Frankensteins Monster-Party

Let me start by saying that I am a HUGE Boris Karloff and a cartoonist and animator as well'When I saw.the names of Harvey Kurtzman AS ND Jack Davis I knew I'm was in for a treat and was not disappointed. . You see, Harvey Kurtzman is co-creator of Mad in its comic book days and Jack Davis was one of their best artists. So when you look at the exceptional character design, you are looking at their work It is just as much fun as reading a Mad Magazine with its off-the-wall humor. Great fun and even my teenage son liked it which is AMAZING! My only complaint was the bizarre casting of Phylis Diller'

Fun for kids, classic horror fans and Boris Karloff.

Baron von Frankenstein summons all the classic movie monsters like Dracula, the Mummy, the Wolfman, etc. to his castle to announce his retirement. When the monsters find out he plans to name his nerdy nephew his successor, they aren't pleased. I love Rankin/Bass and I love classic horror movies, especially the Universal monster movies. So this is right up my alley. As with the classic Rankin/Bass TV specials, the stop-motion animation is the primary selling point. If the animation does nothing for you, then you're in for a tough slog here. Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller are the two most well-known actors providing voices to this. Others are impressions of the likes of Peter Lorre and Jimmy Stewart. The character Francesca is probably the sexiest thing Rankin/Bass did. Her catfight scene is awesome. The songs are terrific. So much fun. This really is a must for fans of Universal monster movies and Rankin/Bass.

Let me come straight to the point with this one and admit that "Mad Monster Party?" nearly wasn't as good or as much fun as I hoped it would be. The actual plot is rather weak, the film is overlong, a large amount of the gags entirely miss their effect and there's way too much singing and dancing going on. What the hell was that about? Someone really ought to add the tag "musical" to the genre description here on the film's IMDb page! But on the other hand, I can't possibly be too harsh or overly critical about a movie that pays so much tribute to my all-time favorite genre of cinema and all of its legendary contributors! All minor defaults and shortcomings aside, "Mad Monster Party?" is a warm-spirited, enthusiast and freshly inventive ode to (classic) horror from the 1930's to the 1960's. As a European kid born in the 80's, I'm not too familiar with the works of Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass, and I never watched any of the "Frosty the Snowman" or "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer" cartoons as child. But the simple fact that these men managed to cast the awesome Boris Karloff himself in order to voice the Baron Von Frankenstein pivot character more than enough proves to me that they know and respect a great deal of the horror genre. Up in the tower of his castle on the remote Isle of Evil, Baron Von Frankenstein just finished his latest and greatest invention; an all-destructive liquid in a tube! In order to celebrate his invention, and primarily also to make an important announcement, he invites all of his monster friends over to the island. And oh yes, all the protagonists from the brilliant horror milestones (Universal and others) attend the monster mash: Count Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Frankenstein's creature and his bride, the Mummy, The Invisible Man, the Creature from Black Lagoon, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and an uninvited mystery guest referred to as "it". However, the party turns sour and hostile when the monsters learn that Baron Von Frankenstein will announce his retirement and that he will hand over all of his secret formulas to a nerdy outsider – his nephew – instead of to one of them. The newly added character of Francesca, the Baron's voluptuous and sly secretary, is still original, but other side-characters like butler Yetch (with a voice reminiscent of Peter Lorre), Chef Machiavelli and even Felix Flanken are quite redundant. Instead of giving lines and lyrics to them, I personally would have much preferred that the parts of the familiar monster favorites were a bit more extended. Most of them don't have anything to do, except to howl and groan occasionally. The Claymation is inarguably wonderful and still very admirable even by today's high standards. I bet that even nowadays clay-wizards like Adam Elliot ("Mary and Max") or Peter Lord ("Wallace & Gromit") are big fans of these designs and that they couldn't do a better job.

This will always be such a fun Halloween, or strangely enough, Christmas movie. Many of us have been lucky to see the claymation wonders by Rankin/Bass. This feature length spoof/salute to classic monster movies has the same charm Rankin/Bass gave to their classic Christmas shows- RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER, and THE CHRISTMAS THAT ALMOST WASN'T.

Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller provide the voices for this fun little comedy about monsters gathering for a big party. The Mummy (complete with "British Invasion" style band) The Gill-Man, King Kong, Dracula, etc. all come to the festivities. It's alot of fun.

Some of my childhood favourites come from Rankin/Bass, and I still love a vast majority of them now(the only notable exceptions at the top of my head being Cricket on the Hearth and The Leprechaun Christmas Gold). I don't think I'd go as far to say that Mad Monster Party is perfect, but there is much that is fun and enjoyable. I am in agreement that some of the story and scenes, fun on the most part, may be a little too padded out, maybe in trying to sustain Mad Monster Party's length, which did feel a little too long. Phyllis Diller tries her best with some rather corny and unfunny dialogue and jokes, but in the end comes across as grating. However, the animation is detailed and ideally coloured and the monsters are deliciously kooky to look at and literally. In my mind it does hold up well. The musical numbers are bizarre but in a wonderful way, they are very catchy above all which is a good situation to be in. The score fits very well also. Apart from that of the Monster's Mate, the writing, with lots of puns, is both funny and weird at the same time, and there is some fun and interest value in the story at least that makes up for the length and the padding. The monsters have great personalities and are a delight to spot for any horror or literature fans. The Frankenstein doctor and Felix are endearing as well, but Francessca who is sexy and a hoot in every way is my favourite character. The voice acting is fine, Diller aside. Allan Swift does a great job, especially as the James Stewart-like Felix. The standouts however are Boris Karloff's wonderfully eerie Frankenstein doctor and Gale Garnett's enticing Francessca. All in all, I can see why people will dislike it but I find it good fun and worth the look. 7/10 Bethany Cox