‘The Banana Splits’ are getting a horror movie

One banana, two banana, three banana, four: “The Banana Splits” are back again — this time with a bit of gore.

Warner Bros. announced Tuesday that the formerly kid-friendly animal band “The Banana Splits” are getting a new horror movie.

In this new thriller, a boy named Harley is spending his birthday with his family at a taping of “The Banana Splits” TV show. But the outing takes an unexpected turn that involves a rising body count.

It’s definitely a different take from “The Banana Splits” that most fans will remember.

The original Banana Splits first appeared on television in 1968 as hosts of the classic children’s variety show “The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.” The program was a team-up of sorts between executive producers William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and Sid and Marty Krofft, who designed the costumes for band members Fleegle the beagle, Bingo the gorilla, Drooper the lion and Snorky the elephant before they went on to produce “H.R. Pufnstuf.”

More recently the Banana Splits were back on the air in new shorts on Cartoon Network and Boomerang in 2008.

In addition to Bingo, Fleegle, Snorky and Drooper the new movie will star Finlay Wojtak-Hissong (“The Kindness of Strangers”) as Harley, Dani Kind (“Wyonna Earp”) as Harley’s mother Beth, Romeo Carere as Harley’s brother Austin, Steve Lund (“Street Legal,” “Schitt’s Creek”) as Harley’s father Mitch and Sara Canning (“The Vampire Diaries,” “A Series of Unfortunate Events”) as the show’s producer Rebecca.

“The Banana Splits” is directed by Danishka Esterhazy from a script by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas.

Produced by Warner Bros. Television Group’s Blue Ribbon Content, “The Banana Splits” will premiere later this year through Warner Bros. Home Entertainment before it makes its TV debut on Syfy.

tracy.brown@latimes.com

Twitter: @tracycbrown