The 1970s and 80s were littered with low budget childrens variety shows that, when viewed today, seem like the stuff of nightmares. Now, one movie is leaning heavily into that premise. Warner Bros. and Syfy are releasing a horror film based on Sid and Marty Krofft’s The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. The Kroffts are famous for their kids’ series The Bugaloos, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, and Land of the Lost among others.
These cult series were beloved by children and stoners alike for their trippy visuals, low budget aesthetic, and puppetry. And they’ve been rebooted in a variety of formats to middling success, from Will Ferrell’s 2009 box office bomb Land of the Lost to YouTube stars Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart’s web series adaptation of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl.
The Banana Splits Adventure Hour followed the adventures of a fictional rock band made up of four animals: Fleagle the Beagle, Drooper the Lion, Snorky the Elephant, and Bingo the Gorilla. The Hanna-Barbera produced series was part live-action and part animation, making it the first Hanna-Barbera series to mix both genres. While you may not be familiar with the series, you’ve surely heard the “tra-la-la” theme song, which has since been used in countless films and has been covered by Liz Phair and The Dickies, most notably in Hit-Girl’s introductory fight scene in Kick-Ass:
The straight to VOD film be released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and air on Syfy sometime this year. The film stars Dani Kind (Wynonna Earp), Finlay Wojtak-Hissong (The Kindness of Strangers), and Steve Lund (Schitt’s Creek) and is directed by Danishka Esterhazy (Level 16). The synopsis reads:
The Banana Splits will offer a new take on the classic characters, which were first introduced to audiences in 1968 with The Banana Splits Adventure Hour variety program. In the upcoming horror thriller, a boy named Harley and his family (brother Austin, mother Beth and father Mitch) attend a taping of The Banana Splits TV show, which is supposed to be a fun-filled birthday for young Harley and business as usual for Rebecca, the producer of the series. But things take an unexpected turn — and the body count quickly rises. Can Harley, his mom and their new pals safely escape?”
Turning a Sid and Marty Krofft series into a tongue-in-cheek horror movie seems like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, the film bears a striking resemblance to the popular indie video game Five Nights at Freddy’s, where the player is a night security guard at a Chuck E. Cheese-style kids restaurant who must battle homicidal animatronic characters.
What do you think of The Banana Splits Movie trailer? Are you excited or should we finally let Sid and Marty Krofft’s creations rest?
(via io9, image: Syfy)
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Published: Jun 15, 2019 04:54 pm