Monster of the Day #522

Time to party down this week.

  • Flangepart

    Bet he can only put on fang in a vein at a time. Look at that point spread!

    Toon Vamps, this week Ken?

  • The Rev.

    From his line under the image, my guess is various critters from this (I assume this is Mad Monster Party, which I’ve never seen.)

  • Ken_Begg

     I don’t even know you, man.

  • bgbear_rogerh

    Love this film, looking forward to rest of week.  

  • Ken_Begg

    Too many great monsters for a week! Might be a follow-up round somewhere down the line.

    By the way, Mad Mad Mad Monsters (shown on the ABC Saturday Superstar Movie–man, they should release that entire skein of weirdness on DVD–rights issues?), the cartoon special sequel to MMP, is now out on DVD.

    By the way, years and years ago there was a boxed set of all the ABC Afterschool Specials. It pretty much sold out immediately. I always wondered why they don’t put out another release when that’s the case.

  • Ericb

    I haven’t seen this since I was probably 6 years old and back then my child mind didn’t register just how huge Francesca’s breasts were, geez.

  • Looks like he’d miss her neck.

  • zombiewhacker

    I loved that song number: “It’s Our Time To Shine” performed by Gale Garnett.  Unfortunately, the soundtrack CD is way OOP (not downloadable at iTunes either.)

    As for the movie itself, I don’t want to sound like a pooper, but Rankin Bass really should have released this as a TV special, not a feature film.  The film version (as it stands now)  has far  too many slow moments, too many draggy scenes.  Not to say there isn’t a lot of funny material there.  But with a careful edit, trimming heads and tails there, this would have made a terrific hour long special

    Then it would gone on to become a genuine holiday classic instead of a relatively obscure cult favorite.

  • zombiewhacker

    Speaking of Mad Mad Monsters:

    A lot of great, weird ABC Saturday animated specials have vanished into obscurity.  Remember Popeye and The Man Who Hated Laughter, where Popeye, Mandrake the Magician, Dagwood and Blondie, and other King Features Syndicates teamed up in an all-start animation mash-up?

    Or Daffy Duck Meets The Groovy Ghoulies? (Self-explanatory.)

    Or the animated Lost in Space remake  with Jonathan Harris returning as the voice of Dr. Smith and the robot was curiously referred to as “Robon”? (Not a typo.)

    Or The Brady Kids Meet Bewitched.  (I think it was Bewitched anyway.)

    Then there was another cartoon horror flick with the voice of Wolfman Jack.  Can’t remember the name of it though,

    Saturday morning TV in the 70s was wildly experimental in ways that have never been seen since.

  • I read a piece on that Popeye thing once. Sounded incredible. The cartoon characters like Popeye and Blondie acted like cartoons, and the adventure characters like The Phantom and Steve Canyon were doing their scenes as straight adventure! I’d forgotten the title, though. Someone really needs to release that baby!

  • “We got replies from everyone except IT.”

    Not as great as I hoped it would be, but one of those films that becomes more amusing with repeat viewings. ZW is right about it being a tad pokey in spots.

    There was also, I believe, a comic book adaptation (as was common at the time).

  • bgbear_rogerh

     They don’t build them like that anymore. 

  • bgbear_rogerh

     doesn’t matter because . . .oops, that’s a spoiler ;)

  • GalaxyJane

    I’m with you, this is one of those flicks I was very excited to see released on DVD, only to discover I didn’t really like it that much.  I want to like, it, hell I want to love it, but, while I appreciate the artistry, the flick itself kind of leaves me cold.

  • Ken_Begg

     Good news, folks. Looks like the whole thing is available on YouTube. And it’s not just Popeye, there’s a whole slew of other comic strip characters included.

  • zombiewhacker

    Was it Mandrake or was it the Phantom?  Or both?  I can’t remember.

  • Good ol’ Rankin-Bass. Just so much good stuff by them.

  • wallyballou

    ONE, TWO!

    (I know it’s not the Muppets but that’s what I thought of)

  • Ken_Begg

     Yes, she has two beautiful green eyes.