Mad Monster Party? (1967)

a feature-length, stop-motion animated Halloween musical from Rankin/Bass, the studio which produced most of the animated Christmas classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, etc.), as well as The Hobbit (1977) the film features Boris Karloff as the voice of Baron Boris von Frankenstein and Allen Swift as virtually every other character. some character designs and voices are better than others, my favourites being Dracula, Mummy and Jekyll & Hyde. the set pieces are creative and detailed i don't particularly care for the song-and-dance numbers, although the tap-dancing Dracula is amusing, but the jazzy, brass-driven score by Maury Laws in itself makes this a film worth watching. the story is interesting but ends rather abruptly, and the final product could probably have been cut down to about an hour without sacrificing anything crucial imagine Bobby Pickett's Halloween novelty Monster Mash album transmuted into cinema, and you'll have a pretty decent idea of what to expect

When Dr Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) decides to retire from the monster-making business, he calls an international roster of monsters to a creepy convention to elect his successor.Being a fan of Rankin and Bass from their Christmas specials, I thought this would have a lot of potential. Especially because I am huge in the horror community, and love its rich history. And yet, I was not terribly thrilled by the film.The characters were alright, and the animation we all love looks great. But I feel like it just has not aged well, primarily because of the music. The Christmas songs are classics, but the songs here are not terribly memorable. In fact, some are not even good.

Mad Monster Party? (1967)** 1/2 (out of 4)Animated film has Dr. Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) inviting all sorts of monsters to his house as well as his young nephew. What people don't know is that the doctor plans on retiring and wants his rather dorky nephew to take over for him. This animated feature is certainly a favorite to many who grew up with it and I understand what they'd enjoy. I'm sure being a kid who loved monsters this here would be terrific because there are simply so many on hand. The problem I've always had with this film is that I think it would have been better served as a television special that way it wouldn't come with a 96-minute running time, which in my opinion is just way too long and it really sucks the story dry. I say this because the idea of a monster (Dracula) revolting against Dr. Frankenstein isn't exactly the greatest story idea ever made and this is clear because the film just starts to run out of gas because it doesn't have anything there to work with. The film is certainly creative and it appears that the filmmakers were fans of the genre. I think the best character is a clear homage to Peter Lorre and I thought this one was delightful whenever he was on the screen. The Frankenstein doctor is also memorable thanks in large part to the vocal performance by Boris Karloff. The monsters are another major plus as we've got all the big guys here including Dracula, the Mummy, Frankenstein's monster, the hunchback, the creature, Jekyll and Hyde and countless others. I really thought all the monsters looked fantastic and there's no question that their look will put a smile on the face of monster fans.

OK, maybe "excellent" is going far, but there is nothing like this movie and it is no unique that "excellent" pales as a description. The artwork itself is amazing - the depictions of the monsters are clever, cute and very funny, particularly the Invisible Man (as Sidney Greenstreet from "Maltese Falcon") and Dr Jekyl, drinking from his walking cane to become Mr Hyde at any given moment (that's not a spoiler!). This IS a spoiler!! I used to see this a lot as a kid and hadn't seen it for years, but what always stuck in my head - there is a catfight between the busty female vixen (way busty - like she's carrying a big watermelon on her chest)and Phyllis Diller which must be seen to be ... well, it MUST be seen! Just the fact that Phyllis Diller is in this as the Bride of Frankenstein makes it a hoot. Most of her jokes are horrible, but she sells each one with a signature "ha!HA!" that kills! As much a holiday classic as any of their other hits, this one is much more unique and special. Look for the resemblance in the Francesca's of this and "Santa Claus".