A Long, Long, Time Ago, Yesterday...

While flipping through the channels the other day, I noticed that Little Monsters was on TV. There was a time (a long, long time ago yesterday) that I went through a Fred Savage phase and it was because of this movie. It came out in 1989 and was about a boy named Brian (Savage) who discovers a hidden world of monsters UNDER HIS BED (hello?! terrifying concept.). Anyway, Ben Savage plays Eric (Brian's brother) and Howie Mandel stars as the monster Maurice, who introduces him to the secret world (where there are no rules and no parents. Hooray!). They have fun exploring and playing tricks on Brian's friends/enemies by sneaking into their rooms (via under their beds). Of course, the fun and games come to an end eventually when Brian's little brother is kidnapped by the head of the Monster world, "Boy" and a big battle ensues. They end up having to race to get back home before the sun rises or they'll end up as monsters forever. Now, this is just a quick rundown of the plot. A lot more goes on in the movie and I was fascinated by it. What's even more fascinating is the fact that Howie Mandel played a blue monster with horns and had to wear a TON of makeup. Perhaps that's where his fear of germs originated?? By the way... this movie would horrify Charley. Here is the trailer:



Seeing that movie the other day got me to thinking about what other movies I loved as a kid and of course, Labyrinth (1986) is at the top of the list.  The first time my Aunt showed Dennis and I this film, I made her turn it off. The site of seeing Toby crying his eyes out in his crib, while his big sister yelled at him was so disturbing to me. I eventually had her turn it back on and ended up falling in love with it. If you don't know (and you should because it's awesome), Labyrinth stars David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King. Sarah (played by a very young Jennifer Connelly), wishes for the goblins to take her brother away. They oblige and she immediately regrets it. Jareth challenges her to solve his Labyrinth in 13 hours and if she does, she can have her brother back.  If she doesn't, he'll be turned into a goblin forever. While on her journey, she meets lots of fun characters and sees an abundance of magical things. As if the movie wasn't fantastic enough, it is chalk full of really great songs written and performed by David Bowie. "Magic Dance" was even on our wedding CD.  I will watch this movie and quote the heck out of it.  I willingly admit that I am no fun to watch it with because I will say every line and sing every song. Charley is not afraid of this one but that could be because he knows how much I love it and maybe perhaps because we have a giant framed picture of Toby surrounded by all the goblins, hanging on our living room wall (not to mention a clock, buttons and replicas of the actual door knockers from the film). Here is just a taste of the awesomeness:



This next one isn't exactly a kids movie... Okay, it's not for kids at all but Dennis and I adored it when we were younger and I still do to this day. I'm talking about the 1985 film, Clue, starring Tim Curry, Lesley Ann Warren (Miss Scarlet), Michael McKean (Mr. Green), Christopher Lloyd (Professor Plum) and Madeline Khan (Mrs. White), just to name a few . The movie is based on the board game by Parker Brothers and takes place in 1954. Six strangers are invited to a dinner party at a mysterious mansion and are greeted and served by a butler named Wadsworth (Tim Curry). As the evening goes on, the guests start realizing that they are all connected to each other in one way or another. They then discover that someone has been committing multiple murders throughout the night and go off in teams to figure out who the culprit is. The movie takes you on a fun "who-dunnit" journey and for whatever reason, it stuck with me as a kid and still does today. I loved it so much, I was even Miss Scarlet for Halloween once. No one had any idea who I was but I thought it was the greatest costume ever. I have yet to show this one to Charley. Here is one of my favorite scenes from the movie that I still refer to when I get real mad about someone/something:



I watched Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) with Charley a couple months ago and remembered how wonderful that movie is. It was really cool to see him laugh at the same parts I used to laugh at as a kid. In the movie, Pee-Wee Herman has a shiny red bike that he loves more than anything in the world. When it goes missing, he suspects his neighbor/enemy Francis of taking it and sets out on a mission to find it. It's not the simple story that makes this movie so great, it's the scenery (starting with his amazingly imaginative house full of gadgets that make breakfast for him at the sound of an alarm) and all the characters he meets along the way (one of my favorites being Large Marge). By the end of the film, he has a whole slew of new friends and he gets a very happy ending. The things I remember most about this movie, other than his bike and house of course, are Francis's giant swimming pool bath tub (that I have always wanted), "there's no basement at the alamo!" and the scene where he runs into a burning pet shop to free all of the animals and comes out with two fistfuls of SNAKES. Ack! Here is one of my favorite scenes (I even named my dad's GPS, "Marge" after this scene)... I couldn't embed it, so just follow the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Pdlxd_rro


This last one I haven't shown Charley yet because I think he might still be a bit too young for it. The Neverending Story (1984) takes place in two worlds. A magical world known as Fantastica (which is being destroyed by something called "The Nothing"), and the real world.  The film follows a boy named Bastian as he is hiding out from bullies in his school's attic. While he's up there, he begins reading The Neverending Story and quickly realizes that he, himself has become part of the story. The book's hero is a boy named Atreyu and he is on a mission to find a cure for the Empress, who has fallen ill (most likely because of The Nothing).  While searching for a cure, he comes across a bunch of fantastical creatures (Falkor) and some scary ones as well (Gmork, the werewolf). There is a really awful, heartbreaking scene involving Atreyu, his horse (Artax) and quicksand that has scarred me to this day (and is probably the real reason why I don't want Charley to watch it), but all in all it's a great movie about the importance of creativity and imagination. Here is the trailer (that big, fluffy, dog-type looking creature is Falkor. He's super fun!):



Now, I could make this the neverending blog (haha) about my favorite movies growing up, but i'll stop here and just quickly mention a few others... Flight of The Navigator (compliance!), Return to Oz (terrifying and fantastic all rolled into one),  Dirty Dancing (duh), Tremors ("way to go dudes!"), The Princess Bride (as you wish), The Sandlot (oh, Benny The Jet), Drop Dead Fred (Snotface!), Gremlins (Mogwai!) etc. etc. etc.

By the way... on the rare chance that you haven't heard yet, I am nominated in the contest for Detroit's Most Valuable blogger. The voting goes until September 9th and you can vote once a day. I would love it and appreciate it if you did! THANK YOU!

VOTE HERE!