Customer Reviews

Ray Bradbury's Electric Grandmother

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever see a happy ending that makes you force tears back? Well, Electric Grandmother is that movie that does it for me. I don't know what buttons are being pushed but pushed they are. I even watch this movie quite a few years ago to prove to myself that I wouldn't shed movie-tears. Dismal failure. With that said, this is an excellent movie that really does justice to the written fiction of Ray Bradbury translated to the screen. Highly recommended!

"Timothy, Timothy.... never you fear. Trouble won't, trouble you... now that I'm here. I know a secret.... that grandmother's know. Trust me, you'll find it. And help you to grow."

Holy cow. I still remember that darn song! The last time I saw this movie was back in the early 80's as a 5th grader watching HBO. Of course this was back in the times when most cable companies carried only HBO as a premium channel. This movie is so child and family oriented I was suprised just now to find out it was created by Ray Bradbury. It was so happy and touching that I could barely remember any dark aspects of the film. To this day, as a 32 yr old pediatrician, I can still remember those scenes where the grandma would serve milk out of her finger, the three kids growing old at the end of the movie when they're robotic grandmother returns, and even how the grandmother hated her grey hair-- unbeknownst to her this was chosen by the little girl whom she had the most trouble connecting to.

It's so funny, or perhaps tragic in some ways, how these little weird films shown to me by HBO as a child have stuck into my memory This film is one. "The Learning Tree" is another. And finally, the now cult classic "Midnight Madness."

As soon as this film is made for DVD I'm buyin!

I love this movie. It is a wonderful children's movie and even adults will like it too.
You will feel good after this movie.. Make sure you have some kleenex.

When I heard that Maureen Stapleton passed, I immediately remembered her as her character in this movie. My brother and I watched this movie over and over and over when we were 4 and 7 years old, respectively. It is touching and appropriate, a wonderful, timeless family classic. We later found out that it was filmed at a house in the town where we lived, so any time we drove past the house, we excitedly pointed out the "Electric Grandmother House" to anybody within earshot.

It really is well-done--wonder where it's disappeared to these days. Saw it in school over 20 years ago, and have never forgotten it. Very good music, great acting. This version is both touching, heartwarming, etc., AND it captures the sorta-dark-and-creepy vibe of Bradbury's original tale. Much better than the chopped-up, ham-handed Twilight Zone episode based on the same story.

I had such vivid memories of seeing this movie in school as a young child back in the early 80s. As a child, I found some parts of it rather disturbing, such as when the family goes into Fantocinni's shop and you see the silhouettes and hear the distant voices of the grandmothers, when Grandma plugs herself into the wall and rocks back and forth and then the part where she seems like she should be dead, but is not.

Second only to the strong performances by Maureen Stapleton, the music is what gives this movie its strength and character. The lullaby Grandma sings for Timothy and Agatha is beautiful and comforting.

The best part of the movie is the last five minutes where you see the three siblings now all very old, staring out the window when Grandma returns, their faces and eyes lit up with happy memories of their childhood with her.

I hope someday this movie is given a proper DVD release or at least a release of the soundtrack. It deserves that much.

As a retired school teacher, I have seen this video once a year for 25 years 5-7 times a day. I would cry every time, every class, every period. My kids thought I was crazy. I think that it is more truly appreciated as we get older, watch our parents and grandparents become older, that the child becomes the parent and vice versa. The story of the grandmother finally breaking through to Agatha is tender and true, but the ending holds the true message of the story....the circle of life. I always found that my high school kids got the message better, above and beyond the quirky grandma with milk pouring from her fingertips, as evidenced in their papers and reviews.

Have you seen the Twilight Zone version? Of course it's in black and white, and doesn't really do justice to the tenderness of Bradbury's tale. Plus it ends when the children leave home, defeating the true beauty of the story by leaving off the grandmother's eventual return. It comes off a bit darker, grandma is stiffer, and of course doesn't come back, bringing with her the sounds and memories from their childhoods.

I'm all for a DVD version. I bet the Educational Service Houses have them; it's still popular fodder for English classes. It is certainly one that needs to be preserved. Maybe we should start playing it in nursing homes now.

This is an excellent children's movie. I saw it as a child myself when it first came on Nickelodeon (you know, back in the stone age of the 80's?).

Maureen Stapleton plays the "Electric Grandmother" who is a robot bought by an widower inventor for his children. The "grandmother" is extremely caring and friendly and it's hard to accept the fact that she's supposed to be none other than a robot, but anyhow, it's a good film about life and adjusting to new things.

The father decides that his children need a maternal role figure. He goes to a factory where there's an elderly man, who specializes in making "electrical grandmothers." The children choose the eye colors, etc. until they have their very own version of a gradnmother.

After the grandmother is built and sent to live with the children via helicopter, then the eldest child named Abigail decides she resents her new "grandmother," so she acts like a spoiled brat throughout the film; although, you can't blame the character for reacting that way because after all, the child has just lost her mother, but eventually the little girl along with her fellow siblings learns to love her new "grandmother," and sadly, the "grandmother" must be sent away because she's on borrowed time, which is probably symbolic of death, in a sense, and so the eldest child, Abigail gets upset, of course, (who wouldn't she's already lost her mother and now her "grandmother"), so when the grandmother is getting ready to go into her box and leave via helicopter again, the little girl starts running away, visibly upset and then all the sudden a car comes whilring around the corner right before the little girl says to her "grnadmother," "Grandma, I hate you!" Then, the grandmother says, "Abigail!" Then, the grandmother gets run over after trying to prevent Abigail from getting hit, then everyone cries and then, (I cried as a child because I thought "grandmother" was dead) and lo and behold...she's alive!

Eventually, the children grow up and the "grandmother" returns and takes care of them until their old age and the film ends.

I highly recommend this to anyone, who has children, but be forewarned that death is a motif in this film, so it might not be suitable for younger viewers.

It really should be released on DVD because it's a poignant family film.

This is a wonderful story - one of my favorites. Although it is sci fi it is very believable and the acting is very good, expecially Maureen Stapleton. I had another copy, but had lost it so I was very glad to get this one. My only complaint, and the reason for only 4 stars, is the poor quality of the tape. It almost seems like a dupe. I bought this from a private party through Amazon.

I've looked for this movie for years. When my daughter was little we saw it on TV. I'd recommend this movie to everyone, it's not just about the lost of someone.