Kings Island fans and history buffs know about the two TV families that visited the park shortly after it opened. The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch filmed episodes at KI in 1972 and 1973, respectively. However, another popular TV show also filmed there: The Saturday morning children’s program The Banana Splits.
The Show
It was produced by Hanna-Barbera, which, at the time, was owned by Taft Communications, owner of Kings Island. The Banana Splits debuted in fall 1968 and ran for two seasons. The show centered on a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters created by Sid and Marty Krofft. In addition to singing and engaging in general merriment, the quartet presented live action and animated segments. During the show’s second season, many exterior scenes were filmed at Coney Island in Cincinnati, also owned by Taft.
That theme song!
The theme song was an absolute banger called “The Tra La La Song." It was released as a single in 1968 but barely dented the Hot 100 in the US, peaking at #96. American punk rock band The Dickies managed to get their version to #7 on the UK Singles Chart in 1979. In 1995, Liz Phair and Chicago’s Material Issue recorded a version for the compilation album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits.
Filming in Cincinnati
In fall 1970, The Banana Splits began running in syndication, but no new episodes were produced. There was a TV movie made, though, and that was filmed at Kings Island. The movie, called The Banana Splits at Hocus Pocus Park, featured live action scenes filmed at KI mixed with animated segments. It followed the Banana Splits as they attempted to rescue a young girl from a power-hungry witch.
The movie debuted on November 25, 1972, two months ahead of The Partridge Family episode and almost a year to the day The Brady Bunch episode first aired. It ran as part of ABC’s Super Saturday Movie series. It was shown on Cartoon Network and its sibling network Boomerang well into the early 2000s. It’s currently on YouTube, below, in three parts.
The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park starts with live action, and about six minutes in goes to animation. The last five minutes are also live action. It features a concert by the band in front of the fountains across from the Eiffel Tower and a montage of the characters riding different rides. That’s only around 10 minutes, but there is a lot of great footage of the park in its first season.
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