THE VHS SHELF

Year: 1988 Director: Ron Howard Nostalgia Meter: 5/5 Most Recent Watch: A couple years ago, I guess? I have watched Willow as an adult, but it's also been awhile. And although I wouldn't quite put it on my top ten movies list, it's just as much of a nostalgia trip as The Dark Crystal . Unlike The Dark Crystal , however, I have a fun childhood story to go along with this one. Willow was the first time I was introduced to the concept of people with dwarfism. If you're not familiar with the movie, the titular character is played by Warwick Davis, who was probably the most well-know actor with dwarfism before Peter Dinklage. You probably know Davis best as Wicket the Ewok from Return of the Jedi and Professor Flitwick (and the goblin Griphook) from the Harry Potter movies. Anyway, in Willow , little people are referred to as "Nelwyns," and they're basically halflings in the standard language of the high fantasy genre. Now, my mom explained to me v...

Year: 1982, Director: Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass, Nostalgia Score: 5/5, Most recent watch: Several times as an adult. Best quote: "There are no happy endings because nothing ends." You know, for a movie with a G rating, The Last Unicorn covers some fairly adult themes, like mortality, regret, and trees with giant boobs. I've also seen this movie on several Internet lists with titles like, "10 Most Violent Children's Movies" and "15 Unintentionally Terrifying Kid's Films." And, honestly, it is pretty intense for something that's supposedly appropriate for toddlers. It also seems like the novel the movie is based on is not a children's or young adult book, as I had originally assumed. So, that may also go a ways towards explaining why it's so dark. To be sure, the list of potentially frightening or age inappropriate content in The Last Unicorn is pretty long, but I don't remember ever finding it upsetting wh...

Year: 1986,   Director: Don Bluth,   Nostalgia Score: 4/5, Most Recent Watch: As an adult, but only a few times. Best Quote: "There are no cats in America and the streets are paved with cheese." There are an inexplicable number of kids' movies featuring talking mice and many of them are actually quite good. Off the top of my head, I can think of An American Tail , but also The Secret of NIMH and the two Rescuers movies. One at a time though. This week, I specifically watched An American Tail and, let me tell you, I had much difference experiences watching this movie as a child and as an adult. As a kid, all of the historical context went straight over my head and I never really got emotional while watching. As an adult, I'm much more aware of just how dark and sad some parts of this movie actually are. But no matter how much my perception of the story has changed, the beautiful animation has not. I remember liking An American Tail (and other movies fro...

Year: 1982, Directors: Jim Henson & Frank Oz, Nostalgia Score: 5/5, Most Recent Watch: At least once a year, for as long as I can remember.  It's hard for me to express how much I love The Dark Crystal . It has been one of my favorite movies for as long as I can remember, and I think it's an absolute masterpiece. When I sit down and hear the opening musical score it immediately brings a smile to face. Admittedly, the plot and dialogue are nothing special, but I don't really think The Dark Crystal is about narrative anyway. It's about building and exploring another world. There's just so much creative talent packed into every little on-screen detail, it's mind-boggling. My primary emotion while watching this movie is utter delight, and if my memory serves me correctly, that was pretty much always the case. It's not just that everything looks cool. It's knowing that people intentionally designed and made all of these cool looking t...