The Rare Blue Apes of Cannibal Isle

Sometimes, you get reminded so bluntly and completely just how seismic a force Jim Henson and the Creature Shop were and are to family and fantasy filmmaking, huh?

This is a movie that is less like your typical surrealistic Dream Logic and more like what happens when you take a Mount St Helens-sized bong rip of Ambien after watching Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure, a random Malaysian exploitation flick and the Banana Splits for 48 consecutive hours. It is hard not to see the appeal because it is a "Children's movie" made by someone who works on the Trash and exploitation fringes. I can always dig a movie made by someone like that - Takashi Miike has made a few, like The Great Yokhai War and Ninja Kids - but Donn Greer is aiming to do a lot and is about as competent as Ed Wood and Coleman Francis were on their best days (Greer maybe has a few extra dollars to play with costumes and fire).

The word I kept thinking watching much of the middle of this movie at least is *TEDIOUS.* Even once the kid that absolutely doesn't sound at all like Mowgli from the 1967 Jungle Book (tell me you don't hear it now that I've said it) and the Blue Ape and uh Goose are in the cage it starts to become grating, despite the welcome and bug**** surrealistic touches (all of the editing where one worries briefly that the cutter had a seizure at the Kem board), and once they escape and the Alligator Pirates give chase it is repetitive scene after repetitive scene. I'd be more engaged if there was crazier dialog or visuals, but Greer shoots often from afar because everything is dubbed in, and the songs... my god, the songs.

This gave me the worst kind of flashbacks to those super, super cheap vhs tapes my parents would sometimes get me as a kid of like major low rent barnyard musicals with characters named like Scooter McGruter (maybe I'm having uncanny flashbacks as well, which is what this whole movie feels like, please send help). Point is, I *wanted* to enjoy this so much more than I did as a failed unhinged orphan of family entertainment; there's even delirious talk at one point from the Blue Ape about (checks notes) an eagle can warn when an enemy is near and perfect a giant rocket that can destroy the entire swamp in one gigantic blow and oh no the acid kicked in.

This is all to say Rare Blue Apes, aka Mr Quack Quack and Captain Crock is a mixed bag, where what is amazing about it is bonkers fun, and what sucks about it is really insufferable and dreary.

This is another previously lost flick that has recently been unearthed and released by Vinegar Syndrome. I am a little surprised this didn't get wider distribution early in its life as it feels like it is odd enough to garner something of a cult following. For those who have ever delved into the weirder side of kiddie matinees this definitely offers up some reasons to become a classic: surprisingly detailed lore, ridiculous looking costumes, some lavish set pieces, some amazing shooting locations, a fun animal sidekick, and a finale that is far higher stakes than you'd ever expect. I'd rate it higher but the low points are pretty bad and basically just feature some characters walking around while they banter. Additionally the cast of characters isn't as colorful as you'd expect from the initial psychotronic first act which makes things like the walk and talk approach to filler all the more patience testing. Still this is at least memorable as it is fairly weird but I'm not sure I'd suggest it to anyone who isn't already into psychotronic kid matinees as this is too poorly paced to make a convert out of most people.