THE JETSONS: THE MOVIE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1995 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
Recently, I was one of the chaperons for my four year old boy's preschool when they went to see JETSONS: THE MOVIE. The movie was unique in that it is the only children's movie I know that shows adults at their jobs. Most kids' stories have adults in them that seem to be independently wealthy in that they never go to work or they work at some unknown and unshown place.
What really bothered me about the movie was the stereotypes it showed the kids about what it means to have a job and what capitalism is all about. In the movie, the family has a life of easy with every gadget possible, i.e., a high and comfortable standard of living. This was obtained solely from George Jetson's salary.
Now what did he do to earn this salary? He had to fight traffic to get to work but once there he had a single job - to push a button one time at the start of the day and then he slept, BUT he was not happy because he always feared his evil boss would show up and actually make him do something. The movie made you hate such a terrible and inconsiderate boss.
Guess what else this evil boss has in mind? He is interested in making a profit (gasp!), and moreover, his board of directors are even demanding he turn a profit. The movie then teaches children how this profit thing is accomplished. The boss does this by exploiting his workers (as an example of this, he promotes George to VP but does not give him a raise) and by destroying the ecosystem of some unknown endangered species.
In the end, the boss learns the evil of his ways and agrees to feather bedding to make up for it. He takes on hundreds of workers (the unknown endangered species) and agrees to hire all of them to run his plant. This is a plant that was so automated that one person ran it before. Somehow this all means he will get "fair" profits and everyone will be happy. A great economics lesson.
In the end the children have learned that capitalism is all about spoiling the ecosystem and exploiting workers. This sure makes them want to grow up to become entrepreneurs and build healthy businesses. Sad.
JETSONS: THE MOVIE is rated G and runs less an hour and a half. I give the movie * 1/2 as they had about 10-15 minutes worth of cleaver ideas and fun gadgets - certainly not enough for a full-length movie. I suspect, on the other hand, that little ones will not realize or care that they are being brainwashed and will think the movie is a fun little diversion. Mine did.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: July 13, 1993
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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