Mad Monster Party

Before The Nightmare Before Christmas rattled viewers' bones, Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass, creators of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, served up this madcap 1967 "animagic" puppet feature, in which Dr. Frankenstein (voiced by Boris Karloff) upsets the Worldwide Organization of Monsters when he appoints as his successor his nerdy nephew Felix. Among those attending the monster summit meeting are such creature feature superstars as the Monster, Dracula, the Mummy, and the Wolf Man, each of whom wants to assume the doctor's mantle. As the voice of the Monster's bride, Phyllis Diller is at her wise-cackling best (she also--shudder--sings!). Co-written by the legendary creator of Mad magazine Harvey Kurtzman (with character designs by Mad's Jack Davis), the aptly titled Mad Monster Party will be a real scream for nostalgic baby boomers, while its old-fashioned pleasures may even delight younger viewers. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[DVD Review—Sept. 15, 2009—Lionsgate, 95 min., not rated, $14.98—Making its latest appearance on DVD, 1967's Mad Monster Party features a fine transfer and a Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack. DVD extras include a “Making of a Cult Classic” making-of featurette (15 min.), an “It's Sheer Animagic! Secrets of Stop-Motion Animation” featurette (10 min.), a “Groovy Ghouls!” music featurette (4 min.), two sing-alongs, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a minor cult classic.][Blu-ray Review—Sept. 11, 2012—Lionsgate, 95 min., not rated, $14.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1967's Mad Monster Party sports a nice transfer with DTS-HD mono sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to those on the standard DVD release, including a “making-of” featurette (15 min.), an “It's Sheer Animagic! Secrets of Stop-Motion Animation” featurette (10 min.), “Groovy Ghouls!” on music (4 min.), two sing-along songs, and trailers. New to this version is a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a welcome Blu-ray debut for this beloved Rankin/Bass film.]