From the “Bad Dad” confession files… I’m a child of the 80s who hasn’t yet been able to convince his children to watch E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Why not? Because I made the mistake of telling them E.T. was the first movie that made me cry.
I had just turned 10 in the summer of 1982. The whole fifth grade was buzzing: “This movie’s great, but it’s gonna make you cry!” And, sure enough, I sniffled and snuffled all through the last reel.
When I shared these memories with my son – himself a freshly minted 10-year-old at the time – he decided he wasn’t about to get caught crying for some movie. “Uh, no thanks, Dad,” he said. “I’ll pass.”
And because he wasn’t interested, his little sister decided she wasn’t, either.
Now, she “loved, loved, loved” (her words) the E.T. ride at Universal Studios in Orlando. She even posed for a picture on the “flying bike” in the gift shop, with E.T. right there in the handlebar basket. But watch the actual movie? “No way!” she says – especially now that she’s counting down to her tenth birthday.
If only I’d had NECA’s new, near-life size E.T. stunt puppet replica when my kids were younger!
Had this little guy – almost three feet of carefully sculpted and painstakingly painted latex and foam rubber, from his bulbous blue eyes to the healing tip of his right forefinger – been a familiar presence in our home, my kids could have grown up playing with him for years, all the while wondering – and finally asking dear old Dad – “Who is E.T., anyway?” Then I could have broken out my VHS tape (from Christmas morning, 1991 – the Sears promotional release, remember?) fired up the old VCR, popped some microwave popcorn, and said, “I’m glad you asked…”
Alas. Thirty-five years later after I saw it with my school friends, I am watching E.T. alone.
So learn from my mistake! Make sure you pre-order this (let’s face it) adorable E.T. puppet replica. Let the heartlights of the kids in your life—sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, next-door neighbors—glow with love for the gentlest visitor from the stars ever!
And act while you can! This product is limited to a single production run. Just like in the film, time is of the essence.
And whatever you do, don’t tell your kids that the movie made you cry. Even though it did.
And does.
(Sniffle, sniffle.)
