History Film / SantaAndTheIceCreamBunny

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, this example was removed. Please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* BlatantLies: The poster advertises this film as being "all new" and promises an "exciting rescue" by the Ice Cream Bunny, when in fact only about a third of the film is made up of new footage, and the "rescue" involves the Ice Cream Bunny giving Santa a ride home in his fire truck.

* PublicDomainCharacter: Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, who serve no purpose to the plot other than extra {{Padding}}. It also stars SantaClaus who gets stuck in Florida.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: When they came to watch all the action after leave the raft, Tom and Huck are accompanied by a racoon with a leash, like it was the pet of them. The last we see of this critter is that's running very fast, to never been seen again.

* {{Gainaxing}}: Especially noticeable when Shay Garner's character rides the steeple chase at the beginning.

* DeusExMachina: It's strongly implied that the Bunny ''drives'' Santa to the North Pole on his fire truck. Santa's sled teleports back to the North Pole as a failsafe, should it and Santa ever be separated. (Of course, there's no explanation why that failsafe can't be implemented while Santa is ''in'' the sled.)

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* {{Mondegreen}}: Santa calling out "Kim!" is often misheard as "Kid!"

The intended purpose of the film was to exhibit it in one of the theater attractions at the Pirates World amusement park near Miami, ostensibly to give children something to do for an hour while their parents took a break from them, and to advertise other attractions at the park. It would be totally forgotten today, except that the film is a NoBudget, slapdash affair that turns into an unintentional MindScrew of the highest order.

* AmusementParkOfDoom: That steeplechase ride near the beginning and end -- No safety belts, plenty of sudden turns, and dangerously fast. Have fun, kiddies!

Basically, picture ''Film/SantaClausConquersTheMartians'' as Creator/DavidLynch might've made it. The movie has become a SoBadItsGood CultClassic, even getting the Podcast/RiffTrax treatment.

''Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny'' is a 1972 Christmas film directed by Barry Mahon and R. Winer, starring Jay Clark as SantaClaus [[AmateurCast and "Kids" from Ruth Foreman's Pied Piper Playhouse]].

* OneBookAuthor: The only known directorial credit for the mysterious R. Winer, though some Google sleuthing suggests he might be [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0934871/ this guy]], who was based in South Florida.

* InformedAttractiveness: Thumbelina is implied to be absolutely perfect in all but size, but the actress playing her is average-looking at best, with vacant eyes and large eyebrows. At least she wasn't wearing a bra and [[ShesGotLegs has great legs]]...

The intended purpose of the film was to exhibit it in one of the theater attractions at the Pirates World amusement park near Miami, ostensibly to give children something to do for an hour while their parents took a break from them, and to advertise other attractions at the park. It would be totally forgotten today, except that it has a ''very'' unusual structure.

After ''Thumbelina'' wraps up, we go back to Santa and the kids, and the titular Ice Cream Bunny finally makes an appearance, driving an old fire truck through Pirates World on his way to rescue Santa, though neither the character's name nor significance is ever explained.

The film's [[NoBudget lack of budget]] and slapdash nature have given it a SoBadItsGood reputation, with some viewers regarding it as a MindScrew of the highest order.

The film's [[NoBudget lack of budget]] and slapdash nature have given it a SoBadItsGood reputation.

After ''Thumbelina'' wraps up, we go back to Santa and the kids, and the titular Ice Cream Bunny finally makes an appearance, driving an old fire truck through Pirates World on his way to rescue Santa.

[[caption-width-right:202:Note: film only contains trace amounts of both Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny. Also, we're just as confused by the Ice Cream Bunny as you are.]]

The film's [[NoBudget lack of budget]] and bizarre storyline have given it a SoBadItsGood reputation.

''Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny'' is a 1972 Christmas film directed by Barry Mahon and R. Winer that aired as a weekend afternoon kiddie matinee. It stars Jay Clark as SantaClaus [[AmateurCast and "Kids" from Ruth Foreman's Pied Piper Playhouse]].

Santa and his sleigh are stranded on a beach somewhere in Florida in inch-deep sand, his reindeer having flown back to the North Pole to cool off. Several kids (including [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn]]) try to help him out with a variety of farm animals (and a guy dressed in a gorilla suit!), but to no avail. Just when all hope is given up, Santa is reminded of the story of "Literature/{{Thumbelina}}", upon which the film sidetracks the Santa Claus story to focus on Thumbelina. The eponymous Ice Cream Bunny doesn't show up to help Santa until the very end, where the two drive off in his old fire truck.

The "Thumbelina" segment is actually a ''longer'' and entirely different film, complete with its own opening and closing credits left intact. Santa's story to the children includes detailed descriptions of who the executive producer was. It was shot at the long-defunct Pirates World theme park in Florida in 1970, and stars Shay Garner as the title character. It is a re-telling of said story done in the style of a museum exhibit, complete with models of the sets. [[NestedStory So, that makes the theme park itself a Framing Device, too!]]

Oddly enough, depending on where the film was shown, certain prints replaced the Thumbelina segment with one based on "Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk", also shot at Pirates World, with Mitchell Poulos as the boy hero. There was no FramingDevice in ''Jack'', unlike ''Thumbelina''.

The intended purpose of the film was to exhibit it in one of the theater attractions at Pirates World for children, ostensibly to give them something to do for an hour while their parents took a break from them, and to advertise parts of the park as well.

Barry Mahon, one of the directors, was actually a fugitive from the true story of ''Film/TheGreatEscape''. Ruth Foreman, on the other hand, was a well-respected figure in the South Florida theater scene for forty years, dying at age 81 in 1988, even having [[http://carbonellawards.org/special-awards/the-ruth-foreman-award/ an award named after her]] in 2000.

Actually, no, that description doesn't nearly do it justice.

It's actually a complete and utter MindScrew from start to finish. Standard movie-watching logic does not apply to this film. In fact, any attempt to apply basic storytelling logic to the film will probably give you an aneurysm. It ignores every basic dramatic convention. The final episode of ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' was less of a MindScrew than this movie (Same goes for ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion End of Evangelion]]'' as well). To say that the movie feels like a fever dream, or Creator/DavidLynch attempting to make the most surreal kids movie ever made is an understatement.

Did we mention that the "Thumbelina" segment is actually a ''longer'' and entirely different film, complete with its own opening and closing credits left intact? Yep, Santa's story to the children includes detailed descriptions of who the executive producer was. By now you should start to understand why this film is basically a LogicBomb for humans.

The "Thumbelina" segment was shot at the long-defunct Pirates World theme park in Florida in 1970, and stars Shay Garner as the title character. It is a re-telling of said story done in the style of a museum exhibit, complete with models of the sets. [[NestedStory So, that makes the theme park itself a Framing Device, too!]]

Oddly enough, depending on where the film was shown, certain prints replaced the Thumbelina segment with one based on "Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk", also shot at Pirates World, with Mitchell Poulos as the boy hero. This was no improvement, especially as the Giant (Renato Boracherro) offered such lines as, "Wife, bring me my creepy-crawlies! Mmmm-mmmmmm!". There was no FramingDevice in ''Jack'', unlike ''Thumbelina'' having the main actress gazing with DullSurprise at a series of dioramas.

The intended purpose of the film was to exhibit it in one of the theater attractions at Pirates World for children, ostensibly to give them something to do for an hour while their parents took a break from them, and to advertise parts of the park as well. (One has to pity the kids and parents who chose to watch with them, sitting through the {{padding}}.) [[invoked]]

Barry Mahon, one of the directors, was actually a fugitive from the true story of ''Film/TheGreatEscape''. What did ThoseWackyNazis ''do'' to him that caused him to make ''this''? Ruth Foreman, on the other hand, was a well-respected figure in the South Florida theater scene for forty years, dying at age 81 in 1988, even having [[http://carbonellawards.org/special-awards/the-ruth-foreman-award/ an award named after her]] in 2000.

Read Website/TheAgonyBooth's recap [[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Santa_and_the_Ice_Cream_Bunny_1972.aspx here]]. Also available as a Podcast/RiffTrax [[http://www.rifftrax.com/ondemand/santa-and-ice-cream-bunny video download.]] The Christmas 2015 Rifftrax Live show is the Jack and the Beanstalk ("It's [[PoorMansSubstitute Discount]] [[Series/TheBradyBunch Greg Brady!]]") version. The film was also the subject of Episode 51 of the ''{{Podcast/Tranquil Tirades}}'' podcast.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In one scene if you turn up the volume you can hear Santa mutter "damn it" under his breath.

* SpecialEffectsFailure: Both the giant's hen, (which looks to be made of tinfoil, and the magic harp.

* ViewersAreMorons: As the AgonyBooth review says "Like most other terrible children’s films, the filmmakers seem to think that simply because the movie is for kids, they have to pretend like they’re making it for retards. Every actor speaks as slowly as possible, enunciating every word as if they’re talking to people who don’t speak English. All the characters take longer than [[AcceptablePoliticalTargets George W. Bush to string a sentence together]], and [[LargeHam deliver the most obvious emoting you’ll see outside of a Sally Struthers infomercial]]."

* OutOfGenreExperience: From Santa's sleigh predicament to a cheap theme park adaptation of "Thumbelina".

The intended purpose of the film was to exhibit it in one of the theater attractions at Pirates World for children, ostensibly to give them something to for an hour while their parents took a break from them, and to advertise parts of the park as well. (One has to pity the kids and parents who chose to watch with them, sitting through the {{padding}}.) [[invoked]]