The Banana Splits Movie will put a murderous twist on the classic TV series from Hanna-Barbera, and this is not going to be one to see for kids. However, while it may appear to be a dark comedy on the surface, the idea apparently wasn’t for the film to be funny. After previously releasing its first trailer, the team behind the movie just appeared at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2019, speaking with fans about the upcoming horror flick. It’s nothing like how we remember the classic characters from the show, but there’s a lot of interest surrounding the movie as seen from its SDCC panel.
Per Syfy, co-writer Scott Thomas opened up about what it takes to turn a child-friendly TV series into something much more sinister. “If you took scary music and put it over an episode of Barney, it’s [pretty terrifying],” Thomas is quoted as saying. “When everything goes wrong, it becomes this sinister, dark thing.” Co-writer Jed Elinoff also chimed in about the assertion the movie doubled as a comedy film by adding, “It’s not meant to be funny… but if it is funny, it’s because it’s absurd.”
None other than The Banana Splits themselves also showed up to close out the panel, and you can check out a video clip from the event below.
No matter where your loyalties lie, the Horror Times Two panel had a Banana Split for you. See you at the screening, #SDCC! pic.twitter.com/Sl4NFmrZgM
— SYFY @ SDCC (@SYFY) July 19, 2019
The plot of The Banana Splits Movie is reminiscent of the Five Nights at Freddy’s video game series. It’s set in the studio where the TV series is being filmed when it’s revealed that the show is coming to a close. This leaves the characters on the show, who are robots in the story, to go on a murderous rampage in the studio, butchering anyone they can get their robotic hands on in the building. Because of its violence and gore, the movie has been given an R-rating, with will be the first R-rated movie based on a Hanna-Barbera property.
The Banana Splits Movie will first be available on digital outlets on Aug. 13, 2019. It will then head to Blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 27. In the meantime, you can watch the official trailer for the new movie below, courtesy of Syfy!
Synopsis: A boy named Harley and his family (brother Austin, mother Beth, and father Mitch) attends a taping of The Banana Splits TV show, which is supposed to be a fun-filled birthday for young Harley and business as usual for Rebecca, the producer of the series. But things take an unexpected turn — and the body count quickly rises. Can Harley, his mom and their new pals safely escape?
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