I have a theory that 12 years old is the greatest age. You are in the homestretch of your childhood and the world is at your doorstep. You haven’t quite entered the dreaded teenager phase where you start caring way too much about what other people think instead of just being yourself. Being 12 is great.
As a part of that theory, I also think that the movies you see when you are 12 will stick with you and potentially even shape your future. Look back for yourself. What movies did you see when you were 12? I was 12 in 1995 and I remember having some of the best times of my life in a movie theater. It was a different time then and I recall getting dropped off at the theater at lunchtime with $20 and getting picked back up at 5 o’clock or so having binged on popcorn and soda and soaked in the flickering light of the cinema for two full films.
I remember sitting in the theater as the lights dimmed for Toy Story, Jumanji, GoldenEye, Hackers, Batman Forever, Mortal Kombat, and A Goofy Movie. I remember sneaking into the theater for Se7en, Bad Boys, and Die Hard with a Vengeance. But my greatest memory in the theater was actually on the opening weekend of 1995’s Clueless.
My Greatest Theater Memory
I think it was my brother that took me to the theater when he was going to see Species or something like that. I got my favorite seat in those days which was literally front and center. I wanted my entire range of vision to be absorbed by the experience of the film. The house was packed and I had a group of what I can only describe as colorfully dressed punk rockers and skaters sitting there on the front row with me. The theater was a Regal Cinemas (as it still is to this day) and if you don’t know, Regal has a great intro video before all movies that make you feel like you are on a roller coaster zooming through popcorn showers and past waterfalls of Coca-Cola.
As the roller coaster came on the screen, I raised my hands to signify that I was ready for the ride with the confidence that only a 12 year old can muster. As I sat waiting for the coaster to pull out of the station, I looked around and it seemed to my 12 year old eyes that everyone was joining with me in this fanciful charade and we collectively swayed and gasped and screamed as if the coaster was 100% real. It was amazing. I shared a “gimme some skin” kind of handshake with the dude sitting next to me and we launched into Amy Heckerling’s wonderful teenage adventure. Even though I was just 12, I feel like that is the day I became a man, my cinematic bar-mitzvah.
Best Movie of 1995
As I press on to determine the best film of each year to fill out my Best Movie Bracket, it’s very hard to separate my nostalgic feelings towards some of these films from my critical thinking. I have such great memories of watching my VHS copies of Powder, Braveheart, and Mortal Kombat, but while they may be a lot of fun, they are definitely not the best of the year. That honor belongs to…
Win: Toy Story
Did you realize that there have been over 250 computer animated films released since Toy Story hit theaters back in 1995? What a way to start. If I look at Pixar’s canon of films, it is hard for me to count this gem out of the running for their greatest. It isn’t because the animation looks super realistic. I’m very glad they decided to go with toys because everything in this film feels plastic. However, the emotions that are conveyed certainly aren’t.
Toy Story presents us with a buddy cop comedy featuring two leads vying for the attention of their boss. It also feels like a real-life situation for a kid who might feel as though they are being upstaged by a little brother or sister. The emotions of jealousy and anger and fear are well displayed on their plasticine faces, and it touches way down into the hearts of the viewers whether they are 8 or 80.
Place: Se7en
David Fincher has made 9 feature films, ten if you count Alien 3 (Which I don’t). His experience with that film was so bad that he went back to directing music videos for 3 years and wasn’t sure if he would ever direct a movie again. When he did decide to come back, he created what is probably the most gritty and disturbing crime drama that you will ever see. Everyone asks what’s in the box, but there is so much going on outside of it.
Morgan Freeman is awesome as usual, this is the film that rocketed Brad Pitt into the stratosphere, and Kevin Spacey is a natural at playing the creepy sociopath. In fact, he gets to do it twice in the same year. The second was a better performance (if only because of screen time) but the movie itself fell just short of this one.
Show: The Usual Suspects
The director (Bryan Singer) and the lead actor (Kevin Spacey) may have shown their true colors as filthy scumbags, but that can’t keep me from loving the heck out of this movie. It has one of those twist endings that rivals The Sixth Sense, Soylent Green, and Fight Club, but this film has somehow flown under the radar to the point that you can actually find people who have not sullied their opinion of the film with spoilers. I’m certainly not going to spoil anything here, but Spacey is great as mild mannered Verbal Kint who serves as our narrator as we explore the crime ring led by the iconic Keyser Soze.
What is your most memorable or transformative movie moment? What 1995 film is your favorite? What movies did 12 year-old you watch and love? Let me know in the comments!
So when the folks at Pixar brought the script and some storyboards for what would eventually become Toy Story 2 to Disney, they made the smart decision to pour their resources into this sequel. Most sequels simply dilute the story and characters like too much water added to good Scotch. But not all sequels are bad. The best sequels take the original film at face value and then seamlessly expand from there with a movie that stands on it’s own merit instead of being propped up simply by the success of it’s predecessor. For instance, I loved Terminator II: Judgment Day from the moment I first watched it, but it took me several years to build up a desire to watch the original Terminator.
My kids love it because even though it is now over 10 years old it looks great with an attention to detail that Pixar has become known for. The colors and textures are light years (no pun intended) better than the original, and that’s saying something because it was beautiful and the improvement came in just 4 year’s time. Also, my kids are continuously quoting lines from these movies, and I believe it’s because the movie isn’t pandering and condescending to “their level.” The dialogue is incredible for a kids movie and it is carried by a voice cast that has expanded its diversity to include Joan Cusack. But my kids watch it over and over and hear different things every time. The story is easy enough to understand that you could follow it even if the sound on your TV went out, but everything about the story is enhanced because of the humorous and touching script.
When my kids watched The Empire Strikes Back for the first time and Vader spills his big secret, one of my kids said it’s just like Toy Story. Speaking of twists, though I can’t remember the first time I watched this film, I am willing to bet that I was surprised at the devious selfishness of Stinky Pete. And even though we are used to movies like this now, this one is simply action packed, with at least 5 distinct chase scenes, two shootouts, several covert operations, and epic surroundings for all of the above make this movie one that I find it hard to rip myself away from.
It would have been impossible had Pixar not broken ground in Toy Story 2 with the chase through the airport baggage area. Also, think of as many animated films as you can that have made you want to both laugh and cry, applaud and think, remember and wonder. I would be willing to wager that almost all of those films are from the storytelling magicians at Pixar. They just have the ability and lack of inhibition that lets them expertly dive into issues that most animated or childrens’ films won’t touch. Issues like loss, rejection, abandonment, fear, identity, purpose, and love.
Who knew that a simple movie about the secret lives of toys could go so deep as to teach its viewers something profound about themselves. That is the art of film-making, the magic of Pixar, and the reason why I can’t stop watching movies. Because movies have this ability in common with Scripture. I love Scripture because it can destroy me one minute as it reveals my sin, then restore me as it reveals my Savior. And I keep watching movies because I hope that the next one will cut me open to my core and teach me a little bit more about myself. If my kids watch the Toy Story movies and want to act like Woody or Buzz, that is fine with me, because both characters exemplify the type of behavior and strength and purity of character that I wish everyone had and pray that my children will develop. I can’t say that about every cartoon character. The thing that makes Toy Story great is the desire it creates in its viewers to not only observe greatness but to pursue and attain it.