TV Reviews : High-Tech Tricks Spook ‘Last Halloween’

A clever combination of live action, computer animation and miniatures, “The Last Halloween,” a holiday special on CBS at 8:30 tonight (Channels 2 and 8), is an innovative treat that showcases some hi-tech tricks.

When their planet runs out of “koobie” (candy), four computer-animated Martians--Gleep, Romtu, Scoota and Bing--come to Earth in search of fresh supplies. The nutty quartet crashes near the small town of Crystal Falls, where they meet 12-year-old Michael Hubble (Will Nipper) and his sister, Jeannie (Sarah Martineck), who are trying to celebrate what they think will be their last Halloween. The lake that powers their father’s water-driven candy factory has dried up: He’s going to have to close his business and move the family to a new town.

After the Martians explain their mission, the children reply that nothing is easier than getting candy on Halloween night. They take the aliens trick-or-treating and accidentally discover that an evil scientist (Rhea Perlman) and her sinister henchman (Richard Moll) have been stealing the lake water for their experiments.

Nipper and Martineck make an eminently likable brother-and-sister team, and Perlman and Moll camp their way through their dastardly roles with obvious relish. However, the four Martians (originally created at Industrial Light & Magic for a series of commercials) steal the show--as well as candy.

The artists at Pacific Data Images do an impressive job of integrating the computer-generated figures into the real world: Romtu and his companions even leave reflections when they run past a mud puddle. The animation of these jolly aliens may not be as subtle as the best drawn characters, but it’s far superior to standard television fare.

The result is a diverting family entertainment, and the most imaginative program Hanna-Barbera has offered in many years.