Mad Monster Party, the classic animated film from the legendary Rankin/Bass producing and directing partnership, will be the Opening Night Film at the second annual BIFF Kids Film Festival.

Produced by Bermuda resident Arthur Rankin Jr., and directed by Jules Bass, the 95-minute colour film will screen at 7 p.m. at the Liberty Theatre on Friday, October 14. The film is suitable for ages 5 and up.

Children attending the film are encouraged to dress up as their favourite scary monster in what should be a sneak preview of Hallowe?en. There will be a costume parade at 6.30 p.m., with prizes for the best costumes.

Mad Monster Party is a feature-length film done in Animagic, the unique stop-motion animation technique made famous by the Rankin/Bass partnership in television programmes such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Created during the monster movie renaissance of the 1960s, it has all the classic characters of period fright films. The film features the classic monsters Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dr. Jekyll, the Creature, Dracula, the Werewolf, and the Invisible Man, plus an outstanding performance by the king of the horror movie, Boris Karloff, as the mad Dr. Frankenstein.

After discovering the secret of destruction, Baron von Frankenstein is retiring as head of the World Wide Organisation of Monsters. He has handpicked his mortal nephew Felix to be his successor, and his fellow monsters are less than pleased. Even though Felix politely declines to carry on this family tradition, the monsters band together and double-cross one another in comic attempts to expel Felix from the group.

?Mad Monster Party is one of the classics of animated film,? says Christian Zabriskie, a programmer at BIFF Kids. ?Arthur Rankin?s creative partnership with Jules Bass created a huge body of important and delightful work, and none more so than this film.

?Kids in Bermuda have a unique opportunity to not only see the film, but to hear from one of the legends of animated film. Arthur has kindly agreed to attend on opening night, and to introduce the film. This is an incredible opportunity to witness a fantastic, funny and gorgeous bit of animation history.?

BIFF Kids will screen 24 films from 15 countries, as well as 22 short films made by Bermudian filmmakers, over the October 14-16 weekend. All screenings will be at the Liberty Theatre. The films are suitable for ages 5 through 17.

Tickets for BIFF Kids go on sale Friday, September 30, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Logic Internet Caf?, 10-12 Burnaby Street. They will also be on sale on Saturday, October 1; Friday, October 7; Saturday, October 8 and Friday October 14 at the same times and location. Tickets will also be available at the Liberty Theatre during the festival.

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