Lee Eisenberg Bill Feigenbaum's "Hugó, a víziló" ("Hugo the Hippo" in English) is one of those movies that leads the viewer to think "Oh my god, someone actually put this on the silver screen." This Hungarian-American co-production purports to be about a hippopotamus and how the children befriend him after the sultan's assistant has the other hippopotamuses killed. In reality it comes across as the sort of movie bound to give children nightmares. Particularly confusing is the fact that even though it takes place in Africa, the children all have American accents. Moreover, Paul Lynde does the voice of the sultan's assistant and basically turns the character into a rehash of Uncle Arthur on "Bewitched". Oh, and Marie Osmond sings some of the songs.Now that you have had a chance to let all this sink in, I should note that much of the movie is a bunch of politically incorrect stuff trying to be psychedelic. Burl Ives narrates and the sultan (voiced by Robert Morley) looks very much like Ives's gregarious genie in "The Brass Bottle". This was truly a movie that "Mystery Science Theater 3000" should have riffed. It's worth seeing if you want to have to have your mind blown.

shoefairy I just have to comment on this movie! It's one of those films you see as a kid and get vague flashbacks of forever and wonder 'Where do I get those images of cartoon men in turbans shouting at hippos??' Thankfully, my brother is 4 years older than me and he was always there to tell me these memories were from a real film; 'Hugo the Hippo'and that I wasn't a crazy person. I'm adding this comment just to say, that if you haven't seen this film for years and years and have happy/crazy memories of it, leave it that way! Please don't watch it again as you will be disappointed! Oh, OK, maybe just once, but never again! This movie is crazy! Check out the lyrics to the song that goes 'It's really real, this story is real, it really is real, it's really real...' Odd.

dylan_sachs My buddy found a VHS from 1980-something with this movie on it, and I was shocked and amazed that anything this good could come outta the 70's. Couple things I noticed: The Animation rocks the casbah - the colours all meld very nicely, the segues are all prefect (you can't even tell they're there until the next scene starts), and the motion of the characters is a lost art; the story provokes every emotion you can have - sadness, envy, happiness, disappointment, fear... the list goes on; the songs are so good, one of my friends sampled a couple of them and uses them, to this day, in his house sets...I definitely agree with Peter's comments - IT'S GOLD I TELL YOU! GOLD!

ronald sylvesterler reaganagangan the 17th Yes, I did call this a candidate for the greatest film ever made. Its a masterpiece of hippo films. A truly magical experience for everyone who takes part in it. Its about this hippo. This hippo named Hugo. He's the prince of the hippo's. He saves the day. Their are songs along the way and some great animation. It's gold, I tell you, GOLD!!!