FRANCESCA

from THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO
art by Bruce Timm

ALLEN SWIFT

Jon Medford sent me this pic of ALLEN after he finished doing his interview for the NEW MAD MONSTER PARTY DVD documentary. ALLEN did all of the male and monster voices for the film! He is a living legend that did many of the voices on THE HOWDY DOODY SHOW, DIVER DAN, etc. etc. Very happy that Allen was able to participate!

MAD MONSTER PARTY wood carved ANIMAGIC

Arthur Rankin, Jr. gave me these wood carved salad untensils some years back as a Holiday gift! I took them out for the new DVD material and Paul Baker photographed them. The figures of FANG and DRAC were cerved by the ANIMAGIC figure makers and given to Mr. Rankin as a gift during the making of MAD MONSTER PARTY in 1967. He found them in his Bermuda home and thought I would appreciate them. These are very cool and slightly smaller than the ANIMAGIC figures that were used in the feature film.

I can't wait to see all of the materials that are going to be used for the LIONSGATE Disc. I am glad they are trying to get the people that actually worked on the film. I am tired of seeing animation documentaries with people that I really don't even know who they are or why they are in the doc. What is really upsetting is knowing that some of the animators are still around and could have been interviewed, but were not. There are also many voice actors that could add something to the releases.

MAURY LAWS

My good friend MAURY LAWS and DONNER! RANKIN/BASS TV Specials and films would not be the same without MAURY's sensational music! His Holiday music makes the holidays bouncy and fun! This pic is from THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO. Maury will be participating in the new MAD MONSTER PARTY Documentary by SPARKHILL for the new LION'S GATE DELUXE DVD!

KIDDIE MATINEES

Originally, MAD MONSTER PARTY was released to the KIDDIE MATINEES in 1967. It became a much more popular title when it ran on television in the early 1970's. It eventually was shown on TNT, AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS and now the re-mastered print on DVD. It was not filmed in WIDE-SCREEN and therefore a WIDE-SCREEN print does not exist.

EDITORIAL CARTOON

When I did my Editorial Cartoons for THE REPORTER NEWSPAPER, I would use MAD MONSTER PARTY characters from time to time.

DON DUGA

My pal Don Duga storyboarded MAD MONSTER PARTY and many other RANKIN/BASS classics! A wonderful guy that gave me so much help with THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO and THE MAKING OF THE RANKIN/BASS HOLIDAY CLASSIC: RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER! He has his own company in New York called POLESTAR, taught at the SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS and you can buy some of his original art at www.thedeeparchives.com

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

from my book THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO

LEN KOROBKIN

This is my pal LEN KOROBKIN. He wrote the script to the RANKIN/BASS feature film and wrote a few of the scripts for their early series as well. Len wrote the majority of the script and HARVEY KURTZMAN was brought in later to add some gags and various bits of MAD humor. I met Len's son at the San Diego Comicon a while back and Len went on to practice law in Berverly Hills.

MAD MONSTER PARTY DVD at WALMART

My pal RON MURPHY tells me that WALMART stocked up on the MAD MONSTER PARTY DELUXE DVD this year!!! They also had the NEW version of THE DAYDREAMER at a good price. THANKS Ron!