Meet the Feebles (1989)

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

Peter Jackson (writer)
Danny Mulheron (writer)

Release Date:

1 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

Hell hath no fury like a hippo with a machine gun.

Plot:

Heidi, the star of the "Meet The Feebles Variety Hour" discovers her lover Bletch, The Walrus, is cheating on her...

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Drug Addiction | Vomit | Mutilation | Satire

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Donna Akersten	...	Samantha the Cat / The Sheep (voice)
Stuart Devenie	...	Sebastian / Dr. Quack / Daisy the Cow / Sandy the Chicken (voice)
Mark Hadlow	...	Heidi / Robert / Barry the Bulldog (voice)
Ross Jolly	...	(voice)
Brian Sergent	...	Wynyard the Frog / Trevor the Rat / The Fly (voice)
Peter Vere-Jones	...	Bletch / Arfur the Worm (voice)
Mark Wright	...	Sid the Elephant / The Cockroach / Louie the Fish (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Danny Mulheron	...	Heidi the Hippo

Also Known As:

Frogs of War (New Zealand: English title) (fake working title)
Just the Feebles (USA)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Spain:18 | France:-12 | Argentina:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:Unrated | Ireland:(Banned) | New Zealand:R16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Wellington, New Zealand

Company:

WingNut Films

Trivia:

Not all characters in this movie are puppets. Among those that are played by actors in suits are Heidi (hippo), Bletch (walrus), Cederic (wart hog), Sid (elephant), Daisy (cow) and Barry (bulldog).

Quotes:

[first lines]
anouncer: Ladies and gentlemen. Your attention please. Welcome to the newest, the greatest, the most spectacular in entertainment history. Put your hands together for the fabulous Feebles variety hour.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

GARDEN OF LOVE

Even better than the real thing.

Peter Jackson never seases to amaze me. You give him any tools, and he'll make a great movie with them. Independent of the fact, whether this is a cheap camera and 'actors' who have no idea about acting [example: Bad Taste] or high budget and top technology [example: Lord of the Rings]. Meet the Feebles is another example: he made a masterpiece breaking all the barriers that one would think exist in a musical with puppets.

Meet the Feebles seems to be the next step of Peter's development as a writer and director, with Bad Taste and Braindead being previous steps. The issues that are dealt with in Meet the Feebles, the kind and amount of gore in it, even though there are no actors and nothing looks real, make it an even more shocking production than the previous ones. And yet again you will notice Peter's amazing ability to build up action with a perfect culmination at the end of the movie.

If you are a fan of Peter Jackson and haven't seen this one - do it immediately. You won't regret it.