Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 17, 1993 TAG: 9309170049
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRAZIER MOORE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
You're a kid watching a horror film. Your imagination races. Your nerves squirm. You're shaking in your Nikes. Then, BOOM!
It's pure exhilaration, the sort of cheap thrill adults still crave but find elsewhere. (One proven way is chicken vindaloo, extra spicy, at any Indian restaurant.)
Which, of course, is not to say that grown-ups don't have fear of the unknown. But unfortunately, sometimes they don't bother to have fun with it.
For evidence, consider "Tales From the Cryptkeeper," a new Saturday morning cartoon series that seems to have upset certain parents - none of whom could have actually seen it - far more than it will agitate an ordinary kid. "Tales," which premieres at 10 a.m. Saturday on ABC, is based on the 1950s comic books created by William Gaines, the sly genius who would later mastermind Mad magazine.
It also is inspired by the nighttime HBO live-action series "Tales From the Crypt," but very remotely. The HBO "Tales" is no more for children than - well, chicken vindaloo.
Mostly, the new "Tales From the Cryptkeeper" is something all its own and, since a preview wasn't ready until just days ago, exactly what that is remained a mystery before last week.
What "Cryptkeeper" is (don't tell the kids) is an animated anthology of morality tales: Good wins out. Hope is restored. All with a ghoulish twist ensuring young viewers won't realize there's a lesson buried - so to speak - within each story.
The bony, cackling Cryptkeeper, whose most evil tendency is making hideous puns, plays host. He's like a graveyard Alistair Cooke on a "Masterpiece Theater" that's funny, suspenseful and even thought-provoking.
Here are three of his upcoming "scary tales":
Randy worries that when Uncle Ned goes fishing, he catches more fish than he needs. But then the tables are turned when Ned is snagged by a fish sporting rod, reel and Hawaiian shirt, who's teaching his scaly nephew how to catch human beings.
After tormenting ants while out on a picnic, two brothers learn not to be bullies when they find themselves suddenly ant-sized and forced to seek cover from the stomping feet of their "little" sister.
When two boys hear that the eccentric owner of a nearby estate is leaving for vacation, they decide to swipe a few valuables to pay for a dirt bike. The house, of course, is haunted, and they learn crime doesn't pay.
"Cryptkeeper" is produced by Nelvana Entertainment, the Toronto-based animation house whose credits include "Fievel's American Tails," the cartoon version of "Beetlejuice," and the new CBS Saturday morning series "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs."
Also associated with the project are Hollywood luminaries Joel Silver ("Lethal Weapon"), Richard Donner ("Superman"), Robert Zemeckis ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit") and Walter Hill ("48 Hrs.").
But premature concerns about the series have spooked some parents and, in turn, some ABC affiliate bosses. They, after all, are adults.
Maybe they'll listen to another adult, Dr. Brian Newmark, a Boston psychologist who specializes in developmental issues in children and adolescents.
Newmark, who was retained by Nelvana as a story consultant for "Cryptkeeper," believes in challenging a child's imagination with the unexpected. He says the show is appropriate for most children as young as 6 years old.
by CNB