1112-Carnival Magic

Film Year:  1981
Genre:  Fantasy
Director:  Al Adamson
Starring:  Trudi, the chimp
MST Season:  11

The Movie

The ringleader of this three-ring amateur circus Al Adamson, who Cinematic Titanic fans will recognize as the director of The Oozing Skull and East Meets Watts.

Whew boy, we're in trouble.

Carnival Magic is a low-rent production about a circus magician who saves his circus with the help of his talking chimpanzee, Alexander.  Also:  A love story of carnies, an asshole lion tamer, and a greedy doctor who wants Alexander for himself.

Carnival Magic is one weird movie.  It's a premise seemingly targeting families and yet it completely botches everything that would make it fun for family viewing.  It has a talking chimp who mumbles incoherently more than he talks, while the circus setting has no flair and nothing really all that neat.  Would it kill them to show off something fun or neat to enchant the kiddies?

The film doesn't really have much of a plot.  It just stumbles around from scene to scene depending on where it falls.  Sometimes it's interested in its main magician and chimp and sometimes it forgets them entirely and follows a pair of lovebird characters who don't really contribute anything.  Then it decides to show off more adult things that throw the tone of the piece even more askew, such as the drunk lion tamer who beats his wife (and what child doesn't want spousal abuse in their movie?).  The movie doesn't know how to concentrate on its own goal of telling a story about a talking chimp.  But then again it seems clueless of how to make the idea of a talking chimp enchanting.

Carnival Magic is...Carnival Magic.  It very much is a movie of its own design, and it's...something.  It's attempts at whimsy are a colossal failure and it's just such a plodding, aimless movie in general.  There is plenty of carnival in this movie, but there is no magic.

The Episode

The temptation is strong with a new Mystery Science Theater series to find a movie where you really swing for the fences.  I'd caution anybody to embark upon such a mission away from it and first try to master Little League before you audition for the majors.  The crew of the relaunched series has swagger and confidence, and it seems with Carnival Magic they're looking for their Manos, Monster A-Go Go, Red Zone Cuba, or Hobgoblins:  a movie so bizarrely awful that it causes the viewer to ask themselves "What the fuck am I watching?" while some quality quips bring us to hysterics.  The difference is that the teams that riffed that group of aggressively bad movies had more experience under their belt, and while the new series has some veterans on the writing staff, they've embarked on this challenge in what is essentially their first season in a group of episodes that were made simultaneously before they ever really had an opportunity to learn what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong.  I've seen some claim Carnival Magic is a series highlight, but for me it's a major strike out.

The big issue I find I have with this episode is that for movies like this to work on the show the riffing needs to be in part reactionary, where the bizarreness of the movie just takes them by surprise at times.  A lot of the riffing of the new series doesn't feel like they're naturally watching a movie but rather reading lines toward it, and reaction riffs are almost non-existent.  Carnival Magic is begging for some sort of reaction, but instead they just...read lines toward it.  Now, I'm not going to lie and say I didn't laugh during the episode, in fact there is a magic act about bending bars halfway through that made me laugh quite a bit, but the episode has no rhythm.  It features an aggressively bad movie for a crew that just isn't ready for it.

The big talk about the host segments is a guest appearance by Mark Hamill, star of one of the greatest screen achievements of all time, Batman:  The Animated Series (oh, and Star Wars I guess, but who cares?).  He stops by with a space circus, sings a catchy song, and tries to recruit Jonah and the Bots as space carnies.  This segment is a lot of fun and one of the highlights of the relaunch.  Hamill promises he'll be back, and we can only hope!

Kinga also takes the opportunity to announce her intentions for a ratings stunt wedding to Jonah, much to Jonah's surprise and Max's dismay.  Despite this being a plot point of some sort, it's never brought up again in the episode.  Also featured are a Carnival Magic themed parade, Crow and Servo playing redneck cops, and Tom as a motivational speaker.  The Invention Exchange features Yeasta Pets, which is mildly amusing, and Flavored Sweat, which is gross.

I want to like this episode just as I want to like every episode MST has to offer, but it just doesn't work for me.  I would have much rather have seen them tackle this movie in season thirteen when they are more sure-footed.  Some people get a lot of laughs out of this one, I get a few smiles and chuckles, but am mostly bored.

Not Recommended

The DVD and Blu-Ray

Carnival Magic was released by Shout Factory on both DVD and blu-ray via their Season 11 set.  My copy is a Kickstarter exclusive #WeBroughtBackMST3K Collector's Edition blu-ray, which features stellar audio and video.  There are no bonus features on the disc, however it shares it's disc with the preceding episode, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II.