Hugo the Hippo

Phantasmagorical! Little-known cult curio Hugo the Hippo is a psychedelic feature in the vein of Yellow Submarine, voiced by such stars as Burl Ives and Paul Lynde, and featuring groovy tunes from Marie and Jimmy Osmond! The wild tale takes place in Zanzibar, where a cigarette-smoking gang of mean sharks inhabits the harbour. Twelve hippos are brought in to defeat the sharks; after the deed is done, the hippos too are deemed a nuisance and gotten rid of. Only little Hugo remains. Left to fend for himself, he faces countless (wacky) dangers, including a banana octopus, corncob artilleries, and a wizard who practices hippo-notism. Animated behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary, financed by the perfume company Fabergé, and directed by New York animation designer Bill Feigenbaum (his only feature film), this unusual production was simply never embraced by the American mainstream and so fell into obscurity. It is still without an official English digital release, leading lovers of Hugo to form online communities to share in their search for the lost treasure. “About ten years ago, I started receiving renewed interest in Hugo,” says Feigenbaum. “Now, almost every day I receive word from somebody who has loved the film.” Feigenbaum is lending us his personal 35mm copy to screen here. Colour, 35mm. 86 mins.