(MGM Studios / Walt Disney Pictures / Universal Pictures)
Something I never really discuss about myself is my immunity to nostalgia regarding arts and entertainment. This is partly ironic since, in my opinion, my generation is the worst when it comes to being objective about movies, music, books, TV shows, etc. from childhood. I watched a ton of movies and shows when I was a kid, with as many viewings as possible to boot. The distinction between ‘kid movies’ and ‘family films’ is not as broad as people [and usually people without kids] like to make it out to be. What qualifies as a family film is a feature that is appropriate and appealing to all ages, with a lot of heart and effort put into the execution. Kid movies are mediocre, half-assed schlock that cater to the demographic with the lowest standards. Nearly every family film, classic and contemporary, I watched when I was little still holds up personally. Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz (1939), Robert Wise’s The Sound of Music (1965), Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise’s Beauty and the Beast (1991). All masterpieces if you ask me. Even going into the 21st century you have movies like Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2001) and Andrew Stanton’s Finding Nemo (2003) still popular with families. I would argue Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) also fits in here for older kids, the same way Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) does. My family film exposure has gone down a lot since my early 20s, so I can’t vouch for a lot of modern releases; unless it’s something like Céline Sciamma’s Petit Maman (2021) or Dean Fleischer Camp’s Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021). But even as a single adult, I can’t deny the phenomenon of megahits like Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee’s Frozen (2013) and Phil Lord & Chris Miller’s The Lego Movie (2014).
But then there are kid movies where the jokes are corny, the emotional beats aren’t fully earned, the conclusion is either a bit too convenient or nonsensical, the characters are stereotypes, and so on. For every Disney and Pixar classic I watched growing up, there was also a less impressive Don Bluth or DreamWorks movie to counter it. While I loved Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jensen’s Shrek (2001) as much as everyone else on release, now as an adult, I think I’m in the minority of feeling it follows the structure of Ron Clements & John Musker’s Aladdin (1992) a little too much. Both films share Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio as screenwriters, so this is unsurprising. But the difference to me is that Aladdin equally balances both laughs and fairytale magic for parents and children, while Shrek mostly prioritizes the laughs. The main reason Shrek blew up at the box-office is because the comedy was legitimately funny and the pop culture zeitgeist was on point. But as a whole, it’s in between being a family hit like Aladdin, and a less crude adult cartoon like Matt Stone & Trey Parker’s “South Park” (1997- ). There’s also the common occurrence of parents letting kids watch PG or PG-13 movies just because of the rating, despite the film not necessarily being aimed at young children [i.e. Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988), Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), a lot of Jim Carrey comedies from the 1990s, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023) more recently]. But that’s a whole other thing.
(DreamWorks Pictures / Walt Disney Pictures / Buena Vista Pictures)
Shrek wasn’t the first time my feelings changed on a movie I liked as an adolescent either. Oh, no. Back when I was in 2nd grade, Disney produced a remake Hervé Palud’s French comedy Little Indian, Big City (1994) as John Pasquin’s Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), starring Tim Allen, Martin Short and Sam Huntington. I watched the latter a bunch by the time it was on VHS. In hindsight, it’s funny both movies ultimately flopped with critics, but I can kind of see why Disney would be interested in the previous film; since the concept is basically Tarzan with a father figure instead of Jane. But woof, did they drop the ball in terms of delivering. I’ll never forget when I caught Jungle 2 Jungle on TV when I was in college and being so baffled by how terrible and cheap looking the movie suddenly was with older eyes. I literally picked up the phone and apologized to my mom for having her put on the video over and over again when I was 8/9 years old.
(Walt Disney Pictures / Buena Vista Pictures)
This happened a lot whenever I revisited popular PG rated films from the 1990s in my 20s. Robert Lieberman’s All I Want for Christmas (1991), Don Bluth & Gary Goldman’s A Troll in Central Park (1994), Paul Michael Glaser’s Kazaam (1996), Brian Levant’s Jingle All the Way (1996), DJ MacHale’s Tower of Terror (1997). All turds. I’m sorry to say even well received Bluth animated pictures like An American Tail (1986) and The Land Before Time (1988) don’t really hit the same as a grown-up either. Both lean way too much into somber sentimentalism and forget you need some comic relief and warmth for balance. Kenny Ortega’s Hocus Pocus (1993)? A bit hokey and its treatment of teenagers is a little strange [who cares if Max is a virgin?]. It’s such an odd feeling when maturity and wisdom amplify flaws in things you loved when you were juvenile. One of the most divisive movies I think I’ve ever come across is Steven Spielberg’s Hook (1991). A movie famously beloved by millennials despite tepid reception from critics. This might be the movie from my childhood I’ve turned on the most with age. Like most of my gen, I thought Hook was one of the most perfect movies to exist. Spielberg, Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, John Williams and a Peter Pan sequel? How could it not be amazing? Well it was…until I was around 20 years old. Now older and more familiar with story structure and production values, little things suddenly started sticking out to me. Props looked faker than before, character motivation felt sloppy, tropes were distractingly outdated. Why is the relationship between Peter and Tinkerbell so bizarre? We also get both of the most overdone clichés in ‘90s family and kid movies [orphans and workaholic dads]. I will say, since this is a Spielberg production, there is a great John Williams score on top of the flaws and some of the jokes still land even with a subpar script.
(Amblin Entertainment / TriStar Pictures)
If the movie rating app/site Letterboxd existed in the ‘90s, I have no doubt Hook would have an over 4.0 average rating, which is very high for the site. But as it is now, over 30 years later, it’s at a more mid-level 3.4, with a lot of people like me, discovering maybe the film actually has issues when you view it over the age of 10. Or someone is watching the film for the first time and considers it mediocre without the aid of nostalgia. Hocus Pocus has the same thing. 3.4 rating with most of the 5-star reviews from what appear to be teenagers and nostalgic millennials, and past professional reviews being mixed. I think what bugs me about the over the top praise for movies like Hook and Hocus Pocus is when it’s so unrelentingly refusing to see both sides of the audience’s responses. Obviously a lot of the favoritism is self-aware and tongue-in-cheek, and of course guilty pleasures exist. But a lot of posts and comments remind me of when fanboys used to complain about how the new/rebooted Star Wars and Star Trek projects ‘ruined their childhoods.’ It’s just a little immature and cringe inducing.
For the record, I do the same thing with horror and romcoms, and I also realize I’m a little more lenient on nostalgia towards music than with movies [no need to call me out for still being a Spice Girls fan]. And maybe all this just makes me sound like a snob who has studied film criticism too much and forgot it’s near impossible for art to be consumed completely objectively. But I just think it wouldn’t hurt to be self-aware about criticism and imperfections to popular entertainment once in a while. It can be a part of growing up.
This is an excellent summary. One of your best posts ever.
Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken and Princess Bride thoughts?