As mentioned in yesterday's post, a recent peruse of an issue of Scary Monsters Magazine led to me discovering that the classic 70s Saturday morning cartoon series, the Groovie Goolies, is now available on DVD. For those non-geeks out there that aren't familiar with this series, allow me to explain. Basically, the Groovie Goolies was a spin off of the Archie comic book and television series about the misadventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch's friends Drac, Frankie, and Wolfie who - in addition to being goofy cartoon versions of horror movie monsters - performed in their own rock band. Other characters loosely based on horror movie characters made appearances too. The show borrowed heavily from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, with a similar brand of rapid-fire jokes and zero plot. It sounds ridiculous and it was ... and that is why I absolutely loved this show as a kid. The ultra-vivid colours, the stupid jokes, the monsters, and the catchy pop tunes crept into my impresionable mind and linger to this day.
The three-DVD Saturday "Mourning" Collection features all sixteen original Groovie Goolies episodes as well as an insane amount of "bone-us" materials:
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Commentary by: Creators and experts (two episodes)Dolby Digital 2.0
16 episodes on three discs
Sing-along: "Goolie Get Together"
Candid story from producer Lou Scheimer about The Creation of Filmation
Liner notes by TV writer/producer Shawn Sheridan
DVD-ROM extras: Scripts and the original series bible for The Kookie Spookies
A brand-new 45-minute "docu-comedy" featuring interviews with Alice Cooper, Forrest J. Ackerman, Ron Chaney, and more
Music video with the punk band Groovie Ghoulies
Thus far, I've only waded into watching a few episodes but plan to delve deeper. Unlike so many nostalgia purchases, this one actually lives up to my childhood memories and is great entertainment. There's something incredibly fresh about the dumb jokes and the utter disregard for storyline. It's zany in an early 70s kind of way. I miss zany. Remember zany?
Happy 31 Days of Halloween Madness from Tiki Chris
