Yesterday I wrote a post about 7 movies/shows from my childhood that didn’t hold up to the test of time (in my opinion). Well, what’s the fun in not showing the other side of that?! That’s right! Today I’d like to tell you about the opposite end of the coin that post represented.
Each of these movies and series get a 100% re-watch score from me. I can’t quite put my finger on what works so well about these for me, but I’ll try in the post below. Again, just like yesterday – these aren’t the best out there, and there are DEFINITELY more (which may appear in a future post) – but they popped into my mind just in time for writing this one.
#1: South Park
I feel like South Park has managed to do what I thought The Simpsons failed to do in yesterday’s post. They weren’t just edgy animation slanted toward adults, but they evolved over the course of the show from just slapstick happenings to meaningful satire poking fun at the relevant topics of the day. The show is still funny, but the writing is also superb.
#2: Willow
Willow is Lord of the Rings-light, for me. Everything that a fantasy fan would want is there, and it’s presented in a much smaller package than the LOTR trilogy (no pun intended). The action scenes hold up, as does the movie’s humor. And on top of all of that, the characters have heart.
Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, and Joanne Whalley deliver a classic in this one, and it’s something that I can watch again and again. It hasn’t gotten old to me yet, and each time I watch my copy of it – I feel like a kid seeing it all over again.
#3: The Matrix (Part 1)
Unlike many others, I actually appreciate the entire original Matrix Trilogy as a whole. That said, the first one is still the shining jewel of the film series. The scenes in it were groundbreaking, and there hadn’t been much anything else like it before it broke through to the mainstream.
The pacing is right with this one and the reputation it has is well-deserved in my eyes. I try to re-watch this one at least once a year, and even though I haven’t watched the trailer (I want to avoid any spoilers), I’m looking forward to the 4th installment in the story.
#4: Death Note (Series)
Death Note is an Anime classic battle of wits that will have you at the edge of your seat at times throughout. The concept is intriguing enough to still make me wonder what I’d do in the main character’s position (honestly, I have some idea) – and having checked out some of the episodes recently, the animation holds up.
The show crossed over into unfortunate territory with the Netflix live adaptation, but I still can’t blame this bit of perfection for that misstep. And the chip scene is FOREVER one that fans will remember and re-post – LOL!
#5: X-Men (The 90s Animated Series)
Getting this out of the way… OMG DISNEY ANNOUNCED THAT THEY’LL BE CREATING NEW EPISODES IN THE SPIRIT OF THIS SERIES WITH THE ORIGINAL CAST AND CONTINUING THE ORIGINAL STORY!!
Ok – besides that, this show genuinely goes HARD! Take any 90s kid from America who watched Saturday morning cartoons and tell me they don’t know this show’s theme song!
The characters in the show were so endearing that it turned a ton of non-comic fans into flat-out nerds who loved the series.
If you’ve never watched this show, I STRONGLY encourage you to check it out on Disney+.
#6: Robocop 2
There are two big guns of the sci-fi movie sequels of this era: Terminator 2 and Robocop 2. I feel like everyone talks about the Schwarzenegger flick, though – so I want to give Officer Murphy some shine.
Robocop 2 steps up things about the first installment in the series without going “full-cheese” as the third movie does. The villains are unique, the story is solid, the aesthetic of the world holds up, and the stakes are high – but still street level (how the writing team behind this one managed to pull that off still amazes me).
While I do wish that more people were accepting of the newest feature in the series (the 2014 movie), I’m more than happy to leave the series here in my mind and call it a day. Yeah — that’s right — I try to act like the 3rd movie just doesn’t exist.
#7: Who Framed Roger Rabbit
In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that Bakshi’s Cool World – while appreciated – is boring to watch. Another movie that did things in a similar way but preceded it did a better job. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is, through-and-through, an entertaining classic that I’d happily watch with my children one day if I ever have any.
The story is good enough to still pull me in as an adult. It is sort of like the original Shrek in that regard.
And while it was released in 1988 (yeah, I wasn’t even old enough to realize what I was watching when this one came out) – it still holds up in a lot of ways today. The animation still looks good (especially the opening). The original characters are still fully-realized. And Jessica Rabbit is still hot (and many characters have tried to capture what this movie did with her). There are just a lot of good things to appreciate from this one.
In the event that you’ve never seen this movie where cartoons and the real world coexist, I recommend taking the time to track it down and give it a watch. It somehow manages to pull off mixing Disney and Loony Tunes character franchises (spoilers) and that’s not even the biggest accomplishment of this film.
And there you have it, folks. This is my list of things that still hold up to counteract the list of things that didn’t hold up. If you haven’t seen some (or any) of these – they’re worth hunting down and viewing.
I am very curious what things people might add or take away from this list and why. If you have any thoughts you’d care to share, please post them in the comment section below.
Peace, and thanks for reading.
The soundtrack for this post provided by…
Image Credits:
– Cover Image © Dejan Dundjerski (Shutterstock)
– Body Image 1 © ViacomCBS/Comedy Central
– Body Image 2 © Lucasfilm Ltd./Imagine Entertainment/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
– Body Image 3 © Madhouse
– Body Image 4 © Orion Pictures
– Body Image 5 © Disney