Over at Reason they’ve started a discussion about how bad Disney live action movies were before Mike Eisner took over. (Three words: Apple, Dumpling, Gang.)
In a rebuttal, commenter Tom Crick mentioned the incredible Dexter Riley series. These three Disney movies starred Kurt Russell as a college student who was the subject of a series of scientific mishaps. In The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes Dexter accidentally mixes water and a computer and the resulting mess turns him into a human computer that knows everything. Next, in Now You See Him, Now You Don’t he and the other kids accidentally invent a chemical which can turn people invisible. Finally, in The Strongest Man in the World they invent a chemical that, well, you get the idea. I have fond memories of the first two, and the third one was OK, but after invisibility, strength just didn’t seem like such a big deal.
I’m tempted to order the DVDs just to see them again, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea. These movies all came out before Star Wars set a new standard for movie effects, and even some of the effects in Star Wars look bad these days compared to the wonders of digital film-making. Also, I’m just not a kid anymore. If I see these movies again as an adult, I’m afraid the new experience will erase the magical memories.
This got me thinking about films I loved as a kid that I dare not see again for fear of ruining the magic.
Movies like these:
- The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
- Now You See Him, Now You Don’t
- The Strongest Man in the World
- The awesome Escape to Witch Mountain. That ending was amazing. I didn’t see it coming, but it explained everything. Damn that was cool!
- The People. I caught this on television late one night. It’s about a teacher who visits a small town where there’s something a little unusual about the children. I’m afraid I’ll just giggle at William Shatner, but at the time I thought it was a nice understated performance. It’s a low-budget, but it’s warm and moving and magical.
- The Love Bug
- Herbie Rides Again. All other sequels must be destroyed!
- Tom Sawyer the musical from 1973.
There have got to be others. I’m not talking about classic movies like The Absent-Minded Professor, which I’m sure will hold up just fine, or even That Darn Cat! which might not hold up but won’t be so bad it’s embarassing. I’m talking about movies that will probably suck if I see them again, but I liked them too much to take that chance.
Anybody else out there have movies like that?
How about movies that we saw again and it ruined the whole thing, like “The Doberman Gang”!
That’s a good one. Of course it’s too late to save that one, but yeah, that’s pretty good.
Both Witch Mountain movies still hold that magic. I so wanted Tia to come find me as a kid. I’m still hoping she’s on her way!