Purple People Eater - Der kleine Lila Menschenfresser

Fast-paced and full of surprises like Little Richard, Chubby Checker and great 50's cars. Low-budget but innovative. Kids will love it. And adults will like the musical oldies. Many of the kid actors became well known years later - Neil Patrick Harris ("Doogie Howser") Thora Birch ("American Beauty") Dustin Diamond ("Saved By The Bell") and Shelley Winters and Ned Beatty were already known. A kids classic.

I could NOT give this a rating. This first time I saw it, I thought it was a charming movie, and really liked it, 15 out of 10. . Then, my 3- year old son got it in his brain. Now, 3-year olds LOVE repetition. Love it. So, I watched this movie 1,000+ times with him. 3-year olds love to have someone with them while watching the movie 1,000+ times. That would have been me. THEN I would have begged someone to burn it!

This was in 1989. As I write this, the song track is going through my mind. I WISH they would release this to video, or something. My son would love to have this for his daughter. He's complaining about Dora. hehehe The cars were also a reason my son is an old car fan!

This movie is truly magic. I would rate it up there with Cocoon, as a wonderful family movie with a calm, happy ending. The music is so upbeat and happy, the eater is adorable (I also think he's up there with Cookie Monster, my favorite of all time!). I didn't realize how many of the kids went on to be major stars. This is a great movie, really, even after 1,000+ watching. HEY! DUDES IN CHARGE! RE-RELEASE THIS!

UPDATE 3/5/14: I got a VHS copy of this movie and converted it to DVD. Cost me a bundle to get something that would convert it, but worth every penny (Diamond VC500 One Touch Video Capture Device from Amazon ($32.86, which is a lot of money on top of paying $32 for the VHS)and it was as wonderful as I remembered it. My son's oldest daughter is as fascinated with it as he was back in '89 and he cried when I gave it to him for Christmas. He loves watching it as much now as he did then, and when his daughter watches it, if he's home, he always watches with her. So, for $60 odd bucks I got it on DVD and it was worth every penny.

Purple People Eater is such a fun movie for kids and if you watched it first when you weren't a kid, you will never quite get how good it is. The original Sheb Wooley novelty song has sold over 100 million copies and the film is as classic and funky as the original song. The film is low budget but taps into kids' imagination.

Director Linda Shayne cast Shelley Winters, Ned Beatty, Little Richard, Chubby Checker, Peggy Lipton in this low budget movie with heart. The movie also stars kids who were unknown at the time, including Neil Patrick Harris and Thora Birch, who won a Youth In Film Award for her first performance in a feature film.

The soundtrack for the film has classic 1950's songs in it, including Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly." I loved this movie as a kid and my son is enjoying it now.

I watched this movie when I was a kid and I absolutely loved it! In fact it was one of my favorites. Sure it was childish and a lot different from today's standard of movies, but hey i loved it! Of course there are no special effects, fighting, loud booms, and stuff. It's extremely kid friendly. I would say it's best for the really young ones who still like barney or us older ones who watched it when we were younger. None the less, I completely disagree that this is a waste of time. I enjoyed it and still do. I guess it just depends on the type of person you are. You're not going to find Violence, explosions, car racing, cursing or guns on this one. Just singing and fun.

I saw this film as a child, and to be honest I really enjoyed it and it was one of those films that stuck in my head. Ignore the comments, if you can find this rare and treasured film then make sure you see it! I would give it 6 out of 5, just for it's pure excellence.