The Little Rascals
After the destruction of their beloved clubhouse a group of cleverly rabunctious urchins embark on a series of ill-fated enterprises to raise enough money to rebuild. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 02/08/2005 Starring: Travis Tedford Run time: 83 minutes Rating: Pg
Kids may enjoy the slapstick of this modern reworking of the old Our Gang comedies, but parents who grew up watching them on TV (or grandparents who saw them at theaters) will wonder why anyone would want to be involved in this pathetic remake. Directed by Penelope Spheeris, the film takes look-alike kids and casts them as Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, and the rest, minus any sense of what made the old Hal Roach comedies funny. Instead of kids being kids, these are kids doing shtick while recycling such old bits as the He-Man Woman Haters Club, the kids' go-cart race, and Spanky and Alfalfa dressing as girls. Devoid of charm or wit. --Marshall Fine
The Little Rascals Accessories
 Our Gang - Little Rascals Greatest Hits
The Sandlot
Little Giants
Matilda (Special Edition)
Richie Rich
Heavyweights
Dennis the Menace (Special Edition)
Home Alone
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Dennis the Menace (Special Edition) / Dennis Menace Strikes Again
The Little Rascals Reviews
I don't know how but a 1930s version of this situation would seem much more innocent than this movie did. I prefer for our kids to be a little shy about who see's what. What really bothers us about it though were the constant statements of hate, killing, murder and dying. It's funny but it may not be the kind of humor you want to introduce into your house - yet. Fun, innocent entertainment for little kids is very important to us. In this movie all I could think of was a modern kid enjoying showing off his stuff.
We'll be happier letting kids be kids without the suggestions of killing, murder, hate, etc. Parents watch this one without your children and judge for yourself. and then losing them in the pool in front of Darla and the rich kid.
I see the original episodes are available on DVD. In an old movie the character would have likely fled in terror behind something. Maybe when the youngest is 10 years old we'll pull it out again. We will be purchasing those. Hmmm. Maybe in a Porky's style "college" movie - not in a movie for little kids. Maybe it was the delay between the time he noticed he was naked and the amount of time it took him to be embarrased.
One was Alfalfa's hair suggesting an erection when he saw a cute girl. No thanks. This movie is not part of the kind of entertainment we are ready to allow into our house for the kids. Our last problem was the sexual innuendo. They grow up plenty fast without Hollywood's help. One minor irritation was that they tried to throw characters of the 1920s and 1930s in a 1990s America. There were several things that made us cringe. I'm fine with that sort of humor being aimed at teens but let's leave the cause and effect of an erection unspoken for really young kids - okay.
Yuck. Kids don't talk like that anymore, don't dress like that anymore, and the divide between girls and boys has been shrinking - why reopen that. Our fear was that our two young ones would begin to use language like that more often. There were several occasions that made us cringe. Sure these are kids and those words don't mean as much coming from them as it does from an adult but these words should not be used so casually. The other was Alfalfa runing through the streets in jockey shorts (why not BOXERS). This should have been a period movie like "Christmas Story" and they should have removed the modern crude humor. Everybody raises their children differently but after watching this movie once with our two small children we've shelved it indefinitely.
My only complaint is the DVD edition seems to be the same edited version as the old VHS. I remember seeing the missing scenes on TV oddly enough. There is also a funny extended trial scene that is much abbreviated in this version. Its a fun little movie and the kids are fun to watch. If they ever re-release this movie I hope it will be a more complete edit. There are a few gags that are either incomplete, or missing altogether, but you can kind of tell where they belong (like the gentlemen walking into the bank). They're poor actors, just like the originals, although the Spanky and Alfalfa that people remember from the late 30s were probably more polished than any of these kids. New interpretations of some classic Our Gang bits, a few cameos and decent production value.
I loved it. It really captured the feel of the original are gang. For my daughter. Ever little boy or girl should own it
All of the characters really look like the origional Little Rascals or as I grew up calling them OUR GANG. She loves watching it REPEATEDLY and has been sharing it with her friends who also love watching it REPEATEDLY. My 6 year old granddaughter and I saw this movie on tv, and then I found it at Amazon for her. Very good childrens movie.
:) Definitely one of my favs. This movie is one of my favorites from when I was a kid. I find myself laughing through the whole thing and my son likes it, too. I still love it to this day. I never saw the original, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm one of the adults who actually likes it.
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