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Tragically, there was very little love for the quirky Oogieloves this last weekend. The Oogieloves, who starred in their opening film, The Oogieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure, had the lowest grossing wide release of all time. The film brought in a mere $448,000 from 2,160 theaters, despite featuring cameos from Chazz Palmentieri, Christopher Lloyd, and Cloris Leachman. Leachman in particular burned the film, stating that she only made the movie for “the money.” Ouch!

 

The Oogieloves is from the mind of Kenn Viselman, who brought “The Teletubbies” and “Thomas the Tank Engine” to American audiences. The film sounds a bit like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, though not in its context, of course -- both films encourage its audience to interact with the film, to dance and sing along as the characters do. Strangely enough, this phenomenon seems to appeal to adults... but 3-year-olds and their parents apparently did not take to the interactive aspect of the film.

 

The Oogieloves themselves are actually quite similar to the Teletubbies. Both are giant, colorful creatures who live in magical lands where they squeak and giggle about friendship, love, and other educational subjects. Unlike the Teletubbies, though, the full-bodied puppet Oogieloves just simply have not taken off. Their names alone are rather odd -- Goobie, Zoozie, and Toffie -- and their shape and style does not appear to have the same cuddly cuteness that the Teletubbies have. It is hard to pinpoint precisely why the Oogieloves performed so poorly at the Box Office, or even why they seem to be so unpopular. I would presume that toddlers would enjoy the interactive part of the film, and that their parents would as well, but perhaps there is something to be said about going too-over-the-top for children’s programming...

 

What do you think of the Oogieloves?

 

 

- Sarah Osman, YH Staff