You won't be disappointed!

Excellent but underrated film

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

"One Got Fat" is a 15-minute live action short film from over 50 years ago that could be called an educational movie on how to ride your bike properly by some and complete garbage by others. This was made five years before the classic "Planet of the Apes", but this is a bit of "Planet of the Apes on Bikes". I guessed this was inspired by the feature film, which would at least give an explanation for the ridiculous masks, but nope it wasn't. I cannot take this little film seriously, I wonder if the writer was on drugs when he came up with it. The writer and director is Dale Jennings and unsurprisingly this is the only credit in his filmography. The narrator is probably the only somewhat known cast member as he (Edward Everett Horton) has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The only reason why this little movie does not have a terrible IMDb rating as some other educational films from that era is probably that it wasn't spoofed by MST3000, which shows how most people are not really capable of making their own opinion without watching the embarrassing MST3k guys. I myself did not enjoy this movie. It's probably a blast when you're on mushrooms, but only then. Not recommended.

I am not exactly sure why I watched this short film, but I do recommend you see it just because it's so incredibly creepy and strange. It's currently on YouTube and it's worth wasting 15 of your life watching it.The film is a very moralistic tale about bicycle safety that was marketed towards kids. But it's very different for several reasons. While it's cheaply made, they somehow got Edward Everett Horton to narrate the thing and, as usual, he's excellent. Also, instead of showing children, they made grotesque and creepy monkey masks and tails for them to wear. It's hellishly creepy, believe me.As the narrator tells the story about a group of kids riding to a picnic on their bicycles, each of the monkey kids illustrate how NOT to ride your bike. Several seem about to die or be mangled but in each case they down (thankfully) show the collision. At the end, you do see one in a hospital bed...covered in bandages and casts. I'm not going to give this one a numerical score. It's because I don't think this was intended as anything more than a film they showed kids in school to scare them into being good. Plus, the print is scratchy and ugly and not exactly fun unless you have a weird sense of humor like I do.

ONE GOT FAT. That's the name of this very strange educational short film from the '60s. From the title alone, you wouldn't know it was suppose to be an educational short film on bicycle safety. After watching it (either by itself or RiffTrax), you still won't see it as an educational short film. You'll see it as the weirdest short film since Mr. B Natural. These monkeys make the PLANET OF THE APES apes look normal in comparison. Creepiest. Masks. Ever. No, this is not suppose to be a horror short, but if I was a kid watching this, I'd have nightmares for days or never step foot in a zoo ever again.Rooty = stopped making hand signals Tink = forgot to watch street signsFloog = riding on the left side of the street Mossby = too distracted to get license and registration and lost his bike Slim = riding on Trigby's bike Trigby = blocked by Slim's body and both fell in manholeNel = riding on sidewalk and running into pedestrians Filbert = riding bike that's falling apart and no brakes Stan = riding with no lights nor reflectors Orv = not a monkey; gets fatDon't say you weren't warned. The five stars is for RiffTrax for their great riffing of this.

...and we're the luckier for it.First of all, though, I can't help wondering how the state of Georgia could have thought this was a good idea (a Department of Education logo is proudly displayed at the beginning)."One Got Fat" is definitely not for everybody. The short can be viewed on so many different levels, ranging from absurdist to alarmist (and all points in between). This thing is a bipolar surrealist's fantasy/dream/nightmare. The monkey face-masks alone, capable of expressing everything from laughter to stark, naked horror are about as cool as anything I've seen in a very long time. The "wipe-outs" are all horrifically comical. That said, I can't help feeling that some well-intentioned people somehow detoured down a very dark, twisted ill-advised road. The happy-happy music, alongside Edward Everett Horton's always charming delivery, is in stark contrast to the harshest of realities.Or something like that.