Mad Monster Party
by Jules Bass
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DVD details
Actor: Allen Swift, Boris Karloff, Ethel Ennis, Gale Garnett, Phyllis DillerDirector: Jules Bass
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-23
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
DVD Reviews of Mad Monster Party
DVD Review: Very disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
I was just amazed how bad this was especially since it is a Rankin Bass movie. I totally disagree about this being a family film...it is not! They have one scene where two women get into a fight but first their clothes are removed down to their underwear before they begin fighting - not to mention that one women's boobs are so big and pointed that they could literally poke an eye out!
Bad music, worse dialogue and the story line makes you snooze. The song that Phyllis Diller does is just about the worst I have ever heard.
This movie is over 90 minutes long and that would be about 85 minutes too long.
DVD Review: Great Classic Movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the first movie I owned on VHS! I wanted to have a copy on dvd. The quality is great. There are some extras on the menu that aren't didn't come on the VHS tape. Shipping was fast. I will buy from this seller again!DVD Review: oldie but a goodie
Summary: 4 Stars
Great old animated movie,takes me back to my youth,great buy for the Boris Karloff Fan.DVD Review: An invitation!
Summary: 5 Stars
PLOT
Infamous for his Promethian creation of Life, Dr. Baron Boris Von Frankenstein has now discovered the secret of ultimate destruction, comprised of a glowing blue solution kept in a vial. Monsters from all over the world are invited via bat mail to a ball in honor of its discovery, and to decide on a successor to the Frankenstein Legacy. Included amongst the invitations, one goes to an unknown Pharmacist named Felix Flankin, an awkward young man with asthma.
Transported upon a sea monster boat to the island, greeted by zombie servants with groveling supervisor Yetch {a Peter Lorre characterization}, the monsters arrive one by one in ghoulish style, including Count Dracula {Allen Swift}, The Wolfman, Frankenstein's creation along with 'The Monster's Mate' {Phillis Diller}, The Creature, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde {Swift}, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Who will be selected? Included amongst the delightful menagerie of distinguished guests is one Francesca {Gale Garnett}, Dr. Frankenstein's veritable Galatea creation, a curvy redhead with a voice as soft as silk {a 'cartoon cutie', as it were}, whose characterization could very well have inspired one Jessica Rabbit and Sally {NBX}.
After a performance by the resident skeleton band, the party gets rowdy and breaks out into a free for all. Francesca's plotting turns against her and she is on the run with Felix through the surrounding wilderness, where we finally meet "It" {Kong}. There are a couple of surprises towards the end, with a bit of tragedy, and where things are certainly not as they appear to be...
MUSICK
Partially a musical, the Mad Monster Party soundtrack composed by Maury Laws, also features the remarkable vocal talents of Ethel Ennis, who sings the memorably splendid title theme, with wonderful lyrics such as:
"The full moon... brings out the monster in you... a strange tune seems to be playing for you... could you be someone's invention... so unreal as you feel tonight... did you sell your soul to The Devil... at that Mad Monster Party last night...?"
Gale Garnett provides Francesca's sultry speaking and singing voice with the tenderly romantic serenade 'Never Was A Love Like Mine'; Phillis Diller contributes with the humorous, if not relatable "You're Different". Even Boris Karloff joins in with 'One Step Ahead', in a rhythmic narration, with an organ-playing Baron Von Frankenstein.
Of note, to celebrate Halloween, Horror-Rock band The Misfits would eventually record their version of 'Monster Mash' whose video features scenes from Mad Monster Party integrated with their show.
THEY'RE ALIVE!
The characters themselves are rendered in what has been appropriately referred to as "Animagic" ~ marianettes designed by Mad Magazine's Jack Harris, which are imbued with such personality so as to project the believable impression of life - this combined with the suspension of disbelief makes for quite an entertaining and Magical spectacle throughout.
I recall when this presentation was played every Halloween season, and being a Dracling favorite I kept close to My heart, I'd never miss it. Emerging from the nucleic innovation of Rankin-Bass, who also brought forth such ubiquitous holiday classics like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, it is easy to see the influence this film has had on the likes of Tim Burton, inspiring many of his creature-characters from The Nightmare Before Xmas, to Corpse Bride and Beetlejuice. It is really nice to have a fun presentation which speaks to those of us who resonate with the Halloween aesthetic. This film accompanies the afore-mentioned presentations perfectly, and is a truly entertaining addition for the monster within.
EXTRAS
Complete with extras such as the theatrical trailer, production art gallery, and poster & still gallery on the DVD, it also arrives with a superb 24-page booklet insert detailing the history, creators, characters, actors, with rare posters, photographs, promotional material, and production art / stills, all making for a most worthy resurrection from the mists of past unorthodoxy.
DVD Review: Simply the best of all the Rankin Bass animated films!
Summary: 5 Stars
This paved the way for all the Rankin Bass Christmas films (that all of us watch every year). Mad Monster Party was their first, and up until recently, was not available on DVD due to distribution problems. The new DVD print looks amazing, and a must see for anyone who is a fan of stop frame animation. Just remember Mr. Tim Burton...these guys didn't have computers back then taking care of their animation!!
Description of 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
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