Wake Up, Aurora!

I guess you could describe Bon Voyage! as a more squeaky clean version of all those National Lampoon’s Vacation movies. After years of putting it off, Harry Willard (Fred MacMurray) and his family take a dream vacation to Europe and hit a few bumps along the way. One kid is falling in love too hard and too fast. Another kid is trying to be a ladies’ man. The other kid is running a muck all over the place. And the parents? They’re in there somewhere. In the end, all is well and everyone wuvs each other. Overall, a cute movie.

Thoughts:

• Most of the family in this movie is the same as the family in The Shaggy Dog. All these movies are starting to blur together at this point.
• I like how the parents blame their “accidental” children for never going on vacation. Class.
• The older daughter’s story line with the boy she falls in love with on the boat gets REALLY intense. Like, to the point where it started to make me a little uncomfortable. This is a family flick….let’s not be so serious.

6.0

I don’t think Moon Pilot is what I’d call a fun family film. I mean, there’s a cute monkey in it…but other than that the story is way too dragged out. Every scene moved so slow, I feel like they could have easily cut 20 minutes out and still have gotten the point across. Pretty boring, to say the least. On the upside, Brian Keith (better known as the dad from The Parent Trap) is in this and he’s pretty damn sexy.

1.5

There’s really only word I can use to describe this version of The Prince and the Pauper, and that would be “basic.” If you already know what this story is about, you pretty much already know exactly what to expect from this movie. No twists, no turns. Just a straight shooter is what we got here. So, in that way it’s just sort of boring. I need more umph.

Thoughts:

• The men wear tights and the guy that plays Miles is pretty hot. I guess it’s not a total loss.

1.5

Feels good to get a movie that I had originally skipped, but Kidnapped is suuuuuper boring, unfortunately. Totally didn’t care what was going to happen. I’m really over these “period pieces.” Bleh.

0.0

Allow me to point out that Babes in Toyland is not the movie I thought it was going to be. There is another Babes in Toyland (or as it’s also called: March of the Wooden Soldiers) from the 1930s, which stars the famous Laurel & Hardy duo. That version was frequently played on TV when I was a kid. So when I go to watch this 1961 version, I was definitely confused because it’s actually pretty much the same plot as the other movie. It’s a similar collection of nursery rhyme characters all thrown together, only far less funny and wayyyy more of an acid trip. Seriously. This stuff is nutty. Kinda creepy, even.

Thoughts:

• The songs add absolutely nothing to the story. They’re really boring. I hate when that happens.
• What’s with the super mature financial themes? What kid understands anything about mortgages?

4.5

For this one, I’m gonna just go with….. NOT RECOMMENDED.

0.0

I’ll make this short. I love animals. Especially baby ones. But Nikki, is sorta just a documentary about the Canadian Northwest disguised as….well, a plain lovable drama about the Canadian Northwest. No more documentaries, please. The puppies can stay, though.

2.5

I’m a very big fan of the Lindsay Lohan version of The Parent Trap, but this original is a classic. Hayley Mills is just the cutest, and the parents are CRAZY hot. (Seriously, redoing this movie now would probably be difficult on account of having to cast such GORGEOUS parents.) I love the idea of parents rekindling their romance over a decade after they’ve divorced, but I think if this happened in real life, we would all think they were just plain nuts. Plus, the whole separating of the twins situation…is that even legal?

Thoughts:

• Why do the twins say that Boston is no place to rekindle a romance? Is that a reference to something else?
• I like how Sharon’s house is completely female dominated. Grandpa is such a little wimp, right up until he makes Susan confess.
• The twins make absolutely no effort to talk on the phone quietly. No wonder they got caught so soon. 
• Both the Boston and the California houses are SO NICE. Even if the twins were split up, at least they were well provided for.
• The violin player during the fake restaurant scene makes a really weird comment about wanting to kill himself. It felt a tad inappropriate, but I still laughed.
• I’ll be honest. I started to feel pretty bad for Vicky during that whole camping bit. How were those girls not punished for torturing that woman so much?
• Totally cried at the end. So cute.

8.5

I knew The Absent-Minded Professor to be the original version of 1997’s Flubber so I had some hope that it would be funny. Especially since it stars Fred MacMurray, who I really liked in The Shaggy Dog. But the movie fell pretty flat in my opinion. The humor all around just came off pretty bland. It was the sort of thing where I could tell they were making a joke, but part of me really wanted to yell at the screen and say BE FUNNIER. Maybe the remakes will be better…?

1.0

The thing that’s actually really cute about One Hundred and One Dalmatians is how it basically shows you how dogs really aren’t that different from us. They have lives and social interactions that almost sort of mirror ours. They may even refer to us as *their* pets. Then again, I don’t think dogs would try to skin us alive and try to make coats out of us….or would they?

Thoughts:

• The nanny reminds me of Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty. All of these old lady-type characters are just becoming a blur at this point.
• Rolly would probably have to be my favorite of the puppies. He’s just always so gosh darn hungry. <3
• KANINE KRUNCHIES COMMERCIAL OMG SO CUTE
• There is so much drinking and smoking in this movie. Not exactly appropriate for kids. I also thought the TV shows the characters would watch were pretty sophisticated for children. Definitely went way over my head when I watched this movie when I was little. 
• Cruella is referred to as a “crazy woman driver.” Aren’t we all, though?
• 101 Dalmatians > Lady & the Tramp

7.5