Movie #377 - FernGully: The Last Rainforest

FernGully: The Last Rainforest
1992 - Rated G - 1 hr 16 min
Director: Bill Kroyer
Starring: Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Grace Zabriskie, Geoffrey Blake, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Tone Loc

Now that we've got kids, we're starting to collect some of the animated films of our youth.  This one was always a favorite in my house growing up, so I had some fond memories going in for a revisit.  It's a little bit more.... how do I say this?... lame, then I remember. But it still has an all-star cast, so it must've been good for its day.

The environmentalist message is still very relevant, even 19 years (I know!) later. Not much else to report here. This is a fun kids movie that I'm sure my daughter will one day enjoy with lots of songs, a great cast, and a nice, positive message to share.

Is it the inspiration for Avatar? Why don't you be the judge....

Movie #362 - The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988 - Rated PG - 2 hr 6 min
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Paterson, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams

From the weird, imaginative mind of Terry Gilliam.... Even though it's based on a book.  This is very much up the same alley as Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, just 20 or so years earlier and with less sophisticated effects.

Visually, for its time, this movie is over the top, but really well done. Elaborate sets and costumes, eccentric characters, loud makeup, and lots of action... it's a well-rounded movie.  It also boasts an excellent cast as well.  But basically, the plot is just a bunch of nonsense strung together... some scenes more realistic than others, some more firmly rooted in myths, and some just more ridiculous.  Like floating head people. Trippy, isn't it?

But I think it was meant for kids, so then I guess that's okay.  I remember enjoying this one way back when and now it's with fond nostalgia that I watch it.  Mike loves this one too, but I credit that love to his own nostalgia too.  If you were to watch this one for the first time as an adult now, I can't say that you'd like it that much.

Movie #329 - Jumanji

Jumanji
1995 - Rated PG - 1 hr 44 min
Director: Joe Johnston
Starring: Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bonnie Hunt, Jonathan Hyde, Bradley Pierce, Bebe Neuwirth, David Alan Grier, Patricia Clarkson

This movie is another classic, although I'm not really sure how that happened.  An evil boardgame traps its players and unleashes African animals and assorted disasters at every turn.  Players can even get sucked into Africa and then spit them back out, like, 20 years later.  Yikes. 

After the movie came out, they actually made this a board game.  People want to play this?!  Ok, I know, it's not real.  But if it's not as terrifying, is it as fun?

Back to the movie... which has some lame CGI animals.  But it was the 90s, so some allowances have to be made. I guess for it's time, the special effects were top-notch.  What I can say for this movie is that the premise is original and it brings you on a fun adventure.  A great movie for kids, not necessarily adults, but if you grew up watching this one, it strikes a nice sentimental note.

Movie #272 - Hook

Hook
1991 - Rated PG - 2 hr 24 min
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Caroline Goodall, Phil Collins, Dante Basco

Quite possibly the best thing about this movie is Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook. I like the reboot concept: Peter Pan leaves Neverland and grows up, only to forget who he once was.  When Hook kidnaps his kid, Peter has to go back, remember how to fly, and save his kids.  Aside from Robin Williams being explained away as distincty NOT having a British accent (he was adopted by Americans), the disturbing plotline of him marrying Wendy's granddaughter, and a whiney son, the movie's pretty good.  This was definitely a childhood favorite that's still good but not as great as I remember.

Again, Dustin Hoffman is amazing. And Ruffio and the Lost Boys are fun to watch. I could skip Julia Roberts's Tinkerbell, but she doesn't ruin the movie.  Overall, a fun family movie that's still enjoyable after all these years.

Movie #239 - Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting
1997 - Rated R - 2 hr 6 min
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, Stellan Skarsgard, Casey Affleck, Cole Hauser

The movie that made Matt and Ben household names.  And also help Robin Williams to be taken more seriously as an actor.  Who doesn't love this movie, honestly?

Matt is Will Hunting, a kid from Southie with a troubled past, a broken home, and a serious addiction to knowledge.  He's solving math problems while mopping the hallways at MIT and catches the attention of one professor who wants to help him out and set him straight.  Will he renounce his fist-fighting, f-bomb-dropping ways and go work somewhere as a genius? Or will he keep mopping floors until the day he dies?

There are lots of great things about this movie, including it's realistic account of what like would probably be like for someone like Will Hunting.  There isn't always a happy ending, the guy doesn't always get the girl, the main character isn't always changed by the plot... knowing these traditional constraints don't apply, this movie is enjoyable from beginning to end.

Movie #238 - Good Morning, Vietnam

Good Morning, Vietnam
1987 - Rated R - 2 hr 1 min
Director: Barry Levinson
Starring: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker

Dude, Forest Whitaker is wicked young AND wicked thin in this movie.  It's weird.

Youth and fitness aside, this movie's not exactly a feel-good comedy, you know?  Robin Williams is funny, but you won't walk away from this going, "Wow! Thank God comedy saved the day!"  The ending is a bleak as the war the movie documents, so I guess at least it's fitting.

That aside, Williams is incredible in this movie, almost like he's playing himself on camera.  According to the DVD case, this is "the role he was born to play" so it seems the critics agree.  And his performance is what makes this one special. Comedy almost saves the day, and on a small scale (in the lives of these soldiers) it did make a difference.  If you focus on that, it's a little heartwarming after all.

Movie #155 - Death to Smoochy

Death to Smoochy
2002 - Rated R - 1 hr 49 min
Director: Danny DeVito
Starring: Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, Danny DeVito, Jon Stewart, Pam Ferris, Danny Woodburn, Harvey Fierstein

I saw this movie in the theater, loved it, and was promptly disappointed with its lack-luster reviews.  It's a dark comedy. It's an "expose" on the seedy underbelly of kids TV programs.  It's comedic genius, is what it is.

In my opinion, Williams and Norton and Keener give their best performances in this movie.  Rainbow Randolph is Williams's best character, by far.  Edward Norton is refreshing as a kids show host/purple rhino with a history of anger management problems and a penchant for organics.  And Keener's dry wit is perfectly timed.  For me, the cast is what makes this movie so good.  When all three are in the same scene, I'm laughing the whole time.

This might not make you feel great about what your kids are watching, but it will make you laugh. Highly recommended.

Movie #75 - The Birdcage

The Birdcage
MGM
1996 - Rated R - 1 hr 57 min
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Diane Wiest, Hank Azaria, Calista Flockhart, Christine Baranski

First of all, the fact that this movie is rated R is definitely a sign of the times... I guarantee you if a movie came out today about "A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiance's right-wing moralistic parents" I don't think it would be rated R unless there was nudity and copious F-bombs. There are neither, so I'm guessing the gay thing earned it the R. How lame of you, 1990's FCC.

On to bigger and better things, for example, how much I love this frickin' movie. It still makes me laugh, thanks to the amazing cast. And although it's kind of annoying that this nice couple's idiot son wants them to be untrue to themselves to impress some jerk, if you forget about that and just enjoy the hillarity that ensues, you're golden.

It's hard to decide whether Nathan Lane or Hank Azaria is the best thing about this movies. From the spot-on melodramatics that Lane provides to the "combination of Lucy and Ricky" that makes Azaria so memorable, I'm truly torn. Fortunately, I don't have to decide because I can get them both. I will also add, though, that this movie is an interesting one, since Robin Williams plays the "straightman" (I know, I know. He's gay, but he's the straightman. Are we clear?) It was probably one of his first roles not being the loony one.

It was nice to laugh with this movie today... I consider it one of my favorites.

Movie #19 - Aladdin

Aladdin
Walt Disney Pictures
1992 - Rated G - 1 hr 30 min
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker
Starring: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Gilbert Gottfried

Ellie got to watch this one with me and danced along with the songs. I think it was her first Disney movie. I also think she's hooked :)

I have to admit that I had fun watching this too. Kids movies are fun to watch, and Disney does a good job squeezing in jokes for adults too. As a kid, I watched this movie one way and now I notice other things.

A few things, though, bothered me...

1. Jasmine has a pet TIGER. Why didn't I think that was weird in 1995?
2. Abu is supremely annoying... and also sounds like Donald Duck.
3. Gilbert Gottfried is no funnier animated than he is in real life.
4. Watching Robin Williams as the Genie is the best way to experience his standup routine without watching him sweat like a pig onstage.
5. Magic carpet ride... can you say innuendo?
6. The whole thing is kinda racist. Awesome, but kinda racist. Arab nations don't like us? Really? Huh... I wonder why.
7. Jafar looks just like Prince, only taller.

Even so, I still no all the lyrics to the songs. Lea Solanga has the best voice in the universe, by the way, and I still want to be her when I grow up. This was my first Disney film, but by no means is it the last.