Hugó, a víziló

Bill Feigenbaum's "Hugó, a víziló" ("Hugo the Hippo" in English) is one of those movies that leads the viewer to think "Oh my god, someone actually put this on the silver screen." This Hungarian-American co-production purports to be about a hippopotamus and how the children befriend him after the sultan's assistant has the other hippopotamuses killed. In reality it comes across as the sort of movie bound to give children nightmares. Particularly confusing is the fact that even though it takes place in Africa, the children all have American accents. Moreover, Paul Lynde does the voice of the sultan's assistant and basically turns the character into a rehash of Uncle Arthur on "Bewitched". Oh, and Marie Osmond sings some of the songs.

Now that you have had a chance to let all this sink in, I should note that much of the movie is a bunch of politically incorrect stuff trying to be psychedelic. Burl Ives narrates and the sultan (voiced by Robert Morley) looks very much like Ives's gregarious genie in "The Brass Bottle". This was truly a movie that "Mystery Science Theater 3000" should have riffed. It's worth seeing if you want to have to have your mind blown.

Hugo the Hippo is an excellent children's movie. I don't think I would have been able to spell hippopotamus without it. This movie has brought back some of my fondest childhood memories and I think it should be made available on DVD. In terms of content, it was a cartoon beyond its years, the storyline, the colours and the music. The sharks were humorous and quite memorable but the message even more, how easily we forget, discard and turn against people( in the movie that lovable hippo) once they are of no use to us. I hope that this movie makes a come back and is not lost for all eternity. It's just simply phantasmagorical!

I first saw this film when I was about 4 (a whole 24 years ago!), and have been enchanted by it ever since. A wonderful tale of morality - about how money corrupts and the importance of not forgetting those who help you. But the message diffuses into you, as you become lost in the fantastic animation (think Disney Fantasia levels of imagination) and songs that Lloyd Webber and Rice would be proud to call their own (I remember all of the words to all of the songs even now, and I haven't seen the film for at least 20 years!). I don't have any other sentimental attachment to any other programmes of my youth, but this fantastic film touched me in a way that no other has. If you do get a chance to see it, you really must. An enchanting, engaging film, with beautiful animation, charming songs and a lovely story which takes you through an emotional sine wave as you follow the adventures of Hugo and his friends (and those who are certainly not his friends). Once viewed, never forgotten. You will be singing the songs all week, at least. Fantastic for young children and adults alike. I can't recommend it enough.

My buddy found a VHS from 1980-something with this movie on it, and I was shocked and amazed that anything this good could come outta the 70's. Couple things I noticed: The Animation rocks the casbah - the colours all meld very nicely, the segues are all prefect (you can't even tell they're there until the next scene starts), and the motion of the characters is a lost art; the story provokes every emotion you can have - sadness, envy, happiness, disappointment, fear... the list goes on; the songs are so good, one of my friends sampled a couple of them and uses them, to this day, in his house sets...

I definitely agree with Peter's comments - IT'S GOLD I TELL YOU! GOLD!

When I was younger, I remember seeing this movie on TV and having nightmares about certain sequences, including the one in which all of the hippos were slaughtered. Was this film really intended for kids? It's weird how people complain about shows like "South Park" which are geared towards adults, yet consider something like "Hugo The Hippo" as family entertainment.

As for the main villain being voiced by Paul Lynde...I know the guy was gay in real life, but it's rather homophobic for such movies to portray their male villains as effeminate, conniving queers (e.g. Scar from Disney's "The Lion King" is another example).

And if that doesn't turn you off from watching it enough, the movie also features sappy and vomit-inducing musical numbers.

Do yourself a favor and avoid this piece of excrement at all costs.