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Follow Friday: Let's All Go To The Movies

The official calendar may say that it's still spring for a few weeks but most of us know the truth.
School is out for many students around the country. The majority of the Eastern Seaboard has been melting in the 90+ degree heat this week. It's summertime.

Aside from the heat, that other harbinger of summer is the summer movie.  As a kid, I have fond memories of balancing my time between outdoor activities such as the pool and the playground with the cool, dark indoor sanctuary of the movie theater. 

For today's Follow Friday, I'm going to share four of my favorite movies from my childhood. In no particular order, I give you:

ET: The Extra Terrestrial: This classic Steven Spielberg film released in the summer of 1982 is one of the first movies that I ever remember seeing in the theater. What's not to love about this classic? I still cry every time I watch it and I still marvel at the special effects.  They may seem simple now in the world of CGI but at the time they were groundbreaking and amazing.  I've recently had conversations with young adults who have never seen this movie and let me tell you: it makes me feel OLD! 

The Wizard of Oz: If I could choose only one movie as my "favorite" of all time, it would be this one. In a world of On Demand movies and homes with expansive video collections, we forget that there was a time when the showing of this movie on television was an annual event. One of my most vivid childhood memories is of watching this movie with our family, our bowls full of popcorn, marveling at the magical moment when the film transforms from black and white to vivid color. I was terrified of the tornado as a child and remember running into the kitchen every time that part of the movie came up, peeking around the corner until the "scary part" was done. 
Bedknobs and Broomsticks: The Disney Channel used to be a premium cable channel like HBO or Showtime. We only had basic at our house but a few times a year, there would be free Disney weekends where they would show fun movies and shows in an effort to entice your subscription. We would set our VCR (remember those?) and record classic Disney flicks all weekend. This 1971 movie that combined live action and animation (very much like Mary Poppins) was one of my favorites as a child. I still have some of the songs committed to memory. Interestingly, I rewatched this movie a few years ago and was disappointingly underwhelmed. I guess the movie doesn't stand up to my more refined (?) adult standards but I simply adored the movie as a child. 

We'll cap off this short list with one more Disney movie: Escape to Witch Moutain. I probably discovered this movie during another free Disney Channel weekend. It's dated (dig those groovy outfits, man!) and a bit formulaic but I was completely captivated by scenes like this one:


How are Tony and Tia able to make the puppets move? You'll have to watch the movie to find out!

Enjoy your weekend and enjoy your summer. What are your favorite childhood flicks?
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