Transylvania 6-5000

Plot synopsis:
Jack Harrison (Goldblum) and Gil Turner (Begley) are writers for The Sensation, a supermarket-grade tabloid run by Turner's father, Mac (Norman Fell). Jack is a more serious journalist using The Sensation as a stepping stone to a better career, while Gil is a gangling yes-man ever ready to win his father's approval.
When Mac Turner receives a homemade videotape of two panicked men running from a creature they believe to be Frankenstein's monster, along with a waist-down shot of the suspected monster, he dispatches his son and Jack to Transylvania to follow the lead. Jack tries unsuccessfully to beg off, but is told by Mac that if they both again come back with nothing, they are both fired. They have to bring a story that will bring a banner headline "Frankenstein Lives!"
Planes, trains and buses later, Jack and Gil arrive at their destination. Once off the bus, Jack immediately spots Elizabeth Ellison, a pretty female tourist (Teresa Ganzel) from New York City, whom he hits on. Gil immediately sets out on their assignment, just as quickly drawing hysterical ridicule when he tries to question a hotel desk clerk about the whereabouts of Frankenstein, who shares Gil's inquiries with the staff and patrons, including the mayor (Jeffrey Jones).
Jack rescues Gil and pulls him out of the hotel to avoid further embarrassment. Both then take off for their hotel. Seeing them leave, a gypsy woman orders her male companion to bring them to her.
Jack and Gil arrive at their hotel, which resembles a 17th-century castle, complete with a gated entrance, but adorned with an "Opening Soon!" banner and signs denoting the acceptance of credit cards. They are met at the gate by Fejos (Michael Richards), a butler with an odd sense of humor. They meet for brunch with Mayor Lepescu, where they also meet Radu (John Byner), Lepescu's hunched-over manservant who addresses everyone as "master".
Both Gil and Jack learn that something is amiss about Transylvania, despite being laughed off by the locals, including Inspector Purcek (Bozidar Smiljanic), head of the local police. After meeting the gypsy, who tells them they must continue their pursuit, they encounter a series of real-life horror creatures, including a Wolfman (Donald Gibb), a nymphomaniac vampire (Geena Davis), and a swamp monster that grabs Gil by the crotch as Gil tries to escape a frightening face-to-face confrontation with the object of their mission himself.
They eventually learn of a Sicilian doctor, Victorio Malavacqua (Joseph Bologna), who lost his license to practice medicine. Finding out that Malavacqua has been giving care in a sanitorium, Gil tries to go there to make an appointment but is rebuffed by the guard. Gil eventually sneaks in and finds Percek and Malavacqua talking about the latter's "experiments", including one involving a patient, Kurt Hunyadi, that fits the description of the Frankenstein monster, which Malavacqua claimed had died. An exhumation of the body later proves otherwise.
Gil learns that Radu is in cahoots with Malavacqua, serving as his lab assistant. Malavacqua also displays a tendency towards madness when within the confines of his laboratory, but returns to normal when he leaves it. It is later revealed, as Gil and Jack go on a search for Elizabeth's missing daughter Laura, that not only has Malavacqua faked Hunyadi's death, but is also his creator, along with that of the vampire Odette, the wolfman Larry, and the swamp creature Twisto. It is also revealed that Malavacqua has engaged in this type of bizarre work to clear his family's name.
The story ties together after Jack is attacked by the Wolfman. In an attempt to rescue Jack, Gil pulls him off Jack, only to be carted off by the Wolfman. The police arrive, but refuse to listen to Jack's story and order him put in the local police lockup. Elizabeth rescues him and learns that the entire police force is at the wine festival instead of searching for her missing daughter. Jack heads off to Malavacqua's lab and Elizabeth goes to the festival. As she is being hauled away by police after confronting Percek, the town is horrified as the monster returns in the flesh, carrying Laura in his arms. Perceived to be dead, it is later learned she was just sleeping.
Jack and Gil arrive, having confronted Malavacqua, and explain Malavacqua's actions to the townspeople, that Malavacqua was legitimately trying to create normal lives for those seen as outcasts or freaks by the townspeople, who now welcome them with open arms.
Finding out that the story is even bigger than what they bargained for, Gil takes enough pictures and both gather enough material to last weeks for the tabloid. They more than make up for their failures and Mac gets his banner headline.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
One of the better 1960s Bugs Bunny shorts.
This Bugs Bunny is one of the better Bugs shorts done in the 1960s, when Warners cartoons were starting to vary greatly in terms of quality.
This one is reasonably good and can actually compare favorably with the earlier work.
Having Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble helps.
Cartoon fans may notice slight but notable similarities to a later Inspector Clouseau short, Transylvania Mania.
The similarities can be explained by the fact that both shorts were written by John Dunn, who wrote for Warners, MGM and Depatie-Freleng in the 1960s!
He was definitely kept busy.
More verbal jokes than usual but a fair number of sight gags.
Worth Watching.
Recommended..
Fantastic Artwork And Many Great Gags.
You (and Bugs Bunny) never know where Bugs is going to wind up when he goes for one of his occasional underground trips.
He usually winds up saying, "I must have made a wrong turn at Albuquerque." Here, Bugs winds up on top of a stone mountain in "Pittsburghe, Transylvania" (actually spelling in the cartoon.) The first "person" Bugs meets is a two-headed female vulture (named "Emily" and "Agatha") who has two hats on!
"Doesn't he look delicious," says one of the heads to the other.
Bugs decides to scram and to "head up to that hotel over there," a big haunted house where "Count Bloodcount" resides.From that point on, there are some great sight gags such as noose for a doorbell ringer, a picture on the wall of "mother" as an upside-down bat and all the Gothic-bizarre "interesting decor" (as Bugs puts it) in the castle.
This cartoon is a great feast for the eyes!
Check out the titles of all the books on the shelf about Bugs' bed.
The artwork and colors in this restored cartoon are fabulous; some of the best I've ever seen.
So, with the tons of fun sights and dialog by Bugs and beautiful artwork, it all adds up to one of Mr. Bunny's best cartoons for sheer enjoyment..
No 'Scaredy Bunny' here.
Over his career as a cartoon director at Warner's, Chuck Jones crafted quite a few eerie cartoons, including a Sylvester-Porky trilogy which began with "Scaredy Cat." Jones never got around to putting the terrified cat and naive pig in a vampire's lair, but let Bugs take that turn instead.
Bugs, like Porky in the earlier films, seems to be unaware of the danger he's in.
He remains cheerful, and much of the film's humor comes from the way he maintains his aplomb against a shadowy background of coffin-shaped doorways, skull-and-bone carvings, and rotting drapes.The vampire he faces is not a generic Lugosi/Dracula type.
Count Bloodcount is a distinctive character in his own right thanks to voice artist Ben Frommer and a crew of talented animators with Ken Harris foremost among them.
Co-director Maurice Noble encouraged layout man Bob Givens and background artist Phil DeGuard to devise scenes which would have had Sylvester wide-eyed and shuddering.
Musician William Lava used his ominous style to lend suitable aural touches to this frightfully good cartoon.-Tony.
"Rest is good for the blood.".
Chuck Jones' last Bugs Bunny short in the classic era is a fun one with a cool setting.
Bugs is traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (underground, of course) but somehow winds up in Pittsburghe, Transylvania.
There he makes his way to a spooky old castle where he meets up with his nemesis in this cartoon: vampire Count Blood Count.
The Count tries repeatedly to bite Bugs but finds himself bested by, of all things, magic words Bugs happens to read in a book.
A funny short with some good gags and lines.
Being that this is a '60s Looney Tunes, the animation is not the greatest.
But it is far from the worst I've seen from this period.
The use of dark colors and shadows goes a long way to help the cartoon's look.
Good voice work from Mel Blanc, Julie Bennett, and Ben Frommer.
Surprisingly decent score from Bill Lava.
One of the best Bugs cartoons of the 1960s.
Not that there's a lot of competition..
Glenn Miller never would have thunk it (and I notice that this was released right after the Kennedy assassination).
With both Bugs Bunny's and Chuck Jones's Warner Bros.
careers winding down, Chuck directed Bugs in the hilariously wacky short "Transylvania 6-5000" (which I recall got used in the compilation film "Daffy Duck's Quackbusters").
When Bugs arrives in Transylvania - apparently no too far away from Pittsburgh - and spots a rather Gothic castle, he decides to ask to use Count Bloodcount's telephone.
While the audience can easily figure out what this guy has planned, Bugs doesn't even get the least bit scared (I bet that any other of the Looney Tunes would have died of fright upon seeing the count; see the Sylvester/Porky pairings).But when the count puts Bugs to bed ("Rest is good for the blood.") is when the cartoon really takes off.
As Bugs feels too fatty-gewed (fatigued) to sleep, he starts reading the book "Magic Words and Phrases".
Much of the rest of the cartoon has Bugs in danger of getting attacked by the count, only to utter "abra-cadabra" or "hocus pocus" and change the count into a bat or vice versa!
Everything that Bugs does in the second half of the cartoon just made me feel like I was going to die laughing.It all just goes to show that there will never again be a genre like the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons.
Up in that great nightclub in the sky, Glenn Miller must feel honored that they played off the title of one of his songs for this cartoon (actually I don't know whether or not he wrote "Pennsylvania 6-5000", but I've heard his version).
There was also a silly movie "Transylvania 6-5000" starring Jeff Goldblum and Ed Begley Jr.One more thing.
I notice that this cartoon was released a week after the Kennedy assassination.
I would have suspected that they would have been in no mood to release a crazy cartoon after that event, but maybe that's just me..
Manages to be spooky and entertaining all at once!.
For me, Transylvania 6-5000 is one of the better 1960s Bugs Bunny cartoons, because it is just so clever, managing to both spooky and entertaining sometimes at once too.
The story is a clever one, and sets the atmosphere flawlessly.
The animation is deliciously dark and edgy, and the backgrounds and characters are all drawn brilliantly.
The music is excellent, creepy and quirky as I expected.
There is some funny dialogue, but even better were the sight gags.
I honestly lost count at how much I laughed at the sight gags alone.
Bugs is great as he nearly always is, while the supporting characters are also very well done, and the voice work from all involved especially from Mel Blanc, with honourable mention to Ben Frommer who is brilliant as the Count, is spot-on.
Overall, spooky and entertaining, just brilliant.
10/10 Bethany Cox. An entertaining Bugs Bunny episode..
Like so many Bugs Bunny episodes, the biped grey rabbit arrives in the middle of nowhere, where he does not want to be - and this time he has arrived in Transylvania!
Here he meets Count BloodCount and the strange man lets him stay the night.
Tremendous plot-turns and gags follow...I may prefer the early Bugs Bunny (the rabbit in "Porky's Hare Hunt" and "Prest-O Change- O"), but I also like him in his later episodes.
In this period of the 20th century Bugs was nice, but Daffy was absolutely horrible.
I feel quite "safe" to watch Bugs Bunny episodes from any time in his episodes, especially one without the annoying Daffy of the 60's.
I personally thought the gags were not quite as good as they could have been, but there is still lots of good work in this episode.
Also, this was Chuck Jones's last episode...I recommend this to anyone who is a particular fan of Bugs Bunny, people who would like to see just Bugs Bunny and some new side characters in an episode and do not mind pretty bad animation in a cartoon.
Enjoy!
Buggs shows who's the boss!
- Contains Spoiler.
Another classic here.
Yes, it is a classic.
So simple are the gags, and yet they are so effective.
Buggs is in top form here I can tell you.
Just read this below.
But you really need to see the visual gag that is "tagged" along with this to get the re-impact....
But read below: Count Bloodcount: I am a vampire.
Bugs Bunny: Oh, yeah?
Well, Abracadabra, I'm an umpire.
Suddenly is wearing umpire clothesCount Bloodcount: Hocus Pocus, I'm a bat.
Turns into a bat Bugs Bunny: I can be a bat, too.
Hocus Pocus.
turns into a baseball bat Count Bloodcount: - putting on glasses - You wouldn't hurt a bat with glasses, would you?
Bat hits vampire Just brilliant.
Trust me you will like this cartoon.
I wish that these were shown more often so that a new generation could see them.
We were lucky in that we could see them on a regularly basis.....
Please any one else leave you views here about this classic.
Though you might not know it from this cartoon's title .
. TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000 is mostly an attempt by Warner Bros.
to keep eventual stars Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and A-Rod on the straight and narrow path to First Base.
Midway through TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000, Bugs Bunny magically transforms himself into a baseball umpire, representing Major League Baseball Management of the Future.
Warnologists will see Count Bloodcount pinch-hitting for would-be cheaters such as Jose Canseco, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Jhonny Peralta.
The Count has shelf upon shelf of books dealing with how to manipulate blood steroid levels to elude positive results on blood doping tests.
But Bugs always is one step ahead of Bloodcount, crushing the latter's dreams of illicit entry into Baseball's Hallowed Hall of Fame time after time.
Warnology's clearly predicting that if your name is Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez or Curt Schilling, a camel will waltz through the eye of a steroids needle easier than you'll squeeze through the Pearly Gates of Cooperstown.
Warner Bros.
is virtually quoting the stars of the 1960s, such as Willie Mays, Bob Gibson, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, and Stan Musial in saying, "Why can't they be like WE were, PERFECT in every way?".
"Nice recreational facilities.".
Written by John Dunn, directed by Chuck Jones and Maurice Noble, with a music score by Bill Lava, "Transylvania 6-5000" is one of the later Bugs Bunny cartoons made at Warner Bros., and not a bad cartoon at that.
It may not be the funniest Bugs cartoon ever made, but it still contains plenty of verbal & visual gags as Bugs (who has lost his bearings) visits a spooky haunted house in order to telephone his travel agency.
(Don't read any further if you have not yet seen this cartoon.) Bugs at first has no idea of the power of the magic words "abracadabra" and "hocus pocus"; often he'll sing these words to the tune of "It's Magic".
The utterances of these magic words causes the majordomo Count Bloodcount to transform into a bat, or vice versa, which becomes a problem for gravity.
This is what I like best about "Transylvania 6-5000".
Good for Halloween or any old time!