DVD Review: Rankin Bass's Mad Mad Mad Monsters and Festival of Classics Jack o' Lantern

I can't remember who tipped me off to this release originally but I'm glad they did.

You see, I'm a fan of animated Halloween specials of the past like Garfield's Halloween Adventure and (of course) It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

But when something comes along that I wasn't even aware of --like Mad Mad Mad Monsters and its special feature program:  Festival of Classics: Jack o' Lantern-- I get to experience the thrill of watching a Halloween special for the first time.
It's as close as you can get to time travel without leaving your couch.

Thanks to the nice folks at ClassicMedia.tv who sent me a review copy, I was able to make that time jump.  I did what Doc Brown told me and input my destination on the keypad:  September 23, 1972... that's when the special debuted on the ABC Saturday Superstar Movie (ok really I just hit 'play' on the DVD player).

Mad Mad Mad Monsters was sort of a sequel to the Rankin Bass stop-motion animated feature Mad Monster Party. I say "sort of" because though it took place after the film all the monsters have returned:  Dracula, The Creature, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man (and his wife) and Igor.

The plot revolves around the monsters assembling for the wedding of the Bride of Frankenstein to Frankenstein's monster.
If zany, '70s cartoon monster fun is your thing, you'll love this.
If you just want to see the further adventures of the cast from the stop-motion animated Mad Monster Party, you'll enjoy this... once.

As MMMM (I'm not typing out the title over and over) was a TV movie it runs at an hour but it's about half an hour too long.  The voicework is pretty good (aside from Igor's voice changing once toward the beginning) and there's even a solid impression of Karloff (who had passed by the time this special came to be).  The program just doesn't have the staying power of a good, solid Halloween special. 


It's the item on the DVD labeled the "Bonus Feature" that I think really makes this disk worth the purchase for a Halloween Addict.

It's from Rankin Bass's Festival of Classics which was a TV series in the early '70s that did animated versions of famous folk tales and classic literature.  The episode was called "Jack o' Lantern" and, as it originally aired on October 29, 1972, I believe this is what the short-lived series would have considered their "Halloween episode."

From the opening shot of the tale, the special FEELS like autumn and Halloween.  There are the browns and muted colors of the end of fall... a scarecrow blows in the wind next to a barren tree branch.

For those who want to experience the special anew or enjoy it for the first time (and I think you should), I won't give a point by point breakdown of the plot. 

Know that there are witches who conjure ghosts... and only Jack o' Lantern can save the farm.

Let me say this:  you haven't lived until you've seen a top-hat wearing jack o' lantern-headed scarecrow punch ghosts.
Let me repeat that:  He PUNCHES GHOSTS.

From the storybook flipping open to the closing credits, this was a Halloween special I enjoyed.   What makes this episode superior, in my opinion, to the featured Mad Mad Mad Monsters is that the animation seems more fluid, the story more concise and the whole thing clocks in at under 30 minutes. 

What makes it a worthy purchase for Halloween Addicts are a number of things.

1)  The scarcity of this episode makes it feel "new."  

Sure it originally aired in 1972, but I haven't seen it over all these years in any re-run capacity like It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown or Garfield's Halloween Adventure so it hasn't been over-saturated.  It's a new-feeling special with a classic Halloween special feel to it.  It's comfortable.  Like a Pumpkin Spiced Latte in front of a glowing jack o' lantern.

2)  It's made by Rankin Bass!
We all know Rankin Bass by its volumes of Winter Holiday classics like the stop-motion Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and Rudolph's Shiny New Year, not to mention  animated favorites like Frosty the Snowman ("Haaaaappy Birthday!") and a particular fav of mine 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (The one with the mice living in a clock... gotta get the clock working again so Santa will show... Catchy song that goes "We'll do what's necessary 'cause e-ven a miracle needs a haaaaaaand!"  No?  Nothin'?  Check it out.  It's good.) AND Mad Mad Monster Party (as close as RB got to a Halloween special in stop-motion) and all the other specials around Easter, July 4th, etc.

My point:  Rankin Bass were the pros making holiday specials that are still near and dear to our hearts.

Though Jack o' Lantern is not as well known in the Rankin Bass canon, it still has all the charm of a family tale to put on in the short October nights leading up to Halloween.

3)  It's only 30 minutes.
Part of what hurts Mad Mad Mad Monsters is that it's too long.  The story isn't deep enough to support a full hour.  Jack o' Lantern clocks at 20-some-odd minutes (it's less than 30 to allow for commercial breaks) and that makes it just long enough to be fun.

4)  The mixing of folk lore.  
The tale plays out like a mix between Frosty the Snowman, Aladdin and Darby o' Gill and the Little People.
I am completely serious about that sentence.


5)  The Rankin Bass logo.
Much like the swirling CBS Special Presentation logo that triggered the beginning of It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown back in the day (and still gets me excited), the floating blue circles and logo jingle of Rankin Bass that played at the end of many a holiday special gives me nostalgic closure to a holiday special when I hear it.  (Check out the YouTube link below and hear it for yourself). 



Bottom line:  Should you buy this? 
If you collect Halloween specials:  yes.
If you want to experience rarely seen Halloween specials that have a nostalgic quality to them:  yes.
In my opinion it's worth the purchase (and at under $7 it's super-affordable) just for the Festival of Classics: Jack o' Lantern story alone.

I think the biggest detriment to this release is not promoting both titles on the front of the box.

Split the box down the middle, with the Rankin Bass logo on top and a font that flaunts "Two Classic Halloween Specials!" and show both the classic monsters on one side and the Jack o' Lantern character on the other.
THAT would catch my eye in those Target "Halloween DVDs" sections in the Halloween aisle and would ensure that I picked up a copy.

Though it's great to have Mad Mad Mad Monsters sitting next to my copy of Mad Monster Party on my Halloween DVD shelf, it's Festival of Classics: Jack o' Lantern that'll be the one I had to my Halloween-special rotation every year.

UPDATED:  I couldn't leave well enough alone and did my own DVD cover mock-up (see left).  I'm not saying this is wonderful, but it took me 10 minutes and THIS is the way it should be marketed.  Don't relegate "Jack O' Lantern" to a by-line on the back cover.  Ok, ok... I'm done.

Did I mention a jack o' lantern PUNCHES GHOSTS?

Now that Amazon and California have kissed and made up, feel free to buy it through this link and I'll get my couple o' nickels.