<<< 2008 >>>

JANUARY

Sunday, January 13 – 4:00 PM

Family Matinee Double Feature:

TARZAN’S GREATEST ADVENTURE, 1959, Warner Bros., 88 min. John Guillermin (THE BLUE MAX; THE TOWERING INFERNO) directed what is commonly acknowledged by Tarzan fans as the all-time best Tarzan picture. Producer Sy Weintraub was intent on depicting a more literate, intelligent King of the Jungle (as depicted in Edgar Rice Burroughs’s many novels) and found the perfect match in actor Gordon Scott. Shot entirely on location, the non-stop thrills start when psychotic Anthony Quayle and his band of career criminals (including Sean Connery and Nial MacGinnis) go on the rampage in preparation for a diamond robbery. Saddled with a stranded female pilot (Sara Shane), Scott’s Tarzan tracks Quayle – a former nemesis – and his cronies through the jungle till the bitter, savage end. "A superior action yarn shot on location in Africa, more adult than most of its predecessors…" – Leonard Maltin NOT ON DVD

TARZAN ESCAPES, 1936, Warner Bros., 89 min. Dir. Richard Thorpe. Many regard this as one of the best of the Johnny Wesimuller Tarzan films. One of the most riproaring of the early part of the series, it was also regarded as exceedingly violent for the time period. Indeed, just like KING KONG, some scenes were cut before release (reportedly there was a giant vampire bat sequence!), judged as just too intense for audiences. Jane’s cousins, intent on trying to untangle red tape with Jane’s inherited fortune, enlist the help of nefarious hunter and animal trapper, Captain Fry. Fry has his own agenda – he sees dollar signs if he can bring Tarzan back alive to exhibit in England. But, as we all know, capturing Tarzan will not be easy. With Maureen O’Sullivan.

FEBRUARY

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (TONARI NO TOTORO), 1988, Walt Disney, 86 min. The third Studio Ghibli feature from former Toei animator cum writer, producer, director and entrepreneur Hayao Miyazaki. The story of two young sisters, Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe, who move into a new house with their father, near a vast forest to be closer to their ailing, hospitalized mother. Discovering wondrous forest spirits and dust-bunnies, they also encounter Totoro, a giant lumbering bunny-esque creature. "Here is a children's film made for the world we should live in, rather than the one we occupy. A film with no villains. No fight scenes. No evil adults. No fighting between the two kids. No scary monsters. No darkness before the dawn. A world that is benign. A world where if you meet a strange towering creature in the forest, you curl up on its tummy and have a nap. MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO has become one of the most beloved of all family films without ever having been much promoted or advertised." -- Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times

May

Family Matinee:
New 35mm Print! OLIVER TWIST, 1948, MGM/UA, 116 min. Dir. David Lean. A startlingly real, atmospheric evocation of childhood terrors and the evils of poverty. Innocent orphan Oliver (John Howard Davies) is shanghaied into a gang of child thieves by blackguard Bill Sykes (a particularly chilling Robert Newton). Alec Guinness’ masterful, almost unrecognizable performance as the Jewish kingpin of boy thieves, Fagin, led to unexpected problems when the film was denounced as anti-Semitic by the League of B’nai B’rith – in Berlin, rioters tore the theatre apart where the film was shown, and its release was delayed for three years in the U.S. to let tensions ease. More on this film. "OLIVER TWIST moves forward in staccato bursts, propelled by coiling tensions and by outbursts of sudden, brutish violence…This is possibly David Lean’s wildest movie, certainly his darkest and arguably his best." – Al McKee, Film Comment.

JULY

THE GREAT RACE, 1965, Warner Bros. 152 min. Dir. Blake Edwards. White-suited Tony Curtis foils the schemes of villainous Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon), while wooing reporter Natalie Wood on a New York-to-Paris road race (the very concept indicates the film's zaniness!) in 1908. Edwards' love letter to the films of Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel & Hardy is a nonstop comic chase with humor that's easily accessible to adults and children alike. Join us at 2 PM at Every Picture Tells A Story for a free story hour and refreshments.

CHARLOTTE’S WEB, 1973, Paramount, 94 min. Dirs. Charles A. Nichols & Iwao Takamoto. Debbie Reynolds is the voice of Charlotte, a gentle spider who befriends lovable pig Wilbur (Henry Gibson) in this irresistible animated adaptation of E.B. White’s classic novel. Richard and Robert Sherman (MARY POPPINS) provide the songs, and the touching script is by "The Waltons" creator Earl Hamner Jr. A beloved parable for all ages, this is one of the best films to come out of the Hanna-Barbera studio. Join us at 3 PM at Every Picture Tells A Story for refreshments and a free story hour and see the wonderful artwork of Charlotte's Web creator Garth Williams.

AUGUST

Sunday, August 17 – 4:00 PM

Cartoon Network Family Matinee Special!

CARTOON NETWORK’S SUMMERIFIC SUNDAY, 90 min. A collection of hilarious Cartoon Network original shows including Craig McCracken's Emmy Award-winning "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," and the brand-new sensation "Chowder," about an apprentice chef in Marzipan City who's always hungry and will eat anything, even a customer's order! Also, "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack," about a young boy, raised in a talking whale named Bubbie, who joins adventurous pirate Captain K'nuckles in search of Candied Island.

“Bruised Bluenana” – Chowder (11 min)

“The Heavy Sleeper” – Chowder (11 min)

“Kid Nickels with Sweet Life” – Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (22 min)

“Nightmare on Wilson Way” - Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends (22 min)

Free admission to all imaginary friends. Special Guests:

Carl Greenblatt, creator Chowder

Darrick Bachman, writer Chowder & Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends

Thurop Van Orman, creator & voice talent The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack

Ben Balsteri, character designer Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends Official website.

OCTOBER

Tribute to late Bill Melendez! BON VOYAGE CHARLIE BROWN, 1980, Paramount, 75 min. Dirs. Bill Melendez and Phil Roman. Charlie Brown and his friends travel to France and find romance and mystery--as well as adults who actually speak audible words (a rarity in PEANUTS cartoons)! Highlights of the film include Snoopy playing tennis at Wimbledon, driving, and taking on his persona as a World War I "flying ace." Bill Melendez, 91, an Emmy Award-winning animator who transformed the two-dimensional drawings of the "Peanuts" comic strip into some of the most beloved cartoon characters on television and film, died Sept. 2, 2008 at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif.  More on this film Join us at 3 PM at Every Picture Tells A Story for refreshments and a free story hour and see the original works by Peanuts' Charles Schulz.

More events of interest to parents and/or kids this month! Leslie Caron Puppetry Festival & Sizzling Hot Topics in Parenting Lectures

NOVEMBER

Saturday, November 15 - 4:00 PM

Family Matinee!

WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, 1971, Warner Bros., 100 min. Dir. Mel Stuart. "Come with me, and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination," croons mysterious pied piper Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) in this truly wondrous musical adaptation of writer Roald Dahl’s children’s classic, as the five lucky holders of the Golden Tickets (Veruca Salt! Augustus Gloop!) and their parents venture inside the enchanted Wonka Chocolate Factory. Glorious, candy-colored direction by Stuart is matched by the iridescent score by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley (DR. DOLITTLE). With Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, 1965, 20^th Century Fox, 172 min. Dir. Robert Wise. For many, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is the 70mm experience, from the silent, sweeping shots of the Austrian Alps to Julie Andrews suddenly bursting into song like a force of nature. An Oscar winner for Best Picture and Wise’s flawless direction, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is a reason, a virtual commandment to go see movies on the Big Screen. Co-starring Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Anna Lee, Marni Nixon and Angela Cartwright, with a wonderful script by Ernest Lehman.

DECEMBER

Saturday, December 13 – 4:00 PM

Family Matinee!

THE WIZARD OF OZ, 1939, Warner Bros., 101 min. Dir. Victor Fleming. Judy Garland is Dorothy in this sublime, candy-colored adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s children’s favorite and one of the most beloved film classics of all time. Take a surreal stroll down the yellow brick road with Dorothy as she encounters the Tin Man (Jack Haley), the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), Glinda, the Good Witch (Billie Burke) and the Wicked Witch Of The West (Margaret Hamilton). With the amazing Frank Morgan doing multiple duties in a variety of roles, including the Wizard. Song "Over The Rainbow" was an Oscar winner. Watch out for the Flying Monkeys! Trailer