Well, this is unexpected. The Banana Splits, the anthropomorphic animal rock band that first debuted in the 1968 children’s variety show The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, are getting rebooted — in a new horror movie.
Hanna-Barbera’s original incarnation of the band is certainly creepy. Made up of Fleegle the beagle, Bingo the gorilla, Drooper the lion, and Snorky the elephant, the band was conceived to entertain children, but there’s just something unsettling about people in animal costumes playing bubblegum pop. Just imagine the band at your local Chucky Cheese suddenly springing to life… terrifying stuff. And that inherent creepiness is apparently what has inspired Warner Bros. to get the band back together in the form of a scary movie that will first be available as a direct-to-video release before screening on Syfy. The official synopsis of the film, called The Banana Splits, goes like this:
A boy named Harley and his family (brother Austin, mother Beth, and father Mitch) attend a taping of The Banana Splits TV show, which is supposed to be a fun-filled birthday for young Harley and business as usual for Rebecca, the producer of the series. But things take an unexpected turn — and the body count quickly rises. Can Harley, his mom and their new pals safely escape?
No release date has been announced yet, but to tide you over in the meantime, here’s a little something to give you an idea of the creepiness to come:
