Richards Favorite Videos

The movie just wouldn’t be complete complete without Ken Page (also the voice of Oogie Boogie) as King Gator, a huge and flamboyant alligator living below the streets of New Orleans. This awful, uncatchy, unentertaining, and friggin weird musical number is a parody of the elaborate water ballets seen in Esther Williams films.

Probably the worst or at least weirdest part of the film… Charlie and Ann Marie are ambushed by Carface and his sidekick Killer. Hiding in a dilapidated warehouse, they fall through the crumbling floor and into a flooded underground cavern. There they are captured by a tribe of mice who plan to sacrifice them to King Gator. Moments from being devoured, Charlie lets out a melodic howl of anguish. King Gator, a camp character with a penchant for musical theatre-style songs, instantly develops a liking for Charlie’s voice and sets him and Anne-Marie free.

The soundtrack version with the background music clearer, sans the cheesy underwater effect, and clearer voice is much better than the original. Still a terrible song though. Scar does a great job with it nonetheless.

I thought this song was lame as hell when I was little, but I always admired the control Charlie had over his band of technicolored orphans. In just two verses he got a group of kids to slavishly chant his doctrine and do his communist bidding - except unlike real Communism, he rewarded them with cake instead of death camps.

I always thought this movie was a little awkward, and this song is up there in that area all up until the actual main “Let Me Be Surprised” part of the song which is pretty catchy.
Having died, Charlie goes to Heaven by default, despite not having done a single nice thing in his life; as the angelic Heavenly Whippet explains, “unlike people, dogs are naturally good and loyal and kind”. Dissatisfied at having died before his time, Charlie takes back his ‘life watch’ (a glowing pocket watch) and winds it up again, forsaking his place in Heaven and returning himself to Earth. While he has been returned to life, and cannot die while his life watch still ticks, when it does stop he will be condemned to Hell for eternity. (As the Heavenly Whippet says through the watch, “You can never come back.”)