Mad Monster Party DVD: IT'S ALL MINE

In the spirit of the coming Pagan Celebration of All Things Evil that heralds the annual beginning of hostilities against Christmas, I picked up the classic 1967 film Mad Monster Party by Rankin Bass on DVD.

MMP is a stop-motion comedy/horror film that was a regular yearly event on television for decades, playing around Halloween as Frosty and Rudolph did at Xmas. The story centers around the announcement that Baron Frankenstein is going to retire and hand over his secrets to his nerdy nephew Felix. When the monsters of the world find out about it they conspire to destroy him.

For those of you who have not seen it, think "Nightmare Before Christmas" but without the suck. Frosty, Rudolph and MMP are Rankin Bass productions when they were at the top of their game. Movie fans will enjoy the animation, classic Universal monsters, high talent voice work and the homage to Billy Wilder at the end.

Guess what else? No security seals! That's right. All the package had was a shrink wrap to keep all the extra goodies from falling out. Since movie awfulness is indicated by a high number of anti-theft seals on the package this is proof-positive that MMP rocks! It is so awesome it don't need no stinkin' security tape!

Look at all the goodies that came with the DVD.

• DVD with character art
• Sturdy Halloween-themed slipcover
• Set of four MMP collector cards
• Behind the scenes booklet (Some Jack Davis illustrations inside)

I actually bought this for the child of a family friend but when I saw all the cool stuff that came with the DVD I decided to keep it for myself! Ha-ha! Eat it, kid. Life is hard, get used to it. I'm doing you a favor by teaching you disappointment early. Don't be like me, holding onto hope until you were 36 years old and get crushed by reality. Discard it now and you'll save yourself some pain later.

Check out the MMP Collector Card featuring Francesca and Yetch. The pathetic Yetch worships the feet of Francesca.

Francesca is hot. I was totally in love with her as a kid. She has that whole Tina Louise thing going on. MMP is a fun film. Laugh? I thought I'd die. All the monsters are fun and safe for children to watch, except for Phyllis Diller. She is freaking scary and will scar you for life.