Psychedelic '60s Kids Show 'Banana Splits' Is Coming Back... As a Horror Movie
A quartet of kids' show characters from the '60s are coming back -- to haunt your nightmares. Deadline reports that good-natured, slapsticky Banana Splits are being brought back in a horror movie.
Snorky the elephant, Fleegle the beagle, Drooper the lion, and Bingo the gorilla will now be terrorizing a family that goes to see a taping of their show. At least that's what we gather from the synopsis. (Or are the costumed characters there to fight evil? As their theme song, "Tra La La (One Banana, Two Banana)" plays?)
The official synopsis: "In the upcoming horror thriller, a boy named Harley and his family attend 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?"
The Hanna-Barbera series was created by Sid and Marty Krofft who also gave us such far-out shows as "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Land of the Lost," and "The Bugaloos."
The Will Ferrell "Land of the Lost" feature film was a notorious flop, so this movie is wisely headed for digital video and then a television debut on Syfy.
By the way, the Kroffts deny they were high when creating their notoriously trippy shows: "You cannot do a show stoned," he told THR in 2016.
And if you notice a strong resemblance between these kids' show characters and fast food figures like Mayor McCheese? The Kroffts sued McDonald's and won a reported seven-figure settlement in 1977.