Rankin Bass' Jack O' Lantern

We finish the Halloween Trilogy with the fifth episode of Festival of Family Classic with Jack O’ Lantern.

A grandpa tells the story him and his sister live in a dry farm. They found a living pumpkin named Jack O’ Lantern as it’s a leprechaun in disguise of a seed to grow into a pumpkin. Jack is protecting their farm from the ghost and goblins from a witch named Zelda (no relation to Hilda and Sabrina.) and warlock named Archibald, who’s destroying their crops.

Wait, a leprechaun in a Halloween film? Quick, hide Warrick Davis from a film with Jennifer Gardner. Yes I know Halloween descent from Ireland, despite majority would connect leprechaun closer to St. Patrick’s Day than any other holidays. I hope there isn’t another leprechaun film to be set outside of St. Patrick’s Day.

(Rankin Bass’ Leprechaun’s Christmas Gold.)

Soon I shall review it close to the end of December.

Jack O’ Lantern is a likable Pumpkin Scarecrow, as I haven’t seen the likes of him for Pumpkin Characters. He has a close parallel to Samhain in design and Halloween folklore.

“I AM HALLOWEEN!”

-Samhain from the Real Ghostbuster.

The animals were very distracting. They do something, but mostly at the end. Yet the kids don’t question their grandpa that the animals can speak this whole time. The kids (more on Michael than Colleen) could be taken out of the story, except Grandpa is telling the story and witness Jack O’ Lantern. Then again, it’ll be a short TV episode if it’s just Jack O’ Lantern protecting an empty farm.  

Zelda the Witch is simply the Wicked Witch of the West, specifically the MGM version, not the Tale of the Wizard of Oz. Archibald the Warlock is a decent wimp, more than I can say for Felix the George Bailey in terms of usefulness. If the witch was successful with her spells, then the kids in the story would be burnt or frozen to death, while their grandkids would question how they survive.

“Grandpa, if you got frozen to death, how did you and Grandma survives to today?”

-Grandson, voiced by an impression of Billie Mae Richard.

“Well that’s simple, I wait awhi…..”

-Grandpa, as he fades away whiles he’s about to explain. The grandkids are confused as they fade away too.

 

Now if I had to choose out of the Rankin Bass Trilogy on which is the best and worst, Mad Mad Mad Monsters would be the best, as Mad Monster Party would be the worst. Jack O Lantern would be in-between. It’s not padded with mostly forgettable music, but it’s not mostly funny either. It’s just a simple story to fill in mostly 21 minutes for TV. I give it credit it’s the unique of the three since it’s not a remake of the first version, or relying on popular movie monsters aside from the Witch. I doubt this is one of those stories to be remade a feature length film, as Pumpkin characters are either side character for Oz, an evil icon of a ghost or Yugioh card, or jump into a pool of assuming acid to become Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King.

I’m glad to see this Pot of Gold of a Halloween film, but I’m unlucky to see it as OK, and hard to find it on DVD. Jack O Lantern is up on Youtube for you all to judge for ye self. Happy Halloween and stay tune as I hope to finish the rest of the Festival of Family Classics starting with Puss In Boots, the rest of the non-Holiday specials with the Hobbits, and The Mouse of Mayflower.

Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters

Our second Halloween is Rankin Bass’ first animated Halloween film, Mad Mad Mad Monsters. Not to be confused with Mad Mad Mad Comedian, ironically this is a little funny.

Dr. Frankenstein creates the Bride for the Frankenstein Monster to be married. His assistance, Igor is jealous that he wants a girlfriend.

The Doctor invites all the monsters he knows to his party for the unveiling of his masterpiece. Wait, didn’t summarized this story before? Yes, this is mostly an exact plot to Mad Monster Party. In fact, this may be a prequel, despite continuity barely exist in the 70s. There is a major difference. The party is set at Transylvania hotel. *sigh* A human Hotel Transylvania, not Adam Sandler’s Dracula’s. Speaking of which, Dracula has a son, and the Invisible Man has a wife and son.

It was tricky to find a whole film online. Youtube only have the first 8 minutes. Thankfully, OVGuide has the full version, despite some scenes are out of order and has Jack O Lantern at the end.

Bob McFadden voiced Dr. Frankenstein sound as close as Boris Karloff. Fitting him also voices Franken Berry, and he would later voice Jingle Bell in Year Without Santa Claus. Of course Karloff wouldn’t reprise the role since he died after Mad Monster Party. Surprisingly, Allen Swift lends his voice for this film too, as he was Dracula, Invisible Man, Igor, Frankenstein, and the Werewolf. Dracula voice this version is at a deep Bela Lugosi, which sounds closer than Mad Monster Party’s Dracula that’s high pitch in comparison.

The human in this film is a Mailman Harvey, and the Bellhop, Norman (voiced by Bradley Bolke, who would later voice Jangle Bell). Harvey is the paranoid guy to deal with the monsters rather if they’re real or not. Norman is a monster fanboy, and it’s enjoyable to see his idols stay in the hotel he works for. Somehow they’re more likable straight men than Felix the George Bailey, because they’re useful in their jobs, one fear the monsters as one adore them, and aren’t doing the obnoxious ritual of curing his allergies.

The Bride of Frankenstein has a simple beautiful design, at least overall for the body. The face is mostly hidden through-out the film. When she does reveal her face at the end, she’s kind of adorable. Beautiful and Adorable is one of a perfect combination for a charming maiden. She might have some Klasky Cstupio kind of design, as long I don’t imagine Angelica from Rugrats.

Now, do I like this more than Mad Monster Party? Well that’s a hare to split between a groundbreaking Monster Stop-motion films vs. what could be an animated prequel than a remake.

Little Tibia and the Fibians singing “It the Mummy” is probably better than the Grim Reaper band in music and animation.

I hate to say this, but Phyllis Diller is better than Nagatha, the Invisible Woman. Phyllis Diller is herself, yet she’s part of the plan to be Dr. Frankenstein’s successor, but is a standout than an Alice clone from the Honeymooners. Even Wilma from the Flintstones is more evolved than her. I’m mostly assuming she’s voiced by Rhoda Mann, since they’re only two main and two human women in the film that she voiced all; The Invisible Woman, the Bride of Frankenstein, Rich fat lady, and teenage Karen(?). There’s a scene where the Creature from the Swamp plays in a pool with a woman, who I swear is a grown up Karen from Frosty the Snowman. They do grow up in the most delightful way. 

If I do have to choose which one, it would have to be Mad Mad Mad Monsters as it’s more entertaining, more likable, and it’s funnier to an extent than Mad Monster Party. If you do get to see both versions, check them. For me, this is graveyard smash from Rankin Bass.

Mad Monster Party?

It’s time to review the first of the Rankin Bass’ Halloween Trilogy, the seventh Rankin Bass film, as well as the very first pure Halloween Stop-Motion Movie, Mad Monster Party!

The Doctor Baron Von Frankenstein (played by Boris Karloff) invites all the monsters he knows to his party/ convention for the unveiling of his masterpiece at the Caribbean island; an atomic chemical that’ll explode on contact, even trenched on a living being such as a raven.

The monsters he invites are Dracula, the Mummy, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Wolfman, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the creature of the Swamp, and a human named Abbot and Castello.. I mean Felix Flankon, the Baron’s wimpy and mostly useless nephew, as I’ll call him Felix the George Bailey.

Residence to Baron Von Frankenstein are his creations of Frankenstein Monster, The Monster’s Mate (played vocally and designed after Phyllis Diller), Francesca (played by Gale Garnet), and zombies with one of them being Peter Lorre named Yetch. The rest of the film would have all the monsters to fight each other to reveal whose Dr. Frankenstein’s successor dead or alive.

While this is the first of the theatrical stop-motion pure Halloween feature length film, it’s the last of Rankin Bass theatrical movie, the last time we hear the great Boris Karloff in Rankin Bass films, but we wouldn’t have another Pure Halloween stop-motion film until probably Corpse Bride. Granted, we had other Halloween films with a mix of stop-motion such as Evil Dead 2, Return to Oz, It, etc., which was natural for special effect at the time before relying on CGI and predictable jump scare. Upon realizing, most of the horror family picture are mostly bombs, along with most of the Disney horror films with Watcher in the Wood, Something Wicked This Way Comes, etc.. I don’t have a theory why Halloween Stop-motion films are a rarity. Maybe there’s no story involving monsters for an hour and half without padding, which this film does with the chef’s scenes, Felix’s repetitive scenes, and most of the music. The songs are mostly forgettable, except Little Tibia & the Fibians’ “It’s The Mummy”. Most of the music’s’ purpose was for padding, as it was said in the commentary. Maybe television was safer to do Halloween specials than to be bombed in theaters.    

The designs are each of the monsters are unique and captured the detail of the Universal Monsters close to the T, even King Kong- oh wait, I mean “It” due to copyright that they won’t acquire years later in TV. The design of Dracula with his monocle would later influence another Dracula five years later, Count Von Count from Sesame Street. Unlike most other monsters films would design the monsters to look like pretty models such as Twilight, “I, Frankenstein”, or Tom Cruise in the recent Mummy film. The setting has a haunting Hammer style of film, gray yet detailed sceneries, and it’s a different tone for Rankin Bass with a mallow sorrow. What are really distracting are the strings on the characters. Majority of Rankin Bass film is where you barely see the strings possibly due to the white North Pole background that helps blend it, but since the background in Mas Monster Party is mostly gray than black, you can easily see the lighting or shadow on the strings. Their flying scenes in the climax are underwhelming. It’s strange that Rankin Bass can animate flying reindeers or reinsnake better than Wright Brothers style planes. Even Puppetoons can do better flying scenes in Tulip Shall Raise.

I first watched this film on all of channel on TCM. Yes, not Fox Family, not ABC Family, and never Freeform to fill in their bottomless list of Hocus Pocus that makes people want to shout, “I’ll watch Hocus Pocus every single Halloween!” It’s TCM. It’s very odd, yet it’s not the only one with The Wacky World of Mother Goose, which I missed it and couldn’t find it on DVD. I was aware of Mad Monster Party when I remember spotting them on VHS in Blockbuster. Though my dad was against renting it as I assume he didn’t like and any non-Christmas Rankin Bass films aren’t worth it. Judging with some of non-Christmas Rankin Bass films I’ve review so far, I can see some of his points.

Mad Monster Party is an interesting Cult Classic film. It’s not a Halloween film I would willingly pop as much as the Simpsons Halloween Specials, Daffy’s Quackbuster, or other underrated Halloween films online. Some scenes drag and go nowhere, but there’s some neat stuff Mad Monster Party has to offer. If you want to see a stop-motion film with all the monsters you know together, you’ll watch this film, but you’ll watch Nightmare Before Christmas more than this film; the groundbreaking Holiday connecting film I’ve grown to hate yet it became a little more favorable overtime. If you wanted to see an animated film of with all the monsters you know together, well in general, you might go to the Hotel Transylvania films or Frankenwennie in terms energy it has more of. In terms of animated 2D version of the similar premise, there’s “Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf”, or our next film to review, Mad Mad Mad Monster.

If you do have interest in Mad Monster Party, give it a watch for this Halloween, or March in their original film release for some reason.

Rankin Bass' Around the World In 80 Days

Let’s get packing for another tale from Jules Verne with Around the World in 80 Days.

Phileas Fogg made a deal with the Reform Club to travel around the world in 80 Days. He and his partner, Patu will travel through-out Europe, Asia, and US to return to England in 80 Days. Our heroes get chased by Detective Thicks to arrest him for “stealing” Twenty Thousand Pounds. Along the travel, they meet a monkey, an elephant, an Indian princess named Aouda, and other obstacles.

Phileas is a great. He’s always prepared on every part of the journey, even at a few hiccups here and there. If he was too perfect, then he would found every way to travel quicker than 75 Days with plenty of deux ex machina. Someone else such as Santa Claus or XJ9 would travel around the world in 80 minutes. I was almost disappointed that they didn’t go to every place in 80 Days, but only the places that have a means of transportation to get there as possible. That’s pretty much the charm of Jules Verne’s story is the different ways to have an adventure. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is the adventure to the sea, Journey To the Center of the Earth is an excavation, From Earth to the Moon is to space exploration, so this makes Around the World in 80 Days is a global adventure. Though they’re more groundbreaking in live-action than animation in life, unless they made a groundbreaking animated film to adapt Jules Verne least popular story.  

The villain, Detective Thicks is of course forgetfully generic. He’s just a conflict to what could have been a too perfect kind of adventure. If he wasn’t in it, the story would be too perfect that it’s boring. If he’s in it, he may drag unless he’s different than what we got.

Would this animated version get me hooked for the original live action version? It’s most likely no. I was partly introduce to the name with Simpsons, while story was introduce to me in either an episode of Pinky and the Brain, and Tweety’s High Flying Adventure. On a side note, “High Flying Adventure” should be a dead term we need to stop using. However, if you want a funny version of the story, go to The Great Race with the funny villain, Professor Fate, played by Jack Lemon.

It’s an OK version of the story of Around the World in 80 Days. Sorry if many of them would only get an OK review, but it’s what the Festival of Family Classics is all they offer so far. It’s not like they would adapt a terrible story or go lazy with character designs. Ha ha, ha!

*the design of Phileas appeared sliding next to Dr. Staywell (Johnny Appleseed) and Professor Hinkle (Frosty the Snowman).*

Exact character design to be lazy is worst!  

Now let’s travel our next film to review to see some Puss in Boots….wait, we’re in October? Crap, I got bored and depressed in a town and business of nothing! OK, we’ll return to our regularly schedule to review the HALLOWEEN TRILOGY!!! Stay afloat to a party, A MAD MONSTER PARTY?!