A shame, as I was really enjoying it at first. That opening "experiment" with the bird made me absolutely lose my sh*t laughing. It was when that insufferable nephew character showed up that I began to stop having fun. The musical numbers also dragged. I'm glad I didn't spend money on this.
But I did enjoy Yetch.
As a Peter Lorre parody, the voice impression ranks pretty low. In fact, he sounded far more like Wabuu from Dingo Pictures than Peter Lorre. (Is Wabuu supposed to be a Peter Lorre parody too? I genuinely don't know.)
Other than the voice though, Yetch is a good PL homage. There's none of the lazy Igor crap. He's actually a proper a parody of Peter Lorre's film career. They even let him keep his nose this time! (PL parodies tend to radically shrink or just remove his conk for whatever reason.) His suit and hair seem to be spoofing his "Casablanca" look, while his lecherous obsession with Francesca (a Lauren Bacall parody randomly inserted into this Halloween special) seems like a "Mad Love" callback.
And he loses his head, as Peter did onscreen a few times.
Then there's this "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" reference, that I'm sure no one has ever written any fanfiction about.
Also, the Invisible Man is a parody of Sydney Greenstreet, for some reason. They even gave him a fez to drive the point home. (If you haven't seen "the Invisible Man" or "Rocky Horror Picture Show," it was Claude Rains who famously played the Invisible Man.)
To be fair, this special was made before the Internet, home video, and "Rocky Horror." So maybe all Rankin Bass could remember was that someone from "Casablanca" played the Invisible Man, and went with the next most spoofable star after Peter Lorre.
At any rate, it's easy to see why "Mad Monster Party?" isn't shown on TV anymore. The rapey aspects don't stop with Yetch's harassment of Francesca; Francesca herself ends up falling hard for the obnoxious nephew Felix, who looks about 15 (while she seems to be very much an adult). Not to mention the cook abruptly pinching Yetch's ass for no clear reason. These people truly are "creeps" in every sense. Add to that the hilariously grim ending (this was made during the Cold War, remember), and it's easy to see why parents prefer to show their kids "Rudolph."
Nevertheless, if you're so inclined, here's where I watched the movie:
(Find more treasures at https://www.facebook.com/ChelloveckPage/ )
"Mad Monster Party?" is a 1967 American stop motion animated comedy film
And here is where I got the screencaps:
Screencap Gallery for Mad Monster Party? (1967) (Other Animation Studios). On the Isle of Evil, the head of the "World Organization of Monst
