MovieChat Forums > Mad Monster Party? (1967) Discussion > I wish I liked it more!

I wish I liked it more!

posted 18 years ago by chuckthomas69
9 replies | jump to latest

Okay, I am in my 30's, so I don't quite remember this one from childhood. I grew up in the 70's, and of course every year I enjoyed the Rankin/Bass Xmas specials.
I grew up loving Animation, Monster Movies and Mad Magazine, and yet I had no idea this movie existed until sometime in the 21st century...

When I first found out about the existence of this one, I knew that it was something I had to see. I was so fortunate in that last year I came across this in a used DVD bin for $5! I eagerly raced home to watch it, and...
eh.

I was sadly underwhelmed by this one. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I just don't like it as much as I wanted to.

I love the Jack Davis designs, the characters and sets are great! This movie looks awesome, but I prefer to watch with the sound off.

I found the voice work uninspired, to which Boris Karloff's presence is the only saving grace. The songs are mediocre, lacking even the corny charm of the Rankin/Bass television shows. I found Phyllis Diller's grating voice to be, frankly, too annoying to bear.

Even the script is less than it should be. The Mad Magazine-style humor provided a few laughs, but far too few for the length of this feature.

Maybe I would like it more if I had a nostalgic reaction to it. Unfortunately, I saw it as an adult and thought, "I'm glad it only cost five bucks!"

[–] TelevisionJunkie 18 years ago

I personally love "Mad Monster Party," but I saw it when I was pretty young.

It wasn't until I was an adult, however, that I saw the original remake, "Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters." Although it's animated rather than stop-motion (and it lacks songs), "Mad Monsters" is probably more appealing to an adult than "Monster Party." Rankin/Bass also made this film, and the plot/characters are nearly identical. What makes it somewhat superior is that it's far more streamlined and polished than "Monster Party." Not that I'm bashing this film, I can just understand why it would be a let down.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356848/

[–] Fluke_Skywalker 18 years ago

I agree with chuckthomas69. I'm 32, so I missed this one the first time around and for whatever reason never saw it as a kid. When it came out on DVD a few years back, I saw it and got it because of my love for the R/B Christmas specials.

I love the look of the movie, but the script is flat and dull IMO. The premise is great, but it just never goes anywhere. The DVD itself is really good, though. Anchor bay knows what they're doing. Good picture & sound and some interesting features.

It seems that I may have caught Mad, mad, mad monsters on the Cartoon network once, but it may have been something else. I'll try and track it down sometime.

"Use the Force, Fluke!"

[–] dannyconner 18 years ago

I didn't see this movie until recently as an adult. I heard of it as a teenager when the Misfits used some of the artwork for their "Monster Mash" DVD. I'd been wanting to see if for years ordered a vhs off of half.com and then within a week found a dvd at sam's club, which i purchased, too. It was under ten bucks and definitely worth the features with it- particularly the booklet and prom cards more than those on the DVD.

Anyway, I love it! I don't really get what people mean about slower moving parts or whatever. I really want to see Mad, Mad, Mad, Monsters, too. This is next on my search for items.

I just with the Monster's Mate looked more like the Elsa Lancaster Bride of Frankenstein than some generic old lady witch character.

[–] Bklyn4ever 18 years ago

danny--check out DAYDREAMER also. The artwork/animation is just as good.

"Whatever they offer you, don't feed the Plants!" — Little Shop of Horrors

[–] jbaker1-2 17 years ago

I just saw this movie again recently after more than twenty years, and I'm sad to say it isn't nearly as good as I thought I remembered it. In fact, it's pretty bad. The stop-motion animation is crude and amateurish even by 1960s standards, the voice acting, with the exception of Karloff and Garnett, is for the most part embarrassingly bad (especially Phyllis Diller, whose performance here is on a par with a suburban housewife appearing in her first hometown amateur theater project), the songs are forgettable, the humor is trite and the plot is the textbook definition of 'predictable.'

That being said, there's still a certain naive innocence about this movie that makes it oddly appealing. Worth a look as a relic of a long-gone, far less cynical time if nothing else.

[–] LarrupinLou 13 years ago

especially Phyllis Diller, whose performance here is on a par with a suburban housewife appearing in her first hometown amateur theater project

Phyllis Diller was playing her famous stand-up character, which was extremely popular during the '60s and '70s. Since she purposely uglified herself for her comedy act, having her play the Bride of Frankenstein was a nice (though now dated) touch.

The funny thing, though you would have never known this back then in reality, her figure was actually closer to Francesca's than you would have realized. :-)

No blah, blah, blah!

[–] jbaker1-2 12 years ago

I was always more impressed with Diller's talents as a classical pianist than as a comedian or actor.

[–] josephbrando 17 years ago

I don't think you're supposed to watch this movie for the plot. The things about it that make it great are Francesca, the stop-motion animation, the sets, Francesca, the music, the monsters, Francesca, the nostalgia factor...and oh yeah did I mention Francesca??? God bless Gale Garnett for bringing this character to life. Personally, I find this movie is the most enjoyable if you smoke a certain little something right before hand.

[–] LightningLad 13 years ago

I like your well-written post and critique. As someone who I think is probably roughly the same as you and who encountered this film only a few years ago, I can differ and say I love it. I find it mesmerizing and hilarious and want there to be more, I want it to go on when it ends.

That's my view but I really appreciate the intelligence and thought of your post, and am perfectly comfortable living in a world of different opinions.