5 INFLUENTIAL MOVIES FROM MY YOUTH

Originally Posted 10/9/2014


Sleeping Beauty was released from the Disney Movie Vault yesterday, and that may not be an especially important event in the grand scope of life, but in my house it was marked on a calendar. My wife happens to be one of millions of women across our great nation who grew up on the magical tales spun by the Walt Disney Company, and those memories have blossomed into unabashed fandom occasionally bordering mania. Really though, who am I kidding? It would be dismissive of me, a man who has written stories of English-speaking bears, to ignore my own nostalgia and influence derived from movies I loved as a child. For every grown woman wrapping herself in the warm blanket of Disney princesses, there is a grown man playing with a Star Wars Lightsaber while wearing a Yoda t-shirt. We all have been molded by the fantasies of our youth in some way. So I figured that I would list five movies that were a large part of mine.

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1.     The NeverEnding Story – I’m pretty sure that I wished for a Luck Dragon for a solid five years after seeing this movie, and honestly, I am completely convinced that The Nothing is still trying to destroy my world. 

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2.     Labyrinth – Jim Henson is a god as far as I’m concerned. If one of these movies wins the “most-watched” award it would have to be this one, and yes… I owned the soundtrack.

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3.     The Dark Crystal – more Jim Henson. Once again, I don’t think I could possibly be doing what I’m doing now without the influence of Jim Henson and the artwork of Brian Froud. I still watch this movie from time to time and it always gets my creative juices flowing.

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4.     Willow – My wife and I both share a love of this movie, and I hold to the opinion that Val Kilmer should have had his name legally changed to Madmartigan. If I ever have a son, he might be named Madmartigan. 

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5.     The Secret of NIMH – The dark mystery of this movie always captured my imagination. Also, I think that it’s certainly fair to blame Don Bluth for my lifelong mistrust of cats.