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So much average

Fantastic!

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

I've never done acid. But if I did, this would be the movie I'd want to see.

Sid and Marty Krofft's 17-episode children's television show "H.R. Pufnstuf" was a curiosity item in 1969, a low-budget, whacked-out variation on "The Wizard of Oz" featuring life-size puppets. The film version went into production immediately following the TV show's ultimate demise, the result of a headache-inducing schedule for the creators in dealing with costumes, make-up, special effects and a difficult teenage lead (Jack Wild, returning here but looking worse for the wear). Expanding the series' pilot episode, we get some background on young Jimmy, a British kid transplanted to small town America whose flute comes to life after the boy is kicked out of his school band. Theatrical comedy with musical numbers retains most of the manic bombast and psychedelic charm of the original, but is missing the vocal talent of Lennie Weinrib as Mayor Pufnstuf and Witchiepoo's henchman Orson. It's also missing the insistent laugh track, a plus in some aspects though one that points up the fact the script just isn't very funny. Billie Hayes (a trouper as Witchiepoo) has to giggle and cackle and holler for over 90 minutes to keep this thing from deflating, and she gets no help from guest stars Martha Raye (a washout as Boss Witch) and Cass Elliot (shamefully credited as Mama Cass). The screenplay, concocted by John Fenton Murray and producer Si Rose, is a leadweight, tying Pufnstuf to a spit and keeping him spinning for an eternity. The shortcut editing, as manic as the direction, is also disappointing, making the end results look as sloppy as the series. With such an uncharismatic actor at the heart of the film, and without Weinrib's involvement, it isn't any wonder that kids of 1970 bypassed the movie completely and stayed loyal to the reruns. *1/2 from ****

This may just be the most nostalgic journey back in time & through time to when one's childhood starts a journey to reminiscences back & forth onwards & upwards,forwards & backwards,up & down & all around.The boy Jimmy,H.R. Puffinstuff,Dr.Blinky,Cling & Clang,Ludicrous Lion,& even the evil Witchie Poo too through & through. The latter day inspirations of Lidsville,"The Brady Kids Saturday Morning Preview Special" Sigmund & the Sea Monsters,and Land of the lost both the new & old are what this very show bridged the gap to as well as The Donny & Marie Show,The Brady Bunch Variety Hour a.k.a. Brady Bunch Hour & Even The Paul Lynde Halloween Special. Maybe even other things in between & Beyond the Buck just keeps on moving on & on & even beyond expectations & as well as unexpected bounds.Now as we get updated in March of '06 we know that Jack Wild's gone & so now it make's it even more symbolic for us to really get nostalgic.Including now in August of '06 both when Jack Wild guest stars as himself on Sigmund and The Sea Monsters as well as when on a latter episode H.R.Puffinstuff does too and to recall all of the other nostalgic journeys of all the Syd & Marty Kroft Characters as well including The H.R.Puffinstuff Goodtime Club;The Donny and Marie Show;The Brady Bunch Variety Hour a.k.a. The Brady Bunch Hour;etc. Truthfully,Stephen "Steve" G. Baer a.k.a. "Ste" of Framingham,Ma.USA.

Recently, during the 29th Annual Saturn Awards, presented by Cinescape Magazine, television legends Sid and Marty Krofft were presented with the Living Legend Award, for outstanding career achievement. It's not hard to imagine why. Where Walt Disney had Mickey Mouse as his flagship character, where DIC's Jean Chalopin and Andy Heyward had Inspector Gadget as theirs, so too the Kroffts had beloved H.R. Pufnstuf.Is it any wonder, then, that long before it became fashionable to make major motion pictures from hit TV series, the Kroffts were light years ahead of their time when they turned their flagship property, H.R. Pufnstuf, into a movie, entitling it simply Pufnstuf. And more, this is the only time we discover the backstory that is briefly described in the regular series' opening sequence. H.R. Pufnstuf ran for only 17 episodes on NBC Saturday mornings, yet Universal Pictures saw enormous potential in Puf, Jimmy, Freddie the Flute, and (naturally!) Witchiepoo to put them on the big screen.For some weird reason, Pufnstuf the movie is presented largely from Witchiepoo's perspective. Indeed, she it is who opens and closes the film, kicking things off by appearing before us while the screen remains in darkness. She describes all that we're about to witness as a tale of goody-two-shoes "and what they did to poor, sweet, adorable me," according to her. No wonder Billie Hayes remains deeply touched when she recalls how many children flocked as much to her as Witchiepoo as they did to Pufnstuf himself.I don't have much to say regarding the plot of the film; what I can tell you is, just see this film for yourselves. Bringing Mama Cass Elliott, Martha Raye and the Krofft world together in the same movie was a feat unheard of, even for its time --- 1970. Then again, Krofft was always somehow psychedelic. It still is today. Rock on, Pufnstuf! Rock on, Witchiepoo!