Review of Mad Monster Party? (1967) by Blais E — 28 Jul 2011

Uncle Borey as an animated puppet a la Rudolph? You bet, in Rankin Bass's mucho- Monster-Mash! I've always loved these little gems, quaint & sweet, definitely products of their time, always full of major star talent providing the voices.

This one is a bit offbeat, & very different from the majority of their usual, well-known & beloved productions. Crusty ole Baron Von Frankenstein (Karloff) decides to retire and invites all the world's famous monsters to his island castle retreat in hopes of finding a successor to carry on his experiments.

Needless to say the ghoulish gang begin to plot against each other to gain the doc's secret elixir of total world destruction with predictably amusing results. Uneven, with some uncharacteristically unremarkable & non-memorable songs (The exception being Ethel Ennis's boffo-jazzy opening tune-), long, talky stretches that will lose the attention of young ones, & strangely indifferent voice-work (Where's the great Paul Frees when you need him?), although Phyllis Diller, as always, is amusing.

However, I still love it, because I have a soft spot in my heart (And my head-) for these things. Great around Halloween!