The Banana Splits Movie

I don't care about this, but I also don't care for the idea that adding splatter to something innocuous is somehow edgy and hilarious. I didn't like that "Too Many Cooks" sitcom parody that was doing the rounds a few years ago for the same reason.

 

Another interesting bit of trivia about the original Banana Splits series was that Ricky Lancelotti sang many of the ‘soul’ tinged songs featured on the show and the Splits album and singles. Lancelotti later went on to sing on several Frank Zappa albums.

If Zappa was aware of Lancelotti’s work on the Splits recordings, that would add to the sardonic humor of his music.

 

DIVX was one such format. There were other formats, FlexPlay and SpectraDisc, which started to change after you opened the vacuum sealed packaging, and became unplayable within a few days. Those retailed at $5-7 and also failed miserably in the marketplace, but at least they didn't require you to buy a different hardware device.



Collector note: Rolling Stones- Shine a Light was released on FlexPlay disc. So Rolling Stone completists have another dead format to search for.

 

Yes, the story of DIVX, FlexPlay, and SpectraDisc is fascinating...

Flexplay - Wikipedia

The intent was that the studios wanted a way to sell a really cheap disc that would only let you watch it once or twice. It did not work -- a lot of them failed right out of the box (or sealed envelope, if you prefer).

With the advent of online streaming, the studios finally got their wish: total control of what we see and hear, and they get paid a little bit every time you stream it.

I own Shine a Light on an official Blu-ray disc, but only because I mastered it.

 

I also found on ebay by accident some DIVX discs, which are sold as "collectable" for $15 each.. Why? Why would anyone buy it, as you cannot play it, and if someone concot a device to do it - you'll have a very poor P&S copy of old movie...
And not like those are rare titles for connoisseurs.
Do they really have collectable value?

 

There are people who collect obscure and rare formats in video just as they do for audio, sure.

In fact, given the disposable nature of the discs, I imagine that they'll become harder and harder to find in the next 10+ years so there's probably going to be something of a collector's market for them.

 

They to an extent not disposable, they already disposed as none is playable. Obscure audio formats still can be played, perhaps on very antiquated or hard to find equipment. But those cannot.

 

Well, yes but what I meant is that there are fewer of them around because most people threw them away after they became unplayable.

 

I checked ebay and only half a dozen of them sold recently (plus some 32 bundle with 4 players sold for 60 bucks), priced from 1 to 15(!) bucks. And perhaps some of them people bought by mistake (remember, there is legit DIVX video encoding format).
While some sellers (not all) explaining that it is not DVD, they including something like "required DIVX player, disc may or may not play".... Man...
So it is not particular exploding market )). But still...

 

I recently found out that FNAF has been announced with Chris Columbus as a producer.

 

Well this is pretty damn deceptive. This is how the cover of the Splits horror film appears on Amazon. If it wasn’t for the blood dripping from the letters you wouldn’t have a hint of what the movie is really about.


Amazon doesn’t even show that it’s rated R. There’s a brief summary of the plot in the product description, but it doesn’t delve into the extent of the violence.


Any parent not aware of what this movie is really about might buy this for their kids thinking it’s harmless fun.


“Hey Gang I’ve got a great idea, let’s traumatize the Kiddies for life!”.

 

Firstly I have to fully agree with this sentiment and I do fear what they will come up with next...

Secondly I have to also say that I burst out laughing at the term 'p!ss in the punchbowl' I've not heard that one before and it perfectly describes this and could be used in many scenarios I've come across in my work and life. Need to remember it for the next time.

 

No.

 

Oh, yeah, that's big on Hollywood producers who see a perfect script and say, "ya know, it's good, but I know something that'll make it much better." And then they make some really asinine change... which is p!ssing in the punchbowl. Jeffrey Katzenberg at Dreamworks was known for this... according to some in the industry.

 

Along those lines, it is fortunate when you have a successful author, like Jo Rowing of Harry Potter or Stephenie Meyer of Twilight, who have the wherewithal to have script approval for adaptations of their novels.

 

Exactly. Look I'm of the demographic that remembers the original, & not fondly either. It started the day after my 7th birthday in 1968 & ended the day before my 9th birthday in 1970, (discounting it's syndication afterwards), so I was their prime demographic, & I hated it with a passion. Not only did I hate it, I also felt that it was childish, silly & beneath me, even at age 7. When it came on TV, I knew it was time to change the channel or find something else to better occupy my time.

At almost 58 now, I fail to see how this movie could destroy or damage my "precious childhood memories" of the show, even if I had loved it. Love it or hate it, I'm not 7 anymore. While I care not one bit about a horror movie based on it, either way, I can say that all these people upset over the movie might want to consider getting a life. Getting all bent out of shape over something this trivial is simply absurd.

 

Folks have fondness for things that brought them joy when they were younger. It’s no different than an adult holding on to a beat up old Teddy Bear for sentimental reasons, maybe displaying it on a shelf where it brings a smile to their face every time they see it.

Today’s generation don’t know Howdy Doody, but it still brings a smile to those who remember the show which was a groundbreaker in children’s entertainment.

There’s still a childhood attachment to Star Wars and The Avengers, which Hollywood has tapped into and reaped financially from.

Not putting the Splits in the same class as those franchises, but for their time the show brought a level of joy to a lot of folks. And the Splits memorabilia is quite collectible as well. Certainly not Star Wars/Avengers level, but it does ok.

If one has pleasant memories of a silly show that once brought them joy, it also galls to see it so cynically twisted.

 

By the way, The Banana Splits appear in the season 2, episode 9 edition of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In. You can stream it on Amazon Prime.


Hey I’m watching Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. Check it out now on Prime Video! Amazon.com: Watch Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Prime Video

 

Just a tie in to another Hanna-Barbera favorite.

Jonny Quest - Original Series on Blu-Ray

 

Overall I like and grew up on Hanna-Barbera cartoons like, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, The Flintstones, The Jetsons,. But as I was born in 1954 and these were early 60's cartoons, they were fine for my age.

By 1968, I was fourteen and no longer watching Saturday morning cartoon shows, so I don't know much about the Banana Splits.

One thing that I will agree with you on, is that the 60's were full of really stupid TV shows. Even as a kid, I thought that most of the shows were pretty stupid.

Nothing wrong with stupid comedy, per say, the problem was, during that period on TV, there were few alternatives.

Not to say that all TV during the 60's was stupid, there were some good TV shows that didn't insult your intelligence.

But TV in general always seems to be reaching for the lowest common denominator and these are the type of shows that are embraced by TV audiences.

 

All I have to say is WTF!!!!

 

I understand the nostalgic fondness, even if I find it somewhat wasted on such a forgettable thing such as this. I still enjoy the main hobby of my youth, model building. But, if someone blows up their models with firecrackers, it has no effect on my enjoyment of the hobby. That's kinda how I view this.

It's also similar to the people upset over The Happytime Murders, directed by Brian Henson, Jim's son. While I can understand thinking the movie wasn't good, I didn't understand why people were so upset with the concept of some pieces of felt & bits of fluff being used to make something conceived to be funny, crude but funny, (allegedly anyway).

These are fictional characters. Any "weight" anyone gives to them either way is on them, not the creators of this movie. Twisted is often where our greatest comedy & satire comes from, (Airplane, Blazing Saddles, This Is Spinal Tap), so again, getting upset over something like this serves no purpose.

I guess my viewpoint is somewhat slewed by reading Dracula at age 9, seeing the Godfather at age 10, & reading that novel when I was 12. I developed adult tastes & a more adult perspective on many things at a younger age than most of my peers, something that appears glaringly obvious with some of the outraged responses in this thread on the movie.

 

I wonder if it cost the same as a regular dvd to make? the whole thing sounds insane to me

 

I'm the exact same age as you, but I actually did continue to watch Saturday morning stuff on and off -- not a ton of it, but I paid attention. I knew the difference between a good show and a bad show, and good animation vs. bad animation. Banana Splits was at least an attempt to do something different, and I thought the live action element was an unusual idea. Some of it was terrible, a lot of it was not funny, but it had moments. In my case, I considered myself to be a student of pop culture, and all of this stuff can be interesting on a certain level -- not profound, not brilliant, but kind of mirroring the times. Look at an animated show in 1965 vs. 1970 vs. 1975 vs. 1980 vs. 1985... they went through some surprising changes.

 

I think it was stated earlier but this is just a Five Night at Freddy’s rip off. This should beat the FNAF movie to release and has the added nostalgia for the older demographic.