Vidéokid

The Wizard is one of the best 80s movies for kids or teens. It's got it all--an excellent and hilarious story, great music, excellent actors, and above all--that little 80s console of long hours of entertainment known as The Nintendo.

The Wizard was made to feul sales for Nintendo in promoting it's newest video game, Super Mario Brothers 3, which I understand to be the company's best selling game of all time (and with good reason). The story involves three kids, struggling for independence from their messed up family life. Fred Savage plays Cory, who's father and brother tend to change the subject of the uncomfortable fact that his half-brother Jimmy is going to be put in a foster home. Not if Cory can help it. He and Jimmy go Shanghai for California, the land of possibility. Along the way, they meet Haley, a hot shot young girl who's father is a truck driver and mother is a gambling addict. On her way to Reno, she discovers that Jimmy is a video game wizard (like the Pinball Wizard). With the Video Game Armaggeddon just weeks away, Haley comes up with the idea that the three kids should pool their resources, go to California, compete, and split the cash.

It may seem like an easy goal--heading from Utah to California on a skateboard and a couple of bucks, hustling video game hacks along the way. But meanwhile, a crazy bounty hunter kind of guy has been hired to bring Jimmy (and only Jimmy) back home. He's similarly in a competition--against Corey's father, who needs to get to the kids first before the crazy bounty hunter does.

This movie has it all. You get to see some the greatest Nintendo games (Double Dragon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) The Adventures of Zelda, Excite Bike, and Rad Racer) in addition to other Nintendo accessories such as The Power Glove ("I love the Power Glove, it's so bad.") It's so effective in selling Nintendo nostalgia (though it wasn't quite nostalgia when the movie was made), that it will make you want to pull out the old console--or emulator--and have a crack or two at some games again.

Additionally, you have an excellent cast of actors involved in a hilarious cat-and-mouse chase, with the most laughs coming from the traveling dispute of the bounty hunter and Corey's dad (Beau Bridges). Plus, how can you go wrong with an early Fred Savage, Jennifer "Rilo Kiley" Lewis, and Christian Slater movie? You can't. It's packed to the brim with excellent features that if you're in love with the 80s, you're sure to enjoy.

I can't remember the first time I saw this movie... but I have now seen it about 5 times, all though the last time had to be about 5 years ago.

This is one of my favorite movies. I remember just sitting there when I was younger, and my attention was never lost in it. Thinking back on it now, I realize that the whole movie was just a 2 hour commercial to promote the soon-to-be released Super Nintendo... but I don't care!

It was a great story, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

A touching drama about a young boy's quest to help his autistic younger brother and a troubled young girl they meet along the way running from her own demons.....

Okay, so it's mostly just a 90 minute commercial for Super Mario Brothers 3, but it's also a great road movie with plenty of classic 80's quotable material ("I love the Power Glove. It's so bad."). It has a good soundtrack as well.

I think if a person sees the film for the first time nowadays they might not enjoy it as much as those who saw the film growing up and enjoy that oh so good feeling of nostalgia.

The fond memories I had of this flick from my youth were not disappointed when I finally caught up with it again recently.

Its simply a great kids adventure. Many claimed at the time that it was little more than a rather enormous advert for Nintendo, and it is. But they bothered to make a decent movie out of it as well. I remember how excited I was at the prospect of Super Mario Bros 3, and this movie plays up to those expectations very entertainingly.

If you love videogames, the film is a fascinating cultural artifact. If you are a youngster, you should thoroughly enjoy a very well maintained adventure, with surprisingly few flaws.

It may sound pretentious, but for what it is, it is near flawless. Go figure!

i first saw the wizard back in 1990. i still like it today. to go with the video game plot there is a plot that's bigger than that in this movie.about a kid that almost never talks,and tries to leave on the road a lot.his half brother cares about him more than anybody else does. they both go on a road trip by walking,and sometimes hitching to cali.along the way they pick-up a young teenage girl.that gives them the idea that the kid is good at playing video games,and that they should go to los angeles to enter him in a video game contest if he wins they would'en wanna keep him in a home.the family of the kids brother is after him riding in a truck.also a private investagater hired by the kids mom is also going after him. it is an entertaining movie,and sometimes funny.all in all it's a really fun movie.i give it *** out of ****