Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child. Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer. Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing Bobby, and the
Well I'm surprised myself that I've actually seen one of these and that I harbor some affection for it!
ReplyDeleteThat would be Robin Hood which while it will never replace Errol Flynn's version of the tale in my heart is a fun rethink of the story.
I've heard of the other two but honestly I doubt that I'll ever watch them. My nieces love them though.
Not by design but all three of mine ended up coming from the sixties but Born Free is the only one I watched as a kid. The other two I'd happened to have seen within the last month and realized they would fit and obviously I didn't have to wonder if I'd used them before.
Rascal (1969)-Near the turn of the last century in a small Wisconsin town young Sterling North (Bill Mumy) adopts a baby raccoon-Rascal and spends most of that summer trying to keep him out of trouble while his widowed traveling salesman father Willard (Steve Forrest) is away on business. Disney produced reverie based on the autobiographical book by North.
Born Free (1966)-In a Kenyan game preserve wardens Joy and George Adamson (played by real life marrieds British performers Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers) discover three young cubs whose mother has been shot by poachers. They care for the three at the reserve until the two larger cubs are sent to a zoo, but both develop a special kinship with Elsa, the runt of the litter. Being of a gentle disposition they at first keep her as a pet but when the prospect of George’s reassignment and the threat of having to send Elsa to a zoo arises the couple decide that since she was born free they have to reintegrate her into the wild. Based on a true story.
Black Zoo (1963)-At the private zoo “Conrad’s Animal Kingdom” warped owner Michael Conrad (Michael Gough) is up to no good. He rules over a cult of animal worshippers whose fealty is only to the four footed beasts and when anyone poses a threat to their society Conrad has trained the animals to dispatch them in gruesome ways.
I'm surprised you saw at least one since I went the animated route! I haven't seen any of yours, nor even heard of them. They're all new to me.
DeleteGreat minds think alike!! I went with a animation theme as well! How adorable. :D ZOOTOPIA is amazing, I didn't mention it but it's amazing regardless. I went with a more retrory vibe. :P
ReplyDeleteOne can never go wrong with Zootopia. Such a good movie.
DeleteAh of course you have How To Train Your Dragon, such a brilliant franchise. I fell in love w/ Toothless when I first saw the movie, soooo adorable!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't resist, I just adore it too much.
DeleteI haven't seen Zootopia but I really hope to do so if I have the time. Yes, Robin Hood is still for me, the definitive version of that story.
ReplyDeleteZootopia is wonderful. My son was 4 when it came out and I loved that it made him ask a lot of questions about the injustices that were happening in the film.
DeleteAwesome list! I loved both Zootopia and Robin Hood! And Toothless is SO CUTE in HTTYD!
ReplyDeleteYes he is! Love those movies lol
DeleteGreat picks! My favourite of the three easily is Zootopia though. It was so charming and it annoys me how so many people in my country didn't watch it because they thought it was a kids movie.
ReplyDeleteI think Zootopia did perfectly what Inside Out failed to do, and that was perfectly balance the audiences. I felt it was equally for kids and adults.
DeleteI was way late to How To Train Your Dragon but it became one of my favorites very quickly!
ReplyDeleteIt's never too late to start HTTYD! I'm still somewhat surprised how much I loved it.
DeleteThe only one I have seen is Zootopia which is funny especially the scene with the sloths. My hubby is like that bunny and needs to calm down..hahahaaa. I haven’t seen the other 2 but would love to see Robin Hood.
ReplyDeleteBefore going to the theater, the only trailer I ever saw of Zootopia was that sloth scene as they were using it as a teaser, so I had no idea what the movie was actually about before watching lol.
DeleteThe only one I've seen is Zootopia...It wasn't very memorable for me.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the last two but yeah...none of the live action robin hood movies I've seen have been that stellar.
The cartoon is a classic but I'm not sure how well it would work for someone seeing it for the first time as an adult.
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