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DVD Mad Monster Party
Love the classic monsters Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dr. Jekyll, the Creature, Dracula, the Werewolf, and the Invisible Man? They're all here in this animated, 90-minute video--and so are the vocal talents of Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller. After discovering the secret of destruction, Baron von Frankenstein is retiring as head of the World Wide Organization of Monsters. He's handpicked his mortal nephew Felix to be his successor, and his fellow monsters are less than pleased. Even though Felix politely declines to carry on this family tradition, the monsters band together and double-cross one another in comic attempts to expel Felix from the group.
The "Rankin/Bass Animagic process" of using stop-motion photography with three-dimensional figures makes this video a visual feast for animation buffs, but it is outdated compared to modern animation techniques. Humorous details, like the count looking into a mirror to comb his hair and seeing only his comb reflected, permeate the video and will have viewers chuckling out loud and on alert for potential missed laughs. This video is best for children from about 5 to 12 years old or adults who want to reminisce over a movie viewed in their childhood. --Tami Horiuchi
Well done tale of just about every monster in the horror genre made into clay animation (animagic). Not as enjoyable as most of the Rankin/Bass holiday animagic specials, but still quite a delight. It's pretty dark, similar to Nightmare Before Christmas, with some heads coming off and stuff. Not for the very young.
The DVD is much better than the video released a few years ago. That video's colors were very dull and the DVD has livened things up. We need more Rankin Bass on DVD!!!
Fiendishly Good Movie
A lot of movies that are fondly remembered from childhood don't stand the test of time. "Mad Monster Party" is definitely an exception to that rule! This film shows Rankin-Bass at their best. The puppets are charming, the production values are high (including fantastic '60s music), and the humour has a universal appeal. I watched it recently with my 40-year-old brother and 4-year-old niece. We all enjoyed it thoroughly. For kids, it is choc full of monsters and hilarious pratfalls. Adults can appreciate the film's double entendres and the way in which it gently pokes fun at many of the cliches of the horror genre.
"Mad Monster Party" is the perfect family film. After languishing in obscurity for years, it deserves to take its place as a classic of the Halloween season.
RUDOLPH IS NOSTALGIA; THIS MOVIE IS JUST DARN DEPRESSING
My 8 year old daughter and I are HUGE Rankin/Bass "claymation" fans, so we went into watching "Mad Monster Party" with an open mind (she really liked Nightmare Before Xmas, by the way, so we're even open to "dark-type" pictures).
Since there are may reviews below I will outline the positive and negatives:
POSITIVES: 1) Very well-done claymations (as always with Rankin/Bass). DVD is colorful and clear. 2) Fun to see your favorite Halloween characters in claymation form.
NEGATIVES: 1) One reviewer below described the ending as "nihilistic" (*SPOILER HERE*) I couldn't have thought of a better word - was it necessary to have the entire group of monsters blown up and just about every character killed? The reviewers below all say how they watched and loved this movie as children, yet I can't help but feel like this was originally marketed towards adults (yet the plot itself is too childish and boring for adults). Wouldn't it have been cuter and funnier to have the monsters all come together in some fashion and work things out? If not, then maybe the story line should have been darker throughout. You watch the picture thinking it's for children and then that ending makes you feel like you've been robbed and you should have shut it off before your 3-6 year old wound up crying (luckily my daughter handled it well). It was even a little too sexual for kids with that Francesca character. 2) I'm sorry but the plot and the "lines", the "jokes" etc. were just too boring for me, I actually fell asleep twice watching this. I honestly think this 95 minute flick could have been condensed into a 45-60 minute "TV special" (although again, I would have pleaded for a more enjoyable ending.
Sorry Mad Monster Party fans, I love Halloween as much if not more than Christmas, but Rudolph and his Misfit toys (even their other Xmas productions) blow this movie away!
Not only does the incurably sleepy Hans "Chris" Andersen dream in full color, this future storyteller also dreams in "Animagic." From the award-winning team that delights youngsters annually with their 1964 classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass), The Daydreamer blends animated, roly-headed puppets with live-action talent including Jack Gilford (Cocoon) and Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz). A hunger for knowledge sends young Chris Andersen searching for the elusive Garden of Paradise. But the Sandman (a wavy shadow, voiced by Cyril Ritchard) casts Chris into a magical puppet world where he breaks a little mermaid's heart, humiliates an emperor, and causes big trouble for tiny Thumbelina. Screen favorites like... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jules Bass DVD Release Date: Released the 04 March 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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This is an excellent stop-motion TV special that originally aired during the early 70's. It features the voices of Danny Kaye, Vincent Price and Casey Kasem. It is produced by the wonderful animation team of Rankin/Bass who also graced our television sets with holiday traditions such as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Santa Claus is Coming To Town", "Frosty the Snowman", and the popular cult classic "Mad Monster Party".
This fanciful, pastel-colored Easter special is based on a book titled "The Easter Bunny Who Overslept". Peter agrees to a contest against Evil Irontail to see who can deliver the most Easter eggs. But, when Peter oversleeps, leaving Evil Irontail to rule April Valley (the land of Easter bunnys), he must travel back through time making unplanned stops at all the... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Arthur Rankin Jr. - Jules Bass DVD Release Date: Released the 12 February 2002 Usually ships in 4 to 5 days
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This DVD contains three holiday titles from Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass.
The Year Without a Santa Claus Even Santa can suffer a case of the holiday blues. In this 1974 stop-motion holiday family favorite, a sparkly eyed Mrs. Claus (voiced by Shirley Booth) sings and tells about the year her hubby felt too weary and too unappreciated to prepare for his annual Christmas rounds. Mickey Rooney stars as the voice of Santa, a rosy-nosed puppet who travels incognito to Southtown in search of his tiniest reindeer, Vixen, and two well-meaning elves. Seems Mrs. Santa sent them to find proof of Christmas spirit--but all they've discovered is ambivalence about Santa's year off. Luckily, when Santa arrives and befriends a buck-toothed lad named Ignatius Thistlewhite, spirits... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jules Bass - Arthur Rankin Jr. DVD Release Date: Released the 31 October 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I remember seeing this during Christmastime in elementary school waiting for my piano lesson in my instructor's TV room. It's a classic. Sure, it's not as known as Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty and The Year Without a Santa Claus, but it deserves to be. Children and adults will enjoy this Christmas classic. Thoroughly enjoyable! More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 17 September 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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What ever made this show get released on DVD prior to all the other more popular Rankin/Bass specials is beyond me, but I am quite pleased to see it, nonetheless! I don't even think this was ever out on video, so it's here first in all DVD splendor.
Nice to see Danny Kaye in Denmark with all the kids. My son loves the animagic the most, but has no trouble paying attention to Danny and all the kids having a grand ole time in great Danish settings. It's a shame the rest of the Danny Kaye series never materialized as they invisioned it. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jules Bass DVD Release Date: Released the 06 August 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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