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The Banana Splits Movie Blu-ray Review

“The Banana Splits Movie” slips and falls.

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own.”

In “The Banana Splits Movie,” the story finds a family of four (parents Beth and Mitch and children Austin and Harley) and Harley’s “friend” attending a live taping of “The Banana Splits” in honor of Harley’s birthday. Unfortunately, the taping turns out to be a real nightmare. The taping proves to be the last episode of the series as it has been canceled and the animatronic Banana Splits band members (Drooper, Fleegle, Snorky and Bingo) go haywire. After the taping, select audience members go backstage for a meet and greet and this is when the real horror begins as the Splits begin murdering adults and collecting children for the purpose of making the show go on. Of course, there’s a couple twists along the way as well.

If “The Banana Splits Movie” gives off a “Five Nights At Freddy’s” vibe that’s because the script by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas was apparently originally for a proposed ‘Freddy’s’ movie that was later repurposed into the movie you see here. Truth be told, this entire movie feels like a series of strange creative choices that don’t work.

For those that aren’t familiar, “The Banana Splits” was originally a weird Hanna-Barbera children’s series from the 60’s that was canceled in 1970. The movie, however, is not a children’s movie, but rather a horror film. It also does not take place in 1970 like it probably should have and is instead set in modern day. The Splits characters were originally people in costumes, but are now animatronics ala ‘Freddy’s.’

While it’s a bold move to turn “The Banana Splits” into something different, it’s ultimately just a gimmick that doesn’t pay off and will only anger fans who treasure the original. The low-budget Danishka Esterhazy directed feature simply doesn’t have much to offer here aside from blood and guts for the gore hounds out there. The family drama is forced, there are no scares, the character actions are supremely dumb, the acting is largely poor across the board, the list goes on. Really, one of the few highlights here is the music by Patrick Stump which manages to incorporate the original music into the score.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 1080p. How does it look? As cheap as this movie is, the transfer is top notch.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? B+ worthy

Extras:
* DVD copy
* Digital copy
* WB trailers
* “The Banana Splits: Behind The Horror”- A featurette about the brand’s transformation to horror.
* “Terror On Set”- A featurette on the sets.
* “Breaking News! The Banana Splits Massacre”- A faux news report on the events that transpired in the film.

August 22, 2019 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Banana Splits, Banana Splits Horror, Hanna-Barbera, Horror Movie, The Banana Splits Movie Blu-ray Review