5.0 out of 5 stars A Halloween Must

E.N. · January 24, 2025

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } This was a favorite growing up and I am so glad I found a place to watch it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Movie

s.G. · November 16, 2024

This is a great value since it comes with both dvd and blu ray versions. Has that classic stop motion clay looking animation just like the Christmas movies (you know Rudolph and Bumble). I'm 40 and enjoying it as much as my 6 year old niece 😆

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it

A.y. · February 2, 2025

I was looking forward to watching this 🙂

5.0 out of 5 stars movies

B. · December 16, 2024

A great classic from my childhood

4.0 out of 5 stars Rankin, Bass, and Karloff on blu-ray

T.B. · October 3, 2014

Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass may just be the weirdest animation team in history. Most of their stop-motion Christmas toons have become perennial classics, despite such bizarre characters as a carrot-topped roly poly dancing demon in hell; a misfit-among-misfits Arctic explorer; a dentist elf; a flying lion; a bitchy, bigoted Saint Nicholas; a winter warlock; a toothless, abominable Bumble; and a Charlie-in-the-Box. One wonders if the duo realized how off-kilter their formula was. When it came to their Halloween special, Rankin and Bass used the 1940s’ studio bound monster-mashes as their blueprint. Oddly, their Mad Monster Party (1967) was considerably better than those late, fatigued Universal extravaganzas. Helping tremendously was the voice work of Boris Karloff as Baron Frankenstein and Allen Swift as Felix Flankin, the Monster, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll, and the Invisible Man.Harvey Kurtzman of “Mad Magazine” and Forrest J. Ackerman, the celebrated founder and editor of “Famous Monsters of Filmland,” worked (uncredited) on the script. It shows. Mad Monster Party is a loving homage to Gothic cinema, replete with trademark campy puns, which equally inspire nostalgic smiles and pained groans. The special serves as a precursor of sorts to Henry Selick‘s Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Rankin and Bass approach their theme with far less originality than Selick, but the earlier film does have a pronounced sense of adolescent charm.Karloff’s vocal contribution, per the norm, is beautifully mellifluous. His Baron is the ringmaster of a grand guignol island, with King of Kong waiting round the corner. The various monsters do exactly what we expect them to do by this point. However, being Rankin and Bass, we also expect a few moments of head-scratching eccentricity. They do not disappoint. The Baron’s nephew is a nerdy pharmacist (!?!) who takes a can of Raid to the residential rodent vamp and falls in love with a buxom, short-skirted, flaming redhead girl (!?!) The kitsch love ballad between the two and the G-rated flirtatiousness is mind-numbingly out of place in this kindergarten-esque ogre’s bacchanal. Equally grating is Phyllis Diller’s take on the “Bride of the Monster.” A little Diller goes a loooong way and her repeated canned cackling is fingernails on a chalkboard. The coloring book plot and Stooge-like slapstick place Mad Monster Party firmly in its time. However, like most period pieces, this film (shot in 35 mm) delightfully retains its inherent naiveté.Apart from the Baron and the Count (with caricatured Lugosi mannerisms and accent), the monsters are mostly decor, and not given much to do. However, amidst the lame, predictable gags (i.e.the Wolfman running off with a bone), the Mummy does get to rhumba with a skeletal band, and the Invisible Man is unexpectedly given a Sydney Greenstreet voice. Contrary to horror film mythology, Peter Lorre never played Ygor, which doesn’t stop the animation team from casting his likeness in the role of the Baron’s assistant. Gale Garnett, voicing the role of the over-sexed Francesca, imbues the character with a velvet voice. She does wonders with woefully pedestrian lyrics.Not surprisingly, it is Karloff who keeps the lethargically paced plot moving. The veteran genre actor clearly had fun with his role, although it is unfortunate that they relied on his Baron to elevate the endeavor. Mad Monster Party stands in contrast to Karloff’s best animation work: Chuck Jones’ 1966 “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” which may have been the actor’s last great role.The Blu-ray edition comes with a making-of featurette, trailer, sing-alongs, and a second featurette on the art of stop-animation. The transfer is good, but not exceptional.For all its flaws, Mad Monster Party is adored by my grandkids and, as usual, they will have the last word.

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's Party

M.P.B. · February 1, 2009

Mad Monster Party was released on March 8, 1969 and is one hour and thirty-four minutes long. Monsters included in this movie are the Frankenstein Monster (throughout the movie he his called Fang), the monster's mate (voiced by Phyllis Diller), Dracula, Werewolf, the Mummy, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Creature (as in the Creature From the Black Lagoon), The Invisible Man, Quasimodo or the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and King Kong (King Kong is referred to It throughout the movie). We have the mad scientist, Baron Boris von Frankenstein (voiced by Boris Karloff), a cute female assistant, Francesca (voiced by Gale Garnett), and the Baron's nerdy nephew, Felix Flankin. The story goes that Baron Boris von Frankenstein is retiring at the head of the Worldwide Organization of Monsters and is choosing a new leader who will inherit his latest invention and all of his secrets to go with it. Unknown to the monsters, he has chosen Felix Flankin. Felix works in a drugstore and has allergies. When he gets the invitation he heads to the Isle of Evil. The monsters find out about the Baron's plan and try to eliminate Felix and Francesca. Francesca sends letter to It for help. In the end, Baron Boris von Frankenstein blows up the island with all the monsters on it and Felix and Francesca flee the island. At the closing, one has to wonders if Felix is also a creation. Mad Monster Party is a children movie and was thus geared to a child liken. This would be Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass full length motion picture. This movie is funny and even adults will have a laugh.

5.0 out of 5 stars BIG BOOBED PUPPET/ SKELETON ROCK BAND/ I THINK YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO....

w.g. · May 10, 2007

Corny as hell, but I still like it. I bought this movie used from Bolo a while back, for my kid. I had no idea what I was getting into. This thing has a bizarre plotline, that leads our protagonist (a geeky-Jimmy Stewart-esque kinda guy) onto an island inhabited by his uncle Boris (rightly voiced by Boris Karloff) and an army of monsters that he created.Uncle Boris wants to hand the island and all of it's secrets over to his nephew, but the monsters are not to thrilled. Mainly Francesca (quite possibly the sexiest puppet I've ever seen). She believes that she should be the rightful heir of the island, so she seduces Dracula into helping her destroy the nephew.Dracula screws everything up, so Francesca decides to settle things herself (biggest [...] I've ever seen on a puppet by the way).. only her plan is foiled when nephew smacks her in the face, and somehow causes her to instantly fall madly in love with him (they make out like every five minutes from here on..) Once the monsters discover whats going on with the two, they decide to get even with both.I won't spoil the ending, but this is a cool little movie to watch with the kids on a rainy day. The best is when a rock band of skeletons pop out of nowhere and play a song called Dance The Mummy.. but the campy, sixties take on a slew of classic monsters, portrayed as puppets is all gravy. Rankin/Bass the guys that brought you Rudolph and all of those other X-mas shows from the sixties masterminded this gem.

5.0 out of 5 stars Criminally underrated

j. · October 28, 2024

Everyone should see this movie it’s so swag I love yetch he’s so weird

Classic

M.H.L.B. · January 9, 2024

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } You can't beat this movie, it's a classic. Great for the kids.

Un clásico

B.C. · October 26, 2020

Llegó 1 día antes de lo esperado, bien empaquetado. La región es 2 y tiene subtítulos en español. La caja contiene el bluray y el dvd. Una de las pelis mas dificiles de conseguir de Rankin Bass y además en el reparto Boris Karloff, el Frankenstein de Universal Monsters. Si son fans de las películas de Rankin Bass/Universal monsters, esta no puede faltar en su colección.

奇妙で楽しいモンスターたちの饗宴(北米盤Blu-rayレビュー)

s. · September 17, 2012

*レビュー掲載後追記:【以下レビューは、北米盤Blu-ray(ASIN:B008D9NIHW)に対するものですが、Bolo.co.jpが勝手に他メディアにも転載しています】カリブ海の孤島にある古城に住むボリス・フォン・フランケンシュタイン男爵(声：ボリス・カーロフ)は、試行錯誤の末、世界を破壊する秘薬を発明する。年老いた男爵は、そろそろ世界モンスター組織のリーダーを引退したいと考えており、モンスターたちの会合を開いて、後継者を決め、秘薬の製法を授けようと思っている。早速、男爵は、世界各国に散らばるモンスターたちに、会合の招待状を送り…。『ルドルフ 赤鼻のトナカイ』や『サンタが街にやってくる』など、"Animagic"と呼ばれるストップモーション・アニメの傑作をTV、映画用に発表してきたランキン=バス・プロダクションズによる作品。映画史上有名なモンスターたちが一堂に会する夢のように楽しい一編だ。実際に、キャラクターたちをアニメートしているのは、日本アニメーション界の巨人、持永只仁率いるMOMプロダクション。日本劇場未公開。ティム・バートン監督は、とあるインタビューで、「モンスター作品では、いつもモンスターに感情移入していた」と語ったことがあるが、おそらく「男の子」であれば、モンスター好きじゃなかった―そして、現在に至るまで―者などひとりとしていないはずだ。フランケンシュタインの怪物とその花嫁、ドラキュラ、透明人間、ミイラ男、狼男、ジキル博士(ハイド氏)、半魚人、せむし男、キング・コング…など、彼らの異形ゆえの恐ろしさに怯えつつも、日蔭者としての彼らが抱える疎外感、孤独感に、子どもが敵意ではなく、同情を寄せるのは当然なのかもしれない。そんなモンスターたちへのやさしさに満ちた讃歌が本作だ。文字通り、モンスターたちが総出演で、映画ファン、それもモンスター作品好きにはたまらない作品だろう(このあたりは、ノークレジットながら、脚本に協力しているフォレスト・J・アッカーマンのテイストが大きく作用しているのだろう)。やはり、モンスターたちへの愛情一杯に描かれた『ドラキュリアン』(北米版Blu-ray"MONSTER SQUAD")、『モンスターVSエイリアン』、『モンスター・ホテル』なども、本作なくしては出来なかったはずだ。もちろん、ランキン=バス作品なので、その主要なターゲットは、子ども。しかし、モンスターたちの造形、設定は、明らかに、かつて「男の子」だったモンスター好きの大人たちを意識し、彼らに向けられている。現役のモンスター好きとかつてのモンスター好きの両方を虜にする、ランキン=バスの目の付けどころがニクイところだ。モンスターたちの造形、設定が実に凝りに凝っている。それぞれのモンスターが、きちんと、ボリス・カーロフ、ベラ・ルゴシ、チャールズ・ロートン、ピーター・ローレの外見と喋り(カーロフは本人が吹替えているので当然だが！)がデフォルメされて、自由自在に動き回る楽しさ、愛らしさ。随所にちりばめられたモンスター作品好きをニヤリとさせる細やかなパロディ的描写の面白さ。さらに、そこに奇妙で楽しいナンバーが加わり、ミュージカル的興趣も添える。とにかく、作品の隅々に至るまで、モンスター作品への並々ならぬ愛情とこだわりが感じられる。そして、そのモンスターたちをアニメートし、実質的に作品を作り上げたと言っていいのが、持永只仁監督(クレジットでは、"Tad Mochinaga")率いるスタッフであるという驚きと喜び。戦時中の満映での活躍後、中国に残って現地での映画製作に尽力し、帰国後は、人形アニメの製作に力を入れ…と、日本だけでなく、中国の映画史にも多大な影響を与えている持永監督は、実は、1960年代のアメリカ映画史にも(日本人らしい謙虚さで)現れるのだ。縦横無尽に各国の映画史に関係し、貢献しているという点では、アレクサンダー・コルダやアルベルト・カヴァルカンティ(その経歴は、山田宏一氏の『シネ・ブラボー―小さな映画誌』のP47−P56で詳しく触れられている)に並び称されるべき映画人だろう。そんな彼率いるMOMプロダクションのアニメートは、実に温かみがあって繊細で、ウィリス・H・オブライエン、ジョージ・パル、レイ・ハリーハウゼン、イェジー・トルンカなどのそれとも一味違う、日本人ならではの細やかで配慮の行き届いた職人技が光るもの(表情の豊かさ、ユーモラスな動き)。すべてのキャラクターが生命を授けられ、嬉しそうに動いているかのようだ。「ジャパニメーション」などと喧伝され、日本アニメが、世界を席巻して久しい。しかし、実は、すでにその何十年も前に、持永監督が、日本アニメの技術力と底力を世界に向けて発信していたことは、やはり誇るべきことだし、もっと評価されるべきだと思う。本Blu-rayは、米Lions Gateが、同作の権利を持つ仏Studio Canalのマスターを使って発売した正規ライセンス盤。2009年に、米Lions Gateが発売したDVDと同様のHDマスターを使ったもの。残念ながら、本作は、良好な状態の35mm原版が残っていないとのことで、かつて発売されていた米Anchor Bay盤もあまり良くない画質だったが、本盤も、ディテール表現はさすがにHDと感じさせるものの、全体的に褪色気味で鮮やかな色彩が感じられない画質。さらに、徹底したレストア、カラコレ(色補正)も施されていないので、キズや巻切り替えのポイント・マークが残り、同一シークエンス内での色調の違いが目立つ。2.0ch DTS-HDマスター・オーディオの音声は、特に際立ったところがないものの明瞭だ。英語字幕が収録。特典には、2009年のDVDに収録されていた"Mad Monster Party ? The Making of a Cult Classic"(約15分、SD)、"It's Sheer Animagic! Secrets of Stop-Motion Animation"(約9分、SD)、" Groovy Ghouls! The Music of Mad Monster Party"(約4分、SD)、シング・アロング(約5分、SD)、予告編(1分半、SD)が再録。全く同内容のDVD(2009年発売)が同梱されているコンボ・パックだが、本パッケージを求める人は、Blu-rayが目的だと思うので、やはりDVDは不要だろう。ケースは、穴の空いたエコ・ケースを採用。必ずしも、質的には満足できないものの(予算とこだわりがあれば、十分レストア出来る)、現状、本作を楽しむには最良の盤であることだけは間違いないだろう。

uno dei primi stop motion

f. · February 9, 2013

questo è uno degli stop motion piu vecchi che ho visto, molto ben fatto (non raggiunge i livelli di oggi comunque anche le musiche sono belle). L unico problema è che anche se c'è scritto edizione germania, il dvd+blu ray sono in realtà fabbricati negli usa per cui serve un lettore dvd/br regione 1 o vederlo sul pc con un programma specifico.

Search over.

K.d. · August 21, 2021

I have been searching for this dvd for a while. It's for my daughter for Xmas. She had it when she was a child and I can't wait to see her expression when I give it to her. Thanks.