I'm guessing that following the success of COCOON, Hollywood producers saw the potential of mixing old-timers with aliens, hence we get BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED. Despite the presence of the geriatrics in the cast, it's a children's film through and through, an old-fashioned fable about tenants in a run-down housing block trying to hold out against greedy developers and the little aliens that come to help them.
I don't usually 'do' sentimental films, but I'll make an exception for this one: it's a solid piece of entertainment that quite often reaches magical levels. Certainly the aliens themselves are wonderful creations; little UFOs who whizz around the screen and commit all sorts of mischief. The special effects are exemplary and hold up to this day, even by modern standards.
The cast are faultless; Jessica Tandy is a given, but kudos to the producers for hiring SHADOW OF A DOUBT's Hume Cronyn, who has a kind of crusty charm all his own. The highlight, for me, is Michael Carmine's villainous Carlos, who's given much more characterisation (and who elicits far more sympathy) than you might expect from a Hollywood bad guy.
Yes, BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED is twee, sentimental and silly, and totally unrealistic with it. Needless to say, Spielberg's fingerprints are all over it. Nevertheless, it still works when you watch it, even today, as a touching fable. One of the things I liked most about it is that it has great characterisation for an effects film; all of the people living in the apartment block have their own story arcs. Plus, the inclusion of the dementia sub-plot gives it an adult, bittersweet taste missing from your usual kid's flick.
I don't usually 'do' sentimental films, but I'll make an exception for this one: it's a solid piece of entertainment that quite often reaches magical levels. Certainly the aliens themselves are wonderful creations; little UFOs who whizz around the screen and commit all sorts of mischief. The special effects are exemplary and hold up to this day, even by modern standards.
The cast are faultless; Jessica Tandy is a given, but kudos to the producers for hiring SHADOW OF A DOUBT's Hume Cronyn, who has a kind of crusty charm all his own. The highlight, for me, is Michael Carmine's villainous Carlos, who's given much more characterisation (and who elicits far more sympathy) than you might expect from a Hollywood bad guy.
Yes, BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED is twee, sentimental and silly, and totally unrealistic with it. Needless to say, Spielberg's fingerprints are all over it. Nevertheless, it still works when you watch it, even today, as a touching fable. One of the things I liked most about it is that it has great characterisation for an effects film; all of the people living in the apartment block have their own story arcs. Plus, the inclusion of the dementia sub-plot gives it an adult, bittersweet taste missing from your usual kid's flick.