For the longest time, Mad Monster Party was available only in the poorest of qualities, lingering on as VHS that was copied from a surviving 16mm film, after the original negative was damaged and lost forever. In the six years since a 35mm copy was finally discovered and digitally remastered, we’ve gotten no less than three DVD editions—two from Anchor Bay, and now this Special Edition from Lionsgate.
How special is this edition? It’s special only in the newly produced featurettes, which are the real incentive to buy this release for fans of the film.
Ever since Universal started playing mix-and-match with the famous monsters at their disposal in the 40’s, the gathering of these classic movie monsters have been the spark of boyhood imaginations. There’s always some kooky plot that one way or another brings the monsters together. In Mad Monster Party, it’s as simple as a party invite. During his usual Friday the 13th party, Dr. Frankenstein’s descendant Baron von Frankenstein (who is also a mad scientist) invites his nerdy human nephew Felix Flankin along, with the intention of announcing his retirement and relinquishing his greatest discovery to him; an idea the ghoulish partygoers—wanting Frankenstein’s discovery for themselves—aren’t so keen on.
The usual suspects are all here: Count Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster, the Mummy, the Creature (from the Black Lagoon), the Werewolf, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and the Invisible Man. Give or take a few skeletons and zombies as extras. Due to copyright concerns, the film couldn’t really confirm that these are the Universal monsters, but the intention is transparent enough. In the case of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, they only had to shorten his name to not indicate the body of water of origin, but with a certain globally famous Universal monster, the other characters refer to him only as “It,” even though it’s obvious who it’s aping.
Mad Monster Party shows the same kind of charm of other classic Rankin/Bass productions like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. Co-written by MAD Magazine founder Harvey Kurtzman, it does have that feel of a classic MAD Mag feature, especially when the puppet models were designed by MAD illustrator Jack Davis. Fun fact: the design of Sesame Street’s The Count is basically identical to this Dracula.
Audio & Video
Unfortunately, there’s not much to say about it. I don’t think they did anything to improve the quality of the film. The picture is clear for what it is, but identical to the two previous releases—where you can see some of the grain. The audio also remains in mono.
DVD Bonus Features
...are as appreciated as they are disappointing. The three featurettes are of course welcome, since they give firsthand insight to this 40-year-old film. The "Making of" has interviews with those of the cast and crew still alive, including Allen Swift, the illustrious voice actor behind most of the characters in the film. They share the genesis of the project as well as elaborate on amusing details, like deciding which celebrity voice Swift should impersonate for a monster or how Phyllis Diller, as the Bride of Frankenstein, was essentially playing herself (or her stage persona, at least).
The other two featurettes are more technical; well-worth seeing to see the tricks behind this movie. One of them go over the Animagic stop-motion process, while the other go behind the music of the film. To compliment the latter, there’s also a “Sing Along” feature.
If you have bought the film before, you should only get this edition if you’re a huge fan and want to see how it all came together. If you haven’t, it’s a good cult movie addition to own for the cheap price.
"Mad Monster Party: Special Edition" is on sale September 8, 2009 and is rated NR. Animation, Children & Family, Comedy, Horror, Musical. Directed by Jules Bass. Written by Len Korobkin, Harvey Kurtzman, Arthur Rankin Jr.. Starring Allen Swift, Boris Karloff, Gale Garnett, Phyllis Diller.
