# Movies you thought were awesome when you were a kid but now cringe at **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123 "2009-04-06T13:24:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/61 "2009-04-07T00:45:22Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Rankin Bass The Hobbit > > The voice acting, especially Gandalf, holds up very well. But the quality of the art and animation is terrible. I haven’t seen it for years and years. I had always read, but never fantasy, until I saw that. I was stunned to find it in our school library (I didn’t realize how big it was.) I am tempted to watch it for nostalgia’s sake. But I suspect it is better that I leave it in my memories. Still, in some part of my mind, Bilbo will always sound like Orson Bean. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/62 "2009-04-07T01:01:34Z")
For me it’s _Local Hero_. Not that it’s a bad film, but I remember at the time walking out of the cinema and declaring to anyone who would listen that it was the best film ever made. It’s not, it’s just a smart little comedy with maybe a small amount of social commentary to it. To this day I feel slightly embarrassed when I see it, remembering how overboard I went on it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/63 "2009-04-07T01:30:07Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Rankin Bass The Hobbit Strange. When I saw the Peter Jackson _LOTR: TFOTR_, I spent the whole movie thinking how it looked exactly like the animated 1978 animated version (that was really TFOTR plus most of _The Two Towers_.) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/64 "2009-04-07T01:37:04Z")
[quote=“Linty\_Fresh, post:23, topic:492123”] Sorry **corkboard** , but I’m with **PharmBoy**. **The Blues Brothers** was a lot of fun to watch for a 12 year old kid, but when I looked back on it at 35, it was kind of embarrassing. I’m not sure about John and Dan’s actual intentions, but the whole thing came off as a vehicle to launch their musical careers. Funny, I always thought of it as a love letter to blues music and Chicago. And as a Chicagoan, I of course think of it as our “official” movie. (Get lost Ferris Bueller!) ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/65 "2009-04-07T01:38:18Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Strange. When I saw the Peter Jackson _LOTR: TFOTR_, I spent the whole movie thinking how it looked exactly like the animated 1978 animated version (that was really TFOTR plus most of _The Two Towers_.) It sounds like you are thinking of the Ralph Bakshi LOTR. Which was a different film altogether. Even as a kid, I realized that the rotoscoping in that one stank. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/66 "2009-04-07T01:41:19Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > It sounds like you are thinking of the Ralph Bakshi LOTR. Which was a different film altogether. > > Even as a kid, I realized that the rotoscoping in that one stank. Never mind. Assumed they were done by the same people. Rotoscoping? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/67 "2009-04-07T01:46:53Z")
[Rotoscoping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotoscoping) ---
**Author:** ![maikai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@maikai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maikai)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/68 "2009-04-07T03:33:24Z")
Weekend at Bernies’ for me. Funniest thing I’ve ever seen when it came out. Now I’m deeply ashamed that I liked it so much. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/69 "2009-04-07T06:08:31Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > I saw **Xanadu** TWICE in the theater.\* Then again, I was a 13-year-old girl at the time, smack dab in the middle of its target audience. > > \*Redundant, I guess, since that was pretty much the only way to see a current movie back in 1980. But in our family at least, paying twice to see the same movie was unheard of. I saw this in my late teens. I didn’t think it was that bad. I saw it a few weeks ago on TV and the acting was absolutely atrocious, except for Gene Kelly. > [@PharmBoy](#): > > The Blues Brothers. When I was 18, I thought it was really funny. But, I watched a few years ago and could not believe how bad it was… The very first movie that I had paid for and walked out of. I pretty clearly was not high enough to enjoy it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/70 "2009-04-07T10:06:48Z")
Straw Dogs. A Clockwork Orange. ---
**Author:** ![ThePylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@ThePylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThePylon)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/71 "2009-04-07T16:07:38Z")
Six Pack. I do not know why I liked it. Haven’t seen it recently, but the very idea is cringeworthy. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/72 "2009-04-07T16:22:45Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > **Spaceballs** – watched it over and over when I was 9, then stumbled across it on cable a few years ago and realized why my parents rolled their eyes whenever I insisted on renting it again. A few good gags, but, for the most part, painfully unfunny for adults. I feel that way about pretty much all Mel Brooks movies. Great entertainment for preteens. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/73 "2009-04-07T16:51:30Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > I feel that way about pretty much all Mel Brooks movies. Great entertainment for preteens. I would say “…all Mel Brooks movies other than Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles”. Those two, mainly due to his collaborators Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, are timeless works of genius. The rest of his body of work are wildly uneven, and Spaceballs is pretty much indefensible. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/74 "2009-04-07T16:55:23Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I would say “…all Mel Brooks movies other than Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles”. Those two, mainly due to his collaborators Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, are timeless works of genius. No, I’m including those two as preteen fare. In my opinion, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Levolor\_the\_Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc8723/32.png) [@Levolor\_the\_Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Levolor_the_Blind)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/75 "2009-04-07T17:03:58Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > **The Land Before Time.** I remember practically watching that film on a loop during my childhood… They are up to the 13th sequel on the series. I have a six-year-old who can’t get enough of them and found many of the videos at a library sale. I am cheering on the carnivores and / or hoping for the 14th to be: **Land Before Time: Mass Extinction Event.** But to post something on topic: **Flash Gordon** , loved it as a kid for all its cheesy glory and Queen songs. ---
**Author:** ![First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/First_Amongst_Daves)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/76 "2009-04-07T17:09:42Z")
_Porky’s._ As a teenager I thought it was insanely funny. I saw it on late night TV a few months ago. It was like watching a car wreck of humour. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/77 "2009-04-07T17:09:47Z")
Death Wish 3 I didn’t remember much about seeing it the first time (other than the huge gun), and when I rewatched it a couple of years back I was expecting something like a Sin City, or a Grand Theft Auto: a city ruled by bandits and criminals, who made the mistake of taking on a civie even tougher and meaner than they were. What I saw instead was a live-action cartoon. A police force that was simultaneously the most corrupt AND most incompetent in the northern hemisphere. Gloating, cackling gang members. Cowering citizens huddled in their apartments. Idiot pacifists. It was about as subtle and clever as a Jack Chick comic. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/78 "2009-04-07T17:28:59Z")
For me it’s the movie **The Wizard**. > **[The Wizard (1989) ⭐ 6.1 | Adventure, Comedy, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098663/)** > > 1h 40m | PG At the time I didn’t realize it was a feature-length commercial for Nintendo games and Universal Studios. Turns out I was just a typical eight year-old obsessed with video games, who got to see what Super Mario Bros. 3 was all about. I haven’t seen the movie in a while, I’m afraid to. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/79 "2009-04-07T17:41:50Z")
> [@Levolor\_the\_Blind](#): > > But to post something on topic: **Flash Gordon** , loved it as a kid for all its cheesy glory and Queen songs. This is exactly what I came to say. The SFX are so cheesey now. And the dialogue! Ack! ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123/80 "2009-04-07T20:14:47Z")
> [@yandoodan](#): > > Oh yeah. Didn’t take long to age, either. I saw it when it came out. Then I saw it in college, 1972 at the latest. When the scrawny heroine started emoting like bad Little Theatre, “You killed Bobby Kennedy! You killed Martin Luther King!”, the microphone actually dipped down into to frame, very clearly visible. At that point I went from shocked disbelief to howling with laughter. That might have been the fault of improperly framed projection, and not a flaw in the movie at all (not that it would be surprising). We should all give ourselves a Mulligan for _Billy Jack_. It was a huge sleeper hit when it came out – huge compared to its tiny budget, anyway. And now it’s an interesting period piece. When I saw it from Netflix a while ago, what struck me was that it didn’t feel like a 1971 movie; it felt like a 1969 movie. As it turns out, it was filmed a couple of years before its US release. There’s not much difference culturally between, say, a 2005 movie and a 2007 movie, but in a movie with hippies, Viet Nam vets, and rednecks, there’s a real difference between 1969 and 1971. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-were-awesome-when-you-were-a-kid-but-now-cringe-at/492123.md?page=5)