They then march out into the town square, where the emperor is give his daughter away to Marmaduke. Jasper tells Marmaduke to pretend not to accept Jane's hand in marriage because he is already married, or else. Marmaduke reluctantly does so, and tells the emperor he gives Jane over the Jasper. One of the three ministers marries the two, but it is really Buski in disguise. The boy shakes with laughter at Klockenlocker. When he asks why the boy is laughing, Buski responds by telling him he is naked, and doesn't have any clothes on. The council too agree that the emperor is naked. Embarrassed and shocked upon realizing Marmaduke tricked him, the emperor frantically tries to cover up his nudity.

Klockenlocker blames Jasper for letting Marmaduke trick him and declares that his banished from the empire forever. He orders the guards to arrest Jasper and take Marmaduke and Mufti back to the Boulevard of Rogues. Buski hands the emperor a note written by Jane, stating that she is safe in the Boulevard, where and Maramduke are to wed. At first, after the incident, he forbids it, but changes his mind when he realizes she loves Marmaduke. He then orders the parade to continue, and marches through the town to Boulevard, and attends the wedding, completely naked. As the story ends, Jasper, angry that his plans are ruined, order Ivan to fire the cannon. The guard does so, but instead of firing a cannon ball, it shoots out the money the heroes hid earlier, providing the poor folks of the Boulevard with 1,000,000 grinklens.

Songs
"There's a World of Enchantment To See" (Main Title)

"Clothes Make the Man"

"When A Tailor Needs a Tailor"

"I See What I Want to See"

"Creation"

"All You Need is Money to Be Rich"

Cast
Danny Kaye: Host/Narrator/Marmaduke

Allen Swift: Mufti, Ivan

Cyril Ritchard: Emperor Klockenlocker

Imogene Coca: Princess Jane

Bob McFadden: Jasper

Gary Shapiro: Buski