6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A boy named Harley and his family (brother Austin, mother Beth, and father Mitch) attends 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?
Starring: Dani Kind, Steve Lund (II), Sara Canning, Celina Martin, Daniel FoxHorror | 100% |
Dark humor | 9% |
Comedy | 4% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Heaven forfend: what’s next, a remake of The Revenant starring Yogi Bear? I joke, of course, but the fact remains that if you are a Baby Boomer, you probably grew up with various Hanna Barbera productions whether or not you really wanted to, and whether you were entranced or frankly scarred by the original Banana Splits series on television, you might initially be a little surprised that this film revisits those Hanna Barbera characters in a horror film setting. Depending on your age, your earliest childhood memories might be suffused with scenes from such iconic Hanna Barbera shows as The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Quick Draw McGraw Show, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and/or Jonny Quest. The original series featuring The Banana Splits, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, came down the pike just a bit later than those aforementioned entries, with a broadcast run lasting from September 1968 until September 1970. The Banana Splits Adventure Hour was kind of an oddity for Saturday morning fare even back in its original era, as it blended both live action and animated elements (the first such approach for Hanna Barbera in terms of its television output), not to mention the fact that its title characters were a rock band comprised of people dressed up in what would now be called furries, depicting a quartet of animals who just happened to be musically gifted (or something like that). What's even odder about The Banana Splits Movie is how it takes these bizarre to begin with characters and makes them part of a pretty cheeky horror enterprise.
The Banana Splits Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. I haven't been able to find any real technical data on the shoot anywhere, but I'm assuming this was digitally captured and finished at a 2K DI. This is a generally sharp and well detailed looking presentation, though as can probably be made out from several of the screenshots accompanying this review, a lot of the film plays out in suitably spooky dark environments once the Splits go haywire and a bunch of people are running around behind the scenes at the studio. The lighting in several of these scenes is quite evocative (as again can probably be made out in some of the screenshots), but it doesn't always support excellent levels of fine detail. That said, close-ups of the Splits even in some relatively dim situations can provide nice accountings of their plush fur and, later, some of their robotic elements. Some of the kill scenes feature pretty graphic imagery, and the palette pops quite convincingly in terms of some of the blood and gore on display. The opening parts of the film, most of which play out in brightly lit or daytime environments, probably pop the best overall, with the most consistently high detail levels.
The Banana Splits Movie features an enjoyable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which gets some energy from repeated use of the Splits' now iconic "tra la la" theme song. The relatively brief "taping" sequences of the show also have some good surround activity both in terms of what's going on onstage as well as the audience reaction. There are some jump cuts with startle effects on the soundtrack that are obviously trite and goofy, but which will still probably provide the requisite jolt of adrenaline in many listeners. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, and some of the quasi-dialogue (like Snorky's hoots and honks) are goofily funny.
One of the few online background pieces I found on this film included some interviews with the creative staff, and they all admitted that the original Banana Splits television show was a bit before their time, which may account at least in part for how twisted this "version" of the characters is. I personally wish the film had gone for the gonzo humor even more than it does (the only truly laugh out loud moment for me personally was right at the end, when one very deserving character gets some comeuppance), but the film kind of amazingly does manage to whip up at least a bit of angst if not outright terror at times. Technical merits are generally solid for those considering a purchase.
Collector's Series
1986
1985
2016
2004
1986
Director's Cut
1986
2011
2010
Collector's Edition
1988
1995
1984
1987
2012
2013
1996
Vestron Video Collector's Series
1991
1985
Night Shift Edition
2023
2018
1995