The April 5 release of Jurassic Park in 3-D is just the latest in a series of new looks at old films. The nostalgia that comes with these remakes is welcome to many teens.
Junior Molly deJong remembers the first time she saw the movie “Titanic.” As a young girl, the cataclysmic scene of the Titanic sinking frightened her, but her fears did not stop her from becoming a die-hard fan of the movie as she grew up.
“I watched it again all the way through, and I just fell in love with the movie,” deJong said. “I’m really into history, so the whole story of Titanic interested me at first, and then adding in the forbidden love storyline with Rose and Jack … makes you love it so much more.”
Naturally, Dejong didn’t miss the opportunity of watching the classic film’s re-release in 3-D in April 2012. Going to the theaters to see the movie she grew up watching was an even more thrilling experience for her.
“It was really cool because I didn’t get to see [Titanic] when it first came out, so it was nice to see it on the big screen,” deJong said. “It made everything more lifelike.”
Like deJong, people miss their childhood and cherish old memories from that time. However, old pictures, videos, TV shows and especially movies can still trigger these memories.
After the completely unexpected success of the re-release of “The Lion King” in 3-D this past year, Disney decided to put other classic animated films in theaters, like “Finding Nemo” which hit theaters in September 2012, and “Monsters Inc.” which was released Feb. 19, 2013. These re-releases add to the nostalgic trend followed by today’s movie makers.
Filmmakers also re-released non-Disney related films such as “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace,” which came out in February 2012, and “Ghostbusters,” which also has been released.
The new releases of these old movies drew junior Megan Kelly’s attention. Kelly is a frequent movie-goer and a performer herself for many years. Her years of experience in acting and singing, especially as a member of show choir, pushed her into the world of entertainment. Even now the nostalgia of old movies captures her.
“I can’t remember not watching Disney movies. I’ve always wanted to be Belle, like, all my life,” Kelly said. “Still now, I’m a little obsessed with ‘Beauty and the Beast’.”
Along with carrying on her childhood passions, Kelly thinks old movies provide an escape from the harsh realities of the world and are a good way to deal with the hustle and bustle of teenage life. She feels this is the main reason teenagers like herself choose to watch classic, re-released films.
Old movies “remind me of a more innocent time because I remember when I was younger that’s all I cared about, being that Disney princess and nothing more than that, whereas now you have to worry about school and your future and all this other stuff,” Kelly said. “When you’re younger, you can just want to be a princess when you grow up and that’s OK.”
As the oldest of five children, junior Marissa Soumokil is ecstatic about Disney movies. She frequently watches these movies with her siblings. Because of her passion, she believes it is good for old movies to come back in theaters.
“Disney’s been a huge part of my childhood because I got to watch new movies come up,” Soumokil said. “The first movie I saw in a theater was a Disney movie. I’ve seen a silent Disney animation … and I’ve seen the way the princesses have changed.”
Soumokil plans to be among the movie-goers that will flock to see these old movies and reminisce in childhood memories.
“I will see some [Disney movies] with my family, some of them with my friends,” Soumokil said. My friends and I, “made a tradition to go see the revamped 3-D Disney movies together whenever they come in theaters.”
Even though today’s teenagers are able to reminisce and remember sweet memories associated with entertainment from their childhood, Kelly believes that people should let go and move on.
“I think [the re-releases are] kind of silly because it’s the same movie and they’re not coming up with new movies,” Kelly said. “At the same time, I think it’s good for the little kids who didn’t get a chance to go see it in theaters.”
RBHS music and film analysis teacher Rich Hadfield agrees it is good for teenagers to go back to see the movies they saw as children because it actually lets them understand the movies better and properly appreciate them.
“You’re going to look at it from different eyes than when you saw them as a little kid, [when] you were just sort of interested in the basics,” Hadfield said. “When you’re a little bit older you can go and understand the plot and what’s going on.”
Hadfield said the reason such movies are being re-released with better technology is because the filmmakers want to see economic gains for their film.
“3-D basically exists as a new way to charge people more money to go see a movie in a different format,” Hadfield said. “That’s the only reason it’s coming back. Everything comes back for money.”
Despite the financial incentive associated with it, excitement is still in the air as these classics are reintroduced in today’s entertainment world for newer audiences to see.
Even though the return of old movies excites Soumokil, she agrees with Kelly that nostalgia is a big initiative for today’s teenagers to go watch the movies, and this can be said for some of the adults as well.
“I feel like things have become so stressful, just because there’s a recession, and our own teenage life has become so much more stressful than when we were kids,” Soumokil said. “It’s a nice way to slow down.”
By Afsah Khan