Hugo the Hippo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r90kyE79qus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_the_Hippo

Strange what the memory can dig up from decades back. I think I watched this because Paul Lynde was part of the American dub.

Oh and turns out there's not only a fansite:

http://hugothehippo.com/

But there's screenings tonight and tomorrow in Seattle of a 35 mm print.

Wow, I mentioned this on the animation poll nominations, had no idea that anyone else even REMEMBERED it. <3 U Ned.

Too kind. A bunch of us are exchanging some random memories on Facebook.

Wow, I just watched this and it was something! I really liked how it looked – the drawing style, the color palette, just nice animation. I'm a total sucker for stuff of that era and it really had its own look.

The songs were what I thought was the weirdest part. Osmonds! That song with "it's really true..." sounded really familiar, like it was used in a sketch comedy skit or something? Or some song just pulled that part from it? Or it just seemed to ridiculous for someone not to have repurposed for its oddity? Also that ending song:

Wherever you go, Hugo, we go too

ok, how sweet, they love their hippo

If you go to jail, we'll get parole for you!
If you go below, we'll save your soul for you!

wait...what?

I wish there were some way to see a nicer print of this than visiting Seattle.

Other reactions:
– if this movie was made in Hungary, why was there so much stuff written in English? (eg the happy hippo family swimming through the word Hippopotamus, the Zanzibar newspaper)
– they started calling him Hugo from the start, then explained the people of Zanzibar named him "Hugo" because "hugo" meant some banal phrase in their native language, and then the kids at the school named him Hugo spontaneously (???)
– knight robot crab and watering can bird are awesome
– why are cartoon wizards such goons sometimes?

– SO MANY TIMES the narrator explained "they could have just asked the sultan, but they didn't, so all the hippos died" or "they COULD HAVE stopped and thought for a moment, but they didn't, so they destroyed an amazing garden made by children"
– If the hippo-sympathetic sultan KNEW about all this stuff, as stated in his final testimony, why didn't he tell people at some point to have more hippo sympathy? I mean sheesh!
– That said I really like this kind of not-tight plotting ans storytelling and wish there were more of it
– I like that the king hippo defeated the sharks with insane sonic rays

Thus the strange fascination of this movie. I hoped you would watch it! :-)

The shark gang was great, too. Kaiser shark! Hippie shark!

Yes and Ned, I must thank you, this is right up there with that Raggedy Ann and Andy movie or The Thief and the Cobbler, so I guess I mean it's as outlandish a fiasco as your average Richard Williams movie, which is high praise.