Frankenberry, Edward Scissorhands and Groovie Goolies' "Frankie" are all Children of Frankenstein
Frankenstein is a pop culture icon who is here to stay and he's not just for halloween anymore. This lens focuses on Frankenstein's place in pop culture from breakfast cereal, music, movies, tv and cartoons!
History
People have been interested in the idea of Frankenstein since Mary Shelley's book came onto the scene in 1818 though it was an anonymous work until it was republished in 1823. Mary Shelley created an idea that haunted us and made us wonder "what if", but also inspired us and unleashed a torrent of creativity that would continue to inspire amazing work from people all over the world and in many different branches of pop culture.
(Artwork by me. You can view my blog HERE. :))
(Artwork by me. You can view my blog HERE. :))
Movies
Many actors have taken on the role of Frankenstein's monster in movies including Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lon Chaney, Jr., Christopher Lee and David Prowse (best known for playing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars Trilogy).
Frankenstein's monster was the star of many, many classic monster movies and he remains one of the most recognized hollywood monsters of all time.
Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands plays upon the idea of Frankenstein with a twist. Edward Scissorhands' creator is an old, lonely man who creates Edward to keep him company and in this film the "monster" is taught how to love. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is another movie based on the idea of Frankenstein and has a huge cult following that dresses up in costume regularly to attend showings. In the movie Dr. Frank N. Furter creates a monster named "Rocky" but finds that he can't control his creature. This one is a little racy but is a lot of fun.
I can't forget Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein when making a list of movies inspired by Frankenstein. This is a hilarious parody movie filled with wonderfully quotable dialogue and a monster played by Peter Boyle that you can't help but love. This movie is included many published lists of the "funniest movies of all time" and I'd definitely include it mine.
Frankenstein's monster was the star of many, many classic monster movies and he remains one of the most recognized hollywood monsters of all time.
Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands plays upon the idea of Frankenstein with a twist. Edward Scissorhands' creator is an old, lonely man who creates Edward to keep him company and in this film the "monster" is taught how to love. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is another movie based on the idea of Frankenstein and has a huge cult following that dresses up in costume regularly to attend showings. In the movie Dr. Frank N. Furter creates a monster named "Rocky" but finds that he can't control his creature. This one is a little racy but is a lot of fun.
I can't forget Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein when making a list of movies inspired by Frankenstein. This is a hilarious parody movie filled with wonderfully quotable dialogue and a monster played by Peter Boyle that you can't help but love. This movie is included many published lists of the "funniest movies of all time" and I'd definitely include it mine.
Some Awesome Frankenstein Movies:
Breakfast Cereal
Frankenberry
Frankenberry is my favourite of the General Mills cereal monsters with the others being Count Chocula, Booberry, Yummy Mummy and Fruit Brute (though you won't find those last two anymore as they've been discontinued for quite some time). Frankenberry is a strawberry flavored cereal with little marshmallow pieces in it and it still makes appearances in stores especially around halloween.
Frankenberry Commercial 1
Frankenberry Commercial 2
Cartoons
Groovie Goolies and Drak Pack
Groovie Goolies is a cartoon series that was created in 1970 and featured a cast of monsters inspired by the classic monsters of movies from the 30's and 40's. Part of this cast of monsters was "Frankie" which was their take on Frankenstein's monster. The show originally featured Sabrina the Teenage Witch and her aunts Hilda and Zelda from Archie Comics fame.
Drak Pack was a cartoon that aired between 1980 and 1982 and also featured a Frankenstein character named Frankie. These monsters were supposed to be descendants of the original monsters and they decide became superheroes to atone for their ancestors' evil deeds.
Drak Pack was a cartoon that aired between 1980 and 1982 and also featured a Frankenstein character named Frankie. These monsters were supposed to be descendants of the original monsters and they decide became superheroes to atone for their ancestors' evil deeds.
TV
The Munsters and Monster Squad
The Munsters tv show aired from 1964 to 1966 and had a run of 70 episodes and is still being shown around the world in syndication. The Munsters featured a family of monsters with the father, Herman Munster, being a dead ringer for frankenstein's monster.
The Munsters Today was a sequel to this series and aired from 1988 to 1991.
Monster Squad was on tv from 1976 to 1977 and has a very similar premise as the Drak Pack cartoon so one has to wonder if this is where the idea came from. A criminology student is working the nightshift as a night watchman in a wax museum and accidentally brings to life wax statues of Dracula, a werewolf and Frankenstein when turning on his computer. The monsters become superheroes and begin to fight crime as a way to help humanity and atone for their past misdeeds.
The Munsters Today was a sequel to this series and aired from 1988 to 1991.
Monster Squad was on tv from 1976 to 1977 and has a very similar premise as the Drak Pack cartoon so one has to wonder if this is where the idea came from. A criminology student is working the nightshift as a night watchman in a wax museum and accidentally brings to life wax statues of Dracula, a werewolf and Frankenstein when turning on his computer. The monsters become superheroes and begin to fight crime as a way to help humanity and atone for their past misdeeds.
The Monster Squad - TV intro 1976
Music
Frankenstein has appeared in many song and album titles perhaps most famously Alice Cooper's song "Feed My Frankenstein". The band Mindless Self Indulgence also has an album called "Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy".Many artists and bands have written or covered songs titled simply "Frankenstein" among them are; Aimee Mann, The Edgar Winter Group, Iced Earth, Twiztid, Clutch and New York Dolls.
The Psychobilly community has also embraced Frankenstein with open arms. In this genre you'll find Frankenstein on many t-shirts and album covers.
Comic Books
The Monster of Frankenstein by Dick Briefer was published from 1945 to 1954 and ran for a total of 33 issues. While it started out being sort of silly and light as horror comics became more popular Briefer's Frankenstein took on a much darker tone.
Another comic named The Monster of Frankenstein was published by Marvel Comics from 1973-1975 and ran for 18 issues and was adapted from Mary Shelley's novel. This comic was included in a wave of horror/monster titles that Marvel released to revive the original horror comic genre of the 50's and 60's.
Marion Mousse has also created a gorgeous graphic novel based on Mary Shelley's novel.
Frankenstein has made appearances in many other comics as well including the not so traditional take on frankenstein's monster but very intriguing Frankenstein Mobster by Mark Wheatley. You can check out the Frankenstein Mobster Site for more information.
Another comic named The Monster of Frankenstein was published by Marvel Comics from 1973-1975 and ran for 18 issues and was adapted from Mary Shelley's novel. This comic was included in a wave of horror/monster titles that Marvel released to revive the original horror comic genre of the 50's and 60's.
Marion Mousse has also created a gorgeous graphic novel based on Mary Shelley's novel.
Frankenstein has made appearances in many other comics as well including the not so traditional take on frankenstein's monster but very intriguing Frankenstein Mobster by Mark Wheatley. You can check out the Frankenstein Mobster Site for more information.
Postage Stamps
Did you know that Frankenstein has appeared on U.S. postage stamps? He's appeared on U.S. stamps twice! The first time was in 1997 and another postage stamp was released featuring Boris Karloff in 2002.Have a peek at this list of 38 Essential Facts about Frankenstein for more fun facts!
Some of my Frankenstein Designs are in my Cafepress Shops Below
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Here are some more of my Frankenstein themed t-shirts and gifts
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In Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this lens and had as much fun viewing it as I've had making it and I look forward to adding more stuff to it. As you can see from my artwork, I'm sort of Frankenstein-obsessed so I'd love to hear from you if you have any frankenthoughts. Feel free to leave a comment!
Frankenthoughts :)
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Flashfink
Kudos for all your hard work and thorough research! The first Frankenstein film I saw as a kid was FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER. It confused me because the box-headed monster that the whole world loves was nowhere to be seen in it. Buck Kartalian, the werewolf in THE MONSTER SQUAD was a competitive bodybuilder in the 1940s and starred in a goofy adult movie called PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER Posted April 07, 2008 |
