Voices of George O'Hanlon, Mel Blanc, Penny Singleton, and Tiffany
Directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbara
Music and Lyrics by various
First of all, Musical Dreams Reviews is going on vacation hiatus from the 22nd through the 28th. Regular reviews resume the 29th.
Second, this one means a lot to me. My sisters and I were major fans of Tiffany in the late 80's and early 90's. We had the soundtrack and listened to it constantly on our shiny pink and silver cassette player and eventually taped the movie off cable. We were big fans of the TV show too when it re-ran and debuted new episodes in syndication. Is the movie still enjoyable for today's kids, or does it look as dated as some of the "futuristic" inventions in the original show? To find out, let's begin later in the 21st Century, as normal working dad George Jetson (O'Hanlon) begins his day on the job, and find out...
The Story: After years of suffering verbal abuse from his miserly boss Mr. Spacely (Blanc), George is finally made vice-president of Spacely Sprockets. He and his family are sent to the Orbiting-Ore Asteroid, where metal is mined at 1/12th of the cost of running the factory on Earth. George is the only one who's happy. Elroy (Patric Zimmerman) looked forward to his spaceball championship game, and teenage Judy (Tiffany) is heartbroken when she loses out on the chance to date a rock star. George's wife Jane (Singleton) and his dog Astro (Don Messick) are more supportive.
Judy's much happier when she realizes that the elaborate apartment complex at the asteroid includes a massive mall. While she falls for a handsome blue-skinned alien teen named Apollo Blue (Paul Kreppel), Elroy befriends the kid robot on his new team, Teddy-2 (Dana Hill). Meanwhile, George discovers that Spacely's gone through four vice-presidents who were plagued with accidents at the factory. George recruits Teddy's father Rudy-2 (Ronnie Schell) to help him solve the mystery. The boys and their furry friend Fergie (Russi Taylor) follow them on their own...and are the ones who discover who's really behind the sabotage.
The Animation: The character animation is similar to any Hanna-Barbara show on the air in 1990, but it's the backgrounds and building designs where this one really shines. This is one time where the early CGI standing out like a sore thumb actually works. Most early CGI tends to be boxy and plastic...and that's perfect for the show's retro-futuristic look. The exterior of the factory and the mall in particular are marvels, all translucent tubes and ovals and pearly colors.
The Song and Dance: First of all, I know many fans of the original show complained about pop star Tiffany playing Judy instead of original voice Janet Waldo, but I don't think she's that bad. At least she's an actual teenager who wasn't much older than Judy at the time. Zimmerman and Hall are hilarious as the feisty kid duo who are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Their Scooby Doo-esque antics and some amusing slapstick from George provide a needed lift to the second half. The music my sisters and I loved so much are still decent examples of late 80's pop and remains catchy and hummable to this day.
Favorite Number: We start off with "We're the Jetsons" introducing each member of the family and their day. Steve McCormick sings "Maybe Love, Maybe Not," the uptempo ballad rock star Cosmic Cosmo charms Judy with at the concert. "Staying Together" by Shane Sutton provides the background for the family's move to the asteroid. Rudy-2 and George lay into the twisty rhymes of "The Factory Rap" as they relate the rules for running the mining asteroid. "I Always Thought I'd See You Again" is Judy's heartbroken ballad at the mall when she thinks she'll never find another guy like Cosmo. Tiffany also performs the lovely "Home" in the finale as the Jetsons pack to leave the asteroid and bid their new friends a fond but sad farewell.
The big one here is another Tiffany song, the catchy "You and Me." The song Apollo wrote for Judy becomes a random but gorgeously animated abstract romantic reverie making use of everything from heart-themed surrealism to pop art to watercolors.
Trivia: Last film for Penny Singleton, George O'Hanlon, and Mel Blanc; first theatrically released film for Brad Garrett, who voiced Fergie's father Bertie.
Blanc and O'Hanlon did manage to record their dialogue before they passed away during filming. O'Hanlon had a stroke and could only record one hour a day, but he died in the recording studio doing what he loved. Jeff Bergman filled in anything that had to be re-recorded. The film is dedicated to both men.
Janet Waldo was set to voice Judy Jetson, but was replaced by Tiffany at the last moment to attract a younger audience. Apparently, she can still be heard as Judy in a few lines.
While the movie didn't do badly at the box office, it was no blockbuster, either, and flopped only because of the high cost of marketing. It would be 27 years before another Jetsons project got off the ground, and that would be a made-for-video movie with WWE wrestling in 2017. (And apparently, there's a live-action version they've been trying to make since as far back as 1985.)
What I Don't Like: This movie has not dated well at all. The message about diversity and how different races can live together in harmony Apollo brings up in the end would have likely been enough to sustain a full plot. The environmental message with the beings who committed the sabotage feels preachy, dull, and tacked-on. There's no mention of environmentalism up to this point, and the resolution comes out of nowhere. Not to mention, both messages are driven home with all the force of those piledrivers in the asteroid. The perpetrators, when they do appear, are entirely too cutesy for a slapstick sci-fi action comedy and feel like they came from an early 80's Hanna-Barbara show like Monchikis or The Biscuitts.
And...I think the Jetsons were a little hard on George. He wasn't really running out on them. The job and move WERE important. In fact, some of the characters they met were so interesting, I wonder what would have happened if they'd stayed and we'd seen more of them, especially the hilarious robot Two family. There's also the fact that Judy acted like a brat through most of the film. Yes, losing out on a date with a rock star was disappointing, but she barely met the guy, and she carries on like they'd been dating for years.
The Big Finale: Opinion online seems to be sharply divided on this one. Some also have fond memories of catching this on video and cable and enjoy the cast and music; others, especially fans of the original show, find it to be too dated, silly, and lament the loss of Waldo. Put me in the former camp, but with reservations. Yes, it's dated, but if you love the original show or the cast or the music from this time period, you might actually have a lot of fun meeting the Jetsons and their friends new and old, too.
Home Media: Easily found in all major formats; the DVD often turns up for under $10.
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