Directors: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr.
Release date: 1972
Contains spoilers
This was a cartoon sequel to the 1967 stop motion animation
Mad Monster Party? - ish… I say ish because whilst it featured a cornucopia of monsters and was part directed by Jules Bass it actually is about building a bride for the Frankenstein Monster and the subsequent wedding, whilst the monster already had a partner in the earlier animation.
It also features voice actors (mainly Allen Swift as the monsters, with Bob McFadden voicing Baron Frankenstein). This gave the thing a more generic cartoon feel. Of course, they couldn’t get Karloff back to voice the Baron, as by the time this was produced he had, sadly, passed on, but I have to say that I hated the Baron’s voice through this.
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| Dracula with Norman |
Basic story is that the Baron builds a bride for the monster, but Igor wants her for himself. He actually loses the bride, at one point, and the monsters have to go rescue her from Modzoola (essentially King Kong). Meanwhile Harvey the postman is having a nervous breakdown, having had to deliver wedding invites to the monsters, and so gets a new job – standing in as manager of the hotel where the wedding will take place. His histrionics are contrasted against the bellhop Norman, who believes all the monsters to be movie stars from his favourite films.
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| Dracula and son |
Of course Dracula is part of the proceedings. He now has a son and a cat. Other than a few comments about blood types; Dracula, “
What blood type are you?” Harvey, “
Why?” Dracula, “
My favourite type!” As well as the son turning into a bat, there really isn’t that much of a role for the character. Though his part is bigger than, say, the Mummy or the Creature (from the Black Lagoon).
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| The bride |
The trouble was, quite frankly, I was bored. The gags were average to say the best and the actual animation poor. Add in how much the Baron’s voice bugged and the fact that the plot was flimsier than a see-through shroud worn on a monster’s wedding night and I finished watching the film less than impressed – though thankfully it was fairly short.
Not brilliant.
3 out of 10.
The imdb page is
here.
4 comments:
Wow, I love this movie but didn't know it was out on DVD. Gonna have to pick it up then.
I'm glad I was able to put you on to it :)
It almost makes me sad to hear you hate this movie though, you got to see it over again or something. Cause it is fun. Maybe you caught it in a bad mood?
I personally thought the animation was fairly good for a 70's made for tv cartoon, which usually looks horrendous.
The baron's new voice actor isn't as good as Karloff but I think you blew it a bit out of proportions.
Alex, I didn't hate it as such - the voice of the Baron did grate but I was just bored and underwhelmed generally.
However I am always willing to give things another go and as I have just started a vaccation from work I may well dig it out and give it another go.
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