The 80's Shop - All 80s, All the Time

Children of the 80s: The Movies We Wanted To Watch, But Our Parents Wouldn't Let Us

 

Remember how you'd go to school one day and all the kids would be huddled around this one kid. This one kid - who always seemed to be the same kid - had just seen that movie. You know, that movie that none of us were allowed to see. Which, of course, made us want to see it that. much. more.

We wanted to see these movies for the exact reason we shouldn't see them. We knew they were either "naughty" or scary and that made the wee children of the 80s eyes fill with stars. They called out to us from the posters at the theater or the box at the rental store.

It should be noted that just because our parents wouldn't let us see these movies didn't mean we didn't. Kids are sneaky and resourceful.

• Porky's 
  
• Nightmare on Elm Street 
  
• Risky Business 
  

• Children of the Corn 
  
• Critters 
  
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High 
  
• Hardbodies 
  

In the 80s - The Places We Shopped

Every generation mourns the death of the places they once frequented in their youth. For the depression era generation, those places were the mom and pop shops that once surrounded their town square. For Baby Boomers - well, while they probably mourn Woolworth's with us, they also mourn the downtown shopping experience that gave way as indoor malls began to take over.

These are the places that are disappearing or have already disappeared which we tip our 40 to. Yup.

Woolworth

Photo by roadsidepictures [Flickr]

Woolworth's has been around a long time and is actually still around in Europe. However, in America, Woolworth only remains as a ghost of shopping excursions past. Initially, Woolworth was found only in downtown areas where you might stop in for a snack at the lunch counter.

Growing up in the 80s, we actually had one downtown and then we had one in the mall.

Yup. The mall. That staple of 80s culture.

Like the one downtown, the one in the mall also had a lunch counter and as we normally found ourselves in the mall more often than downtown, it was this one that was most frequented. There, we bought a number of things. I remember Halloween and Christmas always being an exciting time at Woolworth's because there were lines of costumes in boxes. Those nifty plastic costumes with the somewhat scary, eyeless masks.

We bought all kinds of things at Woolworth's.

Photo by Sakurako Kitsa [Flickr]

The things we bought at Woolworth's varied, but they ranged from:

• Jelly bracelets
• Garbage Pail Kids
• Wacky Packs
• Costumes with mask in the box
• Cheap lipgloss
• Stickers, stickers and more stickers

Retro 80s Commercial Round Up - Watch Em'!

This is a regular segment you'll be seeing here on The 80s Shop featuring the commercials of the 80s. Here's the first few to get us started off right.

Chuck E Cheese

Chuck E Cheese was a staple of the 80s. Gross pizza, loud kids and beer for the adults. Ah.

McDonald's Recital Commercial

To this day, I still find myself singing this song.

Forgotten Cartoons of the 80s

 

Photo by autowitch [Flickr]

While we've heard a lot about cartoons such as Transformers, Rainbow Brite and He-Man in the past years or so, there are others that have seemed to have been forgotten. Or, at the very least, just don't receive a lot of attention. Here are a few cartoons, some good - some not so good, that I think have been somewhat forgotten in the retro 80s boom of late.

Beetlejuice

Technically, this one didn't debut until 1989. But that's still the 80s and Beetlejuice was very much a big staple of the 80s.

Bravestarr

Bravestarr came across as He-Man's ugly cousin. Attempting to follow up on the success of He-Man and She-Ra, Filmation produced this short-lived Texas-themed sci-fi cartoon.

Galaxy High

Galaxy High centered around a high school in outer space which was diverse in its alien species. It was a unique cartoon and one of the reasons the 80s were so friggin' great.

Dungeons and Dragons

A group of kids take a ride on a medieval themed amusement park ride and end up in their own medieval fantasy. Loved this one. It was a great concept.

Visionaries

The 80s was sci-fi/fantasy cartoons' heyday. Seriously, it rocked.

Get Along Gang

 

I actually had a couple of these "figures." The most I really remember about them is that they had skates.

Heathcliff

Heathcliff deserves way more respect than it gets. To this day, I can remember almost all the lyrics to the theme song.

Pac-Man

Short lived animated off-shoot of the popular arcade game. BTW, I have just learned that the Pac-Man Cafe in Orlando has closed. My heart aches. I am glad that I had the chance to visit. I will post my photos soon. *weeps*

The Real Ghostbusters

In the 80s, there were two Ghostbusters animated series. Filmation's Ghostbusters and The Real Ghostbusters. The Real Ghostbusters was a huge staple of my childhood and, of course, based on the film. Did anyone have the slime? I had some of the purple slime and it stank to high heavens. But I loved it.

Shirt Tales

The Shirt Tales featured a group of animals who wore shirts that displayed their thoughts. I think it's safe to say that if most of owned one of those shirts, we'd either be in jail or dead. Yup.

Snorks

The Snorks could probably be best described as the precursor to Spongebob. Only less successful.

The Littles

The Littles was a cartoon series based around a family of mouse/human hybrids that had to survive in a giant world.

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What cartoon series did you love that you rarely see mentioned in the annals of 80s cartoons?

Horror Movies of the 80s

© New Line Cinema

Every few decades, the horror film genre breaks out of the boxy cell it has trapped itself in and finds new blood. Pardon the pun.

While the 50s enjoyed the sci-fi/horror flick boon that begat such classics as The Blob, the 80s brought us some of the most memorable movie villains of all time. And, of course, the movies weren't so bad, either.

Some might say that it was because they didn't take themselves as seriously as the newer, realistic gritty gore films. Whatever the reason for their success, they're are still a good many horror films to come out of the 80s that have received superstar status with picky horror and film fans alike.

Take a trip back in the Wayback Machine and enjoy these original theatrical trailers.

Nightmare on Elm Street

 

Before there was Captain Jack Sparrow, there was....this guy.

Friday the 13th

 

Much to the surprise of people who are new to 80s horror, the hockey mask didn't make an appearance in this movie. The hockey mask didn't appear until....

Friday the 13th Part 3

 

Story-wise, there was nothing momentous about Friday the 13th Part 3. It followed the formula set in place by the original movie and those slasher films before it, such as Halloween. But, it did bring about one of the most recognizable "faces" in movie history.

Child's Play

 

I actually hated these movies. But I guess I can see where some might like their schtick.

Children of the Corn

 

Stephen King pretty much owned the late 70s and early to mid 80s.....

Creepshow

 

I can remember being a kid - very small - and going into the bookstore with my Mom. I always gravitated toward this graphic novel. In fact, it was probably my first brush with the love of King that would develop over the years. The illustrations bothered me, but I was at the same time entranced by them. Ah. To be a kid.

The Evil Dead

 

Filmed in my home state. Woot!

Fright Night

Hellraiser

 

Original, but oh-so-disturbing.

Poltergeist

 

To this day, I hate to see a static-y TV screen.

Pumpkinhead

 

One of my personal favorites. Some of the shots of Pumpkinhead are absolutely amazing. Ahead of its time if you ask me.

What We Want to See in the Upcoming He-Man Movie

 

 

Should it ever be made that, is.

More than likely, you remember the Dolph Lundgren version that was released in 1987. And while I'm sure that there were more than a few who enjoyed that movie, for the most part, it was pretty lackluster.

Granted, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was a cheesy show, but there was potential and that potential just wasn't met. So, here are a few tips for the filmmakers to keep in mind when producing the new flick:

• Come to grips with the fact that we liked the cartoon series as it was. Yes, it was cheesy. Yes, it made little sense, but we loved it. Try to stay true to the series and not go and do your own thing. If you want to do your own thing, make your own movie. 
• Don't strip the color. Sure, you don't have to make the costumes and sets look garish, but you don't have to go for that muted stuff either. With the 87 movie, all the costumes and characters lost their uniqueness. Enough of that. Be bold. 
• Orko. Love or hate him, he has to be in there. You've now got the technology to make him realistic. Make sure he makes an appearance. 
• Skeletor needs to be frightening, but he needs to be as close to the original as well (I can't stress how much this needs to rely on the original material). Think of the 2002 cartoon series. They kept Skeletor virtually the same, but made him more menacing.

Skeletor in the original series

Skeletor in the 2002 Cartoon Network Series

 

• Don't develop new characters. Give us the canon characters. They are unique, interesting and with the right writing, give a great skeletal (hee hee) structure for truly developing the character for the film.
• We want the sword and, as cheesy as it may be, we need Prince Adam. It was a staple of the series. Prince Adam held aloft his magic sword and said.... Seriously, do I even have to repeat it?
• Speaking of that, don't give us a He-Man who we can't fathom taking on Skeletor. Instead of making He-Man look like he just doused his blond locks in Aquanet, give him a little credit. Take a cue from 300. Men in leather panties who we knew could stomp us into the dirt. That's what He-Man needs to be.
• This is fantasy. Not full-on Sci-Fi. The '87 flick relied too much on conventional sci-fi movie trickery instead of the sword and sandal fantasy that the film should have been. With the CGI of today, there's no reason why we can't see Castle Grayskull, Snake Mountain and the rest of Eternia just as if a filter had been lifted from the toon and the scenery made real.

Overall, listen to the fans. They'll be the ones taking their kids. And as for the kids, chances are their parents - the ones who loved the series - have either shown them the DVD or the toys. They know what's up.

Here's to hoping we get a truly fantastic He-Man film and not a complete waste of celluloid.