The Banana Splits Movie

The Banana Splits Show was a popular children's TV programme on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1960s with its blend of wacky humour and Hanna-Barbera cartoons (Arabian Knights, The Three Musketeers), along with that hugely infectious Tra La La theme song. Repeats after cancellation in 1970 have ensured continuing cult status, yet it seems a strange conceit for this schlocky horror to make over its fluffy stars Fleagle, Drooper, Bingo and Snorky into animatronic psychos bent on slaughtering fans trapped inside the studio after a recording. There are echoes of Killer Klowns from Outer Space as the fuzzy foursome deal out death with all manner of bizarre instruments (lollipop, magic box, a wheel of fortune) that deliver the sort of gruesome culling usually found in a Saw movie. Baby boomer fans of the Splits' TV antics will be intrigued, but a gorefest featuring killer Teletubbies or Muppets - now that would be shocking.