Death to Smoochy

This pointed satire on the world of children's TV written by Adam Resnick, who worked on Seinfeld and Larry Sanders, went straight to video in Britain (where, regrettably, it had tolled the funeral bell of FilmFour). Williams is a disgraced kids' entertainer. His time slot has been filled by Norton's pink rhino Smoochy - or, as Williams has it, 'bastard son of Barney'. A revenge campaign is launched against the pudgy purple rhino. Filled with superb, heartless, lyrical oneliners, DeVito's film occasionally goes over-the-top - note Pam Ferris as an Irish gangster or Harvey Fierstein as an underworld 'fixer'. Still, there's enough cruelty and dark humour to amuse even the most cynical.