Childhood Fantasy

Began a sunny, breezy day with baking Banana-Honey Muffins after breakfast. When those went into the oven, I figured I might as well start the dusting. Managed to get the living area done before it was time to head out.

Ran Jetsons: The Movie while I worked. George Jetson (George O'Hanlon and Jeff Bergman) has just been promoted to vice-president by his miser of a boss Mr. Spacely (Mel Blanc and Jeff Bergman). Nobody in his family is happy about it, especially Judy (Tiffany), who is upset that she'll have to miss her date with a big rock star. They change their views when they settle in at an apartment complex for mixed species and make new friends. Meanwhile, George discovers that he's the head of a mining operation that's been constantly sabotaged. While he and foreman robot Rudy-2 (Ronnie Schell) try to figure out who's doing the sabotage, Judy falls in love with alien teen Apollo Blue (Paul Kreppel) and Elroy (Patric Zimmerman) and his new buddies Teddy-2 (Dana Hill) and Fergie (Russi Taylor) attempt to solve the mystery of the saboteurs on their own.

The girls and I loved this one as kids, especially the pop soundtrack by Tiffany, but it hasn't dated well at all. The CGI was groundbreaking in 1990, but it looks obvious now. The music doesn't really suit the far-future setting; a random music video to "You and Me" around the middle of the movie stops it cold. The environmental message and the characters who are actually committing the sabotage comes off as preachy and way too cutesy.

On the other hand, the nifty designs are consistent with the original show, and it uses most of the original voice actors. (O'Hanlon and Blanc actually passed away during production; Jeff Bergman finished their parts.) The music may be out of place, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. I'm especially fond of the ballad "I Always Thought I'd See You Again" by Tiffany and two numbers by Shane Sutton, the uptempo "Staying Together" and ballad "With You All the Way." We actually had the soundtrack on cassette and listened to it constantly around 1990-1991.

If you have fans of the original show or 80's revival, fans of 80's/early 90's pop, or younger kids who may enjoy the story and characters, this is worth checking out if you can find it.

(Oh, and I called the dentist's office. I won't be able to make it on Wednesday - that's my 8 and 1/2 hour day, of course. I rescheduled for May 1st. Maybe my tooth will feel a little better by then, too.)

Headed out to run errands around 12:30. First stop was the Oaklyn Library. Given the sunny, breezy day at that point, it was just me and the librarian. I organized DVDs and shelved one kids' book on Native American tribes. I was out after a half-hour.

Next stop was the Westmont Bagel Shop for lunch. Surprisingly, considering it was past 1:30 at that point, they weren't busy either. I ate my ham, cheddar cheese, and apple sandwich on sourdough bread in peace.

The Haddon Township Library was a lot busier than the Oaklyn Library had been. There were lots of DVDs to shelve today, especially from the adult titles. There were so many, I didn't get to much else.

Took out a lot this week. Along with Despicable Me 3, I opted for two fantasy films. I did see Hook when it came out in the early 90's, but not since then. Your Highness, a sword-and-sorcery spoof, sounds like fun. Found an audio book on dealing with stress, and a print book on how stress isn't as bad of a thing as we think. Took out the last Mercedes Lackey Elemental Masters book the library had, the Donkeyskin-based Unnatural Issue, I loved the film version of the Neil Gaiman fantasy novel Stardust from a while back and decided to give the book a try. Found a teen novel on what Ashoka Tano was doing between the Clone Wars and Rebels series.

Went straight home after work. It had gotten cloudy while I was in the library, and even colder. I spent the rest of the afternoon writing. Han goes after Boba Fett, but he gets away. Luke uses his magic to create a twister that funnels water over the fire, putting it out. When Han comes back, he suggests staying at the first inn at Takodana they can find. It seems very familiar to him...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. An episode of Sailor Moon from the 4th season has the Guardians volunteering to help prepare for a "coming of age" ceremony for 20-somethings just coming into the world. The Amazon Quartet help too...but they don't understand why anyone would want to get older. Why not stay a child and keep everything the way it is forever? Their arguments become more obvious when the girls discover that they're the ones stealing dream mirrors...and the dreams of these young adults' futures.

Finished the night with Hook. Peter Banning (Robin Williams) is a successful lawyer, but he's not doing so well with his wife Moira (Caroline Goodall) or his children Jack (Charlie Korsmo) and Maggie (Amber Scott). He rarely has time for them and actually misses Jack's big baseball game. One night, while attending the dedication for the children's hospital being named for his grandmother Wendy (Maggie Smith), he comes home to find that his children have been kidnapped by none other than Captain James Hook (Dustin Hoffman) of Neverland. Wendy tells Peter that he's Peter Pan, who has grown up and lost his childhood memories. The appearance of Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) bears this out. She takes him to Neverland, but he embarrasses himself in front of his children when he can't rescue them and upsets the pirates, who just want a good battle. While Mr. Smee (Bob Hoskins) tries to keep his boss from doing harm to himself or the kids, Tink and the Lost Boys teach Peter how to find the child in himself.

I know a lot of people who grew up in the early-mid 90's have fond memories of this one, but...ehh. I wasn't a fan of it as a young teen, and I'm still not all that big on it. (It probably doesn't help that I've never really been into Peter Pan in general.) The sets and costumes are very early 90's, especially on the Lost Boys and their hideout, and Roberts is badly miscast as a pixie. On the other hand, Williams is fine as the man rediscovering his inner child, Hoffman and Hoskins actually turn in some of their best performances as Peter's most famous adversaries, and we have one of John Williams' more underrated scores.

If you're more into Peter Pan lore than I am, are a major fan of the cast, or are looking for something different for younger kids, you may find a lot more in this than I did.