Planet of the Apes (1968 film) was well received by critics and audiences, launching a film franchise, including four sequels, as well as a short-lived television show, animated series, comic books, and various merchandising. In particular, Roddy McDowall had a long-running relationship with the "Apes" series, appearing in four of the original five films (absent, apart from a brief voiceover, from the second film of the series, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", in which he was replaced by David Watson in the role of Cornelius), and also in the television series. The original series was followed by Tim Burton's remake "Planet of the Apes" in
Escape from the Planet of the Apes quite good." Arthur D. Murphy of "Variety" called it "an excellent film. Far better than last year's followup and almost as good as the original 'Planet of the Apes.'" Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote that the film "works largely because Miss Hunter and McDowall, working under Don Taylor's deft direction, are such gifted actors and because John Chambers' chimpanzee makeup is so convincing, as it was in the other pictures." David Pirie of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote, "Infuriatingly, "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" continues the downward trend of a science-fiction series that started out