Dracula-thon (Part 9)

Dracula has also been in a shitload of cartoons, but...if I did every single one he gave a guest spot in, this would go forever, and I'd be in a booby hatch.

So, let's stick to Dracula specific stuff.


Mad Monster Party (1967)

The film/history-

Covered it pretty well last year....

Here.

The poster gives a pretty good layout of the monster lineup...

"See Frankenstein- the ghoul who never loses his cool!".

"See Dracula- the world's original Batman!".

"See The Creature- the fish you'd like to forget!".

"See The Werewolf- that sly old dog whose bite is worse than his bark!".

"See Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde- and get two fiends for the price of one!".

"See The Mummy- 135 feet of slithering slinking bandage!".

"See The Hunchback Of Notre Dame- college football's "secret weapon"!".

"See The Invisible Man- and learn what he has up his sleeves!".

..also, in the background, King Kong.

And, Phyllis Diller was there.

Last year's review was better, read that.


The Tomb Of Dracula (1983)

The film-

A.K.A "Dracula: Sovereign Of The Damned".

Did not know this existed until I got researching.

An anime actually based on the 70's Marvel comic!

Youtube has this, and the guy who posted it even says it's the worst anime ever.

*Waits for you to sample at least a couple minutes*
Ehh, I dunno, I remember watching way worse as a kid, and eating it up.

Let's be brutally honest here, there were Voltron episodes more insufferable.

Not that this is great, but...I find it fascinating...

Interesting to note...this came out in Japan in 1980...then, the first Vampire Hunter D novel came out in '83, about the time this one hit the states.

Now, I'm not outright saying Hideyuki Kikuchi was inspired by this....but...I find it hard to believe Dracula was a thing in Japan before this.

And the years line right up.
Helluva coincidence if it is.

Doesn't denigrate Vampire Hunter D at all, it would actually be cool if the lineage traced that way.
Marvel comics, anime, novel, anime again, American comics of the VHD anime.

It could only be more perfect if Marvel had the license.

Speaking of VHD...


Vampire Hunter D (1985)
Vampire Hunter D- Bloodlust (2000)

The film/history-

See here.

Mentioned in that review is its obvious influence on Castlevania.

Hmm, Castlevania came out one year after VHD....I'm tellin' ya, there's somethin' there...

Anyway, D is Dracula's half-human son, and in the novels, Dracula's still alive.

So, there is a flat out Dracula connection to the films.

Also, Count Magnus Lee (one of my favorite vampires of all time) can only be inspired by Christopher Lee.


Little Dracula (1991)

The show-

Based on a line of British kid's books.

Never figured out why Little Dracula was bald....guess he got the recessive Nosferatu genes?

Anyway, Big Dracula was voiced by Joe Flaherty, who played Count Floyd on SCTV, and, it's essentially the same character, but officially Dracula here.

So, ha! Got to mention Count Floyd in these!

The history-

If you blinked in the 90's, you would have missed this.
I however, am cursed to be The Watcher, and soaked up everything.
I rotted away my sanity for you people, show some gratitude.


Hellsing (2001-2002)

The show-

Haven't seen it.

So "Hellsing", is the vampire hunting organization, and the protagonists are Alucard, and Seres Victoria, who work for Hellsing.

Alucard is secretly Dracula, and Seres is a broad that Alucard turned into a vampire.

They fight Nazis at one point, so, this is set in some elseworld WWII era.

The history-

N/A
...but, I've really got to check it out.


The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy 
(2003-2008)

The show-

You gotta love a show that bases an episode on "God Emperor Of Dune".

Anyway, Dracula is a regular guest star, and...he's the "Blacula", version for some reason, but, I ain't complaining.

The history-

Yeah, I watched Billy & Mandy.
Now I'm into Adventure Time.
You wanna fight about it?


Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004)

The film-

The anime prequel to the Van Helsing film.

Squeezed in between them, is the Van Helsing one-shot comic.

The history-

N/A


The Batman vs. Dracula (2005)

The film/history-

See here.


Mary Shelly's Frankenhole (2010-2012)

The show-

From the creator of "Morel Orel".

It's just fucking wonderful.

Has all of the Universal monsters, and..actually keeps pretty good continuity with the Universal series.

Anyway, the premise is, Dr. Frankenstein, and Dr. Pretorius (from Bride Of Frankenstein) have made themselves immortal, and they pal around with the monsters, who are already immortal, and Dr. Frankenstein has invented a temporal wormhole called a "Frankenhole", which he uses to suck up historical figures to mix up in his various schemes to relieve the boredom of his immortality.

My favorite so far, has been the one with the Lon Chaney Jr. Werewolf.

The history-

The above covers it.


Hotel Transylvania (2012)

The film/history-

Out in theaters now.
Haven't seen it.
Looks cute.
Another "Mad Monster Party", style monster-mash.
Probably see it on DVD.

It's competing with "Frankenweenie", and "Para-Norman".

Strange year....


Ay-uund...that's those.

Up next, the final installment.
Miscellaneous leftover Draculas, and, other notable vampire films.