Pufnstuf - The Movie (1970) (2 Discs)

There are some amongst us who have been waiting for a DVD release of this movie for some time. Having been rewarded (after many years patiently nursing a paltry two episodes on a VHS tape) with the full series on DVD a couple of years back, we now have the feature spin-off in all its original wide-screen glory. And has the wait been worth it? It certainly has.
 
I've often wondered how you would you describe 'H.R. Pufnstuf' to those not already in the know? Well, it's a moot point really as this release will only have appeal (and a strong one at that) for those who remember this late sixties / early seventies Saturday morning children's favourite.
 
It's a puppet and costume based US studio show that featured Jack Wild (the Artful Dodger in 'Oliver) and is a fairly wild, sub-Wizard of Oz psychedelic affair that has caused controversy since its airing as critics (reading too much into too little) complained that HR stood for 'Hand-Rolled' and Pufnstuf was...well, you figure it out!


 
Creators Sid and Marty Krofft strenuously denied this, though confessed that it was deeply influenced by the hippy culture of the day. Brightly coloured, full of music and pantomime-over acting, Sid and Marty Krofft had an instant hit on their hands. Having contributed costumes and set ideas to Hanna Barbera's 'The Banana Splits', they realised that the time was ripe for a full blown costume and puppet show, and there are many parallels between HR Pufnstuf and The Banana Splits visually and comedically.

Every show was a high octane visual and audio meltdown with Witchypoo's piercing laughter echoing shrilly through every episode.
 
Very much of its time, the casting of the young Brit, Jack Wild, was a master-stroke as his popularity was at an all time high both sides of the pond at the time.


 
The series was the first of a run for the Krofft brothers, most of which had a similar theme ...of a stranger arriving in a a strange land. In this instance, Jimmy is an outsider schoolboy who, when he's late for a band rehearsal, is told to leave the group. Wondering off with his flute he has an Alice in Wonderland-like epiphany when the flute (called 'Freddy') strikes up a conversation with him.
 
Boarding a boat with his magic flute, a greedy witch ('Witchypoo', a shameless copy of Oz's Wicked Witch of the West) tries to sink his boat in order to gain possession of Freddy herself. But Jimmy and Freddy get washed up onto Living Island (so-called because everything on it is alive ...the trees, the clocks, the wind etc) where they are taken in hand by the town's mayor, H.R.Pufnstuf, a large hamburger-shaped yellow 'dragon'.


 
The remainder of the movie  (just like the series) is all about WItchypoo's attempts to steal Freddy, and Jimmy's ability (with a little help from his friends) to constantly thwart her. If that narrative sounds a little weak, then, frankly it is but it's just enough to hang a whole lot of fun and stupidity on to, as well as generous portions of song and dance.


Fans of the show have waited a long time to replace their savagely cropped VHS tape versions, and I'm delighted to say that the wait has been more than worth it. This widescreen transfer is in fantastic nick and 'Pufnstuf' has never looked so good. In fact, having watched the entire series again recently, I can say that the movie version is a great way to condense all that fun into a high production value version that lost none of the charm of the series. Sure there are similarities. Many of the best gags and plots are replayed here, but the movie was put into production before the series was completed so everything feels as fresh here as it did in the show.
 
The only real difference is scale. One example of where the extra dollars have ended up on the screen is at the start when Jimmy is washed up on the shore of Living Island. In the TV show title sequence he looks like he's washed up out of a paddling pool. Here, we get a whole beach, where the sand has been multi-coloured. And there are many other examples of similar scenes shot on a grander scale for the cinema, making this feel like a real movie spectacular. (It plays like a cross between the original Willy Wonka Movies and the Batman movie that came out of the series).


 
Of course the soundtrack is brilliant too and fans of the series will already be familiar with the occasional song in the series, showcasing the Jack Wild's cheeky cockney voice. This is packed with songs, bridging the frail storyline and making the film an absolute joy to watch. Too bad my personal favourite from the show ('How Lucky I Am') was not included! The songs were all penned by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel ('Barbarella' 'Happy Days' 'Laverne & Shirley) and they achieve that amazing marriage between bubblegum pop , psychedelia and orchestrated show tunes that seems to be exclusive to that era (The Lovin' Spoonful meets The Monkees). The film version gets extra credibility with the inclusion of Mama Cass ('The Mamas and Papas) who belts out a couple of scorchers, as well as appearing as a boss-witch. How cool is that?!


 
Disc 2, the 'Extras' disc, will be a disappointment if you have the TV Series box set. The interviews with Sid and Marty Krofft, Jack Wild and Billy Hayes are exactly the same as those on the TV set and throw no specific light on the movie. Oh well. The interview with Jack Wild, a few years before his untimely death, is tough to watch. A man ravaged by excess drinking and a walking case study of a child star gone wrong. But a strangely humble interview nonetheless and a very likable man. The interview with Sid and Marty Krofft is fascinating. They look in amazingly fine fettle given their age (though these interviews are at least a decade old) and their story is fascinating.


 
The posters. lobby cards and so on are all OK but would have been better as printable pdfs rather than an onscreen slide show. Even a brochure, with unreadable small type (especially for those old enough to care about this movie), is also presented this way which is a shame. An opportunity lost. There would have been ample space on disc one for these so really a second disc is superfluous and presumably only included to give the release a slightly misleading special edition status.


  
The timing of this disc may coincide with the release of 'Land of the Lost', a recent remake of another of Sid and Marty Kroffts shows. Or maybe it's in anticipation of a newly slated version of Pufnstuf that appears to have Johnny Depp pencilled in to appear. (But then I heard that about 'Dark Shadows' too which has shown no signs of a release date either).
 
Whatever the reason, I am really glad it's here, and Fabulous Films / Metrodome have done a first-class job on the transfer. Though the extras disc has nothing new for fans of the series, the movie is such a period gem that I don't think many fans will complain. Great stuff!