| Pufnstuf | |
|---|---|
Original Theatrical Poster |
|
| Directed by | Hollingsworth Morse |
| Produced by | Sid and Marty Krofft Si Rose Malcolm Alper |
| Written by | John Fenton Murray |
| Starring | Jack Wild Billie Hayes Martha Raye 'Mama' Cass Elliot Billy Barty Voices Walker Edmiston Joan Gerber Al Melvin Don Messick |
| Cinematography | Kenneth Peach |
| Editing by | David Rawlins |
| Studio | Sid and Marty Krofft Enterprises |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures (theatrical) |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Pufnstuf (sometimes referred to as Pufnstuf Zaps the World) is a 1970 feature film based on the television series H.R. Pufnstuf.
Contents |
Jimmy (Jack Wild) ventures to Living Island with his magical, talking flute, Freddy. Once there, he befriends many of the island's inhabitants, but the evil Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes) is determined to steal Freddy the flute away from the boy to impress the visiting witches' council and win the Witch of the Year Award.
Hot on the heels of the H.R. Pufnstuf television series, this film was rushed into production for theatrical distribution, with filming beginning in January, 1970.[1] The movie was financed by Universal Pictures and Kellogg's Cereal,[1] the latter of which was a sponsor of the TV show.
Sid Krofft cast his next door neighbor, singer Cass Elliot, as Witchiepoo's frenemy Witch Hazel.[2] According to actress Joy Campbell McKenzie, Cass Elliot was "very distant. Not rude or arrogant but she just didn't mingle which most people were surprised about."[3]
Martha Raye was cast as Boss Witch. The cast and crew expected Raye to behave like a diva, but she instead befriended everyone behind the scenes, even inviting them to dinner.[3]
A soundtrack album was released on LP, cassette and 8-track in 1970 (Capitol Records SW-542), featuring the songs and the score by Charles Fox. A bootleg version of the LP was re-released on CD in 2006 by "El Records" (El Records, ACMEM65CD). While the pressing is from a legitimate European company, the source tape is an unauthorized bootleg -noticeable for several loops added to various tracks.
Pufnstuf was released to DVD on May 19, 2009. It includes the original trailer for the film, and is presented in its original widescreen presentation.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||