Mad Monster Party (1967)

LIKE MANY OF MY GENERATION, I was raised on Rankin/Bass holiday specials: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Year without a Santa Claus, Here Comes Peter Cottontail, etc. – back when they were annual, one-time, prime-time events and not blanketed all over ABC Family each season the way they are now.

So how did I miss Rankin/Bass’ full-length Halloween movie, Mad Monster Party? The box art and description didn’t ring a bell. But since I was in need of a kids’ movie to review for October, I sat down with Dash to check it out…

Plot:
After creating the secret formula for destruction, Baron von Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) – head of the Worldwide Organization of Monsters – assembles all the great classic monsters (the Frankenstein monster, the Mummy, Dr. Jekyll, Dracula, the Werewolf, and the Invisible Man) at his castle to announce his retirement. He’s chosen his mild-mannered, klutzy nephew Felix (Allen Swift) as his successor, much to the dismay of the monsters – who plot various schemes to double-cross one another and get rid of Felix once and for all.

Critique:

According to the hyperbolic, editor-starved liner notes in the DVD, Mad Monster Party was a commercial dud when it was released in theaters. Can’t say I’m surprised, because it’s a ponderous, flat, unfeeling film that substantially lacks the charm of its Rankin/Bass brethren.

Many of the scenes play out way too long and seem detached from each other, like their own little vignettes, each with nearly the same formula: scene plays out, punchline is delivered, fade to black... scene, punchline, fade…

Also, the musical numbers come out of nowhere and are largely forgettable (except for the peppy “One Step Ahead”). And outside of the musical numbers, there’s virtually no background score to keep things lively.

After the first 30 minutes, I was bored. At 45 minutes, Dash was asleep on the couch (this was a two-night viewing). Had Mad Monster Party been trimmed to a one-hour TV special, rather than a 95-minute film, it may have been more effective and enjoyable. (Interestingly, several scenes were added at producer Joseph E. Levine’s request, despite Arthur Rankin, Jr.'s protests that they slowed down the film.)

Watching Mad Monster Party is a cold, sterile experience – and not just because the majority of the film takes place in Dr. Frankenstein’s castle. Yet much like Frankenstein’s monster, the movie lumbers aimlessly.

A weird postscript: Turns out I had seen Mad Monster Party as a kid; I just didn’t remember any of it, except for one random scene: Dracula hacking through the woods near Frankenstein’s castle with a machete. For some reason, that one scene had stuck in my head since childhood, but I never would have guessed it was from this film. I guess the liner notes said it best: “Many adults remember seeing [Mad Monster Party] as a child but weren’t sure of the title or even if it was an actual film because it didn’t repeat [on TV] year after year in most areas.”

Trivia: The voice of Francesca (Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant/creation) was singer Gale Garrett, who had a hit in 1964 with “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine.”

Rating:

What did Dash think?

He was a little apprehensive based on the creepy box art, but he agreed to watch it. Did he like it? Well, he paid attention, laughing heartily only once (as did I, at the same scene). When it was over, he shrugged and said, “It was okay.” We both then agreed, it ain’t no Rudolph.

Will your kids like it?

Most kids today don’t have the attention span for older kids’ movies and shows, and Mad Monster Party will definitely put their interest to the test: It’s slow and a bit longer than most of today's kids’ films.
In terms of content, there are a few questionable elements:
• Some of the creatures and their jerky animation may be a bit scary for preschoolers or younger
• Near the end, Felix gets so distraught over losing Francesca to a giant monster that he declares he’ll kill himself
• The film ends, essentially, with (SPOILER ALERT!) a mass murder of the monsters by Dr. Frankenstein, who also perishes with them

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

Even if she loves Rankin/Bass shows and/or Halloween, be forewarned: Mad Monster Party is a struggle to sit through. Pass on it and wait a couple more months to enjoy the true R/B classics of Christmastime.

Insert Grateful Dead joke here.

Mad Monster Party
• Director: Jules Bass
• Screenwriters: Len Korobkin, Harvey Kurtzman
• Stars: Boris Karloff, Allen Swift, Gale Garnett, Phyllis Diller, Ethel Ennis
• MPAA Rating: G


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Spookley the Square Pumpkin (2004)

Okay, I’ve been pretty heavy on grown-up horror films for my last few reviews – see exhibits A, B, C, and D – so here’s a Halloween tale you can enjoy with the kids: Spookley the Square Pumpkin. (Actually, your kids might enjoy it more than you, if my children are any indication.)

Based on the book by Joe Troiano, the film tells the story of Spookley, the only square pumpkin in his patch. Tormented and ostracized by the other pumpkins – especially the jerk-tastic duo of Big Tom and Little Tom – Spookley begins to doubt he belongs in the patch at all.

But then, his chance to prove himself comes with the Jackalympics – a series of pumpkin-centric events (sadly, no Punkin Chunkin) where the winner will be crowned “pick of the patch” for Halloween, and Farmer Hill will place the winner on his front porch.

Pros/Cons (depending on if you’re an adult or child):
• For what seems like a direct-to-DVD or made-for-TV movie, Spookley’s animation is pretty well done, featuring good use of depth, textures, and color.
• The dialogue’s a bit over-delivered, probably for the sake of its target audience – which I would peg as first-graders and younger.
• Kids will enjoy the songs, but adults will find them merely tolerable, sub-Disney fare (with one notable exception – see comments).
• The film does throw a few bones to the grown-ups watching, with in-jokes such as brother-and-sister bats named Boris and Bella, and a trio of spiders named Edgar, Allan, and Poe who specialize in “web design.”

Spookley’s message is ultimately a positive one of acceptance and believing in yourself. It’s been done before (a certain red-nosed reindeer, anyone?), but it doesn’t hurt to reinforce these positive feelings in kids one more time.

I’m adding an extra star to my rating, based on my kids’ experience (and constant requests for repeat viewing), but grown-ups will probably zone out after a couple of showings (and by that I mean literally two).

Funny P.S.: When Little Tom tells the other pumpkins that Spookley is “a freak of nature,” my wife thought he said that he’s “a freakin’ a-hole.”

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5).

Will your kids like it?

My kids (ages 5 and 2) were glued to it, not uttering one word the whole time. Hope that helps answer the question.

Will your FilmMother like it?

As much as kids may like it, I think mothers and fathers alike will fall victim to my two-and-out viewing rule described above.

Spookley the Square Pumpkin
* Director: Bernie Denk
* Screenwriter: Tom Hughes
* MPAA Rating: G


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