I'll admit that even growing up in the 70s, when "The Banana Splits" were on WPIX in NY and having "met" them in King's Dominion on one summer vacation, I was never really a huge fan of the show. I just didn't get the "boingo" sound F/X and characters talking without their mouths moving. So, when it was announced that there was going to be a horror movie made about the Splits, I was confused, but not offended. I guess if I had been a big fan as a kid I might have found the concept alone insulting to my childhood heroes, but since I was never into them, I just thought the idea was idiotic. Well, it turns out, it's strange, but not as far fetched as I had thought. There are many things silly about it and a few things that were handled very well.
If I had to pitch the movie in Hollywood I would say it's Willy Wonka's Westworld with a Tromaesque touch of gore and dark comedy.
Things the movie handles well:
1. Making the Banana Splits "entities" rather than just guys in suits who go nutzo. It's revealed very early on that they're "Puppets". Super high-tech animatronics, with a bit too much of the "show must go on" programming.
2. A bit of 2 dimensional character development. Most of the characters who are going to "buy it" through the movie are super predictable right from the start. You're immediately given a reason not to like them and so when they suffer an over the top kill you don't feel as bad laughing about it. There's even a character somewhat like "Jack vs Lanterns" own Ralph, who I a cheating asshole and manages to pop up more times than you might expect. He doesn't get kicked in the nuts nearly as often as Ralph does though. Don't read this as a spoiler though, because there are some red herrings in there as well and just because a character is "likeable" doesn't make them safe.
3. There's a bit more plot than the description suggests. The puppet bots do indeed start slaughtering their way through the studio, but it's more subtle than a "rampage" as the SyFy Channel's info section on my cable suggested. The tension builds, the puppets have a plan and things develop throughout the movie.
4. The kills are creative, show inspired and gory. Most of the kills are set-up earlier in the film before the bots go bad. They mimic the show we see at the beginning in twisted, bloody ways. The gore is not subtle, but it's usually not so realistic as to be too disturbing. That's where the Troma influence comes in.
The Westworld influence ( 1973) is obviously the robots run amok angle.
Willy Wonka's influence is from the idea that the group is mostly comprised of parents and kids and wandering off and breaking the rules is a BAD idea.
Overall, this was an enjoyable bit of horror fun for October viewing. I doubt I would buy it or seek it out again, but if it's on a channel I already have again I might even give it a second watch. If they make a sequel, I'd watch it.
All the technical stuff, lighting, F/X, audio and direction were solid. The acting was mostly good, with a few "off" moments for some of the characters, but those seemed to be more from unnatural dialogue than actual bad acting.
If I had to pitch the movie in Hollywood I would say it's Willy Wonka's Westworld with a Tromaesque touch of gore and dark comedy.
Things the movie handles well:
1. Making the Banana Splits "entities" rather than just guys in suits who go nutzo. It's revealed very early on that they're "Puppets". Super high-tech animatronics, with a bit too much of the "show must go on" programming.
2. A bit of 2 dimensional character development. Most of the characters who are going to "buy it" through the movie are super predictable right from the start. You're immediately given a reason not to like them and so when they suffer an over the top kill you don't feel as bad laughing about it. There's even a character somewhat like "Jack vs Lanterns" own Ralph, who I a cheating asshole and manages to pop up more times than you might expect. He doesn't get kicked in the nuts nearly as often as Ralph does though. Don't read this as a spoiler though, because there are some red herrings in there as well and just because a character is "likeable" doesn't make them safe.
3. There's a bit more plot than the description suggests. The puppet bots do indeed start slaughtering their way through the studio, but it's more subtle than a "rampage" as the SyFy Channel's info section on my cable suggested. The tension builds, the puppets have a plan and things develop throughout the movie.
4. The kills are creative, show inspired and gory. Most of the kills are set-up earlier in the film before the bots go bad. They mimic the show we see at the beginning in twisted, bloody ways. The gore is not subtle, but it's usually not so realistic as to be too disturbing. That's where the Troma influence comes in.
The Westworld influence ( 1973) is obviously the robots run amok angle.
Willy Wonka's influence is from the idea that the group is mostly comprised of parents and kids and wandering off and breaking the rules is a BAD idea.
Overall, this was an enjoyable bit of horror fun for October viewing. I doubt I would buy it or seek it out again, but if it's on a channel I already have again I might even give it a second watch. If they make a sequel, I'd watch it.
All the technical stuff, lighting, F/X, audio and direction were solid. The acting was mostly good, with a few "off" moments for some of the characters, but those seemed to be more from unnatural dialogue than actual bad acting.
And, for more goofball good times check out one my movies:
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