Hugo the Hippo
Hugo the Hippo
G | 09 January 1976 (USA)
Hugo the Hippo Trailers

The Sultan of Zanzibar has a harbor infested with sharks, which makes it impossible for ships to trade with him. In an attempt to fix the problem, he brings twelve hippos into the harbor to keep the sharks away. His idea works well enough, but once the hippos are no longer a novelty and the people no longer feed them, they begin to starve. After the hungry hippos rampage through the city looking for food, Aban-Khan, the king's adviser, slaughters all the hippos except one, a little hippo named Hugo.

Reviews
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
Niki Niki I first saw this film when I was about 4 (a whole 24 years ago!), and have been enchanted by it ever since. A wonderful tale of morality - about how money corrupts and the importance of not forgetting those who help you. But the message diffuses into you, as you become lost in the fantastic animation (think Disney Fantasia levels of imagination) and songs that Lloyd Webber and Rice would be proud to call their own (I remember all of the words to all of the songs even now, and I haven't seen the film for at least 20 years!). I don't have any other sentimental attachment to any other programmes of my youth, but this fantastic film touched me in a way that no other has. If you do get a chance to see it, you really must. An enchanting, engaging film, with beautiful animation, charming songs and a lovely story which takes you through an emotional sine wave as you follow the adventures of Hugo and his friends (and those who are certainly not his friends). Once viewed, never forgotten. You will be singing the songs all week, at least. Fantastic for young children and adults alike. I can't recommend it enough.
yuhangeleyes Hugo the Hippo is an excellent children's movie. I don't think I would have been able to spell hippopotamus without it. This movie has brought back some of my fondest childhood memories and I think it should be made available on DVD. In terms of content, it was a cartoon beyond its years, the storyline, the colours and the music. The sharks were humorous and quite memorable but the message even more, how easily we forget, discard and turn against people( in the movie that lovable hippo) once they are of no use to us. I hope that this movie makes a come back and is not lost for all eternity. It's just simply phantasmagorical!
shoefairy I just have to comment on this movie! It's one of those films you see as a kid and get vague flashbacks of forever and wonder 'Where do I get those images of cartoon men in turbans shouting at hippos??' Thankfully, my brother is 4 years older than me and he was always there to tell me these memories were from a real film; 'Hugo the Hippo'and that I wasn't a crazy person. I'm adding this comment just to say, that if you haven't seen this film for years and years and have happy/crazy memories of it, leave it that way! Please don't watch it again as you will be disappointed! Oh, OK, maybe just once, but never again! This movie is crazy! Check out the lyrics to the song that goes 'It's really real, this story is real, it really is real, it's really real...' Odd.
dylan_sachs My buddy found a VHS from 1980-something with this movie on it, and I was shocked and amazed that anything this good could come outta the 70's. Couple things I noticed: The Animation rocks the casbah - the colours all meld very nicely, the segues are all prefect (you can't even tell they're there until the next scene starts), and the motion of the characters is a lost art; the story provokes every emotion you can have - sadness, envy, happiness, disappointment, fear... the list goes on; the songs are so good, one of my friends sampled a couple of them and uses them, to this day, in his house sets...I definitely agree with Peter's comments - IT'S GOLD I TELL YOU! GOLD!