In 1989 life was much slower for me back then, I was 8 years old, no job, no bills only fun filled days of playing wiffle ball, riding bikes, playing Nintendo, fishing, playing manhunt and multiple construction of bunks which we thgouht were palaces as kids. Then suddenly on a late afternoon I saw a comercial for a movie that would be a favorite of mine until this day, The Wizard. The excitment I felt being a nintendo fan was undescribable. It was almost unbelievable to see all my favorite NES games not only on the big screen but in an actual movie. I can remember all my friends talking about the movie and passing the information along that a movie had come out about our favorite thing at the time...Nintendo.

The Wizard is a movie starring Fred Savage(Corey), Luke Edwards(Jimmy) and Jenny Lewis(Haley) in which three kids travel across the country experiencing events that would change their lives all in the quest to reach The Nintendo World Video Game Championship.The movie starts off by introducing the characters that we will see throughout the movie. Jimmy is a young boy who has obtained a mental disability since his sister was killed and carries a lunch box full of memories that he can not just leave behind. Jimmy has an amazing ability of playing video games, he is not just good but amazing.

Corey is Jimmy's older brother who's sort of a guardian angel for Jimmy and will never leave Jimmy's side no matter what type of trouble he gets into.
When Jimmy is put into an institution due to his mental disorder Corey, his brother breaks him out and now both are on the run to California. Since they are so young they can not drive themselves so they have to find an other type of transportation which basically is hitch hiking which nowadays can get a kid lost sad to say, I guess it's the changing times but it is terrible.

Along their journey many memorable events occur like scamming salesman to get a little money or the memorable meeting between Jimmy and a kid named Lucas. Lucas brings out his secret weapon which prior to this movie has never been seen before....the power glove. Lucas has the greatest mullet you will ever see and could have one of the cheesiest quotes of all time "I love the power glove, it's so bad." I don't know what is worse, that quote or his haircut. But anyway he is an amazing gamer and an expert with the power glove. He is portrayed in the movie as the bad, rough and tough kid that all the kids want to be.

I remember seeing the power glove in this movie and wishing I would get one which I did and it worked terrible which is another story all together. If Lucas was that good on Rad Racer with the power glove I would hate to play against him with a regular controller. Lucas demonstrates his great ability using this mysterious weapon by dominating a game Rad Racer which we all know to well.

This makes Jimmy nervous and his outlet to his nervousness is stacking popcorn boxes. Corey's father and brother are trying to catch up with the trio in order to bring them back home to safety. When staying in a terrible hotel, Corey's father and brother are seen hanging out in the room with Corey's father playing the Nintendo, it's a high moment showing that even adults could love this amazing gaming console. I have tried in my past various times to get my father involved with playing the NES but every attempt was unsuccessful. Even my "ace of spades" move showing him Duck Hunt could not even even though he is an avid hunter.

I forgot to mention that the kids hitch a ride to Reno with a bunch of bikers(ya i know) and win some cash playing the craps. Before the competition Jimmy practices his gaming skills at the arcade. In this movie, you have a chance to see some awesome games from the NES being played such as Rad Racer, Mega Man, Contra, Ninja Gaiden and the ever memorable Super Mario Brothers 3. There are some flaws however while thse games are being showed.

When Jimmy is play Ninja Gaiden, Haley states that it is only Jimmy's second time playing this and that he has not even been hit once but when you look at the life meter he has two bars gone. Also when Lucas is playing Rad Racer and everyone is amazed at how far he has gotten, that screen shows that he has passed the first level...not too hard if you ask me. Some flaws but no biggie. A wierdo named Putnam hired by Corey's father finally catches up to Jimmy and grabs him but in order to try to prevent this action by calling attention to the event, Haley yells at the top of her lungs "he touched my breast". Now I was 8 years old when this came out and I was shocked at what I have heard, but this movie was about video games and I did not have the time or desire to think about the female anatomy in which I wish now was still the case. Putnam does succeed at kidnapping Jimmy but is saved by a whole slew of truckers(ya i know) which are friends of Haley. Finally they make it into the competition. Jimmy blows right through the first round and when it is all said and done there are three finalists. A random little girl, Jimmy and you guessed it our mullet wearing power glove wearing Lucas. The final competition is where they are told that they will be playing a new game and here it comes, they will be playing Super Mario Brothers 3.

I heard about this but this is the first time I have ever seen it and back in the day I could barely contain myself. The match is pretty close but once Jimmy finds a warp zone he wins the competition, the money and is crowned as the winner. Jimmy later leaves his lunch box behind which symbolizes him making peace about the issues he had with the death of his twin sister and everyone lives happily ever after. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, my article does not give it justice and I recommend that anyone who reads this and is a Nintedo fan and has not seen it, please do you will not be disappointed.