The Banana Splits Movie (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital)

I'll be up front about this: it isn't a great movie. I'd go as far as to say that it's an OK movie, even a good movie, but how you receive it will be dependent on what you expect out of it. If you are looking for a serious movie, then this isn't it. This movie pretty much sets itself up as a film that shouldn't be taken seriously by not only positing the Banana Splits show as something that is still being made, but also claiming that it's still wildly popular. Anyone who is familiar with shows that rely on one or more people wearing an animal suit is pretty much aware that these shows have a very limited shelf life and an appeal that rarely lasts beyond the generation of children who watched it when it was first released. Shows like Barney both break free of this mold while also still falling into several of the same pitfalls, but by large they're going to sink into relative obscurity after no new episodes are released. If a similar claim were to be made about Barney being wildly popular still, some eye rolling and "yeah, sure" comments would also be made. There's not a huge amount of plot here, as the main focus is more to just enjoy the scenes of chaos as our animatronic baddies set out to kill, threaten, or contain anyone they come across. It's not the destination, it's the ride. Approach this movie in the same way that you would something like Sharknado and you're golden, as that movie had the same idea: just throw absurd stuff at the walls and see what sticks. This movie's goal isn't to scare you, it's to entertain you. Now some will obviously say that this is a Five Nights at Freddy's ripoff and well, they'd be right to a certain degree. This was very much created as a stand-in for the movie that seems to be stuck in some sort of production limbo (not quite in Development Heck, but not really active either). The film's cast, crew, and creators seem to be pretty aware that this won't be the FNAF film that people want and revel in this to a degree, taking the opportunity to create something that is just absolutely ridiculous and insane. My personal favorite of the film has to have been the actor for Stevie. His IMDb shows that he's never been in anything before this that ended up on the site, but he really approaches his role with absolute glee. The actors all seem to do this to varying degrees, but none so much as this guy. Here's hoping that someone in Hollywood saw this, as I think he'd make a marvelous bad guy in other horror movies.

AMAZING! Would give 30 Stars. It was a fun movie to watch with my friend. Would not recommend to sensitive users.

Such a sweet movie great condition

In reality, this is a 3-star movie. A somewhat creative storyline, and spotty acting. But I gave it 5 stars as a counterbalance because... This movie is already in need of a sequel, in which all these 1-star crybabies are invited to guest star as The Splits' next round of victims. Nothing but whiners, do-gooders, and killjoys. Now, moving on... I remember the TV show as being rapid-fire and disjoint, as if the writers and director were all dropping halucinagenics as a serious hobby. And what was the deal with the crazy island adventure show that defined "disjoint"? "Uht oh, Chongo"?? Bizarre stuff. I even still have the 45 I got by ordering off a box of cereal. So while memories of the show were indeed distinct, there was never any love affair. But to see this movie come out decades latter is both amazing and intriguing. After all, how dare they cancel The Banana Splits! Maybe this is a documentary. After all, they did cancel the show pretty abruptly!! ;-) 3 STARS

Sorry, guys. This should have been a goofy cheesetastic gory fun-fest. Instead we got a rather boring, maybe occasionally mildly humorous movie with mediocre death scenes. The original source material for this movie is from a kids’ television show about a band of four anthropomorphic animal characters that host a variety hour of cartoons, live songs and skits. So it should come as no surprise that, in creating a horror-spun reimagining of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (1968-1970), director Danishka Esterhazy (Vagrant Queen) leads us into an at least somewhat silly premise. And silly it is… although I wish it was also more comedic to match. Beth (Dani Kind; Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer) and Mitch (Steve Lund; Haven, Bitten) take their family to a live-recording of The Banana Splits at the TV studio. Apparently, the creations of some sort of TV studio mad scientist, the Banana Splits are actually sophisticated robots capable of surprisingly autonomous behavior and decision-making. When a programming update goes awry, they become murderous killer robots aiming to protect their show from cancellation by a villainous producer and anyone else they perceive as a threat to the show. And this basically means that parents and their children run for their lives. Not that any of the kills were particularly good, but the first death scene (i.e., the lollipop death scene) is among the most comical and smacks of the campiness of the Leprechaun sequels. It’s kinda silly, pretty bloody, and graphic as a giant lollipop is plunged down a human co-star’s throat. Subsequent death scenes lack teeth in execution, but pack some cheeky rubber guts and bones, eyeball and burn gore, and plenty of blood. The kills aroused a few smiles, but overall the death scenes aren’t very exciting… and the scenes in between the deaths are quite boring. Although, I did enjoy the quadruple amputation—it remains yet another death scene that could have been better. To be kind, maybe there are as many “acceptable” death scenes as there are lame ones. With the exception of the mother and her young son, the acting is pretty clunk—but no more so than the lines being delivered. Writing is not a strong suit here. I definitely disagree with IMDB, which lists this as a “comedy, horror.” There’s essentially no more comedy than in any other horror movie. It’s just that the concept is silly. But anyone actually expecting a horror-comedy will probably be disappointed. Moreover, this movie wasn’t very fun to watch. It had all the right components, but little of the execution necessary. You might enjoy laughing about this movie with good company. But on its own merits alone, I find this movie mostly boring.

When I read an article stating what they were planning to do to a Hanna-Barbera children's show I used to like -- that they were turning the characters and their show into a horror movie; I was upset. After a few weeks, I couldn't take the suspense and had to purchase this when I saw it on a DVD display. Now, this movie is a weird one, but it reminded me of "The Night of the Hunter" kind of weird, which I liked. Is it a children's movie? No. Do the Banana Splits characters look like the originals? Yes. Is it a horror movie? Yes. Who's the audience? Well, not children, but it's not a bad concept that prepared us for "Five Nights At Freddy's" which would come later.

Man, i would give this movie NO STARS if i could, what an absolute waste of celluloid. I saw the ad for this movie several months ago, and thought "hey, a Banana Split film, but horror instead of kiddie show, sounds awesome'..EEEEEEEHHHH! WRONG ANSWER! Whoever made this fiasco obviously had seen the very popular show from late 60s, so it does get a nod for that, but the entire ..ahem...EXECUTION, is just all wrong. I don't understand why the Banana Split characters are portrayed as robots in this, might have been better if it were a quad of psychopaths, or some kind of demonic being controlling the characters. They are totally unconvincing as robotic characters, and have absolutely no personality even when they are not killing people, even the kills are not very creative. This may have worked if they had made it a dark comedy in the same vein as "Killer Klowns", plus if they did more nods to the original series it would have more appeal to us baby boomers that saw the show first run, but it does none of that, Thankfully, and MERCIFULLY, it is less than 90 minutes long, beware..."Tra-la-la TERRIBLE!"

Let me start off by saying I remember the banana splits and loved them as a child. Now im a horror movie enthusiast, so this film felt like it was made just for me. Its not as terrifying as i expected, and there were two scenes that i would expect from a b-movie. Everything else about this movie was top notch. The settings, the costumes, the feel of the whole piece was natural. The production crew did an amazing job recreating the original into this horror masterpiece. If you like horror at all, youll probably enjoy this movie. If you remember the banana splits fondly, you'll probably enjoy this film. Also as a side note for you folks with kids out there, the film is rated R only due to the blood content. There is no bad language or nudity in this film. Normally those are staples of horror, but this film went out of its way by omitting that to help us terrify our young ones. 5 stars.

Thank you