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DVD Review: Groovie Goolies: Saturday Mourning Collection
by R.J. Carter
Published: October 22, 2006
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Rating: 
Country: USA
Release Date: October 24, 2006
Distributor: Brentwood Home Video
Cast:
· Larry Storch
· Larry Mann
· Jane Webb
· Howard Morris
Related Sites:
· IMDb: Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies
Grade: A
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When I was a young kid, I had one haunting question that used to keep me up nights: What would Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In be like if it were hosted by Forrest J. Ackerman's "Famous Monsters of Filmland"?
I wasn't kept up by the deeper questions of philosophy. And when Lou Scheimer and Jack Mendelsohn put out Filmation's Groovie Goolies, I found I could go to sleep in my casket with a broad smile.
A spinoff of The Archies, these residents of Horrible Hall graced the television screens of monster-obsessed children the fall of 1970 on CBS. They were monsters -- but they were far from scary. They were hilarious! The three main participants were Drac, a batty vampire voiced by Larry Storch, from Filmation's Ghostbusters series (which well predated the Bill Murray and Dan Ackroyd movie), a lovable Frankenstein monster named Frankie who spoke like Boris Karloff, and Wolfie, a skateboarding, surfing, and all-round partying wolfman. These three would always get together at least once an episode to perform a rock song as the Groovie Goolies.
Frankie, Drac and Wolfie: The Groovie Goolies!
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The rest of the cast was far from being the second string, and featured prominently in every skit. Hagatha the witch was the cook; Bella La Ghostly (gee, that name sounds familiar) was a Vampira type with a Flushing accent; Mummy was a loosely-wrapped mummy; there were even three green-skinned ghoulish brats: Ratzo and Batzo, the troublemakers who often picked on Gauntleroy, a whiney "Little Lord Fauntleroy" type. And, of course, Archie's own Sabrina, the Teen-Aged Witch put in regular appearances. (There are no appearances by the Archie gang, but I can't help but seem to recall that there was a crossover of some sort in an episode sometime.)
The pacing was popping. The jokes had more corn than an Iowa Harvest Festival. ("Why is it good to have a card game in a cemetary?" "Because you can always dig up an extra player.") And every episode had at least one song done by the Goolies, as well as a second one by a guest band, like The Mummies and the Puppies, or The Rolling Headstones. One of the songs performed by The Rolling Headstones actually made it out of the series and onto the Billboard Top Ten! "Chick-A-Boom" made its appearance in episode 12, "Save Your Good Lovin' For Me", and quickly became a pop hit.
An animated Sabrina in her original look; quite a
bit different from her modern counterpart.
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It is uncertain as to whether this 3-disc set from the Ink and Paint division of BCI is the complete set or a random compilation of episodes (perhaps a true-blue Goolian could fill us in?) Regardless, these re-monstered gems make for a great DVD collection, in large part due to the fantastic bonus material provided. The first two episodes have commentary hosted by Family Guy's Wally Wingert, who has some absolutely hilarious strolls down memory lane with Lou Scheimer, Jack Mendelsohn, Darrell McNeil and Bob Burns. One of the conversations gets cut short, but Wingert re-introduces it on disc three, where we get to hear Lou Scheimer tell us in his own words about how Filmation got started on a wing and a prayer (it had something to do with flying things into the Congo and two Jewish guys contracted by a Lutheran churct to do a series on the life of Christ!), before they finally hoaxed Mort Weisinger of National Comics into believing they could do a Superman Saturday morning series. (Which, unbelievably, they managed to do!)
There are PDF scripts of the sixteen episodes, as well as a series Bible for the working title, "The Kookie Spookies". Model sheets, animation cels, and even shots of scripts for the anti-drug PSAs are included (although I'd have liked to have seen the actual animated PSAs on this set.)
But the absolute best special feature is something of a first in DVD releases: A mockumentary -- or docu-comedy, as they call it -- titled "Goolians". This forty-five minute feature finds Wally Wingert and Daniel Roebuck (Lost) attending a Monsters Anonymous meeting, where they're diagnosed by Dr. Sigmund C. Monsturr as having IMMAD (International Monster Movie Addiction Disorder). Both Wingert and Roebuck admit to being "Goolians", fans of the old Groovie Goolies show, and demonstrate their obsession in various ways while another audience member plays spooky music on a theramin. Monsturr decides the only way to cure them is to have them overload their brain with Groovie Goolie information, and sends them out on a quest, which starts with a visit to Sacramento punk-rockers, The Groovie Ghoulies (spelled differently to avoid, you know, lawsuits and such). From their the two fanboys encounter CBS executive Fred Silverman, Alice Cooper, Forrest J. Ackerman, Lon Chaney's grandson Ron Chaney, make-up artist Bill Corso, before finally landing at the mecca for goolians worldwide: the doorstep of Lou Scheimer! This segment is absolutely worth the price of admission and, in true Goolie style, ends with a music video of Wingert and Roebuck singing "True Blue Goolian". The bit is also interspersed with clips from the cartoon show in a way that the clips actually add to the storyline (instead of the usual method -- a way to eat time.)
An absolute must have for fans of the show, and a great set to introduce to a new generation of Goolians just waiting to be hatched, stitched together, or conjured up. This series has really held up well.
The Groovie Goolies: The Saturday "Mourning" Collection is distributed across three discs, each in its own snap-tite case, the front and back of each illustrated with a character from the show. The interiors of each case also showcase concept art for the cover character. All the cases fit snugly into a cardboard case which, wierdly enough, has concept art inside it for the other characters... but you can't get to them except by peeking inside the cover opening. Each episode is in eye-popping color, digitally remastered for maximum effect.
Groovie Goolies
The Saturday "Mourning" Collection
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Disc 1
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Disc 2
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01. When I Grow Up
- optional commentary with Lou Scheimer, Jack Mendelsohn and Darrell McNeil. Hosted by Wally Wingert.
02. Population Party
- optional commentary with Lou Scheimer, Jack Mendelsohn and Bob Burns. Hosted by Wally Wingert.
03. Lights Out
04. Goolie Garden
05. Monster Trio
06. Feed the Ghost Some Garlic
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07. Frankie
08. What's in the Bag?
09. Goolie Picnic
10. Where You Going Little Ghoul?
11. Gool School
12. Save Your Good Lovin' For Me
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Disc 3
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13. Darlin' Darlin'
14. Shadows
15. Witches Brew
16. Goolie Swing
Bonus Material:
- Goolians: A Docu-Comedy (46:30)
- "Goolies Get Together" Sing-a-long (2:54)
- Creation of Filmation (8:11)
- DVD ROM Bonuses
- Image Gallery
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