From films about childhood dreams, to wizards, to evil spirits, the fantasy genre has taken audiences into worlds they never could have imagined. Fantasy genre films use creativity, magic, and unrealistic circumstances to take one’s mind beyond its limits. “Fantasy is a fluid genre that allows crossover with horror, science fiction, comedy, holiday films, and more” (Goodyknootz & Jacobs, 2014). The feature-length film “Big” starring Tom Hanks is a textbook example of a fantasy genre film. While using impractical and dreamlike situations and settings, this American Film Institute (AFI) top ten film grasps the attention of the younger viewers but also offers remarks that are appreciated by adults. (Goodyknootz & Jacobs, 2014) The theory of
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Brooks and Robert Greenhut, and released on June 3rd, 1988, is a classical fantasy film. It starts out with Josh (David Moscow) a boy who feels his life as a young teen is unfair. At a carnival one night he made a wish at a magic fortune-telling machine, to be “big.” By magic I mean, the machine appeared to be broken/unplugged, but still came to life. Josh awoke the next morning to find that his wish had been granted. Josh was now a man in his 30’s (Tom Hanks). When he flees from his home in utter shock, not knowing what to do, he tries to convince his childhood friend Billy (Jared Ruston) that he is still “Josh.” When he finally convinces Billy of this, they put their heads together to come up with a plan as to what Josh is to do now. Because at this point he obviously cannot go home, no one would believe what has happened. Josh, now as a grownup lands himself a job at a major toy company, basically playing with toys all day. While he lives his day-to-day life as a grownup (in his own way), he risks losing his best friend (Billy) and falls in love with a fellow co-worker, Susan (Elizabeth Perkins). Being still a kid mentally and emotionally, Josh realizes that being “big” is not all it is cracked up to be. He begins missing his mother and being able to live his live as a young teenager. So, he goes back to the pier in search of the magic fortune-telling machine. When he discovers …show more content…
For example, the magic convention is displayed when Josh as a young boy puts money into a fortune-telling machine and makes a wish. The fortune-telling machine appears to be broken, but after a few shakes the machine lights up and spits out a card saying that his wish had been granted. The magical part of this is that the fortune-telling machine was broken and unplugged for some unknown reason, but it still lit up and operated like there was nothing wrong with it. The fact that Josh’s wish was granted and the next morning he was a 30 year old man is the unrealistic convention. This type of impractical situation is obviously impossible. There is no way for a young boy to turn into a grown man overnight. Also, how sensible would it be to have a childhood friend actually believe what has happened to him, much less the girlfriend/co-worker believe that he was actually a young boy. If you take an even more in-depth look at the movie and how Josh’s life as a grownup plays out, you will see that Josh lands his job at the toy company without a valid ID, references, or even a social security card. How realistic is
Brooks and Robert Greenhut, and released on June 3rd, 1988, is a classical fantasy film. It starts out with Josh (David Moscow) a boy who feels his life as a young teen is unfair. At a carnival one night he made a wish at a magic fortune-telling machine, to be “big.” By magic I mean, the machine appeared to be broken/unplugged, but still came to life. Josh awoke the next morning to find that his wish had been granted. Josh was now a man in his 30’s (Tom Hanks). When he flees from his home in utter shock, not knowing what to do, he tries to convince his childhood friend Billy (Jared Ruston) that he is still “Josh.” When he finally convinces Billy of this, they put their heads together to come up with a plan as to what Josh is to do now. Because at this point he obviously cannot go home, no one would believe what has happened. Josh, now as a grownup lands himself a job at a major toy company, basically playing with toys all day. While he lives his day-to-day life as a grownup (in his own way), he risks losing his best friend (Billy) and falls in love with a fellow co-worker, Susan (Elizabeth Perkins). Being still a kid mentally and emotionally, Josh realizes that being “big” is not all it is cracked up to be. He begins missing his mother and being able to live his live as a young teenager. So, he goes back to the pier in search of the magic fortune-telling machine. When he discovers …show more content…
For example, the magic convention is displayed when Josh as a young boy puts money into a fortune-telling machine and makes a wish. The fortune-telling machine appears to be broken, but after a few shakes the machine lights up and spits out a card saying that his wish had been granted. The magical part of this is that the fortune-telling machine was broken and unplugged for some unknown reason, but it still lit up and operated like there was nothing wrong with it. The fact that Josh’s wish was granted and the next morning he was a 30 year old man is the unrealistic convention. This type of impractical situation is obviously impossible. There is no way for a young boy to turn into a grown man overnight. Also, how sensible would it be to have a childhood friend actually believe what has happened to him, much less the girlfriend/co-worker believe that he was actually a young boy. If you take an even more in-depth look at the movie and how Josh’s life as a grownup plays out, you will see that Josh lands his job at the toy company without a valid ID, references, or even a social security card. How realistic is