Product Description
-------------------
In a secret laboratory on top of Old Horror Hill, Professor
Weirdo and Count Kook created the most loveable creature known to
mankind, Milton the Monster, using only the finest of
ingredients: Essence of Terror, Sinister Sauce, and of course a
full Tincture of Tenderness!
During the 1965-1966 season, Saturday morning audiences young and
old tuned into ABC to watch Hal Seeger s new frighteningly funny
creation and his misfit family of ghouls. In addition, the series
also included cartoons featuring equally unforgettable characters
Stuffy Durma, Flukey Luke, Penny the Penguin, and the most
memorable of all, Fearless Fly.
Seeger s distinctive animation style, clever writing and a
terrific voice cast make all 26 episodes of The Milton The
Monster Show a pop culture treasure for the ages.
Bonus Features:
* Hal Seeger Home Movies: Milton & Fearless Fly At The N.Y.C. Toy
Fair
* Sheriff For A Day A Live-Action Short Starring Flukey Luke
* Test Footage For The Live-Action Short Sheriff For A Day
* Bonus Cartoon: Wilbur The Wanted
.com
----
One of the least heralded but most enjoyable series that arose
during the TV monster boom of the mid-'60s (which included The
Addams Family and The Munsters), The Milton the Monster Show was
the brainchild of Hal Seeger, a former Fleischer Studios animator
and comic book illustrator who also created the Batfink cartoon.
The program, which ran on Saturday mornings from 1965-66, offered
a rotating series of short cartoons, with the adventures of
mild-mannered, Frankenstein-like creature Milton and his friends
serving as the hub of the show. The other segments concerned
"Fearless Fly," a costumed superhero adventure about a
mild-mannered pest and his mighty alter-ego; "Flukey Luke," a
timid cowpoke who ran a detective agency; "Stuffy Durma," a hobo
who refuses to give up his wandering ways, despite having
inherited a fortune; "Muggy Doo," a fast-talking fox (who, like
Stuffy, first saw life in Seeger's comics); and "Penny Penguin,"
a cute girl penguin with abominable manners. What set Milton
apart from most of the kid-TV fare of the period was the quality
of the production; scripts were clever, the animation bright and
expressive, and the voice talent (which included veterans Bob
McFadden, Dayton Allen, and Seeger's own spouse, Beverly Arnold)
top-notch. And if some of the premises seem dated by today's
standards ("Muggy Doo" and "Penny Penguin," in particular, have
not aged well), new viewers should still be able to appreciate
the gusto with which the stories are delivered. Shout! Factory's
four-disc set includes Milton's entire network run, as well as
some terrific archival supplements that should delight longtime
fans. The never-aired segment "Wilbur the Wanted" (a sort of
Fugitive for kids, with a falsely accused dog in pursuit of a
scurrilous rabbit) is chief among the extras, as is an unusual
live-action version of "Flukey Luke" by Seeger that utilized
actors in oversized costumes a la Sid and Marty Krofft. Test
footage for the live-action "Luke" is also included, as is a
short, silent bit of footage featuring actors in Milton and
Fearless Fly costume accompanying Seeger himself to the 1965 Toy
Fair in New York. The of the life-size Milton waving to
downtown crowds from the wagon of a horse-drawn hearse as it
makes its way through the Big Apple streets should be, for many,
worth the price of the set alone. -- Paul Gaita