Fansite for the cult 1975 film
During June 2015 Warner Archive released Hugo The Hippo on DVD – you can find it for sale on Amazon.com
You can read a great review of the DVD release by Randy Miller III over at DVDTalk.com – which has screenshots and contributions from film director Bill Feigenbaum.
Check it out at:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/69408/hugo-the-hippo/
Hugo The Hippo director Bill Feigenbaum was recently commissioned by Ben – a fan of the film – to have himself incorporated into a painting riding through space with Hugo. Bill tells me the painting is based on the giant fruit and vegetable scene at the end of the film and has 3D effects which can be seen with red and blue glasses.
Take a look below:
Ben and Hugo In The Cosmic Garden
You can find more of Bill’s work on his website: billfeigenbaumpaintings.com
Bill Feigenbaum (Hugo The Hippo’s director) will be displaying his 3D painting work in a two-man exhibition opening Thursday 5th September and on view til 18th October.
Here are the details from goodquestiongallery.com
HollyWoodward: Artifacts in Anaglyph 3D
Chris Dean & Bill Feigenbaum
Good Question
@
Skylight Gallery
538 West 29th St.
New York NY 10001
Opening Reception
Thursday, September 5th, 2013
From 6-9PM
On View From
September 5th – October 18th
You can see more of Bill’s work on his website: billfeigenbaumpaintings.com
Hugo The Hippo will be shown at CWRU (Case Western Reserve University) in Ohio on Saturday 27th April 2013 at 7pm and 9pm.
More details from the CWRU Film Society website:
Saturday, April 27, 2013 7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m.
Hugo the Hippo (1975)
Rated G (78 min.) Director: Bill Feigenbaum
With Burl Ives, Robert Morley, Paul Lynde
Read more about it at IMDb
Free Admission!The Sultan of Zanzibar has a problem—his harbor is infested with sharks. To solve the problem, he brings in twelve hippos to keep the sharks away, and it works. But once the hippos are no longer needed, they become a nuisance and are massacred by Aban Khan—all but one little hippo named Hugo. What will become of the last of the Zanzibar hippos?
CRWU also has a Twitter account at @CWRUFilms
Due to a spambot problem I’ve decided to remove the forum from the fansite (as of 25th March 2013)…
However – I wanted to try and save some of the posts where people had contributed their memories of the film and the feelings of nostalgia it evoked :)
Please leave a comment (it’s the section underneath the title ‘Leave A Reply’ at the bottom of the page when you click the link). If you have any problems posting then please contact me on Twitter (@hobbsy).
Posted by hobbsy on Wed Nov 19, 2008
Please tell us your stories of how and when you first saw Hugo The Hippo… and what led you to tracking down this fansite?
Please let us know where abouts you live, and how old you are now
Posted by MollyDooker on Fri Jan 09, 2009
Hi,
well my name is Kym and I live in Australia and I saw Hugo the Hippo when I was very young. I am now 42. I remember Mum dropping a group of us kids off at a cinema at a place called Redcliffe. I was no more that 8 years old. I quite often break out singing Hugo the Hippo(in my head) only to now find out it is I love the Hippo H I P P O. I sadly don’t think my children would be as impressed as I was with the movie these days. But hey, I still have fond memories and have enjoyed watching some clips on youtube.
Long live Hugo,
Kym
Hugo the Hippo, one of the most unusual and beautiful animated films ever made, will be shown this Saturday and Sunday, June 2nd and 3rd at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle, Washington.
"You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! You’ll love it! You’ll hate it! You’ll want to see it again and again!" according to actress and long time Hugo fan, Rachel Grant.
Director Bill Feigenbaum, now a renowned New York painter, is lending his 35 mm print to the Film Forum.
This sleeping giant of a cult film is one of the few examples besides Yellow Submarine that captures the wonderful psychedelic style of the 1960s and 1970s.
Screenings:
- Saturday 2nd June 2012 at 5pm
- Sunday 3rd June 2012 at 5pm
Venue:
Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
United States
Prices:
$6.00 – $10.00
Click here for more Info
@nwfilmforum on Twitter
NW Film Forum on Facebook
Click here to buy a ticket
Jun 02 – Jun 03
(Bill Feigenbaum, Hungary/USA, 1975, 35mm, 86 min)
Voiced by Burl Ives, Paul Lynde, Robert Morley, with songs by Marie and Jimmy Osmond.
Saturday, Jun 02 at 05:00PM
Sunday, Jun 03 at 05:00PMPhantasmagorical. A magic funhouse of retro kitsch. A lost treasure. These are just a few ways animation mavens describe Hugo the Hippo, a widely-bootlegged cult curio from the 1970s about an orphaned hippopotamus and the sweet child who befriends him. This magical, color-drenched film is voiced by the likes of Burl Ives, Paul Lynde and Robert Morely, and topped off by pop confections sung by Marie and Jimmy Osmond. Directed in 1975 by multiple Emmy winner Bill Feigenbaum (his only feature) behind the Iron Curtain and financed by the perfume giant Faberge, the film was inexplicably buried by 21st Century Fox upon its US release, and to this day still doesn’t have an official English digital release. Glimpses of the film’s funkiness, musicality and psychedelic charm can be seen on YouTube, but chances to bask in a print of the film come around next to never. Don’t miss your opportunity to see Hugo swim on the big screen during this extremely rare 35mm screening.
Hugo The Hippo will be shown at the Pacific Cinematheque in Vancouver, Canada this Sunday (18th March 2012) at 1pm. The venue have borrowed director Bill Feigenbaum’s personal 35mm copy to screen. Tickets are $11.50/10.00 and can be bought in advance via cinematheque.bc.ca.
Address:
Pacific Cinematheque
1131 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2L7
Canada
More info here
Buy a ticket online
Update1 – here’s an article about the screening from straight.com
Update2 – here’s another preview of the screening by joelcrary.com
Hugo the Hippo
(Hugó, a víziló)Hungary/USA 1975. Director: Bill Feigenbaum
Voices: Burl Ives, Paul Lynde, Robert Morley, Marie Osmond, Jimmy OsmondPhantasmagorical! Little-known cult curio Hugo the Hippo is a psychedelic feature in the vein of Yellow Submarine, voiced by such stars as Burl Ives and Paul Lynde, and featuring groovy tunes from Marie and Jimmy Osmond! The wild tale takes place in Zanzibar, where a cigarette-smoking gang of mean sharks inhabits the harbour. Twelve hippos are brought in to defeat the sharks; after the deed is done, the hippos too are deemed a nuisance and gotten rid of. Only little Hugo remains. Left to fend for himself, he faces countless (wacky) dangers, including a banana octopus, corncob artilleries, and a wizard who practices hippo-notism. Animated behind the Iron Curtain in Hungary, financed by the perfume company Fabergé, and directed by New York animation designer Bill Feigenbaum (his only feature film), this unusual production was simply never embraced by the American mainstream and so fell into obscurity. It is still without an official English digital release, leading lovers of Hugo to form online communities to share in their search for the lost treasure. “About ten years ago, I started receiving renewed interest in Hugo,” says Feigenbaum. “Now, almost every day I receive word from somebody who has loved the film.” Feigenbaum is lending us his personal 35mm copy to screen here. Colour, 35mm. 86 mins.
Warner Archive released Hugo The Hippo on DVD in June 2015!
--
If you would like to discuss the film with the director Bill Feigenbaum you can contact him via email at:
