Watched on: DVD
Duration: 48 minutes
Originally aired: 4 December 1977
Directed by: Jim Henson
Starring: Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, and Marilyn Sokol
Please see IMDb for full cast and crew information.
Synopsis
A poor otter family risks everything for the chance to win the cash prize of a talent contest for Christmas.
Review
I received a copy of this DVD as a gift from my penpal, and I wanted to like it so bad. Unfortunately, it's older than I am, and I just watched it for the very first time in my life as an adult, and I really think that it's the type of movie that relies on the nostalgia factor, or a child's point of view.
The movie started out with Emmet and his mother singing while rowing down the river. In a movie with a title like this, music is kind of a given, but the singing just reminded me of the scene in A Goofy Movie where Max and Goofy are watching the "band" at the possum park, and well, I've always related to Max in that movie. And that was a bad start for me for the movie, making it harder for the film to win me over at all.
The story itself was very Gift of the Magi. (And I've debated adding a spoiler alert there, but again, the movie is older than me, so...) In this case, the sacrifices weren't nearly as heartwarming though. In fact, they almost seemed cruel, and they were definitely short-sighted. This is a major reason I think nostalgia is needed to enjoy this movie. As a semi-responsible adult, I don't like seeing people make really stupid, potentially life-ruining choices. Even though things worked out in the end, it left a bad taste in my mouth, like bleu cheese.
All in all, this movie did not provide the type of cheese I'm looking for in my holiday movies, but I might give it another watch sometime when I'm drunk, and see if I don't change my opinion of it. - Katie
My Rating
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Loved this show since my son was young.. he's 33 now.
ReplyDeleteNice relief from the Disney machine.