Mad Monster Party

Despite the presence of Harvey Kurtzman and Jack Davis from the original Mad, this picture isn't quite the clay-animated Mad movie one could have hoped for.

That said, it is a fine family entertainment as a sidedish to the classic monster films of the 30s. It should be as much a part of one's Hallowe'en tradition as dancing The Monster Mash or getting nauseous on candy borrowed from the kids' baskets!

I was thrilled to come across this newly repackaged DVD version of "Mad Monster Party" - thank you, Anchor Bay!

Like other reviewers, MMP was a staple of my early TV viewing years. KTTV in Los Angeles used to show this program every year, around Columbus Day (I think), and it quickly became a holiday tradition. Then, and now, I don't think MMP ever got the respect it richly deserved. It dropped from the airwaves sometime in the late 60's.

This newly re-mastered DVD has captured the film in all it's colorful richness. The sound is what you'd expect, (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), but on my home theater it still looked and sounded great. And there were a few more surprises.

For example, I was surprised to find that the film is 95 minutes long - I guess it's a product of looking back through 30+ years, but I hadn't realized that this was intended to be a full featured theatrical release, competing with Disney's total dominance of the youth and family film market in the early 60's. I'd just assumed that this was a made-for-TV production, ala "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."

For reasons not fully explained, when the film was released it was restricted to matinee showings and never had the wide audience distribution and success it could have achieved. Consequently, it didn't realize its' full potential and was soon in television distribution.

The history of MMP's ups and downs is documented in an accompanying, richly illustrated, 24 page booklet, "Mad Monster Party: The Complete History of the Classic Rankin/Bass Theatrical Release." This is a real gem with interviews, behind the scene photos, and production art. This could easily have been turned into a really slick video extra for the DVD set, but even in this "hard-copy" form it's very entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Also included are a set of postcard sized "lobby cards" with studies of the main characters: The Monster's Mate, Dracula, Fang, Uncle Boris, Nephew Felix, Yetch, and (of course) the over-the-top-sexy Francesca. (Is it just me, or does Francesca look like she could have been Jessica Rabbit's mother?) Maybe for copyright reasons (I'm just guessing here) Frankenstein's Monster is called "Fang" and King Kong is "It."

The animation is very much a child of the 60's from it's James Bond like opening theme to the red-wigged skeleton band. My 10-year-old thought the wigs meant that this was an all-girl group! I tried (unsuccessfully) to explain the significance of the mop-topped groups of the British rock invasion and she looked at me as though I was making it all up. But you and I know the truth and can nod knowingly at the corny musical numbers and strangely stilted dance moves of monsters trying too hard to be "groovy."

A truly great blast from the past, this DVD must be in any serious Halloween fan's collection, particularly if you have children or grandchildren who've never seen this holiday treat before - even my jaded Generation Y teens got a kick out of it. I give it five stars and highly recommend it.

i have looked for this movie in several stores and finally found it here

this is my favorite ever film i loved it as a child,i've worn 3 vhs tapes out over the years and at one stage i thought i'd never see it again. the amimation is stunning for a film that is coming up to its 40th birthday,the voices fit the characters so well,especialy philis diller but what tops it all is the sound track,i play 'the mummy' nearly every week on my disco and gale garnett singing 'there never was a love like mine' is one of the greatest love songs..
so with the dilapidated state of my wallet i mean your ship i think that i'll fly ._@_;

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!!!