Note: 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.
One banana, two banana, three banana, POOR!
When I first heard the idea to bring back the iconic (and terrifying) Banana Splits as a gore filled horror movie, I was both confused and excited. I couldn’t wait to see this bizarre movie and kept wondering “how” this seemingly perfect marriage happened.
From the outset the premise is flimsy, in this world we are supposed to accept that The Banana Splits lasted more than their initial season and is still running some 50 years later (although now with a Double Dare obstacle course for some reason). Rather than saying “here’s an all new show, but instead of actors, we’ll save money on robots,” we’re just supposed to assume that these advanced machines have been running since the moon landing.
Despite its age, the stale show is popular with kids, adults, and vlogging millennials- a network’s dream! So naturally, the newly appointed network VP visits in person to tell the team that it’s the last show. Convenient since it’s the same day that a computer virus (?) corrupts one of the Banana Splits androids (and subsequently infects them all). There’s some other unrealistic nonsense including a backstage proposal, a cheating husband, a kid’s birthday party, and a stage dad. These cliches are about as tired and uninspired as the kills in the movie.
Ancillary and shady characters like a newly named network VP, the overworked producer, the under-paid page, an old mechanic, and an unlikable human actor, round out the cast like characters in a Scooby-Doo episode that forgot to add the mystery aspect.
Ultimately, a great idea wasted by a horrendous script, school project level effects, bad acting, and overall poor execution. The deadliest kill in The Banana Splits Movie was any potential for success.
I give this cash grab, rush job, Five Nights at Freddy’s wannabe a very generous 2 out of 10 stars.
The Banana Splits Movie is available now on Digital, Blu-Ray, and DVD.
Kyle Dodson is a writer, comedian, Rock Solid Podcast producer, Batman aficionado, facial hair connoisseur, and oxford comma supporter.