Thursday, August 07, 2008

Spanky, Darla, Alfalfa... Our Gang Is Here!

I love old movies. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford. When I was about 4, I used to do a Charlie Chaplin walk. There was this awesome pizza parlor in London, Ontario, called "Mother's Pizza" and on the wall they played old Charlie Chaplin films, which is where I first saw them and fell in love with them. When I was 14, I saw a documentary on Buster Keaton and was hooked.

But the one set of films that has been my lifelong favourite are the Little Rascals shorts. They used to play them on TV constantly when I was very young (I haven't seen them in probably 20 years now) and I remember so many moments. Alfalfa getting the soap in his mouth and drinking water and singing, with the bubbles blowing out. The boys flirting with Mrs. Crabtree. Spanky's mom saying she wants to wash behind his ears, and him escaping the house before she can. The kids in the little fire engine flying down the hill, with the ladder swinging out in both directions.

So imagine my delight when I found out ALL 80 shorts will soon be available on DVD. I cannot wait to watch these shows again. But I wonder... how different will they be now that I'm older?

5 comments:

Jonathan said...

Do you like cheese?

Nikki Stafford said...

Here... eat this.

The Chapati Kid said...

Your kids are going to love this.
Missed you at the family picnic in Kew Gardens... :-(

K J Gillenwater said...

I think you will look at them like I do, with the eyes of a parent...and how little these guys were when they were doing this kind of performing. Cheese? I suppose so? But also a little bit of "Awww....Darla's so adorable!"

I'm excited to read this news, because I will buy this for my kids in a heartbeat. They are still young enough to get enjoyment out of it, and it's purely safe entertainment. Nothing more. No worries about adult jokes or bad language. Just pure zany fun with some kid fantasy thrown in.

I remember I used to wish I could put on the elaborate stage productions they used to do for their neighborhood friends. With paying customers, of course!

Anonymous said...

"Keaton is key!" ;-)