Happy Summer, y'all! In the spirit of summertime laziness, Children of the 90s is going on vacation a day early. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you totally high and dry. I will never let my own laziness stand in the way of you getting your prescription-strength daily dose of 90s nostalgia.
As the major pervasive theme around here this week has been summer (and, for some reason, Sister, Sister--I just got creative) here's a lovely little slice of 90s Nickelodeon summertime greatness. I'm proud to present Nick in the Afternoon popsicle stick icon Stick Stickly in his very own half hour special, "Oh, Brother!" I can safely place it in my top ten full-length popsicle stick starring made-for-TV specials. Okay, maybe top eleven. Either way, it's pretty cute. Enjoy!
That's all I've got for you on today--it's vacation time. Well, technically, stay-cation, but there will be pool sessions and barbecues aplenty. If any of you are lucky enough to be going on vacation for this long weekend, feel free to brag about your plans in the comments section to make the rest of us very, very jealous. Have a great Memorial Day weekend (to those of you in the States) and we'll see you back here Tuesday!
If you're a regular reader, it should be pretty clear your loyal 90s nostalgia chronicler has a serious case of summer fever. As we close in on Memorial Day weekend, the prospect of summertime fun is almost too much to bear. Granted, I don't have any water balloon fights or Jart tournaments scheduled, but the notion of sunshine and the great outdoors still elicits a childlike level of euphoria. For the record, my weekend is still open for Jart tournaments if you're interested in setting something up.
It's a safe bet to say we will never fully recapture that childhood school's-out-for-the-summer level of excitement; there is simply no adult equivalent to that level of anticipation. All the Moon Shoes in the world couldn't eliminate the grown-up stressors we face year round. Though, to be fair, I imagine it would help. Open reader plea: send Moon Shoes. That is all.
Though we may not be able to reignite the spark of summer vacation excitement, we can at least reminisce about some of the toys that made our summertimes so special. If you're lucky, maybe you still have some of these items lying around. Seriously, what I wouldn't do for a Skip-It right about now. Forget the gym membership--that little pink piece of plastic is way more motivating exercise.
Skip-It
Who could have foreseen that strapping a little plastic ball and chain to your ankle could provide hours of endless entertainment? That little progressive counter on the side tapped into the competitive child psyche, allowing us to compete against our friends and our own personal bests while playing quietly in the driveway. I imagine our parents were thrilled for the long-stretches of easily amused and generally exhausting play.
Rollerblades
Kids today may not believe it, but many of us were around for a time when rollerskates were still the gold standard in wheeled footwear. Inline skates were modeled after ice skates, intended for training use on dry land. Soon they were all the rage, a trend from which many of us learned the value of a deeply skinned knee. Regardless, rollerblades will forever be superior to today's alternative. Don't even get me started on those wheelie sneakers. Every time I see a kid rolling by me at the mall, I yearn to buy him a pair of rollerblades. They just don't know what they're missing.
Moon Shoes
The advertisements for Nickelodeon moon shoes were everywhere, though I never actually knew anybody that owned a pair. Had I been better connected on the playground, perhaps I could have experienced the wonder of spring walking firsthand. Alas, I will never know the gravity-reduced wonder of moonwalking. Until that whole colonization thing goes down. Or maybe if I become a great Michael Jackson-style dancer. Either way.
Super Soakers
One of the most effective ways to beat the summer heat is with a water fight, and we all know the key to winning a water fight lies in the proper arsenal of weaponry. Armed with our Super Soakers, we could outblast flimsy conventional water guns. In case you're not big on Super Soaker trivia, you may be interested to know they were originally branded as Power Drenchers. Or maybe you won't be. Who knows. Either way, the toy makers obviously got their hands on a thesaurus somewhere down the line.
Power Wheels
These much-coveted but oft-denied overpriced mini vehicles undoubtedly caused many temper tantrums over the years. We just couldn't understand why our parents wouldn't shell out the big bucks for one of these babies. If only I'd gotten the mock motorbike I wanted, I could be a bona fide Kawasaki ninja by now. At the very least, I'd hold a chance at being a proficient Barbie Jeep operator.
Nerf Balls Finally, a company that recognizes kids throw things at one another and it can really, really hurt. Through the clever use of foam, the quantity of bruises per square inch decreased dramatically. Getting hit in the face just got that much more bearable. Thanks, Nerf!
Little Tykes Cozy Coupe
Here's a fact you might not know about your favorite child-sized vehicle: In the early 90s, it was reported that the Cozy Coupe had outsold both the Ford Taurus and Honda Accord, making it one of the bestselling cars of the time. It's certainly more economical than a Taurus or Accord, plus it gets way better gas mileage. The downside? Sore feet from all the Flintstone-style acceleration. You can't win 'em all.
Lawn Darts (Jarts)
Ah, finally a toy that combines the tranquil peacefulness of lawns with the terrifying risk of death by impalement. I'm not sure how or why these toys ever eked past the watchful eye of safety experts and parent groups, but somehow they made it into production and onto toy store shelves. It wasn't long before the US and Canada issued a ban on the sale of Lawn Darts and urged consumers to "discard or destroy them immediately." Yikes.
Slip n'Slide
Speaking of dangerous yard toys, here's a classic example of how innocent concepts can go very very wrong. I'll give you a hint when setting up your own slip n' slide: try your best to avoid cement or a downhill descent into a wall/sidewalk/pile of jagged rocks/any other bone breakin', tooth chippin' slide stopper. It sounds like common sense, but you may be surprised how many people failed to consider the consequences until their child was hobbling around in a cast or sling for the remainder of the summer.
Also, note to college students: It may seem like a good idea to combine a slip n' slide with alcohol. It is not. Believe me. Resist your instincts. Your limbs will thank me.
There's something endearingly familiar about oft-recycled story lines. If you've seen one separated-at-birth-identical-twins-reunited-by-random-circumstances story, you've seen them all. Suffice it to say if you're vaguely aware of The Parent Trap, you're more than well-versed in the gimmick behind Sister, Sister. It may not be the most original plot foundation, but the audience is usually so mesmerized by the appearance of two identical individuals that we overlook the hackneyed premise.
As in most identical twin-themed entertainment, Tia and Tamera are cast as polar opposites a la Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. It seems writers are generally unaware that twins can have anything at all in common. If one is studious, the other has to be social. If one is a deep thinker, the other must be a bit superficial. It's simply the balance of the universe; audiences simply can not comprehend any twin trope outside the basic identical opposites scenario. There's a reason very few shows feature fraternal twins or identical twins with similar interests: they just don't provide enough zany situationally comedic material.
Sister, Sister premiered in 1994 on ABC, lasting a single season on the major network despite its relative popularity. Following its swift cancellation, it was picked up by frequent television show rehabilitator and scrap feeder The WB. The show remained popular in syndication long after its final cancellation in 1999, airing on The Disney Channel, UPN, and most inexplicably, the Gospel Music Channel. Thankfully, the GMC saw fit to edit subjectively suggestive and/or mildly offensive from their broadcast, omitting phrases like "Shut up." Praise the lord.
The pilot episode introduced us to Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell, two unassuming 14-year old girls living in socioeconomically disparate parts of the Detroit, Michigan area. The twins were both adopted at birth by a convenient-to-plot single parent, Tia with sassy mother Lisa and Tamera with uptight stickler father Ray. Tamera and Tia have a classic double-take chance encounter while shopping at a mall department store, and things quickly escalate into full-on Brady-style blending. It may seem remarkably premature for one adult stranger to consent to moving in with another into single house as one happy family without conducting a full-scale investigation of the other, but hey, it's TV. Just go with it.
Premise too confusing? Memory failing? Don't worry, here's the very detailed theme song complete with helpfully literal visual aids:
Following this set-up, much to-be-expected blended-family tension comedy ensues. Suburban-raised Tamera is boy-crazy and spontaneous, while inner city-bred Tia is bookish and intellectual. Unsurprisingly, their respective adoptive parents are not only very different from one another but also have traits more closely matching the other's child. Tia's mom Lisa is a wisecracking brassy seamstress with limited professional success, whereas Tamera's father Ray is an established entrepreneur with a thriving limousine company. I don't know about you, but I smell some zany misunderstandings a'brewin' in this household. Yes, a'brewin'. That's the technical accompanying terminology for zany misunderstandings in situation comedies.
It's worth noting that the Mowry twins had some pretty enviable 90s fashion. Check out the following clip from the premiere episode and try telling me your heart doesn't flutter faintly with desire at the sight of their distinctly 90s getups. Flannel pajamas? Crochet sleeves? Floral vest? Crewneck maroon sweatshirt with mock turtleneck underneath? It's enough to make me want to dig through my 90s childhood closet and pull on that very same denim Blossom-style hat. For the record, I also had it in velvet. Don't be jealous.
In typical twin fashion, many of the show's story arcs involved switcharoo schemes. Tamera begs Tia to take a test in her place. Tamera implores Tia to go on her date to save face on her devastating pimple. Tia and Tamera try to play both sisters and hold down four jobs between the two of them. Sister, Sister pulls out every sitcom standard in the book, from cheesy dream sequences to the requisite Hawaiian vacation. From time to time the show dips into Very Special territory, such as when Lisa suspects the girls are smoking cigarettes to a near-brush in with a potential online predator. Even with the occasional after-school special themes, the show maintained its sense of humor and resisted the temptation to go all Lifetime Movie on its viewers.
Sister, Sister also had a revolving door of minor characters, the most consistent being their irritating neighbor, Roger. Nerdy Roger had an unrelenting crush on both girls throughout the majority of the show's seasons, though he mysteriously disappears without mention after the fifth season. He appears only a handful of times in the sixth season, presumably because we got bored of his antics. Marque Houston, the actor who plays Roger, was a member of R&B singing group Immature (aka IMx), so from time to time he would grace us with a song:
Brittany Murphy and Bianca Lawson also have small recurring roles, as the girls' close friend and school nemesis respectively. Jeffersons' alum Sherman Helmsley shows up as "Soupy," Ray's flaky father. Of the recurring minor characters, I feel it necessary to give special recognition to Fred Willard as the bumbling high school vice principal. Really, Fred Willard is undistupably hilarious in every role. That guy's a comedic genius.
Over its six-year run, Sister, Sister also boasted an impressive and varied roster of guest stars. Kobe Bryant, Mya, Blackstreet, the Olsen Twins, and Kenan and Kel? Someone in casting was working hard. It's hard to imagine celebrities like RuPaul and Milton Berle being billed on the same project, but Sister, Sister made it happen.
Like most teen sitcoms, things got a bit shaky after the girls went off to college. A major prerequisite of a television teen comedy is its teenage stars, so as the Mowrys aged out of that demographic, the show gradually lost steam. There's an age threshold for when it's still cute to watch identical twins go on each other's dates; few viewers want to see grown women engaging in the same schemes they did as 14-year old girls. Regardless, Sister, Sister held it together for the most part without outwearing its welcome. Now, that it's out of syndication, however, there's a little Sister, Sister shaped void in our TV viewing lives. To paraphrase the eternally wise words of the show's theme, I never knew how much I'd miss ya.
It's a prickly situation: you've brought your characters to a certain point, having effectively developed their hopes and dreams, but you aren't quite sure how to proceed in a time-efficient manner. Maybe you have to condense a year's worth of training into a three minute span. Perhaps you're looking to establish a motive for an otherwise inexplicably hardened criminal character. Or maybe, just maybe, a ragtag group of local kids just want to clean up the old rec center with a coat of fresh paint and a gloss of idealistic optimism. We can only hope.
Whatever the major plot hole, you can always enlist a dependable movie montage to plug these troublesome leaks. It's a sort of screenplay all-purpose grout to eliminate the cracks in between well-thought out plot points. We all know actual story development is tough--too tough, sometimes. Yes, we could probably have spent some time delving into the deeper issues and motivations at play, but montages do the trick in a pinch.
If you're looking to amp up your film's soundtrack, the montage is also a source of great musical inspiration. If you ever want anyone to listen to your movie's soundtrack while training for a marathon or somehow otherwise dreaming the impossible dream, it's imperative you back up your inspiring montage with an equally inspirational song. Imagine the Karate Kid montage without Joe Esposito's "You're the Best Around" blaring in the background. Nothing, right? Now add the song. Ahhh. Perfection.
Still lost on when to insert a montage into your roughly edited film project? Here are some handy hints from our friends from Team America: World Police:
If you're still looking for clarification on how to insert a cop-out montage to illustrate a major point in your film, try your best to adapt your montage vision to one of the following categories:
Training
This is the most common montage, and with good reason: how else are you supposed to illustrate the ups and downs of a trying training period in a short period of time? Real time training footage would be brutal--watching people lift weights is, honestly, incredibly boring. Plus, I can do it at the gym for free. Even then, I'd prefer to have a pump-it-up song playing on my iPod. It just works.
The training montage has many recognizable hallmarks, such as general physical exercise, excessive sweating, and repeated near-miss attempts to achieve some seemingly unattainable martial arts move/dance step/boxing feat. This last device is supposed to leave us in suspense about whether or not our hero will reach this particularly challenging goal, but its presence in the montage is a sure sign they absolutely will.
As Seen In: The Karate Kid, Dirty Dancing, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, and of course, all of the Rocky Movies--they practically invented the inspirational training montage
Falling in Love
In real life, meeting your mate is rarely a linear process. In movies, however, we've got to keep things moving for the sake of our viewers' sanity. Instead of experiencing a series of ups and downs over a long period of time, some films conveniently repackage the lengthy process into a mere two or three minutes. It may not be entirely accurate, but it's can be significantly more palatable than watching the full drawn-out process post meet-cute.
As Seen In: The Lion King. Can you feel the love tonight? They could. Montage style.
It's All Good
Everything going well, but you don't know how to convey it to the audience? Don't worry, there's a montage out there for you. The "It's All Good" model was designed specifically to portray a general Era of Good Feelings in your story. It's pretty boring to just watch a successful business run its day-to-day operations, so why not invest in some cheesy cut-together footage of the whole gang high fiving at their victories? It sure beats watching them change the office thermostat and answer the phone.
As Seen In: Ghostbusters, subverted and played for laughs in The Naked Gun
Let's Build Something Together
This is a pure 80s montage trope, exuding cheesiness from its every frame. According to the background music, all it takes is "One Foot in Front of the Other" to call to arms your mismatched group of social outcasts. Apparently with enough editing, even the nerdiest among us can look like construction experts and painting pros.
The Revenge of the Nerds scene was mocked mercilessly in an episode of Family Guy where the guys try to fix a dilapidated bar. To be fair, Family guy mocks everything mercilessly and this montage totally deserved it. You can't put out something this cheesy without an openness to endless parody.
I know, I know, it sounds suspiciously similar to the training montage, but bear with me here for a few moments as I take you on a journey through the magical world of meeting our potential by being our honest selves. Sounds boring, right? It is. that's exactly why we need a montage--to move things along at a watchable speed.
In some cases (see: Back to School, Legally Blonde, other school-heavy movies) a montage is really your only out. Studying in itself is not a suspenseful or exciting activity, so if can show a clock spinning past the hours that would really help move things along. There's only so long the audience will tolerate watching a main character read quietly to himself. Don't push it.
Not all examples are quite so low-key. In Teen Wolf, Scott believes in himself--basketball montage style--just enough to resist "wolfing out" during the big game. What's that? That made no sense? Don't worry, it doesn't help if you've seen the movie. That actually might just make it more confusing. Either way, Scott defies the standard werewolf-to-human degeneration of basketball prowess and wins the big game. Hooray!
As Seen In: Legally Blonde, Teen Wolf, Back to School
Though most of us as adults don't get the luxury of the feverish excitement leading up to summer vacation, summertime still brings many of us a distinct sense of relaxation and fun. Even while we're cooped up working all day, it's a bit heartening to see the sunshine poking through the window of our cell--er, cubicle. It may not be a summer at the rec center pool or sleep-away camp, but we've got to take it where we can get it.
At the very least, the season gives us the chance to re-watch some of our old childhood summertime favorites. Or, failing that, you can at least read about it here while sneaking a break at work. It's minor consolation for those of us stuck pencil pushing, though hey, it's something. You won't get a savage tan or learn to swim a mean backstroke, but hopefully you'll crack a smile or two. At this point, that may be the best we can ask for as we count down to the glorious work-free Memorial Day weekend.
So kick back, relax, and take a journey into summertimes past. Well, don't kick back too much; I don't want to be blamed when your boss gets on your case about sipping frozen margaritas on the job. Use your discretion here.
Heavyweights
Here's a fun little-known 90s fact: did you know Heavyweights was produced by Judd Apatow? Oh, and that Ben Stiller plays a variation of that guy he played in Dodgeball and his father plays his father, just like in all those other movies? I admit this trivia is vague, but summertime research is for nerds. Anyway, who knew a movie about fat camp participants trying to take down a malicious fitness infomercial star could be so funny? The premise might not sound like much, but I promise, it's worth your while.
Salute Your Shorts
How many 90s kids out there hear the opening bars of reveille and immediately break into the Camp Anawanna song? It's almost a reflex. Now it's "I hope we never part" not "You make me wanna fart," so get it right or pay the price. Geez.
The Parent Trap
To this day, the main reason I want to learn how to play poker is with the secret hope that "Bad to the Bone" will spontaneously start blaring in the background. Well, secret's out. It's probably not worth it, anyway; I'm not so sure I'd have the guts to jump in the lake naked if I lost.
Now and Then
To girls growing up in the 90s, Now and Then is a legitimate classic. It's just the right blend of humor, coming-of-age drama, and just a dash of shmaltz thrown in for good measure. With its four distinct "types," we all had a character to whom to relate. Personally, I always fancied myself something of a Teeny.
The Sandlot
There's something about a good sports-themed coming of age film that has the power to take you back to a simpler time. To the kids of the Sandlot, the most important priorities for the summer are to play ball, kiss teenage lifeguards, and rescue their bat from the jaws of the dreaded Beast. Throw in some stomach-turning amusement park forays into chewing tobacco use and you've got yourself a hilarious--albeit nausea inducing--summertime adventure.
The Babysitter's Club
Oh, how my friends and I longed to boost an academically challenged peer's self confidence by staging an elaborate biology review complete with "The brain, the brain, the center of the chain" chant. Some abnormally responsible middle school girls have all the luck. I never even got to lie about my age to a 17-year old boy while simultaneously concealing the truth about my diabetes. Sigh.
Camp Nowhere
You have to love a movie built on the premise of a harebrained scheme dreamed up by a bunch of preteens. Even though our rational adult minds know nothing like this would ever unfold in real life, it's infinitely fun to imagine a world where a bunch of kids and Doc Brown could join forces to start a fake camp.
Saved by the Bell: Malibu Sands
Only Saved by the Bell has the power to condense a summer's worth of zany situation comedy and inevitable romantic drama into a neatly packaged six episodes. The show set the bar on introducing and subsequently disregarding all signs of existence of temporary characters, so it's no surprise Zack's romance with Stacey Carosi was short-lived. It was fun to see the whole gang living it up at the Malibu Sands club, but there's only so many beach storylines to go around. Once the girls battled it out in the Miss Liberty pageant, we knew it was time to go home.
Dirty Dancing
If you're interested in having the time of your life and feeling a way you've never felt before, I advise you pack up your things and head to a resort in the Catskills for summer break. There's a chance you might defy your affluent family by falling in love with a working-class guy from the wrong side of the country club kitchen, but that's a chance you've to be willing to take.
Dazed and Confused
Only a skillfully directed movie can stretch the meandering events of a single day into an interesting slice of everyday high school anthropology. Dazed and Confused takes us through the last day of school from the hazing to loitering to partying to eventually getting busted by the cops. It may sound as if I just gave away the whole movie in a short sentence, but don't worry. I didn't even get to the part where he listens to "Slow Ride" on his headphones. Oops. Sorry about that. Anyway, you should absolutely invest in this soundtrack; it's brilliant.
Runner Up: Wet Hot American Summer. Sure, it came out in 2001, but it's 80s themed and one of my favorite movies of all time. If you haven't seen it, it's imperative that you go out and rent it immediately. That's an order.
Thanks to everyone for entering the Children of the 90s CSN Stores $60 Gift Card Giveaway! I had a lot of fun with it and I hope you all enjoyed your fleeting hope to win. The fun is in the possibility, after all. That's what we say to satiate sore losers, actually, but don't take it too personally. There's always next time.
That said, this will not be the last fun giveaway we do here at Children of the 90s. Remember to check back for exciting opportunities. And to read some high quality 90s nostalgia posts. That's always good, too.
Without further ado, I'm pleased to announce the winner of the CSN $60 Gift Card:
In case you've never had the honor of visiting Nikki's blog, I highly recommend you do so. She was one of the first nostalgia bloggers I connected with, and her posts are always thorough and hilarious. If you were a big reader growing up, you will absolutely love her young adult book reviews. That's my totally unsolicited plug for my randomly selected winner, so you know it must be true. Pure unpaid endorsement. Check her out. Congrats, Nikki! You deserve it. I will email you later today with the information for redeeming your gift certificate!
If anyone is interested in advertising or promotions with Children of the 90s, feel free to shoot me an email at childrenofthe90s@gmail.com. I implore you to please withhold judgment on my shameless plea for sponsorship, I'm not a sellout; I promise to keep bringing you high quality posts about your favorite 90s topics. A girl's got to eat, though, so, you know: sponsorships welcome. If you have any post topic suggestions or just want to say hi, that's totally cool, too. Let's chat.
Thank you all again for entering, following, facebooking, tweeting, and all of the other novelty internet verbage buzzwords applicable to your entries. You guys are the best. See you Monday for a return to your regularly scheduled 90s reminiscing. Until then, have a great weekend!
If only our own high school experiences had come with their own signature soundtrack, we may have had a better idea of how to properly process our emotions. It's tough to try to have a pensive moment without something deep and soulful playing in the background. Believe me, I've tried.
Real life just can't always measure up to the effective power of a good soundtrack. When the moviemakers choose just the right song, it can skillfully set the mood for a crucial moment. From that point on, whenever we hear that song out of the context of the movie, our minds are likely to transport us back to the scene. A solid song choice has the power to cement the moment in our heads forever, iconic for posterity,
Some of these teen movie moments are silly and some are serious, but they all have one thing in common: they're highly memorable. Without the music, many of these scenes may not be especially worthy of remembering. With the music, though, they create defining moments in the teen movie canon. To create an exhaustive list would be, well, exhausting, so consider these to be a mere skimming of the teen movie music moment surface.
She's All That: Rockafeller Skank
This scene is undoubtedly cheesy, but it's enough to make a tiny part of us wish our own proms had included a highly choreographed school-wide dance number. Granted, most of our peers in high school probably weren't capable of professional-level dance moves, but it may have been fun to watch them try.
10 Things I Hate About You: Can't Take My Eyes Off of You
It's more than enough to make us all mourn the loss of Heath Ledger. He just oozes charm in this scene, allowing us to suspend our disbelief that a high school boy might actually have thought up something legitimately romantic. To be fair, Ledger was 20 years old at the time, so no wonder's his musical seduction outstrips the average high school boy's in maturity.
Can't Hardly Wait: Can't Get Enough of You Baby
Smashmouth must have written this song with the racially deluded white rapper Kenny Fisher in Mind. Seth Green plays this moment to absolute perfection. I suppose if I had to practice romancing myself in the mirror, I could use some good musical motivation, too. Granted, most of us don't need quite as much musical lubrication as Kenny to woo our own reflections. Then again, most of us don't wear goggle/JNCO jeans combos.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Twist and Shout
Next time I come across a Von Steuben Day parade, I am totally pulling a Ferris. If the band doesn't know "Twist and Shout," I'm willing to settle for "Danke Schoen." Anything else would just clash with the float girls' Heidi-esque German barmaid ensembles.
Say Anything: Your Eyes
Ah, the moment that inspired a generation of young girls to daydream about the moment a boy would stand in their yard with a boombox held persistently over their heads. This is a moment that might lose of of its recreatability over time. What are kids today supposed to do? Hold wireless iPod speakers over their head? Please. It just isn't the same.
Breakfast Club: Don't You (Forget About Me)
Simple Minds recorded "Don't You (Forget About Me)" specifically for the Breakfast Club, so it's no wonder it comes across as particularly poignant in this coming of age film. Simple Minds may not have gone on to do great things, but they're probably rolling in royalties from all of the many, many Breakfast Club parodies in movies and TV in the years since the original.
Clueless: Kids in America
So you're probably thinking to yourself, "Is this like a Noxema commerical or what?" Cher claims the answer is "or what," but I'm tempted to believe otherwise. No real high schoolers ever frollick in their backyard waterfalls. At least none who attended my high school. Maybe you all grew up in heavily waterfall-populated neighborhoods.
Center Stage: The Way You Make Me Feel
Michael Jackson may have released "The Way You Make Me Feel" back in 1987, but a new generation of teens fell in love with the song after hearing it in the climactic dance performance in the 2000 ballet film Center Stage. It was almost enough to distract us from Jody's impossible pink-to-red shoe switcharoo.
Cruel Intentions: Bittersweet Symphony
Exposing the popular girl in school for dipping into the secret cocaine stash in her cross necklace may not seem like a particularly poignant moment, but back it up with the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" and prepare to be moved. Really.
Pretty in Pink: If You Leave
It's pretty much impossible to hear Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "If You Leave" without immediately recalling the final scene in Pretty in Pink. Runner-up for most impossible? Spelling "manoeuvres". That's a tough one, at least for the ignorant Americans among us.
Romeo and Juliet: Lovefool
The Cardigan's major hit single aptly set the mood for the romantic meeting moment between Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio as Juliet and Romeo. Their eyes lock across an aquarium, which sounds highly unromantic without "Lovefool" playing in the background. It just works.
Note: Yes, I realize some of these videos don't contain the actual scenes. It's the best we can do with the YouTube copyright crackdown. Thanks for your understanding.
Don't forget to enter Children of the 90s $60 CSN Store Gift Certificate Giveaway! You have until this Friday to qualify for the prize, so put your entry in today!
The results are in! Well, sort of--perhaps we should say the preliminary results are in; there's still time to let me know your favorites for a follow-up post. In the case of short term memory failure, allow me to remind you about Children of the 90s' impromptu polling for your favorite childhood movies. A few days back, we asked for your write-in votes for the movies you most loved growing up. That is, these movies don't necessarily have to be the most objectively good movies out there, but ones that effectively bring us back to our respective childhoods.
This list doesn't represent any actual empirical data; I'm willing to admit our methods were a bit haphazard. That's part of the fun, though. If you want your voice heard, lurkers, the comment section is beckoning. Don't stew quietly over the omission of your opinions--let us know. In the spirit of true interactivity, share a bit. Really, it's fun.
Based on those of you I did hear from, it's pretty fair to judge the way the readership demographic skews. Much to the chagrin of my boyfriend (who, to his credit, did his part in participating in this democratic experiment by submitting the only vote for Independence Day) this list speaks volumes on the female-dominated fan base here at Children of the 90s. Unless a major contingency of young men have a spot reserved in their hearts from A Little Princess and Troop Beverly Hills, it seems safe to surmise the majority of the voters are female. Sorry, guys. This is what happens if you don't comment. Lesson learned, I assume. No hard feelings.
Here are your choices, in some particular order. That's the opposite of no particular order, right? Whatever the expression that conveys they're sorted by tabulated votes but that Excel has alphabetized the ties. Don't fight it, it makes perfect sense. You with me? Great. Let's begin:
When your and your friends' parents are dead set on sending you to variations on dreaded summer camp, you pretty much have no other option other than to stage an elaborate kid-run ruse rich in wacky misunderstanding and parent-free fun. If you can think of another solution, I'm willing to hear you out, but I'm almost positive this zany scheme is it--though it could possibly be classified as a last resort. Yes, I said resort, and it was totally a camp pun. Admit it, you loved it.
9. The Lion King
There was a surprising deficit of Disney in the write-in voting results, but I assume most of us take the animated films of the 90s' Disney Renaissance to be something of a given. Many of them not only won universal approval from indiscriminate children, but appealed to adults as well. The Lion King is a particularly creative and visually impressive film, full of deep messages for the parents and comic relief warthog farting references for the kiddos.
8. Annie
The 1982 film adaptation of the popular musical may have received mixed reviews from critics, but as kids anything with songs to sing along to ranked pretty high on our favorites. Plus, it gave us a great start on learning all the words to Jay Z's "Hard Knock Life" a decade and a half later. Even if we couldn't all relate to his experiences, we could at least pantomime sweeping along to the chorus like the orphans did in the movie.
7. Matilda
Matilda differed in many ways from the original Roald Dahl story, giving us an Americanized and slightly toned-down version of the darkly humorous children's novel. Then-child star Mara Wilson stars as a prodigy raised by ignorant and uninterested parents in a sufficiently adorable way. They did manage to keep in a bit of the creepiness--I still occasionally have nightmares about being locked in the Chokey.
6. My Girl
Frequent movie cryers, rejoice. My Girl is one of those movies that made it okay to cry in the theater, most likely because everyone else was sobbing along with you. That's what they get for tragically killing off one of their lovable characters with a bee sting allergy--a flood of tears. Thankfully, the humor counter-balances the malady. If nothing else, we all learned to open our mouths, reveal our partially chewed food, and declare it "see-food."
5. A Little Princess
As a child, I wondered why I constantly confused this movie with The Secret Garden. Turns out they were both based on books written by Frances Hodgseon Burnett. Considering I read them both, you would think I would have put the pieces together. You would think wrong. In both of these films, I deeply envied the young girls' life in India and subsequent quiet coming of age adventures. I'm still torn on whether I'd rather have a key to an overgrown forgotten garden or be the most popular girl in boarding school. It's safe to say both remain fairly attractive options.
4. The Princess Bride
To those of you out there who told me you've never seen this one, you need to buckle down and settle in for a viewing. It's truly a classic, from its quirky characters to a preadolescent Fred Savage. The Princess Bride deftly maneuvers its positions as both a fairy tale in its own right and a parody of the genre. Needless to say, if you have not watched it since childhood, you might want to dust off the old VHS; it has a cleverness and wit we did not all pick up on as young kids.
This movie was like girlhood gospel to my friends and I, so imagine my surprise to find it was absolutely ripped apart by critics. They refused to even crack a smile at Shelly Long's ridiculous get-ups or the "Cookie Time" song. The only likely verdict is that they all have hearts of stone. That "Cookie Time" song is pure gold.
Films we loved as kids defy a need for logic, usually requiring a heaping helping of suspension of disbelief. Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is a classic example, with its that-would-absolutely-never-happen premise and the dumping of their old lady babysitter's body on the steps of a funeral home. Aside from all of that, it's a fun movie that appeals to kids in the classic no-parents style. Sue Ellen Crandell is still my fashion icon, just for the record.
This was the standout winner in our pseudo-scientific poll, receiving by far the most votes for favorite childhood movie. It's no wonder we all loved it so much, considering its impact on our generation. Without Cher Horowitz, who knows? We may never have uttered the words "As if!" while wearing a pair of knee socks. A sad prospect, indeed.
Honorable Mentions: TMNT, Neverending Story, Mrs. Doubtfire, All of the Home Alone Movies--unfortunately none of you could agree on which one was the foremost contender in the series, diluting the votes over the three installments. Better luck next time, Home Alone fans. I recommend banding together with purpose next time around.
Don't forget to enter Children of the 90s $60 CSN Store Gift Certificate Giveaway! You have until this Friday to qualify for the prize, so put your entry in today!
It's been quite the democratic week here at Children of the 90s. Admittedly it's only Tuesday, so we still have plenty of time to get all anarchical on you, but as of yet we've been riding the reader response train. You guys are just chock full of good ideas, so until you run out I'm going to milk your suggestions for all they're worth. Which, for the record, is quite a lot. So, you know. Thanks.
For those of us who grew up as voracious readers, this list is potentially endless. There were so many popular and influential books that shaped our childhood and reading habits. To answer your questions before the protests begin, we've already covered ad nauseum series including Sweet Valley High, The Babysitters' Club, Goosebumps, and Choose Your Own Adventure. Yes, they made up a major bulk of our leisure reading, but they are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of children's literary material. Feel free to peruse the backlogs, though--those series are all worth a reminiscence or two of their own.
Based on many of your suggestions, I've put together Part II of our popular book list below. Don't see your favorites on here? Don't worry. These extra-long posts have a way of getting sort of unwieldy, so in the spirit of streamlining and readability I've conveniently parceled this out over a series of posts. If you have other suggestions, drop them in the comments. And for those of you eagerly awaiting the Reader's Choice childhood movie awards, we'll leave the commenting open for a few more days to let the ideas soak a bit. Watch for that post, coming to a Children of the 90s near you very, very soon. Get pumped.
Our second installment of popular elementary school-age reading material form the 80s and 90s includes:
The Giver
Despite its frequent banning, The Giver remains a popular book for school-age children. The subject matter may be a bit heavy for young readers--a tightly controlled dystopian future society a la 1984--but its creepiness resonates well with imaginative kids. Sure, I used to semi-fantasize/semi-worry that my eye color had marked me as the bearer of the world's technicolor memories, but as of yet I have not been called to official Receiver duty.
The Sign of the Beaver
Elizabeth George Speare's The Sign of the Beaver is another classic example of cultural and historical lessons cleverly disguised as fun reading. Well done, Speare. Like Hatchet, Sign allows our imaginations to run wild at the prospect of a preteen left to fend for himself. In this case, however, Matt comes upon a Native American family and befriends the young son, Attean. Attean teaches Matt about the ways of Nature, Matt teaches Attean to read, and we all share a heartwarming story of prejudices overcome.
Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry
Roll of Thunder was technically released in the mid-70s, but the last post brought on numerous requests for its placement on the list so I decided to make a rare exception. The books examines the life and hardships of a black family struggling to hold on to their land against the tumultuous backdrop of 1930s Mississippi. Like many of these books, the themes are heavy--racism, prejudice, injustice--but the storytelling style brings it to a manageable level for young readers.
Shiloh I love me some Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, so there's a special spot in my heart for the book that introduced me to her writing. Shiloh tells the story of a young boy who takes in a stray dog in hopes of protecting him from his abusive former owner. It's heartbreaking in a quiet, non-earth shattering way, and sometimes I still imagine my adopted shelter dog was once under the iron fist of the unsavory Judd Travers.
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
The sixth installment in the Ramona series is an ode to the minorly mischievous but ultimately sensitive child, starting with Ramona's unfortunate cafeteria egg incident and her subsequent overhearing of her teacher calling her a nuisance. The book continues in other delightful non-sequiturs; unlike many children's books that seem to be an adult's take on the way children think, Beverly Cleary manages to tap into that mysterious child psyche and give us a story that's simultaneously about nothing in particular and something important. Depending on the age of the reader, that is.
Jacob Have I Loved Katherine Paterson's title references the biblical line, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated," regarding the story of Isaac's mismatched fraternal twin sons. Sarah Louise despises her position in the shadows of her prettier, better loved sister Caroline. The book is told from Sarah Louise's ("Weeze's") perspective, giving us insight into her jealousy and feelings of marginalization. The themes of sibling rivalry and intense envy can get a little depressing, but we've got some creepy romantic feelings between a 13-year old girl and 70-year old man to keep the pace exciting.
Island of the Blue Dolphins
This one is a bit of a cheat, too, as it was published in the 60s, but its popularity among young readers held steady throughout the ensuing decades. It's yet another tale of a child left to fend for himself, only in this case that "himself" is more of a "herself." The book is loosely based on the true story of Juana Maria, portrayed in Islands as Wonapalei, known secretly as Karana. After Karana's people are devastated by invading Aleuts, the tribe embarks on a ship for the mainland. Karana's brother is left behind, so her only logical solution is to jump ship and live with him on a secluded island. Did I say logical? I'm sorry, I meant book-worthy. Her brother dies nearly immediately, leaving Karana to take on packs of wild but eventually lovable dogs and to take hold of her own survival. I won't give away the entire book, but suffice it to say it's nice to see a female lead in these solo adventure stories every once in awhile.
Don't forget to enter Children of the 90s $60 CSN Store Gift Certificate Giveaway! You have until this Friday to qualify for the prize, so put your entry in today!
Every time I do some sort of countdown list or compilation post, the comments end up chock-full of suggestions for alternative entries or challenges to the post's choices. In the spirit of making Children of the 90s a full-fledged, interactive experience, we want you to vote for your favorites. This may sound suspiciously to you like I'm asking you to do the heavy lifting, and you might be right. Don't worry, though, it's all in the name of effective group reminiscing. It all checks out as legit, I promise. We've looked into it.
I've already delved a bit into the Readers' Choice territory with last week's examination of popular 80s and 90s children's books, of which a post filled with your awesome suggestions is forthcoming. This Reader's Choice countdown, though, is a bit different. I was inspired by a conversation I had with a few friends about how the movies we loved so dearly as children may not measure up against the judgmental yardstick of time, but we tend to continue fervent reverence of these films nonetheless. Nostalgic value is pretty powerful--believe me, I've seen Encino Man and Teen Witch as an adult. The fact I was even able to make it through is a true testament to my childhood devotion. Some of those dancing sequences are pretty brutal.
Whether or not your favorite childhood movies have stood the test of maturity, there's something special about a film you loved unconditionally as a child. It will always hold a special place in your heart, probably just left of the arterial residual buildup left my Koala Yummies and Gushers. Even when you know deep down that some of these movies are not objectively good, that knowledge isn't enough to quell the swell of love you feel for it.
So, the public has spoken. Or rather, the public will speak. Or type. Something like that. Either way, it'll be fun, so come along for the ride. If this experiment fails horribly, I have plenty of untapped 90s material, but I thought it might be a fun twist. You let me know your top 3 favorite childhood movies, and then I think of a clever, humorous way to compile them in a grand countdown post. Just in case you're still not totally clear on how to make your incredibly valuable ideas heard, I'll get things started with my own list. Feel free to judge, mercilessly, as I'm sure you will: 1. Girls Just Want to Have Fun 2. The Princess Bride 3 Troop Beverly Hills
My boyfriend rightly pointed out that my incredibly skewed childhood viewpoint is one-sided--the girl side. I can't help it, I'm a girl. He made me promise to give a shout-out for Independence Day, just in case any males out there are gagging at my choices. Sorry about that. Feel free to add your own testosterone-tinted selections to balance out the frilly sentimentality of my own.
So knock yourselves out, 90s kids. What were your top favorite childhood movies? Drop your list in the comments, and I'll write something worth your while on the top choices. At least that's the idea--it requires a little bit of action on your part. Let the interactivity begin!
Don't forget to enter Children of the 90s $60 CSN Store Gift Certificate Giveaway! You have until next Friday to qualify for the prize, so put your entry in today!
In honor of this week's long-awaited Daria DVD release, Children of the 90s is counting down 10 favorite Daria episodes. While we're not licensed to officially prescribe you anything, we can highly recommend that you spend the requisite time emerged in fully focused Daria viewership. Really, you won't regret it. If nothing else, it will remind you of a time when MTV was so much more than just The Hills and World's Strictest Parents. Oh, the memories.
Daria fans have been calling for the release of all five seasons on DVDs for years, so it's with great pleasure that devoted Daria-heads embrace the 8-disc full series DVD release from MTV/Paramount. Truthfully, all of the episodes are worth watching; Daria gave us some the wittiest, cleverest, smartest humor ever seen on MTV to date. That's not exactly the top litmus test for intelligent, TV, of course; Date my Mom doesn't exactly register in the same tier.
Something must be right in the world. My digital cable's MTV on Demand is even offering the Daria! Musical as a free promotional feature. Verizon Fios must have known I needed some background inspiration on the big screen to write to. Oh, glorious day! The stars have aligned at last. For those of us with a penchant for sarcastic humor, we can now freely celebrate our 90s quipping idol without violating important copyright laws. Well, except for the clips I've posted here. To be fair, I didn't post them and I totally recommend you buy the series for your own collection.
When you do, here are ten of my favorites to check out. I'm obviously leaving out a horde of great material, so share your own favorites in the comments section. If you don't have any favorites, you've got a lot of make-up work to do. Let's get started:
The Invitation
Even in the second episode of the first season, the Daria writers were well on their way to establishing complex and well-fleshed out adolescent characters. They aptly captured the high school social hierarchy with a tongue-in-cheek commentary on its de facto caste system. Popular cheerleader Brittany invites outcast Daria to her weekend soiree, which Daria takes as a prime opportunity to humiliate social cliber younger sister Quinn. We also get a good look at Quinn's ubiquitous suitors, Jamie, Jeffie, and Joey, whom she tries to date simultaneously.
Quinn the Brain
As Daria muses, "Only Quinn could turn having brains into a fad." After Mr. O'Neill reads Quinn's "Academic Imprisonment" aloud in class and publishes it in the school paper, Quinn adopts a pseudo-intellectual persona whose main features are a black turtleneck and a beret. She also writes stellar poems like, "The greasy fry/it does not lie/the truth is written/on your thigh." Brilliant.
Monster
To fulfill their English class assignment of creating a short film, Daria and Jane settle on the perfect subject: Quinn. They set out to capture her vapidness and superficiality and capture some pretty solid material. Quinn tries to stage the whole thing to make herself look better, but when she asks Daria, "Don't you want to shoot me?" The only appropriate response is, "Yes. I want to shoot you." A guilt trip from mom Helen turns the whole project from an expose into a soft focus ode. Quinn emerges from the whole ordeal more popular than before, but we do get to see a softer side of Daria.
Ill
Daria's Trent-induced anxiety at a Mystik Spiral gig leads to a mysterious rash that lands in her the hospital. Between her mystery illness, an attractive young doctor, and Brittany's desperate attempts to cover up the fact that she too was at that gig incognito as an alternative chick, this episode is pure gold.
Arts n' Crass
Trust Daria and Jane to turn a benign district-wide arts contest into a social commentary on the skewed values of teen society. To fit the contest theme of "Student Life at the Dawn of the New Millennium," Jane draws a beautiful girl gazing into the mirror. Daria adds the wittily dark poem, "She knows she's a winner. She couldn't be thinner. Now she goes to the bathroom and vomits up dinner." Not exactly Pulitzer-worthy, but it does make a statement. The girls fight the school's censorship of their work and embark on an undercover mission to save their poster. Awesomeness ensues.
Daria!
What if the town blew away? It's a legitimate question. As Jane says, "Being a post-apocalyptic town will be cool. Other towns will be scared of us." Sounds like a pretty good deal.
This musical episode is chock full of earworms, so watch with caution. You'll be singing along all day, particularly with gems like "God God Dammit" and "They Must be Worried." You've been warned.
Speedtrapped
What can I say? I'm a sucker for the sappy stuff. I have a soft spots for episodes where Daria and Quinn work as a team. Daria finally gets her driver's license, but she doesn't have much of a chance to enjoy it; Jane and the guys from Mystik Spiral land in jail on traffic charges and need Daria to come bail them out. Quinn's not one to miss out on an adventure, sweeping Daria into her schemes. "Face it, Daria," she says. "You're already accessorizing." Daria asks, dumbfounded, "Do you mean I'm an accessory?" How can you not love the banter between these two? It's just so on.
The Lost Girls
This episode is just pure brilliant commentary on the skewed and underhanded tactics adults use to market alleged youth culture at young girls. Mr. O'Neill enters Daria's essay in a contest for teen magazine Val. Daria lands the prize in the "Win a Day with Val" contest, meaning a self-obsessed name-dropping celebrity hanger-on dressed ten years too young for her true age shadows Daria around at school for the day. In the ever-wise words of Val, things get "jiggy" and "edgy" pretty quickly. Whatever that means.
Write Where it Hurts
Like I said, I go for the sappy stuff. This episode is sharp and funny and places our favorite characters in unfamiliar literary situations as pawns in Daria's story writing attempts, but it also ultimately heartwarming. After many failed tries at writing something good, Daria settles for writing something honest, giving us a peek into the Morgendorfer's future. Daria's parents are astoundingly relaxed, Daria's a famous journalist with an intellectual husband, and Qunn is hilariously a homemaker and mother to several small children. It's touching and sweet, without too much schmaltz.
Boxing Daria
Possibly the darkest episode of the series, "Boxing Daria" gets to the heart of some of Daria's more serious emotional issues. It's the last regular episode of the series before the final TV movie Is it College Yet? In "Boxing Daria," Daria is forced to come to terms with her different-ness and social isolation, recalling a fight her parents had when she was young that culminated in her hiding in a giant refrigerator box to avoid dealing with the situation. The reappearance of a large box in her house coupled with her anxiety about her impending graduation unleashes a Pandora's Box of emotions, culminating in one of the most honest and heartbreaking series conclusions.
CSN Stores recently approached me about giving away a $60 gift certificate to one of my loyal readers (that's you! Or, alternatively--that could be you! Start reading! Loyally!) Anyway, I jumped at the opportunity to offer you some great free stuff. With all the hard work you do reading about the 90s day after day, week after week, you deserve a little something something special. CSN has a great selection of housewares, kitchen accessories, and furniture, so you've got loads of fun stuff to pick from. My favorites are the sectional sofas--this $60 gift certificate might not cover a whole sofa (no upholstery pun intended), but it's a pretty good start.
The 90s Game! With this generous gift and CSN's reasonable prices, you could afford a couple, so feel free to buy one for yourself and send your favorite nostalgia blogger one, too. You know, whoever she is. I'm sure she's pretty cool.
Lucky for all of you, it's incredibly easy to enter this fabulous giveaway. Here are the entry rules: Entry 1: Be a Facebook fan. Actually, a Facebook "liker." They keep changing that stuff around. Just click that little thumbs up on the top(ish) right. Entry 2: Be a Blogger Follower. Scroll up, to your right. There you go. Entry 3: Be a Twitter Follower. Link's also on the sidebar. In case you can't find it, it's a bird. Holding a Twitter sign. You know what, it's pretty obvious, I think you can find it without my help. If not, you don't deserve Entry #3. Entry 4: Blog or Tweet about the giveaway with a link back to this post. It wouldn't hurt to mention how much you love Children of the 90s. You know, just for some good karma to inspire that random number generator to choose you as the winner. I hear that helps.
Let me know in the comments section how many and which entries you qualify for. I can't go chasing down all of your internet affiliations, so you've just got to let me know. Even better, feel free to check out the CSN Stores' sites and let us all know what you would buy. That way we can all be jealous when you get it. If you don't have Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, or a blog of your own, don't worry, you can still enter--just let me know in the comments and you'll qualify for an entry. If I find out you are harboring a secret Facebook account or blog, though, you're totally busted. We investigate that stuff. Don't mess with us.
Okay, fine print: Winner will be chosen next Friday using a random number generator. If you're our lucky winner, I will send you your very own CSN gift certificate code good for $60 on their sites. It doesn't include shipping costs, but many items include free shipping. It's a one-time use gift certificate, so don't get all greedy trying to parcel it out over several weeks with a bunch of tiny hand-towel and barbecue tong purchases. In the ever-wise words of Blanche from the Golden Girls, "This is found money. This is fun money." I'm going to leave off the rest of the quote because it gets a little PG-13 after that, but suffice it to say, this $60 is yours for the free, fun spending. Go nuts.
Oh, and the giveaway is only open to US and Canadian readers--sorry, international readers! We love you, but CSN just can't ship to you. I knew you'd understand. I'd send my condolences, but unfortunately we can't mail them that far.
A winner will be announced right here on Children of the 90s next Friday (May 21) so be sure to come back and take a look. If your comment is not linked to a Blogger profile or any other account, let me know here or on Facebook or Twitter how I can get in touch with you if you win. Good luck!
