Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Hugo the Hippo (1975)


Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Directed by Bill Feigenbaum
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

When sharks interrupt the commerce of a busy harbor in Zanzibar, the Sultan comes up with the idea that hippos will keep them away and sends his Sultan to capture some on the nearby mainland. He brings back a dozen or so hippos, including the young Hugo. They defeat the sharks and the people rejoice by giving them lots of food. However, after awhile they are forgotten and the starving hippos raid the nearby farms. The Sultan's evil assistant kills all the  hippos except Hugo, who escapes back to the mainland. He is befriended by a young boy and some other children, but their parents object and Hugo is left alone to fend for himself again. After raiding a farm, he is captured and put on trial, but the children, with the help of the Sultan, save him. This Hungarian animated film is filled with psychedelic imagery straight out of the 60s. There are songs by Marie and Jimmy Osmond, as well as Burl Ives, who also narrates. Somehow, against all odds, it works.

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