Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert

Very different look than later TV show simple animation over real backgrounds jumping animation.

My watching and reviewing "Hey, Hey, Hey It's Fat Albert" is in no way an endorsement of Bill Cosby. I just watched it because I remember enjoying it as a kid and was curious if it held up after all these years. Is it as good as I remembered?

The story plays out much like Bill Cosby's standup, though he doesn't provide all the voices...just some. It's supposed to be about his childhood when he and his neighborhood friends all loved to play football...especially since Fat Albert was on their team an no one seemed able to tackle him! But just before the big game, the gang make fun of how fat Fat Albert is...and he overhears them. As a result, he refuses to play...which you certainly can understand. Is there any way to get Albert to forgive, forget and play?

Well, the first thing I noticed about it was the strange, artsy animation of the late 1960s. The backgrounds look like colored film negatives and the animation is very simple. For the time, it probably was received quite well. Today, it just loks pretty garrish and cheap. Sorry to be so blunt.

As far as the story goes, it exaggerates so much that you can't help but laugh as the story progresses. Enjoyable...just ugly to look at due to the animation. The story itself is good...and it teaches a pretty good moral lesson.