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My older brother and I first watched this TV special on VHS on Halloween back in 2007 when we were little. Since then, we've made a tradition of watching it on Halloween every year, even to this day.

The special is based on the book of the same name by Judith Viorst (who is still alive!), who also wrote the script herself, and, as the title implies, focuses on Alexander (voiced by a young Danny Tamberelli), a young boy who endures a long day of mishaps, like getting picked on by friends and brothers alike, getting in trouble, and getting hurt in various ways. Throughout the special, just like the book, Alexander obsessively expresses a desire to move to Australia, where he doesn't think he'll have any more bad days.

Not only does this special follow the book as faithfully as possible, but it does a great job of expanding and improving on the book as well, including a second running gag of Alexander looking for a purple, glow-in-the-dark yo-yo that he recently lost, adding a few more mishaps, and, in the most brilliant change, actually adding a few GOOD things, to show that even bad days have their upsides. Also, Alexander's older brothers, Anthony (Devon Michaels) and Nick (Joey Rigol) are NOT just unrepentant, irredeemable jerks to him like the book; instead, they still pick on him, but now have plenty of humanizing moments with him to balance it all out, especially Anthony.

The animation is also good, with neat designs, expressive movements, funny visual gags and good backgrounds, but also with noticeable errors. The voice-acting is great, too, especially Danny Tamberelli as Alexander (not bad, considering he was 8 at the time!), but as Anthony, I always felt that Devon Michaels sounded kind of feminine. Linda Wallem and Steve Barton (may he rest in peace) are terrific as Alexander's mom and dad, respectively.

And then we've got the music. The score by Charles Strouse is quirky and pleasant to listen to. The three songs are also catchy and singable, though I don't care for them swapping out Alexander's voice for the singing. I get it if Tamberelli's singing skill wasn't up to par, and the singing by Todd DeFrietas (whoever he is) is really good, but they couldn't find a kid with both good singing skill AND a more similar vocal tone to Tamberelli's?

All things considered, this is a relatable, charming, nostalgic and funny special, and for anyone who's read the book, deserves to be seen!!!

As everybody knows, Pinocchio was the second animated classic that Walt Disney himself ever produced. It's also my dad's favorite Disney movie, mainly because it's an adaptation of a very iconic Italian children's novel by Carlo Collodi, which my dad read the English translation of to me and my brother when we were kids. Now, I love this film, and I still remember first watching it when I was very little. In fact, last week, a friend of mine came by for movie night, and my brother and I showed it to him. Of course, it's still wonderful!

Of course, everybody surely knows the story. One night, in 1880's Italy, a lonely woodworker named Geppetto (voiced by Christian Rub) wishes on a star for a little, wooden puppet that he just completed and is very proud of, named Pinocchio (Dickie Jones), could be a real boy. And that night, the Blue Fairy (Evelyn Venable) visits the woodshop, and deeming Geppetto's wish worthy of being granted, brings Pinocchio to life, and tells him that in order to fully become a real boy, he must first prove himself "brave, truthful and unselfish." She also assigns a wise, diminutive cricket named Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards) to be the wooden boy's conscience. But when Geppetto makes the dimwitted mistake of sending Pinocchio to school on his own the very next morning, Pinocchio's naive, over-trusting nature allows him to be led astray twice by a con-artist fox named Honest John (Walter Catlett) and his mute cat cohort Gideon, first to greedy, sadistic puppeteer Stromboli (Charles Judels), and then to the sinful Pleasure Island, which leads Pinocchio to learn the hard way about just how cruel, unfair and devious the world truly is.

Needless to say, this movie doesn't really resemble Collodi's work, and for good reason. You see, Collodi's original little wooden boy was a selfish, heartless, bratty little ****. Luckily, Walt managed to take Pinocchio and turn him into a very believable, relatable, well-meaning and friendly, but also innocent, easily misguided and simple-minded boy. In addition, much like practically every other Disney adaptation, this movie removes and changes story turns and elements from the book that would have been much too child-unfriendly. Honest John and Gideon, especially, are changed into much more comedic villains than their unnamed book counterparts were. But nonetheless, the movie does retain the dark themes of the book, and MORE. In particular, it does something that NO other Disney movie before it or since has done. Pinocchio has 5 villains, and all but one get away with their villainy, ESPECIALLY the evil Coachman (also Charles Judels), who owns Pleasure Island. The only villain to get any comeuppance at all is the last one, Monstro the massive whale, while all the others just disappear from the movie when he's introduced. Though to be fair, this is clearly the movie telling children that you can't defeat temptation; you can only learn not to let it draw you in. And it pulls no punches on that message! And despite the dark, disturbing and depressing arc that Pinocchio goes through, the movie also manages to be incredibly warm and wholesome in that classic Disney way, particularly at the ending, and at times, it even manages to be freakin' hilarious, particularly with Honest John and Gideon's antics, and ESPECIALLY Stromboli's fake Italian ramblings!

The animation, especially, is absolutely GORGEOUS!! Every character is perfectly designed and moves with fluidity. In particular, Pinocchio himself looks so charming, and he moves so gracefully and expressively. Jiminy is also very appealing to look at as well! I should also point out that the Blue Fairy is the only character in the movie to be rotoscoped and thus look super-realistic, compared to all the other more cartoony-looking characters, which normally may generate an uncanny vibe, but it works for her character, and makes her all the more otherworldly. The backgrounds are also incredibly beautiful and pleasing to the eyes, and helped along by the excellent use of the multiplane camera.

The voice-acting is also perfect. Dickie Jones (may he rest in peace) is wonderful as Pinocchio, perfectly selling his friendliness and naivety, and never fails at the emotional heavy-lifting in the more depressing moments. Cliff Edwards (may he rest in peace) is very warm, kind, soft-spoken and welcoming as Jiminy. Christian Rub (may he rest in peace) is spot-on as Geppetto. Evelyn Venable (may she rest in peace) is very wise, earnest and almost maternal as the Blue Fairy. Walter Catlett (may he rest in peace) is a delight as Honest John. And Charles Judels (may he also rest in peace) is perfect as both Stromboli and the Coachman; as Stromboli, he does a great Italian accent and knows just how to swing from being hilariously hot-tempered, yet also fun and jovial, to darkly sinister and cruel in just a couple seconds ("I will-a POOSH you in de public's eye!" "QUIET!! Before I KNOCK-A you silly!"), and he gives the Coachman the perfect wicked, conniving Cockney-accented voice ("Give a bad boy enough rope, and 'e'll soon make a jackarse of himself...").

And then lastly, the music! Leigh Harline and Paul J. Smith's score for this movie is fantastic and timeless, ranging from happy and whimsical, to ominous and sinister, to plaintive and mournful in all the right situations. And the songs they wrote with the brilliant lyricist Ned Washington are right to be considered classics. My two personal favorites are Pinocchio's jaunty little anthem "I Got No Strings", and of course, the absolutely haunting, iconic and beautiful theme song "When You Wish Upon a Star", which Disney has been using as the theme to their logo for years! But I should also point out that this movie gave us the very first Disney villain song, Honest John's cheerful and fun "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee". And it's great! Without it, we wouldn't have "Poor Unfortunate Souls", "Kill the Beast", "Be Prepared" or ESPECIALLY "Hellfire".

Everything considered, Pinocchio truly is one of the finest classics Walt Disney ever made. Despite retaining the inherently dark and disturbing nature of its source material, it balances it with that Disney magic and fun that every kid who loves Disney adores. Highly recommended!!!!!!

As you surely know by now, I'm a fan of Steven Spielberg. In fact, this past summer, my family and I attended a big event up in Martha's Vineyard, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jaws, where I actually got to meet Richard Dreyfuss, and even get his autograph! He was a nice man, though not very talkative. His second big collaboration with Spielberg after Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, is my dad's favorite Spielberg movie. I myself am not much for sci-fi movies, but there are plenty of great ones. I've actually seen this movie three times, and the most recent was just two weeks ago, when he and my mom took me to a showing of it at Regal Warrington. And you know what, it's really good!

Set in a small rural town in Indiana, the movie centers on Roy Neary (played by Richard Dreyfuss), an average blue-collar worker who finds his quiet, normal life turned upside-down when he experiences a close encounter with a UFO. Even with a "sunburn" from its bright lights to prove it, nobody believes Roy's story, not even his wife Ronnie (Teri Garr). Still, Roy can't take his mind off what he experienced, and soon becomes willing to give up his life just to find out the truth about UFOs. Meanwhile, local resident Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) has her three-year-old son Barry (Cary Guffey) abducted by the same UFO, and soon develops a fascination with a unique mountain shape that Roy also compulsively sketches in his mind.

The acting in this movie truly is top-notch! Richard Dreyfuss is excellent as Roy. Teri Garr (may she rest in peace) is terrific as Ronnie. Melinda Dillon (may she rest in peace) is wonderful as Jillian. Francois Truffaut (may he also rest in peace) is the quintessential Frenchman as government scientist Claude Lacombe. In fact, everyone does great in their roles, even the child actors! In particular, Cary Guffey was literally only 3 when he was cast as Barry, but thanks to some skillful method acting techniques from Spielberg, even he gives a wonderful performance.

The writing is also great! The movie has a lot of interesting themes and messages about the mysteries and possibilities of there being more than just our own world. It also feels like a metaphor for a spiritual awakening. Added to which, along with the drama and tension the movie has to offer, there's also some pretty clever humor to be found in this movie, such as Roy arguing with his kids over whether to take them to play goofy golf, or see Pinocchio.

And the visuals! This movie is filmed magnificently, with cinematography that continues to amaze even 48 years later. But more importantly, the special effects in this movie are downright ASTOUNDING! The alien ships are still incredibly convincing, even for a movie from the 1970's. Pure, handcrafted, uncomputerized visual mastery, and it still holds up today.

And of course, the music. The brilliant John Williams, who never disappoints when scoring a Spielberg, delivered once again with this movie. His score is absolutely glorious, as always. The 5-note "communication tune" is truly haunting every time it's heard, and he even incorporates really clever musical nods to Jaws and Pinocchio!

Everything considered, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is really an extraordinary movie. I mean, when you've Spielberg, fresh off the success of Jaws, as director, what would you expect? If you're a fan of both Spielberg and sci-fi movies, this is the movie you want!!!