Pufnstuf (film)
| Pufnstuf | |
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Original Theatrical Poster
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| Directed by | Hollingsworth Morse |
| Produced by |
Sid and Marty Krofft Si Rose Malcolm Alper |
| Written by | John Fenton Murray, Si Rose |
| Starring |
Jack Wild Billie Hayes Martha Raye 'Mama' Cass Elliot Billy Barty Voices Walker Edmiston Joan Gerber Al Melvin Don Messick |
| Music by | Charles Fox |
| Cinematography | Kenneth Peach |
| Edited by | David Rawlins |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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98 minutes |
| 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.
Jimmy (Jack Wild) gets kicked out of the school band for tripping and breaking a drum kit. He then ventures on a journey with his newly magical talking flute Freddy. Orchestrated by Witchiepoo, (Billie Hayes), he ends up on an evil boat which takes him to Living Island, an island where everything is alive. Once there, he befriends many of the island's inhabitants led by Mayor H.R. Pufnstuf (voiced by Al Melvin), but the evil Witchiepoo is determined to steal Freddy the Flute away from him in order to impress the visiting Witches' Council and the Boss Witch (Martha Raye) enough to 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. The movie was financed by Universal Pictures and Kellogg's Cereal, the latter of which was a sponsor of the television show.
Sid Krofft cast his next door neighbor, singer Cass Elliot, as Witchiepoo's frenemy and bitter rival Witch Hazel. 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."
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. Raye's involvement in Pufnstuf led to her being cast as Benita Bizarre in the Kroffts' upcoming television show The Bugaloos.
A soundtrack album was released on LP, cassette and 8-track in 1970 (Capitol/EMI 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.
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Wikipedia