This is my single favorite movie ever (sorry Pixar). At least, it is with the original ending. A stupid test audience had the ending made “happier”. This ruined the entire point of the film.
I’ll sum it up this way: it starts out as a comedy. Then it gets darker and darker…until it’s no longer a comedy, but a HORROR MOVIE! It’s like a roller coaster; a roller coaster built to teach you not to give into temptation.
It’s also a musical with a singing plant.
Who else loves this masterpiece of cinema?
I do! Seymour is one of my favourite movie geeks next to the Nutty Professor and the trash-bot. I watched a Singaporean musical adaptation (where they ‘localized’ a lot of the content, so the characters talked in Singlish and they lived on ‘Lorong Skid Row’). I think it followed the original ending ([spoil]cos’ everyone got taken over by the plants in the end[/spoil]). I was curious to see the film adaptation, so when it was screened on TV a few months later, I recorded it and sat down later to watch it.
I agree the ending was a little cheesy (although not 100% happy 
), but the performances and all that were pretty good. ‘Feed Me (Git It)’ has to be my most favourite number (Mad props to Levi Stubbs as Audrey II), I would sing it for days and try to play it on the piano, but failed miserably due to the fast tempo. Oh, and Steve Martin was fantastic as the psycho dentist-boyfriend.
“Does this look inanimate to you, punk?” 
Go see the original ending on YouTube. Frank Oz does a terrific job demonstrating the consequences of Seymour’s actions.
I’m a huge fan of this musical. I have several versions of the sountrack including the original Off Broadway cast recording and the '03 Broadway revival containing demo tracks that never made it in performed by Menken and Ashman themselves.
Of course as most know, Menken and Ashman were instrumental in the Renaissance period of Disney Animation writing the tunes for such classics as Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Which makes me wonder why they weren’t hired for the film version instead of having it arranged by Miles Goodman. Not that I’m complaining. Goodman did an amazing job.
The film version cuts some of my favorite songs though but is still fairly wonderful. Too bad that Geffen won’t release the color version of the original ending on DVD. He’s still miffed about the original ending getting out on DVD the first time. Or so it’s been said.
I could go on and on about this movie and its source material for ages. But I don’t want to bore you guys. Suffice to say I really love it a whole lot.
Ah! A fellow obsessor!
Tell me: do you agree that Mean Green Mother was instrumental to lightening the mood after [spoil]Audrey’s death and the Seymour/salesman confrontation[/spoil], but rendered completely pointless in the context of the happy ending? After all, unless something light-hearted is REALLY needed, privates and underwear jokes look low-brow.
I’ve never actually thought of it that way but you do have a point. In fact, Bad would’ve been a better fit for the song used in that context. Bad retains Twoie’s sense of humor without going anywhere near lowbrow as Mean Green. And it keeps the angle of Mean Green’s shout out to B movie monsters throughout the entire song to good effect.
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We have a petition for a special edition Blu-Ray with the restored, proper film.
Everyone join or I will eat you all for DINNAR!