Films You Loved When You Were Younger That Don't Hold Up

[Adam]

What are the biggies for you guys? And what former favorites are you afraid of watching now; for fear of tarnishing golden memories? Also, if you like, how about stuff you were sure wouldn't hold up that totally does?

I watched Monster Squad this past Halloween for the first time in forever and, good lord, all the nostalgic blinders in the world couldn't clean up that mess. And a huge one that meant so much to me when I was in middle school or thereabouts is Empire Records and I'm definitely terrified of going back and revisiting that one. Like, I'm pretty confident Robin Tunney and the dance to The The have stood the test of time, but outside of that who knows. Also, Joe's Apartment more than likely sucks, but I will never re-watch that movie; forever choosing to remember it as my eleven year old self remembers it

EDIT: Although, actually it looks like Carter Burwell provided the score for Joe's Apartment (!!!) so maybe my eleven year old self had more discerning taste than I'm giving him credit for

[balmakboor]

Charly (1968) - I still love the book Flowers for Algernon, but this movie is so hopelessly dated now that it irritates me.

[MadMan]

Hmmm, I'll have to think about this. I'm sure there a couple of movies I watched during my youth that I am scared to revisit again, for fear of hating them. And then there are those, like Gremlins or 3 Ninjas that I still enjoy-the latter being goofy, childish fun.

[Sven]

I honestly have a difficult time with most Disney productions these days. There are a few that hold up extremely well (Dumbo, The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, and others). But most I find are like Cinderella, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, and many of the animated shorts, where I can remember and see why I loved them so much but find mostly clumsy or annoying or absurd now.

[number8]

The Burton Batman films, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, The Goonies...

I watched Street Fighter in theaters 3 times.

[[ETM]]

What's wrong with BTTF, 8? I thought it holds up best of all three of them.

For me it's Gremlins, Goonies... stuff like that. Last Starfighter and Tron hold up very well, surprisingly.

[number8]

What's wrong with BTTF, 8? I thought it holds up best of all three of them.

Hard to cite anything wrong with it. It just doesn't entertain me anymore. I guess I've always found the fun of the movie squarely on the story and not its filmmaking, so now that I can pretty much cite every plot point of that movie, I get bored watching it very quickly.

[Sven]

Jurassic Park is a great example for me too.

[MadMan]

Jurassic Park will never get old for me, ever. I'm holding onto my ancient VHS copy of the movie as long as I can. I mean, eventually I'll have to go out and buy it on DVD, unfortunately. The DVD copy doesn't have the same cool cover as the VHS one.

[dreamdead]

For me no film defines this thread more than Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Few films contain all of the apparent ability to astound while in reality it comes off now as treacly and overly-comical. Visual effects still work and look good, but the storyline feels so flat and uninvolved. The original doesn't hold up much better. Very sad.

I'm so afraid to revisit Lady and the Tramp as well.

[Sven]

Oh, also: Boyz 'n the Hood

LOVED it as a youth. Rewatched it within the last year. Holy cow, what a cliche ridden dumbfest.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I honestly have a difficult time with most Disney productions these days. There are a few that hold up extremely well (Dumbo, The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, and others). But most I find are like Cinderella, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, and many of the animated shorts, where I can remember and see why I loved them so much but find mostly clumsy or annoying or absurd now.

I can agree with this, though I think I'd probably list different films in either category. Some Disney films have even improved as I've gotten older, while others... are frankly unwatcheable now. My drop in appreciation for Aladdin was probably the biggest depreciation of any and all Disney films for me.

[[ETM]]

Jurassic Park will always be lifted by Williams' wonderful score for me.
One of his best.

[Rowland]

The Indiana Jones sequels and Return of the Jedi immediately come to mind.

[Watashi]

Nothing.

My childhood is never wrong.

[lovejuice]

My childhood is never wrong.

weirdly enough, i seem to agree with wat here. if anything, it's the other way around. a movie i had never cared for as a child, but then appreciated it more as i grew older.

[megladon8]

Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

[Skitch]

Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

Great example. Thought it was the best of the four when I saw it in theaters. Rewatch over decade later and almost cried in pain. Oh to be a child again.

[Spinal]

Dragonslayer

[Spinal]

Nothing.

My childhood is never wrong.

All evidence suggests that you're still living it.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[lovejuice]

Dragonslayer

it has an awesome onesheet.

thinking more about it, this might fall under the catagory of films i enjoy more as an adult. i don't remember much except when the hero has to fight baby dragons (correct?) which was pretty cool back then. i vaguely remember some elements of this film going over my head.

or i might just confuse it with sir gawain and the green knight.

[ledfloyd]

aladdin stands out for me as well, i remember loving it as a child and i revisited it recently and it was absolute garbage.

BTTF, the goonies and jurassic park all still work for me.

[Qrazy]

aladdin stands out for me as well, i remember loving it as a child and i revisited it recently and it was absolute garbage.

BTTF, the goonies and jurassic park all still work for me.

As someone who hasn't revisited Aladdin yet but keeps hearing this... what's garbage about it?

[number8]

Robin Williams' Genie is really annoying.

Also, the sequel should've been Aladdin getting 6 more wives.

[Wryan]

Jurassic Park not holding up anymore?

On. What. Planet!?

I was almost about to say The Witches, but then I realized that I was fucking wrong and that it's still fucking awesome.