Last week's issues of the New Zealand Herald newspaper ran this series
of articles with local journalists making their suggestions for of
movies for "The Great Family Film Poll" ...


THE GREAT FAMILY FILM POLL
--------------------------

* The Goonies
Steven Spielberg didn't direct 'The Goonies', but you'd
be hard-pressed to find a more enduring distillation of
the master film-maker's family-friendly cinematic
identity. Spielberg came up with the story for the
beloved 1985 adventure, and is credited as Executive
Producer - his unmatched ability to give kids what they
want can be felt in every frame of the film.

Indeed, 'The Goonies' is childhood wish-fulfilment
cinema of the highest order - even the most
indoors-inclined children fantasise about going on an
adventure with their pals to find pirate treasure. Add
in some Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions, a few water
slides and a little bit of pre-teen smooching, and
there's not a kid in the world who didn't want in.

Future 'Lord of the Rings' co-star Sean Astin leads one
of the greatest-ever collection of child actors as
Mikey, one of a group of young friends whose houses are
all about to be demolished by an unscrupulous property
developer. Upon discovering a lost pirate map in his
attic, Mikey leads his chums on a cave-bound quest to
find the treasure that will save their families. Doing
so brings them into contact with all sorts of peril,
some of it in the form of bumbling criminal family The
Fratellis. One of whom sings opera.

I've always seen 'The Goonies' as an Americanised
'Famous Five' or 'Secret Seven' story - it took the old
fashioned, youth-empowering derring-do of Enid Blyton's
classic adventures and infused it with some ceaselessly
amusing Yankee insolence. There was genuine power in
hearing these kids say "shit".

Arriving as it did smack in the middle of the 1980s,
'The Goonies' status as enhanced Blyton helps it to
function as a metaphor for New Zealand's transition
away from English-centric pop culture towards a
brasher, American-style form of family entertainment.
It remains one of the greatest ever examples of the
form, and family-friendly films are still trying in
vain to replicate its unique alchemy.

- Dominic Corry, NZ Herald film writer
Monday, 28 December, 2015


* Wall-E
I might seem an odd choice to write about the best
family movie of all time, given I don't have a family
of my own. But while I may be childless, I still
reckon I qualify given I'm blessed with a fiancee who
refuses to watch any film aimed at anyone aged over
14.

To be fair, Ruth's excuses stack up. As a journalist,
she can spend most of her day buried in the big
issues, so a movie night offers a chance for some
light relief. Who needs to watch a political thriller
when you've spent your day covering the thrills and
spills of [Australian Prime Minister] Tony Abbott and
his mates?

Luckily for me, there's Pixar, and luckily for planet
Earth - there's 'Wall-E'. 'Wall-E' trundled on to the
screens in 2007, looking like a cross between
Johnny 5 from 'Short Circuit', and a filing cabinet.
He's got more personality in one eyelid than an
entire season of 'New Zealand's Got Talent'. He's the
cutest robot in cinema, and if you don't fall in love
with him in the first few minutes then your heart is
colder than the outdoor loo at my Dunedin flat in
winter.

'Wall-E' is a robot tasked with the job of cleaning
the immense mess left behind by us lazy humans after
we've abandoned Earth for a sloth-like existence in
space. He whirrs around with a cockroach as his best
mate (as you do), investigating all the discarded
relics and ferrying the best bits back to his shed to
keep as treasures. For a small robot, it's a lonely
life so the arrival of a flying, futuristic
female-sounding robot sends Wall-E into a spin.

The first 20 minutes of 'Wall-E' is where Pixar flex
their story-telling muscles. It's basically a silent
film, with a fantastically whimsical soundtrack that
shows us Wall-E is a hopeless romantic in waiting.
Even without the dialogue at the start the kids won't
get bored, the silent action draws you in.

'Wall-E' is a romantic, environmentally conscious
comedy that packs all of the usual Pixar good stuff
into it lead character who's essentially a glorified
dust-pan. It's one of those films that you can chuck
on no matter who's in the room, and everyone will
love. Even hard-hitting journalists.

- Matt Gibb, TV presenter
Tuesday, 29 December, 2015


* The Neverending Story
If I had to choose, I'd say 'The Labyrinth' was more
of a childhood favourite, for its delightful range
of kooky characters, excellent soundtrack and taboo
romantic subtext. But for the sheer existential
terror I feel on an almost daily basis, 'The
Neverending Story' is probably the film that has
had the most influence on me.

I questioned if this would fir the bill - a family
film. My instinct is that 'The Neverending Story'
was too dark for adults; surely only kids really
understood it, right in that deep dark nightmare
place that you lose (somewhat) as you get older.

Bullied young Bastian seeks refuge from his daily
torment in a tucked-away corner with a book he
stole from a mysterious bookshop. He begins to
read about Atreyu, a young warrior who volunteers to
venture forth and kill The Nothing - an invisible
force that is destroying Fantasia, a world literally
constructed from the fantasies of children.

You can take it as a metaphor for the slow,
unstoppable march towards death but I prefer to
think of it as an allegory for the crushing
inevitability of adulthood.

When Atreyu's loyal horse Artax is literally
consumed by sadness in the swamp (didn't we all
have an adolescent Goth phase?), Atreyu and Bastian
both finally realise The Nothing ain't mucking
around and they're no longer protected by the hubris
of youth.

Atreyu rolls up his sleeves and battles through a
number of pointless and often violent trials and
tribulations. By the time he faces The Nothing, the
dude has definitely gone a bit dead behind the eyes.

In the end, the fate of Fantasia rests on Bastian's
thin shoulders. He discovers he can no longer be a
passive observer but must find the courage to ...
yell out a window.

Whatever, the real message of the movie is that if
you keep your childhood dreams and fantasies alive,
you will never lose the innocence of youth - and
that if you wish hard enough you can fasi [sic] up
your bullies with a big-ass dragon.

- Leonie Hayden, Flicks.co.nz contributing writer
Wednesday, 30 December, 2015


* Elf
A baby climbs into Santa's sack and accidentally
ends up at the North Pole where he is raised by
elves and put to work in the toy workshop.

His name is Buddy and, when he grows so big it's
clear he's human, he feels compelled to leave the
Christmassy life he loves and travel to New York to
find his real dad, who's on the Naughty List.

Yuck! On paper it sounds like a stinking cheese
ball Christmas humiliator. But thanks to Will
Ferrell's hilariously endearing man-child
performance 'Elf' is tear-jerkingly brilliant. Not
only the greatest Christmas movie of all time but
one of the greatest comedies of all time. 'Elf'
has dozens and dozens of great scenes. The jumping
on the tree, the fight with fake Santa, the Central
Park snowball war, the mail room booze up, Zooey
Deschanel singing in the shower and best of all the
boardroom scrap with Peter Drinklage ("Call me elf
one more time...").

Every part of 'Elf' works, including the music.
Composer John Debney has bottled the entire
Christmas spirit into the theme. It's a happy,
soaring, yuletide blast in the heart. 'Elf' has laugh
after laugh after laugh and it all leads up to a
powerful emotional pay off. When Santa's
broken-down sleigh takes flight thanks to Jovie,
Walter and all the kids in New York getting up the
courage to sing, the eyes start to well up. Then the
theme kicks in and tears of joy just pour down your
face. It feels so good.

I have always loved Christmas but I used to find I
couldn't ramp up the season like I felt I should.
I found it hard to get maximum Christmas joy pumping
through my veins.

'Fairy-tale of New York', 'Snoopy's Christmas' and
trimming the tree will get you close but shove 'Elf'
on the box and you're well and truly there. As Buddy
says to Jovie: "I think you're really beautiful and
I feel really warm when I'm around you and my tongue
swells up".

- Matt Heath, Radio Hauraki Breakfast show host
Thursday, 31 December, 2015


* The Princess Bride
Never has there been a greater collision of fairytales,
swashbuckling action-adventure, and comedy in one film
then 'The Princess Bride'. There really is something
for everyone in this hilarious masterpiece from Rob
Reiner (who also directed 'This Is Spinal Tap').
There's a beautiful young girl named Buttercup in line
to become a princess, a Sicilian crime boss, a Spanish
fencing master, a kind of wizard called Miracle Max,
pirates, giants, "rodents of unusual size", locations
such as the "Fire Swamp", "Pit of Despair" and "Cliffs
of Insanity". And of course a masked man in black, who
may or may not really be a farmhand called Westley.

As a kid, it all seemed like jolly good entertainment,
but it was only when I rediscovered the film in my
university years that I realised just how bonkersly
brilliant the whole tale was.

Buttercup (Robin Wright) and Westley (Carey Elwes)
might not actually be that interesting, but when
you've got Billy Crystal and Mandy Patinkin involved,
there are laughs guaranteed.

Patinkin's frequently rehearsed revenge mantra "Hello,
my name is Ingio Montoya. You killed my father.
Prepare to die." remains one of my favourite cinematic
lines, and Crystal's "Inconceivable!" exclamation
became a catchphrase during my flatting years.

The fact that Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler composed the
soundtrack only makes this gently mocking, post-modern
fairytale even more brilliant, and the overt goofs and
stunt mistakes in the filming (there's all sorts of
visible equipment during the duel on top of the
Cliffs of Insanity) are a joy for trainspotters.

I haven't yet actually watched the film with a new
generation of kids, but given its timeless storyline,
effortless comedy, and impressive costuming, I'm sure
they'd find as much joy in it as I do.

- Lydia Jenkin, NZ Herald entertainment writer
Friday, 1 January, 2016

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