Let There Be Movies

A lot of us movie bloggers started our movie buffness at a young age, watching whatever our parents would let us watch. The guys here at LTBM got to thinking about that a bit… what were some of our favorite movies as children? We have an interesting age range for a list like this. Our youngest writer, Logan, is a 90’s baby. Elliott dabbled in both the 80’s and 90’s. Gene, Eric and Derek are 80’s babies. And Tres, well, let’s just say his parents had to take out a second mortgage to get a VCR player! With such a wide range of possibilities, we thought we’d bring you all our favorite movies from our childhoods.

Elliott

Some may not consider Star Wars a kids movie, but I started watching this movie when I was 5, so it qualifies. I have no idea how many times I’ve seen it, probably well over 50 times. It is the pinnacle of classic movies and is chock full of moral applications. You can learn about self-control, the power/destructiveness of anger and hate, and the importance of being honest/keeping our contracts; just to name a few. There will always be a Death Star shaped hole that can only be filled with watching more Star Wars.

1. Star Wars

2. Home Alone

3. Aladdin

4. The brave little toaster

5. The Land before time

Honorable mentions: The Muppet Christmas Carol, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, Space Camp, Lion King, Toy Story and every Godzilla movie.

*************************************************************************

Logan

Aladdin was easily my favorite childhood movie. I had trouble falling to sleep when I was a kid, and sometimes I would play the movie in my head until I fell asleep. I never got past the half hour mark, but up to that point I had the movie memorized well enough to essentially play it in my head. I loved Genie, and I was mesmerized by Aladdin’s journey to Jasmine’s heart, and his ability to bypass the circumstances he was born into. Looking back at it again, I see that it’s a story about class differences, but also about true love. It tells us that true love accepts us for who we are, instead of rejecting us because we don’t fit into the box. That’s how God accepts us.

1. Aladdin

2. The Lion King

3. Toy Story

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

5. We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story

*************************************************************************

Tres

When I was notified of our topic for the week, sadly I had to point out that I am the old guy of our blog. It wasn’t until my 8th grade year that we had a VCR in the house and there were very few movies out to even watch once we got one. The others on our blog had videos to watch over and over. I, however, was left to television stations and their scheduling. With that said, I do have some fond memories of family time around a television. Four shows that were watched every year as a child: The Greatest Show on Earth, The Wizard of Oz, Holiday Inn, and It’s a Wonderful Life. I remember my mom, sister, and me gathered around the TV with fresh baked cookies or a variety of crackers just glued to these shows. The Greatest Show on Earth was always with my Great-Grandparents. My Great Papaw would be smoking the nastiest, smelliest cigars just laughing and carrying on while Great Gramma sat giggling and smiling. The Wizard of Oz was on the same time every year. We watched it every year, sang with it, and hid our faces every time those possessed monkeys came out (I was probably 11 by the time I actually saw a flying monkey on the TV). When Christmas came around Ol’ Bing would sing through the different holidays in Holiday Inn and once again we’re glued to the TV and singing the songs. I do a pretty decent Bing version of a White Christmas if I do say so myself. With the 5th I have to begin with the first time I saw Jason and the Argonauts at the Mechanicsburg Drive-In. They must have been having a flashback movie night or something. The double feature was Jason and the Argonauts and Neal Diamonds the Jazz Singer. (ODD combination!) I remember being mesmerized by the sword swinging skeletons and the rock giant. I was then thrilled to find it on tv a year or two later.

My favorite though… the one I skipped… remains a favorite today.

It’s a Jimmy Stewart classic where he shows a side to almost every person that they don’t like others to see; when they can’t get much lower and they wish they’d never been born. Clarence has to be one of the cutest classic characters in a film. And the transformation of the people and the town is simply amazing. I still get a headache every time the people pour in to give their donations and then Harry arrives and toasts his hero; his big brother, George Bailey. It’s a Wonderful Life was watched every year in my home when I was growing up and I haven’t missed a single year in all of my years as far as I can remember.

Of course being OLD… I may just not remember.

*************************************************************************

Gene

Born in 1982, I had a decent crop of children’s movies coming out before I, uhhhh, started putting on deodorant. Some of them I definitely remember watching over and over. Babes in Toyland was a lot of fun for a 5-year old. The Land Before Time was like seeing all my toy dinosaurs live on the television! However, when I think of the movies I repeatedly watched and loved when I was a child, my thoughts go back to 60’s and 70’s era children’s movies. You see, my mom, bless her heart, brainwashed provided me with some slightly older films, mostly Disney productions. I didn’t really know any better though, so I clung to these oldies-but-goodies. Dick Van Dyke acted, sang and danced like crazy in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and I soaked it all in at about 7 or 8 years old. Rex Harrison’s Dr. Dolittle (1967) was 2 1/2 hours long, and I can remember watching that a lot. I think my babysitter just popped that one in and took nice long naps. Fred MacMurray was The Absent-Minded Professor (1967) before Robin Williams ever even thought about creating Flubber. And aside from some much, much older animated Disney movies like Bambi and Snow White, Sword in the Stone (1963) made me feel like I could be a knight in shining armor one day. However, my favorite movie from my childhood is an easy choice. Yet, as easy as it is for me to pick, I might bet that most of you have never heard of it. It’s a 1977 Walt Disney production about an orphan boy and his dragon, who can become instantly invisible. Sounds awesome right?!? Pete’s Dragon was easily my favorite movie as a child. It really sparked my imagination with an invisible dragon and a boy on the run, lots of silly antics. Just seeing the trailer again makes me miss those days.

*************************************************************************

Okay, we’ve spilled our hearts from our childhood days. Do you remember any of these films? What were some of your favorite movies as a child?