Sony Is Puffin' What???

The most subversive children's show ever produced is the infamous H.R. Pufnstuf. The show makes Teletubbies look like Howdy Doody. You can find more cohesive story construction in your average episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. The show involved a young boy named Jimmy (played by then-star Jack Wild) who is tricked by the evil Witchiepoo into a boat that takes him to a place called Living Island. There he meets a bizarre lizard man/sheriff named H.R. Pufnstuf, who vows to protect Jimmy from the witch's evil clutches. Oh, and did I mention that Jimmy has a magical "flute" that talks to him?? The show's opening is the longest in history, and gives a little of the flavor of the strange contents of the show: Show creators Sid and Marty Krofft have insisted for decades that the show was not meant to be secret ode to drug use, but that's obviously a bunch of bullshit. Pufnstuf?? Magic flutes? The colors alone look like a magic mushroom-enhanced trip through time and space. In fact, the show might be the most obviously drug-related entertainment property in history ... including Cheech and Chong movies. You can't find more drug references in a Richard Pryor routine than you can in a 30 minute episode of this show. During a press junket for the upcoming shitball LAND OF THE LOST, the Kroffts announced that they have entered into an agreement to bring PUFNSTUF to the big screen. Now I think I might need a doobie. Can this still be relevant or successful today? Possibly. While the use of hard drugs is down these days, marijuana use is way up. And, like a lot of seventies properties, PUFNSTUF holds a special place in the hearts of baby boomers. But how do you make it? Obviously Pufnstuf and his puppet friends will be rendered in CGI, although that approach would be costly and filled with financial risk. I don't think the puppet approach would work, so you're really stuck with one very expensive computer animated movie. The other problem is one of tone. Do you make it snarky and self-referential, like LAND OF THE LOST? Or do you play it straight? There are at least two generations of moviegoers - namely, the most desired audience demographic - who have never seen an episode of the show. For these generations, the show means nothing at all. Hell, they might not even recognize the name. The people who grew up on it - now in their fifties today - are highly unlikely to flock to the theaters to witness it on the big screen at $10 a ticket. Given those realities, the better approach might be a sarcastic, winking interpretation with celebrity potheads like James Franco or the Apatow gang in tow. I generally hate that type of adaptation, which is why I'm dreading the upcoming LAND OF THE LOST. But for PUFNSTUF, the best idea is to lampoon drug use, bad children's television, while also serving up a psychedelic head trip. And keep it around 90 minutes. I personally cannot wait for my cherished SIGMUND AND THE SEA MONSTERS remake. Bliss!!