Rankin-Bass, the animation studio behind “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman,” will forever dominate the Christmas season with its myriad of festive cartoon specials. Some are exceptional and some are “The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold.” The quality may vary, but the Rankin-Bass Christmas cartoons are endlessly charming and charmingly endless. There are more R-B holiday specials than there are days of Christmas. In addition, they produced three Easter specials and one for Thanksgiving. That’s why it’s a little surprising that Rankin-Bass never made a formal Halloween special. (Though there was an episode of “Festival of Family Fun” entitled “Jack O’Lantern” about an Irish pumpkin man.) And yet, I daresay they made the greatest Halloween movie that has nothing to do with Halloween: the stop-motion “Mad Monster Party?” from 1967. (The question mark is essential.)
Released on the decidedly non-spooky date of March 8, “Mad Monster Party?” is the sinister spawn of the 1960s horror boom, a time when monsters starred in sitcoms and children’s toys usually came with fangs. While more adult than most Rankin-Bass offerings, this movie has all the essential ingredients a kid needed in the ’60s: a cast of the most famous monsters of filmland, a script co-written by MAD Magazine creator Harvey Kurtzman, characters designed by MAD artist Jack Davis, and some of the grooviest stop-motion ever crafted. “Mad Monster Party?” was the rare theatrically-released Rankin-Bass production, which is appropriate since this movie is a glorious celebration of horror movie history.
Universal may have invented the monster rally/shared universe concept, but “Mad Monster Party?” improved upon it. (Yes, I’m being serious.) Starting with “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man,” Universal released a series of crossover pictures that were produced throughout the ’40s. The odd thing was that the monsters never really interacted with each other in any meaningful way. Dracula is killed off in “House of Frankenstein” before the other ghouls even show up! Only “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” managed to make something out of the monster crossover concept. (Still serious.) While those films mostly failed to deliver on their promise of a monster mash with just three monsters, “Mad Monster Party?” succeeds beautifully with nearly the entire roster of Universal Monsters.
This was not a Universal production, but these frightful and legally distinct creatures were created with absolute love for the films that inspired them. The Jack Davis designs capture the essence of the fiend they’re based on while striking the right balance between kooky and spooky. While I don’t believe Tim Burton has ever actually spoken about “Mad Monster Party?” in public, it’s hard to believe that this film’s design and animation style didn’t inspire his entire aesthetic in some way. Voice actor Allen Swift portrays the majority of the male characters, mostly voicing them as impressions of great horror or villainous actors. He does Bela Lugosi for Dracula, Peter Lorre for Yetch the zombie, and Sydney Greenstreet for The Invisible Man. While he does provide some grunts for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the character is never speaks. I can only assume that was a deliberate nod to the great Lon Chaney, the Man of a Thousand Faces who played Quasimodo in the silent era.
Swift does a lot of Old Hollywood celebrity impressions in this picture, but there’s one who provides his own voice: Boris Karloff. The former creation is promoted to creator in the role of Baron Frankenstein. Karloff was and is one of the great icons of classic horror, so his presence gives the film a ghoulish pedigree. It was the last project Karloff made related to the Frankenstein mythos, the story that made him the most famous face in fright. Though more funny than fearsome, the Karloff-voiced puppet brings a charm that’s as comforting as it is creepy. At one point, Karloff talk-sings his way through a musical number with a chorus of weirdos that look like the sort of creatures a child would draw on his desk at school. It’s the greatest thing you will ever see. And while they aren’t associated with horror, comedienne Phyllis Diller is memorably malefic as the Monster’s Mate (I suppose they couldn’t say “Bride of Frankenstein”) and Grammy winner Gale Garnett nearly steals the show as femme fatale Francesca.
“Mad Monster Party?” tells the story of Felix Flanken (Allen Swift impersonating Jimmy Stewart), the nebbish nephew of Baron Frankenstein. Felix is invited to attend a meeting of his uncle’s peers on the Isle of Evil, blissfully unaware of the fact that the attendees are the world’s most notorious monsters. And that basically covers the plot, which is mostly just a setup for the eponymous party. “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” is explicitly based on the popular novelty song, but “Mad Monster Party?” feels like an unofficial adaptation of Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash,” which was only about five years old at that point. An official “Monster Mash” movie was made with Pickett in 1995, but most would agree it’s no “Mad Monster Party?” After all, it has the real Boris.
Even if it was born more out of public interest in movie monsters than a desire to celebrate Halloween, “Mad Monster Party?” represents everything that makes Halloween a scream: groovy ghoulies, terror-ific tunes, the worst puns ever (I say this with love), and a general sense of fiendish fun. If they aren’t already, “The Mummy” and the title song (sung by Ethel Ennis) are destined to become staples of your Halloween playlist. And with the exception of The Phantom of the Opera (unfortunately, my personal favorite), all the great fiends of old school horror are here. They even throw pies at each other. Imagine how much better “Alien vs. Predator” would’ve been had they done the same.
In 1972, Rankin-Bass produced “Mad Mad Mad Monsters,” which aired as “The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie.” Done in cel animation rather than stop-motion, the special is a sorta sequel to “Mad Monster Party?,” utilizing Allen Swift and presenting similar (though less gruesome) monster designs. It aired in September of that year, so it isn’t technically a Halloween special. While “Mad Mad Mad Monsters” is pretty cute, “Mad Monster Party?” is a true classic. It’s weird, wild, and totally swingin’ in the most 1960s way. In my opinion, it’s mandatory viewing during this time of year. Like that infamous Mash, it’s a graveyard smash!
- The Phibes Philes: Return Of The Kringle – The Life & Adventures Of Santa Claus - December 3, 2024
- The Phibes Philes: Scream A Little Scream – The History Of Alice Cooper’s Welcome To My Nightmare - October 30, 2024
- The Phibes Philes: A Graveyard Smash – The History Of Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Monster Mash - September 30, 2024
