Say My Name

The Royal on College used to show quite a bit of classic 70s and 80s sci-fi and fantasy. From Rollerball to The Dark Crystal, I watched them all. They don't do much of that anymore, but for March Break they had a matinee showing of The Neverending Story. Although this was a "kids' movie", it may not have been appropriate for all kids. One parent found out quickly that it was too scary for her little girl, but the rest seemed to enjoy it.

Aesthetics have changed. Movies used to take their time to set things up, now it's a barrage of amped up scenes. They used to be darker too: from the opening scene where we learn about the death of Bastian's mother, to the drowning of Atreyu's horse, things weren't sugar-coated for kids' sensibilities. And kids' flicks nowadays probably don't have a character say: "People without hope are easier to control." They certainly would not include nudity. True, these were giant sphinx statues and not people. But it was also quite obvious, as they loomed over Atreyu, that they had large, bare breasts complete with nipples. Two other things I appreciated: no winking over-their-heads jokes, to appease bored parents; and conversely, no dumbing things down for the tykes. The only negative was the instantly recognizable and dated 80s synth music for the soundtrack.