The Little Shop of Horrors the audience "laughed so hard I could barely hear the dialogue. I didn't quite register it right. It was as if I had forgotten it was a comedy since the shoot. I got all embarrassed because I'd never really had such a positive response before." The film's popularity slowly grew with local television broadcasts throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Interest in the film was rekindled when a stage musical called "Little Shop of Horrors" was produced in 1982. It was based on the original film and was itself adapted to cinema as "Little Shop of Horrors", in 1986. A short-lived
The Little Shop of Horrors the film entering the public domain. Because of this, the film is widely available in copies of varying quality. The film was originally screened theatrically in the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but has largely only been seen in open matte at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 since its original theatrical release. The film's critical reception was largely favorable, with modern review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a "Tomatometer" score of 91%. "Variety" wrote, "The acting is pleasantly preposterous. [...] Horticulturalists and vegetarians will love it." Jack Nicholson, recounting the reaction to a screening of the film, states that