Breathing New Life into “Frankenstein…”

Posted November 12, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: horror, iconic, movies, noteworthy
Tags: , , , , , ,

I have to admit that I was not the biggest fan of the earlier video tales of Frankenstein and his monster. The story was old, crafted by Mary Shelley in 1816 as part of a friendly literary competition with her husband, friend Lord Byron, and one other to create a horror story, with hers published in 1818 likely the best and most enduring effort. I just grew tired of the repeated version of the Frankenstein monster as a powerful but lumbering dolt of limited intelligence and expressive capabilities…

That version of the Frankenstein monster was revised in the underrated movie, Van Helsing, with Hugh Jackman portraying a younger, dynamic version of the great monster hunter. The Frankenstein monster in that film was still appearance-impaired but quite articulate…the dude read poetry, for cripe’s sake! This was a thinking man’s Frankenstein…

Now enter Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstine! This monster is distinctly easier on the eyes, almost to the point of being ruggedly handsome. The creature can move, and as a muscular big guy (played by a 6’5″ actor), when we first encounter him basically naked he reminded me in appearance of the Engineer species in the Alien movie franchise..

This “monster” is more sinned against than sinning, and is underestimated grossly by his arrogant and egotistical creator, who tries to destroy his creation with fire. Fortunately, the “monster” proves both resourceful and resilient, and appears to have a “healing factor” capability at least as good as Marvel’s “Wolverine,” with bullets only slowing him down temporarily, and even explosions incapable of destroying him. Pursuing his creator into the arctic, this juggernaut in his cowl even projects kind of a “Phantom of the Opera” appearance at times, evolving into an articulate but tormented being who struggles against his own nature. You’ll find yourself rooting for this “monster,” really, even if he could use some cosmetic work!

We do see some classic elements of the original Frankenstein movie touched upon in this version with revisions, such as the blind hermit who befriends “The Monster.” When he returns to the hermit’s abode to find his friend under heavy attack by wolves, Frankenstein’s creation takes on an entire wolf pack by himself, weaponless but able to use his great strength and outrage to devastating effect on the wolves, hurling, crushing, and breaking them like a true avenger. A surviving wolf wisely runs away!

With great atmospherics and mood and attention to detail as well as proper respect shown to the source material, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a masterpiece, and may be seen on Netflix…

Comments: 8 Comments

A Halloween Nod to “Witch Hazel…”

Posted October 30, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: anthropomorphic, cartoons, classics, furry, furry classics, furry horror, spooky, television, Vintage
Tags: , ,

With Halloween nigh, I thought it might be appropriate to pay a Foxsylvania tribute to Witch Hazel, one of Warner Bros. mildly darker characters lightened by her humor and self-parody of witches in general. Witch Hazel is almost reminiscent of the Warner Bros. character of Granny, but turned slightly to the dark side…

Created by Chuck Jones in 1956, Witch Hazel was reportedly inspired by the witches of Shakespeare in Macbeth, but considerably more comic. Viewers knew that Witch Hazel would never actually eat children, nor defeat Bugs Bunny. Hansel and Gretel did actually appear in Bewitched Bunny featuring Witch Hazel, but Bugs handily thwarted her, masquerading as a truant officer to gain access to the witch’s abode. Hazel then tried to feed Bugs a poisoned carrot, but that didn’t go as planned for her, either…he’s apparently unintentionally rescued by Prince Charming in another crossover from fairy tales!

At the end of that episode, Bugs employs an accessed magic powder to turn the witch into a rather winsome female rabbit, walking off arm in arm with her. Breaking the fourth wall to address the viewing audience, Bugs informs us that he knows that this is a witch, but asks us if they (females) aren’t all witches inside! (*breath-taking gasp!*) Dialogue like this would probably not pass muster in today’s politically correct age…

( I don’t care, the female rabbit is still hawt! )

Comments: 5 Comments

The Glories of Vintage Cartoons…

Posted October 16, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, alternative realities, anthropomorphic, cartoons, furry, humor, Vintage
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I have always had an interest in and appreciation for vintage cartoons, not to disparage the modern product ( although some “limited animation” ‘toons are poorly drawn and abominable). It’s just that when we look back on some of these efforts stemming back to the early days of animation, we can appreciate how clever, wildly creative, and groundsbreaking they truly were…

One such example is the 1935 Looney Tunes cartoon Hollywood Capers (featuring Beans). Now Beans (one of the Boston Beans, he tells us) is a black cat properly attired in overalls and a too-small hat who sneaks into a production studio, and we meet cartoon versions of Charlie Chaplin and W.C. Fields along the way.- – How sad that such classic characters are becoming increasingly unknown to many people!

Now Beans creates all kinds of mischief in the studio, even meeting the Frankenstein Monster, who was almost a current issue at the time that this cartoon was made…

So take the time to view some early vintage ‘toons, which can have the sensation of being an acid trip sans drugs. They are wildly remarkable for their time…

Comments: 2 Comments

Rehabilitate Pepe Le Pew!

Posted October 11, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: anthropomorphic, cartoons, classics, controversial, furry, humor
Tags:

I, for one, think that it’s time that Warner Bros. rehabilitates and brings back Pepe Le Pew, the hopeless romantic French skunk. Created by Chuck Jones and first appearing in 1945, the character was caught in a firestorm a few years back for his signature behavior of foisting his unwanted amorous intents upon females, specifically one Penelope Pussycat…

I get it! What was perfectly laughable and largely acceptable behavior in 1945 isn’t now, and Pepe needs to be and could be re-imagined and re-introduced, perhaps as a defender of women or as a bonded mate to a now equally-loving Penelope; portray him as a chastened now successful relationships counselor, even! We just lost a lot when Pepe was banished to cartoon purgatory…

Pepe was lovable, and had a certain charm. He satirized French culture and the stereotype of the great French lover, blinded by his own misperceptions of his desirability; the joke was always on Pepe, who because of his skunk-odor wasn’t desirable, and was hitting on a member of another species entirely, failing to discriminate such. Pepe had a cluelessness that was relatable and even endearing. He never successfully scored, unless you count unreciprocated kissing as that…and face it, there are very few cartoon skunks in the field! Heck, with his repellent scent, re-brand him as a kind of superhero or police officer. Imagine, for a moment, the Pepe and Penelope crime fighting team!

So how about it, Warner Bros? Why does Pepe Le Pew suffer harsh sanctions when the Mango Mussolini does not? Free Pepe Le Pew from his cartoon prison, and re-introduce the boy as someone who’s learned his lesson, and changed! – – It can be done!

Comments: 2 Comments

In Praise of “Gossamer…”

Posted October 10, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: aliens, anomalies, anthropomorphic, cartoons, furry, television, twisted reality, Vintage
Tags: , ,

With Halloween coming, our attention turns (more than usual) to monsters, and an underrated cartoon monster is Gossamer, a creation of Chuck Jones who first appeared in the 1946 Warner Bros. cartoon, Hair-Raising Hare. Gossamer has a heart-shaped head and face, and is completely covered in reddish-orange hair, his only clothing a large pair of white or gray-white tennis shoes…

Now Gossamer is a creature of indeterminate species and sex, originally intended as an antagonist to Bugs Bunny, who quickly exploits Gossamer’s attraction to girly-type things like manicures and hair make-overs. Gossamer is also handily defeated even by Porky Pig in his space-cadet identity in service to Daffy Duck, calmly using a monster hair-clipper…of Acme manufacture, of course! And surprise…Porky’s clipper reveals that Gossamer is entirely made of hair!

Gossamer is essentially a paper tiger, so to speak, and while usually a hulking giant seen lurking in Gothic-type castles or even on Mars, he actually has a hidden shy and sensitive nature, and is more scared of people than you are of him. Enjoy the following compilation of Gossamer’s greatest moments that follows, and watch for a cartoon version of Peter Lorre right at the beginning!

Comments: 6 Comments

“Screwball Squirrel’s” Short, Memorable Run…

Posted September 17, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: cartoons, furry, furry art, furry satire, humor, twisted reality, Vintage
Tags: ,

Tex Avery was an animation genius who rebelled against many traditions, creating in Screwball Squirrel a deliberately unlovable character who was intended to be a satire of cute, sentimental cartoon characters such as were often seen in Disney productions. Also known as Screwy Squirrel, this rodent was aggressively chaotic and obnoxious, and appeared only in five theatrical shorts between 1944 and 1946 before being discontinued as Avery himself grew to find the character annoying, and disliked him! This was not an affable, cutesy, or nice squirrel…

Screwy was really manic and wild, and so you might say that there were elements of Daffy Duck and the much later Roger Rabbit in him, but without any redemptive or likeable features. Screwy would actively torment a dim-witted dog called Meathead, and bring about the unseen but clearly implied destruction of other characters that he found offensive…

(“Disney-esque” squirrel versus “Screwy…”)

Screwball Squirrel meets his apparent death in a 1946 cartoon when he is crushed to death by a hug from a spoiled, dim, and emotionally-needy dog called Lenny. Since death is seldom permanent in cartoon characters, however, Screwy who “don’t move no more” appears at the end of the feature holding up a sign reading, “Sad ending, isn’t it?” The aggressively chaotic character would much later be seen in the 1990’s TV series “Droopy, Master Detective” and “Tom and Jerry...”

Comments: 6 Comments

The Werewolf of “Wednesday…”

Posted September 14, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: alternative realities, animal presence, anthropomorphic, furry, furry horror, furry television, paranormal, television
Tags: ,

To my knowledge, there hasn’t been an on-going werewolf character in a regular TV series since Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Josh in Being Human. Fortunately, the Wednesday series on Netflix has introduced a leading werewolf character, a female no less, in the person of Enid, the roommate of Wednesday Addams.

Now Enid is not your typical dark and tormented werewolf character, but instead a rather cheerful and bright-spirited young lady who is just at the start of her werewolf journey, in the process of discovering herself and experiencing her first transformations. She contrasts almost completely with the darkness of Wednesday, having her half of their shared room in bright colors whereas Wednesday’s half is black and gothic. When asked at one point how she feels, Enid responds, “warm and fuzzy!”

Her upbeat nature initially causes Wednesday to keep Enid at some distance, but their relationship grows during the series, and in the second season now completed it’s revealed that Enid is not only a werewolf but an Alpha, capable of changing into her wolf form willfully without a full moon. Should she do so at this point, however, she will be permanently locked into her werewolf form, unable to transform back to human status…

Well, it turns out that when Wednesday is prematurely buried by a series villain and in danger of death by suffocation, Enid’s powerful werewolf form is needed to excavate Wednesday from her grave just in time. Fearless and unshaken, Wednesday declares “I enjoyed that” of her burial experience; you gotta love this dark girl! Enid, however, is locked in her werewolf form and feral, and goes on the lam. She is pursued by (hooray!) Uncle Fester and Wednesday at the end of the second season, with Wednesday riding in the sidecar of Fester’s motorcycle, and Fester ecstatic about the fun they’ll have pursuing such a dangerous creature!

It will be interesting to see the further development of Enid’s werewolf character, who Wednesday promised to pursue and restore. One hopes that Season 3 of Wednesday will not be long in coming…

Comments: 8 Comments

NJM “Tour Tram” Commercial…

Posted September 9, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: absurdities, advertising, alternative realities, aquatic, Brilliant but twisted, commercials, furry, television
Tags: ,

Perhaps the older souls among us can remember the classic “land shark” routine played on the original season of Saturday Night Live…a voice would come to your door, announcing a delivery of perhaps a telegram or candy gram, and when you answered the door, a large rubbery shark head would descend over the tenant and drag them outside, another tragic victim of The Land Shark! Yea, verily, it is written that when the oceans are full, the sharks will hunt on dry land!

Well, just when you thought that it was safe to leave your house or apartment, the land sharks, courtesy of NJM Insurance, are at it again! They appear to have evolved, however, and are much more genteel, having developed legs and even wearing ties and carrying briefcases, probably to lure us into a false sense of security before they strike and glom down on people…

Now a tourist tram train appears to be visiting a Hollywood set, where their on-board host tells the passengers that they’re in luck, an insurance commercial is being filmed! One lady talks to her companion, wondering if they’re shooting an action feature. The video director calls for action,, and we see our genial shark, walking along just like any businessman…then the director calls for a stunt shark, who appears, changes places with shark #1, and gets blasted with water!

Our touring lady appears disappointed, commenting that nothing blew up…but perhaps Chief Brody should be put on alert, just in case! Maybe they’ll need a bigger boat…

We’ve heard of The Wolf of Wall Street…why not The Land Shark of Hollywood?

Comments: 4 Comments

Lady Gaga’s “The Dead Dance…”

Posted September 4, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: bizarre, Brilliant but twisted, cool things, creature features, fantasy, historical perspectives, horror, Questionably creepy, spooky
Tags: ,

Lady Gaga has given us all of us Halloween heads a great early gift for spooky season in The Dead Dance, a masterpiece of song and dance. It ranks up there with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Wednesday’s dance from the Netflix series Wednesday. There are some Jacksonian moves to it, yet the production, directed by Tim Burton, is unique and distinctly Lady Gaga’s.

For one thing, the video incorporates the feeling of Mexico City’s Island of the Dolls, a place where aging, discolored, rotting, and dismembered dolls are strung up in trees and around the landscape. Such dolls are rather creepy, and appear right from the beginning of Lady Gaga’s video wheas such does not appear in Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Lady Gaga’s zombified dead also seem to do a lot more twitching as they hover in that nether world between death and a recall to life…

Is there anything that Lady Gaga cannot do? She sings, dances, and writes songs, and The Dead Dance can easily be interpreted to represent recovery from romantic break-ups, depression, and other forms of mental illness and personal setbacks in life. Although its topic is dark and presented in terms of the paranormal, the video is both dazzling and yet uplifting…what a triumph! Enjoy, if this is your first viewing of the video…

Comments: 5 Comments

Allstate “Check First Neighbors” Commercial…

Posted August 22, 2025 by vulpesffb
Categories: advertising, animal problems, animals, furry, furry commercials, television, twisted reality
Tags: ,

I find screaming goats, at the very least, disconcerting. Although such goats are not actually screaming but bleating or calling, their vocalizations are loud, and can sound eerily like a human in extreme duress, say being tortured.– -Why, you might ask, do some goats make these verbalizations? It could be a sign of hunger, distress, or simply an attention-getting device. It sure would get my attention and displeasure, pronto. You could build a low-budget horror movie around these goats!

In a recent Allstate commercial Check First Neighbors, a couple is celebrating their first night in a new house. They hear a muffled shriek in the background. Looking out the window, they find goats clamoring all over their neighbor’s yard! Then the goats become invasive…one even loudly screams at the new occupants from within their house! Why is the goat shrieking?- -Possibly he wants fed, or more grain in his diet; the scream is certainly an attention-getting device. Goat farmers have noted that the goats sometimes will keep up this behavior for half to three-quarters of an hour before giving up…

You see, our new homeowners had neglected to check out the neighbors before buying the property, and you really should do that. Allstate can then save you hundreds on your homeowners insurance…

About the only thing I can think of that might be worse than living next door to a herd of screaming goats would be residing next to a family of howler monkeys…

Comments: 2 Comments

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