Quasi at the Quackadero (1976) User Reviews

Pretty Good Eye Candy

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 2 January 2016]

This is one of those things that defies description. Some sort of outrageous critter and his two pals go to the Quackadero, which is some sort of amusement park. There aren't the usual rides. Instead it's a trip inside the head of these people. One is a hall of mirrors where you can see yourself ten years from now or one hundred years from now. The latter is simply a decomposed skeleton. Another brings dreams to life. It's raucous and pretty senseless, but it vibrates with energy. It reminded me a bit of "Yellow Submarine." The animation is good and the characters really unique. There is a plot line that features the female of the group wanting to get rid of Quasi. But beyond that it's the carnival acts.

Cinematic hallucinogen

[Mr-Fusion · 5/10 · 24 February 2017]

This must be what tripping balls feels like.

"Quasi at the Quackadero" paints a world of . . . well, it's like "Yellow Submarine" on acid. The colors are vibrant, the character designs are macabre, and it starts to sear into your brain after a while. I'd seen this before (middle of the night, in a theater setting) and I don't think my assessment has improved with being fully alert. And it just seems to go on and on. I'm not really sure it it's arty or some deranged '70s children's show, but I'm not getting the joke.

5/10

A contender for most bizarre cartoon ever

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 28 July 2016]

"Quasi at the Quackadero" is a 10-minute animated short film from 1976, so this one has its 40th anniversary this year and I really wonder what writer and director Sally Cruikshank was thinking (or what she had done before) when she came up with the character of Quasi, but also all the supporting characters and the action and the dialogues. What a bizarre little movies. This proves that the psychedelic world also existed in film. Yes it is very strange. But is it good or entertaining? Not really, no. I could have imagined the character of Quasi to have a longer career than he actually did, but he disappeared fairly quickly again after this little movie. All in all, there is only one reason to watch this film and it has nothing do with quality, but really just with uniqueness and weirdness. Not enough to let me recommend it. Thumbs down.

Excellent, imaginative adventures on a surreal carnival midway

[jmt-8 · 9/10 · 26 September 1999]

I saw this in Seattle, WA about 1978. The animated short is about Quasi (a duck) and takes place (of what I can still recall) on a carnival midway that features rides such as "The Ego Trip" (where a plumber taking the ride exclaims "I'm the world's greatest plumber!", etc.) Quite imaginative and a short I would look forward to seeing again.

Great short

[scrabbler · 10/10 · 21 January 2006]

Wonderful, psychedelic short film about a lazy guy (Quasi) who fritters his time away at the Quackadero, which is a kind of crazy carnival. I last saw it in Cambridge at a little place called Off the Wall that showed really obscure short films. As I remember it, the animation is reminiscent of The Simpsons or Jonathan Katz - sort of shaky lines. The film was very atmospheric and kind of took you back to the early 70s. One of the funnier "exhibits" was the Past Lives Pavilion, where people could go to relive things that supposedly happened to them in earlier lives. I remember one poor guy with his wife watching himself in some kinky hotel room or something and saying at the end, "That never happened to me!" And yes, Sally did make several of the Sesame Street cel animated shorts. You can get her other films on a DVD from her website, funonmars.

Confusion amongst the comments

[treemarc · 8/10 · 20 March 2008]

First of all, the music in Quasi was by Al Dodge and Robert Armstrong, who have no connection to Oingo Boingo. However, Danny Elfman did do the soundtrack to Sally's film "Face Like A Frog", which included the Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo song "Don't Go In The Basement" (Actually, even here there's confusion...not sure if it's an old MKotOB song, or a new Elfman song, but it's credited simply to "Mystic Knights") Second, there is no "Ego Trip" scene in this, though it does sound like something that WOULD be in it. This may be from another of Sally's films...I have not seen them all.

Whoever said that the "same guy" (Sally's a she!) must have done some Sesame St cartoons is correct...though most of the ones I've been able to find are from the late 80's and aren't familiar to me. I assumed she was responsible for some of the trippy 70's ones.

I first saw Quasi on PBS late one night in the 80's. I was excited to see it pop up on Youtube recently...posted by Sally herself along with some other works. She also sells DVDs of them.

Sally Cruikshank's Quasi at the Quackadero is one tripping animated short

[tavm · 10/10 · 31 August 2010]

Just watched this Sally Cruikshank animated short on YouTube. Recently awarded the United States National Film Registry list by the Library of Congress, this film has the title character of Quasi invited to go the the Quackadero by his girlfriend along with a little buddy. Lots of weird and wonderful things happen when they go to this place and they're not very easy to describe though if you're a fan of many '30s animation that came from the Max Fleischer studios, you may have a really tripping good time watching this, at least I did. The music also seems to be from the period I just mentioned and, well, just watch the thing if you're in the mood. Okay, so once again this thing is on YouTube...

Pre-"Oingo" Boingo?

[benswire · 6 August 1999]

I saw this once a long, long time ago, and, as I recall, the soundtrack was by The Mystic Knights, and sounded an awful lot like Danny Elfman's Band Oingo Boingo. I subsequently learned that Oingo Boingo once called themselves The Mystic Knights Of Oingo Boingo...

A Masterpiece is I've ever seen one!!

[nbmanofmystery · 9/10 · 4 August 2022]

Sally Cruikshank has always been a huge influence on me ever since I was really little watching her work on Sesame Street. This is one of the most unique art pieces I've ever seen, I truly mean that! The fact that this took 2 years to animate and like 4 months to edit is astonishing! Sally animated it all with other people helping with inking it and voicing it. I love everything about this, except for the fact that it's to short. I want more of this world and it's characters and it breaks my heart to know that nobody in the 70s and 80 wanted to pick up "Quasi's cabaret" for a full movie. I would have jumped at the opportunity to produce that. (I'll one day try my best to get that to be).

don't miss!

[Dianagenta · 10/10 · 26 January 2007]

I must have seen this right around when it was made, as a short before a longer movie. I don't remember what that movie was, but I remember Quasi! My sister and I often mention it. It was the most surreal, mind-bending thing I'd seen as a kid (preteen?), and at the time was so weird it was even a little disturbing, thought nothing in it was really scary. It was just that different. I I've wanted to see it again ever since. I have a preschooler now who watches Sesame Street, and there are animations on that show that seem like they *must* have been made by the same guy, I I miss Quasi all over again. I'd love to get my hands on a copy of this. I can't even tell you what it was about now, but it made a huge impact on me! If you get a chance to see this, do, even if you don't usually like animation.