In the 80s and 90s and even into the early 2000s, Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. were the go-to guys for Christmas specials like Rudolph and Frosty. However, Rankin Bass had a hidden trick up his sleeve. It often goes unnoticed because it flies under the radar. However, Rankin Bass made a Halloween special called Crazy monster party?, A must for every horror collector. Everyone should own at least one copy so that this film is not relegated to the realm of forgotten moments.
The rolling bones
Summary
Baron Boris von Frankestein (Boris Karloff, Frankenstein1931) hosts a festival on the island of evil and invites all monsters from everywhere to his nephew Felix Flanken (Allen Swift, Sesame Street), who is half human. He doesn’t dare tell his guests that Felix is only half monster. When the monsters arrive from all over the country, Drac Wolfie and other friends arrive.
There is one guest that Baron hopes won’t come, as he has honed the trick of hiding the secret from them all. The evening turns disastrous and the monsters all have a restless night trying to sleep with another monster. During the celebration, the monsters begin to turn against the Baron by planning to reveal the secret and kill Felix. However, the monsters trick Francseca into charming Felix with her love potion and commit an atrocity. One by one, they all fail in hilarious ways. Will the monsters learn the secret? Let’s hope not.
conspiratorial minds
There is so much I can say about Crazy monster party?, but it would take far too long to tell the stories. I get nostalgic because I grew up in pop culture. What did touch me, though, were the Universal Monsters. They didn’t scare me as much as other movies. I was too young to watch those scary movies, but my parents let me watch them anyway. There was always a comedic nudge in those classic movies. You understood things like Frankenstein’s monster. You felt for the character; they had another nudge at the societal expectations of the time, in a country that was far removed from reality.
Marry me and make me a monster!
One of our memories, actually the only one, was that we sat in the living room before going to sleep and Halloween or Night of the Demons. We were the kind of people who could watch horror movies year-round, rather than having a list for “spooky season.” On our regular playlist was this hidden gem we found at a flea market and paid a dollar for. It’s still the best dollar I ever spent as a kid. We sat down that night, and I was in awe of this beautiful creation. It had everything I loved, but on a more childlike level. What was the funniest thing for me about Crazy monster party? It has when Dracula chases Felix with a comedic failure.
At the end
Crazy monster party? is a film that families should watch together. I am not saying it will bring world peace, but you never know. The world is scary for a child; we all know that. So you bring them to peace with films like Halloween Town And Hocus Pocus. It will change their perspective on an interest of yours. Maybe it will prepare the kids for scarier situations, like a haunted house in October. These are the moments I cherish in the relationship between my mother and me. I still cherish the movie very much; there are many more memories here, like when I met my first love and we bonded in an immature way; those were some of the best days of my life, not just some, but most of them.
Crazy monster party? is available to rent or buy on most streaming platforms, including YouTube. There are currently no free streaming options.
