Animated Films: The Movie Theater Experience

Most of the time, the theater-going experience is a waste. Fake IMAX. Obnoxiously loud patrons. Cell phones that have not been turned off. Bleh. People who really don't care that they're hitting the headrest on your seat and knocking you forward each of the twenty times they pass to get more soda or use the bathroom. It's very rare, but every so often you'll go home with a positive memory. Here are a few of mine:

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

It was 1988. I had already seen the movie once with my father and brother. I had loved the movie so much the first time, that I saved up my allowance so I could take my mother to see it. It may not sound like much, but it was a pretty cool treat for me at the time.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

There are very few pleasant things to be said about this movie past it being pretty. My one pleasant recollection was one patron's very vocal reaction to the end of the movie as she belted, "Oh, hell no!". The folks I had gone to the showing with and I spent the following ten minutes laughing.

Iron Giant

This one contains a spoiler if you haven't seen the movie before. Towards the end of the film, there's a very tense moment as the Giant, while clutching Hogarth, falls off a cliff and plummets towards the rocky waves below. As they are falling the jets in the Giant's boots activate and save them. They then go soaring into the sky, a la Superman. A short, older woman was so happy to see the characters survive that she stood up and began clapping. That made my day.

Iron Giant / A Clever Dummy

Yes, that's right. I saw Iron Giant in a theater again, just the other day. It's still a fantastic movie. It was a great audience too. What was made this particular experience memorable was a reaction to the live-action short they played just before it. There were some children in the row just ahead of us and they were totally into it. I have to admit that I'm still a bit shocked. They were watching a silent, twenty minute short with absolutely no musical accompaniment and they were thoroughly entertained. 

Hopefully you'll enjoy it too. Three cheers for public domain!

 

 

I've shared some of my favorite animated movie memories. Now, it's your turn.

Edit: Unfortunately, the video I embedded seems to be working irregularly. So, I converted it to a format that could be played by our flash player. It's also available with music and crisper visual quality on Silver Screen Classics. The original video came from archive.org.