Mad Monster Party Love Thread

[palitoy]

Must-see Halloween classic: 'Mad Monster Party' - Pop Candy: Unwrapping pop culture's hip and hidden treasures

Whitney Matheson from Pop Candy just found out about Mad Monster Party, but she loves it, so I forgive her. I don't know about you guys but it's an absolute staple around here during October.

[The Toyroom]

It's a forced must-see in my house.....that is I FORCE my wife and kids to sit through it. I don't quite understand it....they love the Rankin-Bass Christmas stuff but won't give this one the time of day. And yet "A Nightmare Before Christmas" is the first Halloween flick they always pop in. I mean, it's not like I'm asking them to watch the crappy cartoon sequel "Mad Mad Monsters" (which I also have a VHS copy of, though more for completion sake, as I'm not crazy about that one myself)

[Orion]

Just a fun movie, which I recall watching in my youth. I borrowed the DVD from a friend last year and the kids watched and enjoyed it. Amazon is selling DVD for 9.99 right now, so may be worth picking up my own copy.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I bought it a year or two ago, and while my son will watch most of it, it's not his favorite, but he'll sit through the bottom rung of Rankin Bass Christmas specials that ABC Family rolls out each year. I'm hoping my daughter will take to it. I'll have to try them on it this weekend.

I only saw part of this once as a tween-ager, so the nostalgia isn't as great, but the classic monster feel, Karloff and the Rankin-Bass style remind me of childhood.

My one gripe is it is a bit too long. I think if it were trimmed to an hour it would hold kids interest more. It drags a bit, esp. with Phyliss Diller's character.

Chrsi

[jwyblejr]

If they dumped a couple of songs,it would be a lot better.

[palitoy]

If they dumped a couple of songs,it would be a lot better.

While I think this is par for the course with most children's specials, I do agree dropping a number or two would make this tighter.

[madmarva]

I agree it's a bit long, but the character designs are fantastic.

I wish Disney would buy Universal so Pixar could take a run at updating the Universal Monsters for an all-ages audience.

By the way — Watching Bela and Boris in The Invisible Ray.

[The Toyroom]

The length is always a topic of discussion with this flick, but keep in mind that it was originally a theatrical release, and not a made-for-TV special like the majority of the Rankin Bass productions.

I'm curious how different it would have been if they had started out with an hour TV format in mind....

[kingdom warrior]

Absolute favorite of mine...I watch it all year round and got my kids into it. Yes it drags a bit but it has so much charm. Liongate just released the movie again as a special edition although from many of the reviews I've read the extras were disappointing......

Boris Karloff and Francesca are worth the price of admission alone......

Plus the opening song by Jazz singer Ethel Ennis is a classic....

[rche]

oh yes. Definitely time to dig up the mad monsters for the annual viewing.

[mazinz]

I still have the old dell (?) comic made from this. I too agree with some of you in that I just do not like the musical numbers in this one

[Earth 2 Chris]

The kids watched it the other night, and Andrew seemed more into it this year. The songs definitely aren't as strong as Rudolph and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town for instance. But it's still a lot of fun. Francesca is the proto-Jessica Rabbit it seems.

Oh, and do you think they partially named it MAD Monster Party due to the involvement of all the Mad contributors?

Chris

[The Toyroom]

Francesca is the proto-Jessica Rabbit it seems.

I've always thought that too....Francesca was HOT!

[kingdom warrior]

I've always thought that too....Francesca was HOT!

Damn Straight!!!!!!!!

[HardyGirl]

I remember watching this on the syndicated stations during Halloween.