H.R. Pufnstuf: The Complete Series review, H.R. Pufnstuf: The Complete DVD review
Starring
Jack Wild, Billie Hayes, Lennie Weinrib, Joan Gerber, Walker Edmiston
Director
Various
H.R. Pufnstuf:
The Complete Series

Reviewed by Will Harris

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he older I get, the harder it is for me to defend the work of Sid & Marty Krofft beyond the value they have to me. I grew up on a steady diet of programs created by the brothers Krofft, and I still love each and every one of them. The farther away from childhood I get, however, the more I begin to understand why my parents shook their heads and walked away from the television whenever one of their programs came on.”

Those words are mine, and they appeared toward the end of my review of “Sid & Marty Krofft’s Saturday Morning Hits,” a single-disc best-of compilation that emerged last year as somewhat of a teaser for the impending release of several complete series sets from the Krofft camp. Now, given the tone of the above paragraph, it may seem like a significant shift in opinion to offer up a four-star review for the first of these sets, “H.R. Pufnstuf: The Complete Series.” To this, I can only say that anyone who’s devoured a full season of a show in only a few days’ time can surely testify that it’s much easier to fall in love with a series when you’re watching the episodes back to back to back.

As with many a series of the ‘60s and ‘70s, the premise of “H.R. Pufnstuf” is set up within its theme song. In short, a boy named Jimmy (Jack Wild) and his magic golden flute – named Freddie, of course – spontaneously embark on a sea voyage, but their boat belongs to the evil Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes), who’s out to steal Freddie, and it’s left to a strange-looking law enforcement official / politician named H.R. Pufnstuf to save Jimmy and Freddie. The two of them end up stuck on Living Island, where they’re forced to suffer through 16 further Freddie-stealing attempts by Witchiepoo and her crew…though, of course, it’s actually 17 if you count the theatrically-released feature film that followed the series.

Sure, nostalgia plays a certain part in enhancing one’s appreciation of “H.R. Pufnstuf,” but let’s not dismiss the legitimacy of its awesomeness too quickly. After all, the show did feature Wild, an Academy Award nominee for his work as the Artful Dodger in “Oliver!” who was placed in his element in “H.R. Pufnstuf” and given the chance to sing and dance his little Cockney heart out. The song “Pronouns” alone is enough to applaud his efforts, but he’s got other fun numbers scattered throughout the run of the show, such as “Mechanical Boy.” Praise also goes to Billie Hayes, who, as Witchiepoo, is the comedic heart of the series. Most of the other characters get their laughs by virtue of being in a funny costume or via the voice actor delivering the lines of those costumed characters, but Hayes has great delivery and a gift for slapstick.

It also must be taken into consideration that this was the first of the Kroffts’ Saturday morning efforts, setting the stage for…well, for the rest of their career, really. The look of “H.R. Pufnstuf” is unlike anything else that had appeared on kids television at that time, with the possible exception of the Banana Splits, but since Sid and Marty had a hand in their design, too, that stands to reason. In addition, the feel of “Pufnstuf” is very much a throwback to vaudeville and the slapstick serials of the ‘30s and ‘40s. Is it educational? Not so much. Is it fun? You bet.

As ever, it’s hard to know whether kids in 2011 will embrace “H.R. Pufnstuf,” but with the success of the not-entirely-dissimilar “Yo Gabba Gabba!” gang, there’s a darned good chance that your kids just might appreciate being introduced to an old friend of yours who was always there for you when things got rough.

Special Features: Given that “Pufnstuf” is still considered the flagship of the Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning series, it’s more than a little disappointing to find no actual contributions from the brothers Krofft on this set. No featurettes, no audio commentary, nothing. For Krofft geeks, though, there are still a couple of nice bonuses.

First of all, you get what’s referred to on the DVD box as “a never-before released episode of ‘Horror Hotel,’ from ‘The Krofft Superstar Hour.’” It’s pretty cool, but it’s clear that no one actually sat down to watch the episode, since there’s still an interstitial in the middle which says, “And now, back to ‘The Bay City Rollers Show!’” (Only a few episodes into the run of “The Krofft Superstar Hour,” they decided to retool the series and make it into a showcase for Edinburgh’s finest.)

Also included is a downloadable version of a vintage “H.R. Pufnstuf” coloring book which doubles as a collection of sheet music for songs from the series, which is pretty awesome. If there’s one complaint, though, it’s that the description says, “Downloadable Vintage Music and ‘H.R. Pufnstuf’ Coloring Book,” a phrasing which could lead some to believe that the DVD-ROM includes actual downloadable music. (It does not.)

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