Tonight’s feature presentation is one of my all-time favourites from childhood, the 1986 family movie SpaceCamp, which is finally hitting Blu-ray later this year courtesy of those wonderful people at Kino Lorber.
I watched this movie 8,458 times while growing up, endlessly hoping that somehow, someday, I’d end up in a space ship. It was a film that truly grabbed my imagination, and while serving as a big commercial for the summer camp program that I think still exists to this day, features so much old-school movie magic and honest charm that it’s tough to not still enjoy this one for what it is.
The cast is nearly impossible to contemplate: Kate Capshaw, Tom Skerritt, Tate Donovan, Joaquin “Leaf” Phoenix, Lea Thompson, Kelly Preston, and Larry B. Scott. John Williams provided the musical score, William A. Fraker busted out the lens flares and did his customary great job behind the camera, and director Harry Winer tried his damnedest to channel that Amblin-Beard flavour that everyone chased during that time period.
SpaceCamp was produced by ABC Motion Pictures, released by 20th Century Fox, and sadly, bombed upon its theatrical release with critics and ticket buyers; it likely didn’t help that it was released less than five months after the Challenger disaster.
But over time, there’s no doubt that this movie became a smash-hit with kids and families thanks to the VHS boom of the 1980’s. Oh, and JINX the robot POWER. There’s also an amazing Star Wars reference that would have needed the approval from George Lucas(?) so I’m glad to see that he must’ve had a sense of humour about the entire thing. According to Thompson, the production was 10 days behind shooting schedule after the first day, with the three-month planned shoot ultimately becoming a six-month effort.
Review by Nick Clement
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Spacecamp
Summary
A film that grabs your imagination and takes you on an epic journey.
