
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 7, 1990                   TAG: 9007070348
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

JETSONS MOVIE IS AS BLAND AS GEORGE

"Jetsons: The Movie" is the summer's real "Back to the Future." It's a retro outing where the '50s and '60s meet the '80s in the year 2200. At a time when the drive-in is nearly extinct, this animated feature presents us with fly-ins. Teen-agers wear ponytails and talk in '50s hipster jargon. All the earmarks of the suburban '50s are sent ahead a couple of centuries, along with some nods to the rap music, malls and music videos of the '80s and 1990.

"The Jetsons" was the product of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, those guys who helped to tone down the elaborate artistry of movie animation for TV. It aired as a cartoon series in 1962, in an effort to capitalize on the "Flintstones" family formula. They appeared to be variations of "Father Knows Best" and "The Honeymooners" disguised as cartoons.

"The Jetsons" only lasted a year but syndication has kept them alive for decades and other episodes were made in the 1980s. Therefore, the nostalgia value of the current movie seems to be minimal. But I have been told by teen-agers and young adults that they will definitely see the movie, so maybe I'm looking at nostalgia from the wrong vantage point.

At any rate, the current movie looks very much like the old TV series, and I found myself warming to the camp look of the '50s perception of what the future would look like.

The colors are garish, lapels on the costumes remind viewers of car fins of the '50s, and the furniture is of the kidney-shaped coffee table variety. Other than that, I couldn't find much interesting about the movie.

This time, George, his wife, their two children and the pesky family dog are transferred to a Spacely Sprocket plant on an asteroid where George has been made plant manager. The greedy Mr. Spacely (voice provided by the late Mel Blanc) needed someone dull and dispensable, and George was his man.

The plant has been troubled by industrial sabotage, and the culprits are cuddly critters from a community being destroyed by the plant's operation. That's about it for the story - the rest of the movie is occupied by supposedly clever futuristic jokes that just seem outdated. I had two youngsters with me, and they seemed content to watch, but bear in mind they'll stare at Saturday morning cartoons for hours if allowed.

"Jetsons: The Movie" delivers an environmentally sensible message which is commendable and the movie is certainly harmless. You may not be excited by "Jetsons," but at least you can't get mad at them.

`Jetsons: The Movie': A Universal picture at Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219) and the Towers Theatre (345-5519). Rated G. An hour and 25 minutes.

by CNB