Groovie Goolies: Saturday Mourning Collection (1970)
Directed by Hal Sutherland
BCI DVD
THE FILM
Drac, Frankie & Wolfie. Hagatha, Bella La Ghostly, Sabrina, The Mummy, Boneapart, Batso & Ratso, that simpering fat green kid (Fatty?), Ghoulihand, Orville and, of course, the big dinosaur that Frankie kept as a pet named Rover. They all live in Horrible Hall, which, I think, is in Transylvania. There is mention, here and there, of scaring people but I rarely ever see any actual people. They spend most of their time hanging out, having a good time and telling lots and lots of corny jokes and puns. So many, in fact, that I would think they probably received a letter from Forrest Ackerman asking them to tone it down.
There are 16 half-hour episodes on Groovie Goolies: Saturday 'Mourning' Collection. They originally aired around 1970. And, they would have aired on Saturday Morning (I use the more accepted spelling there) for long after that. Each episode starts with their theme song ("Goolie Get Together" -- which gets a full playing in the final episode) and Drac, Frankie and Wolfie rocking out in their band. Then, we get around 20 minutes of Laugh-In style gaggery. Sometimes they're fast gags, cutting to goblins or monsters laughing. (About half the episodes feature a laugh track.) Then, there are short sketches. They put on plays, they workout, they have a Ghoul (Gool?) Olympics. Mixed into all this are two pop songs per episode...bubblegum tunes, pretty superb. (I'm listening to The Groovie Goolies album right now.) The pop songs have accompanying videos. And, the episode ends...
That's the template for all 16 episodes and I'm so very glad that we have that many. And, I'm also very glad that this lovely (now out-of-print) DVD set came out. Like Monster Squad, this is something I am amazed to see on DVD and I will miss the format when it's gone. (What about that awesome Cool McCool set?) I had seen a couple episodes on an old, old VHS but that didn't prepare me for a cleaned-up, great-looking set of these.
Now, let me do a bad stuff/good stuff...
Bad Stuff. Those puns do grate on my nerves. Seriously, it must be a generational thing. A few of the puns are very clever but, if you watch more than one episode in a row, you may find yourself yelling out the pun before it happens. But, if you can yell it in anger and then make it a fun game, you might be onto something.
The show is fast-paced but every episode is, more or less, the same. That is, in some ways, perfect but it does work best if you focus your attentions on one episode at a time. You can put it on all day and just let it play in the background but, whenever I try more than one episode in a row, I get hazy during the second one. That could be just me. You know the kind of junk I get up to.
Good Stuff. The characters are very charming and there is a wide array of them. They all bring a little something sweet to the table. And, they're designed really cool. They are, in fact, Groovie.
The fast pace. Each episode bullets along. It may become monotonous in huge doses but in 20-or-so minute chunks, it's perfect.
The songs. They're all pretty darn good and very catchy.
Horrible Hall. Wow...I wish I had a full layout of this place. But, I piece together what I can from the episodes. We see the outside of it, perched on top of a mountain with a long, precarious path leading up to it from the woods below. Once inside, the place is a crazy mix of rooms that go on forever, strange dungeons, a theater and a room full of Wacky Windows. It's fantastic. This is one of those fictional locations that I love. I always wanted to go inside one of those huge Old, Dark House movie mansions and explore the whole thing. From wing to wing and room to room, just to see the shear vastness of it all. If I went up to Horrible Hall, I'm not sure how they'd treat me. I'd like to think they'd be nice but they might not be. They are monsters. There's no sign of them being reformed, like the Monster Squad. They could just drink my blood and tear me apart. I don't know. But, I'm willing to risk it to see all of Horrible Hall.
C'mon, it's Monsters just hanging out and joking around with each other! That's all they do! There's no worrying going on, just Old Pals messing around. It's fun. They're Monsters. It's the Halloween Season. Why not watch it?
AUDIO AND VIDEO
It looks quite superb. The colors are bright and there's a lot of detail. I was always looking around in the backgrounds. Trying to see the whole world. The audio is fine. The laugh track sounds a little weak but that's an observation, not a criticism. All the music rocks to the pop.
EXTRAS
The set has some good stuff. The actual design of the DVDs is cool. Inside each case there are sketches of the main characters. Apparently, they were called the "Googlie Goolies" at one point. There are some nice liner notes that lay out the history and the general appeal. So, if you don't know what this is, you can read it before you watch and come into it with a clue...or you can not read it and go in fresh.
There are two commentaries with folks from Filmation. They cover the basics and tell some good stories. It turns out the whole thing was based on Laugh-In after all.
There's a sing-along, image galleries, a script for a drug-related PSA, scripts on the DVD-ROM side and a 45-minute "docu-comedy" about two big Goolies fans (Wally Wingert & Daniel Roebuck) driving around talking with people about the Goolies, including Alice Cooper and Goolie Head Writer, Jack Mendelsohn. It was entertaining. There are some laughs and there's a giant feeling of verve and fun behind the whole thing. I appreciate the fact that they did something different with the whole "Interview Feature" –type thing. It doesn't top the Goolies themselves but it's worth a watch.
All right -- I just saw this extra. I've owned this box set for two years and I just noticed this. Take out the DVDs and look inside the box. There are character sketches for 8 of the secondary characters, including Hagatha, Mummy and Gauntleroy...that was the name of the simpering fat green kid! This set is cool.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Fast becoming a Bleeding Skull Crucial Question: Would I like to be a part of this world? Well, the puns would get to me but...yes, yes I would. I could certainly try and bring a more sophisticated mix of humour (yes, the British spelling) to the place, what with my love of Laurence Sterne and any good joke involving balls. The Groovie Goolies in Horrible Hall are well worth your time. Watch this and then Monster Squad and imagine the monsters suddenly deciding to give something back to the world. It's fun.
— Dan Budnik, 09.30.10 |
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