God help us all. Warner Bros. has decided to bring back the single most frightening children's show that was ever made-The Banana Splits. That's the Hanna-Barbera psychedelic Saturday morning mind-fuck that scrambled the brains of innocent youngsters starting in the late 1960s and continued to terrorize for more than a decade before some angel of mercy finally pulled its evil plug. It was created by hippie Satanists with the aim of building an army of plushy zombie warriors and it damned well nearly accomplished its task. And now some madman is bent on bringing it back? Stop them! Won't someone please, please think of the children?!

Hanna-Barbera's 1960s phenom is returning in a multiplatform effort starting Sept. 2, with shorts and musicvideos airing on Cartoon Network and its website. Future efforts will include DVD and audio CD releases, as well as live performances.



Turner Animation's Stu Snyder noted that the Splits have "been entertaining kids for years," but the return of the property will capitalize on boomer nostalgia as well. "Go Bananas Your Way," the new Splits album, is "intended to appeal to kids and parents," according to the release.



Bingo, Drooper, Fleegle and Snorky's Web presence is targeted at 4- to 7-year-olds, and the live entertainment will include a section of Myrtle Beach, S.C.'s, Hard Rock Park, to be dubbed Banana Splitsville and devoted to the cartoon characters. [Variety]