The Banana Splits Movie (2019)

"This show is really not what I expected."

- Harley Williams

The Banana Splits Movie is a 2019 direct-to-video comedy horror film that premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 18, 2019 and was released on digital on August 13, 2019, and Blu-Ray and DVD on August 27, 2019. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was aired on the Sci-Fi channel on October 12, 2019.

A boy and his family attend a taping of The Banana Splits Show, unaware that the animatronic rock band has just learned that their show is about to be canceled, and they don’t plan to let that happen. As the body count quickly rises, Harley, his mom, and their new pals must escape from the Splits, or be their audience... forever.

Plot
Harley Williams is a huge fan of The Banana Splits, a successful children's television series featuring four animatronic characters — Fleegle the Beagle/Dog, Bingo the Gorilla/Ape, Drooper the Lion, and Snorky the Elephant — and their co-star Stevie. For his birthday, Harley Williams goes with his family and friends to a live taping of the show.

Andy Viktorson, the new vice president of programming, informs the show's producer Rebecca Rayson that the show is being canceled: this will be the final recording. A drunk Stevie tells the Banana Splits while revealing his hatred for them. The characters' settings go haywire, with Bingo the Gorilla/Ape kidnapping Andy Viktorson, and Drooper the Lion stabbing a lollipop into Stevie's throat, killing him.

Outside the studio, Harley Williams mother Beth Williams learns that her husband Mitch Williams has been cheating on her with his secretary, Kara. Snorky the Elephant afterwards chases and runs over Mitch Williams with one of the Banana Buggies. Meanwhile, super fans Thadd and Poppy Glarady explore around the studio and happily get engaged, but Fleegle the Beagle/Dog murders Thadd, sawing him in half. When he tries to do the same with Poppy Glarady, he hears Harley Williams and Zoe trying to find Snorky the Elephant and takes them to the backstage where the characters were built, trapping them with aspiring young performer Parker, who was kidnapped by Bingo the Gorilla/Ape after Drooper the Lion burned her father Jonathan's face when they were searching for Rebecca Rayson and Andy Viktorson for an audition. Beth Williams and her older son Austin Williams, Paige the page, and Rebecca Rayson learn about the Banana Splits' carnage when they find a seriously injured Jonathan. While Beth and Austin Williams are looking for the kids, Austin Williams gets attacked by Bingo the Gorilla/Ape, but Beth Williams manages to defeat him. After that, they find Poppy Glarady sobbing over Thadd's death, and tell her to join them. Backstage, Harley Williams, Zoe and Parker meet Karl Ludwigson, the man responsible for the Banana Splits' creation, and beg him to let them out. Drooper the Lion comes dragging Bingo the Gorilla/Ape, causing Karl Ludwigson to get distracted; the kids are able to escape and lock him in his own cell while fleeing. In her office, Paige the page discovers that all phones have been destroyed. At the same time, Rebecca Rayson and Jonathan are captured by Fleegle the Beagle/Dog and Drooper the Lion, who force them to participate in an obstacle course from the show to escape, but when they reach the end, they are killed by Fleegle the Beagle/Dog and Drooper the Lion.

While looking for a way out, Harley Williams, Zoe and Parker come across Snorky the Elephant. Harley Williams attempts to convince him to help them, and Snorky the Elephant redeems himself. Beth Williams and Austin Williams, Paige the page and Poppy Glarady arrive at the backstage to ask Karl Ludwigson how to stop the Banana Splits. He doesn't provide any information, but the group hear music coming from a hatch in the floor. Everyone goes down, except for Poppy Glarady, who notices the mask of an unused fifth Banana Split named "Hooty" which Karl Ludwigson was building. Losing her sanity, she puts on the mask and kills Karl Ludwigson as revenge for Thadd's death. Underground, the group find a pile of all the audience members and studio's staff corpses, and that Fleegle the Beagle/Dog and Drooper the Lion have been entertaining chained and crying children with violent and gruesome things, such as burning Stevie's dead corpse and brutally ripping Andy Viktorson's limbs off. Snorky arrives and chains Harley Williams, Zoe and Parker with the other kids. He secretly gives Harley the keys to the chains to free them. Parker guides all the kids to the exit while Beth Williams, Austin Williams and Harley Williams manage to kill Fleegle the Beagle/Dog and Drooper the Lion. They run towards Paige the page and Zoe to reunite with each other, only to be cornered by Bingo the Gorilla/Ape. Snorky the Elephant appears and has a fight with him, but Bingo the Gorilla/Ape overtakes him and rips out his heart. However, Snorky the Elephant is able to crush Bingo the Gorilla/Ape's head, killing him. A tearful Harley Williams comforts Snorky the Elephant by telling him that he will always be his favorite character, before he dies.

As the police arrive to attend survivors, Austin Williams and Paige the page start a romantic relationship, and Beth Williams divorces Mitch Williams (who survived his previous encounter with Snorky the Elephant), by punching him in the face. Mitch Williams is left behind when everyone leaves the studio, and ends up getting run over again by the Banana Buggy, this time killing him. The vehicle is driven by Poppy Glarady, who has the Banana Splits' remains in the back. While she drives, Fleegle the Beagle/Dog is seen reactivating and then laughing maniacally.

Banana Splits

 * Bingo the Gorilla/Ape

Bingo the Gorilla/Ape is an animatronic gorilla wearing white sunglasses, a yellow vest, and reddish-orange chucks. He has small dead-looking eyes, black hair, and a toothy grin. Despite not being the leader of the Splits, he is sometimes considered the primary antagonist of the film out of all the others. He gets killed by Snorky the Elephant protecting Harley Williams.


 * Fleegle the Beagle/Dog

Fleegle the Beagle/Dog is an animatronic dog wearing a large red bow tie and two black buttons. He has black circles around his eyes, a white snout, hairless feet, and his tongue is always sticking out, giving him a lisp. He is the leader of the Banana Splits, and parts of his costume get torn off throughout the film, revealing the terminator-like endo-skeleton underneath.


 * Drooper the Lion

Drooper the Lion is an animatronic lion wearing yellowish-orange sunglasses, and white spats on his feet. He has a dark brown mane, and the tip of his tail is yellow. In the cover art for the home video releases, behind the scenes feature, and one of the eBay images, he has sharp and rotten teeth, though they aren’t seen anywhere in the film.


 * Snorky the Elephant

Snorky the Elephant is an animatronic elephant wearing pink sunglasses, and a green vest with yellow stripes. He has black beady eyes, and red polka dots on the insides of his ears. Snorky doesn’t speak, and only communicates through honking sounds. During the climax of the film, he becomes an ally when Harley Williams convinces him to help him. He unfortunately dies while protecting Harley Williams from Bingo the Gorilla/Ape.

History
On February 20, 2019, Warner Bros. announced that a horror adaptation of The Banana Splits will premiere on Syfy this year.

Trivia

 * It is the first horror film to be based on a children's show.
 * The film is believed to have taken an original script from the upcoming Five Nights at Freddy's film. This might be true, as Warner Bros. was the original studio to produce the film.
 * Snorky the Elephant is a specific breed of elephant, He’s an African Bush Elephant.

Filming mistakes

 * Fleegle the Beagle/Dog and Bingo the Gorilla Ape's feet have been switched.
 * Throughout the film, Drooper the Lion has nostrils in his nose, but during the scene when Harley Williams was almost hit by the Splits, Drooper the Lion's nostrils are gone.
 * When Fleegle the Beagle/Dog saws Thadd in half, the saw has lots of blood on it's blades, but when you see it again it's stained with a very little amount of blood.
 * After the fur on Fleegle the Beagle/Dog’s left arm is ripped off by Poppy Glarady, it becomes a lot more longer than the right one, and has it’s thumb on the wrong side.
 * When Drooper the Lion brings Bingo the Gorilla/Ape's body into the backstage, Karl Ludwigson mistakenly calls Bingo "Fleegle".