Customer Reviews

Shipwrecked [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I first saw "Shipwrecked" when I was about 7 years old on vacation in Disney World with my family. Ever since then, it has been an absolute favorite movie of mine. The effects are good, the gorilla (although not ENTIRELY realistic) is a wonderful character and looking at Stain Smestad and Gabriel Byrne is not exactly a chore. ALSO, the soundtrack is BEAUTIFUL. I hope to get it on CD one day. If you get a chance, rent the movie. You won't regret it.

Me and my sister have seen this film a "few too many" times. We have even come up with nicknames for the backround characters (ex: Guy On The Log for the man who makes a strange face while crossing the fallen tree) Our number one favorite characters are Captain (Gabriel Byrne) and Ooga (the giant silver-back gorilla who makes all of 3 appearances throughout the movie) We both love this movie and fully recommend it for people of all ages. You haven't seen it enough unless you've watched it all in slow motion. Too bad it isn't here...

When his sailor-father is injured and unable to go to sea again, 14-year old Haakon takes his place. Hunky sailor Jens goes with him to act as protector, mentor, and big brother (and incidentally provides enough beefcake to keep the adults watching). After some Treasure Island-style adventuring, they encounter scrappy stowaway Mary, whose bond with Haakon remains strictly in the platonic sisterly affection camp -- no prepubescent romances here! The three of them are shipwrecked on a South Seas island (with a gorilla, for some reason). They encounter a native tribe (friendly, of course), buried treasure, and pirates before they return to Norway, one big happy family.

The action is good, the buddy-bonding touching, and it is refreshing these days to see a child in the movies who gets to be a child, rather than a leering 30-year old in a prepubescent body.

Being a Disney film I was a bit surprised to see the main character and family suffering from privation and class bigotry. The usual Disney film characters are very well-fed, white, stain free, and very middle class. To see the main character being 'sold' off to pay a family debt may seem foreign to us now, but I imagine that it was commonplace in many cultures in the past. The parting of the son to begin his duty as cabin boy on a ship was a bit hard to take. The trials he endured were fanciful, his resolution was gratifying, and the end was most satisfying.

My family enjoyed this film, to see a boy thrust into harsh conditions, find a bit of love, survive an accident, and fight for treasure and his love. It did make my daughter swoon at seeing the hero being strong, shirtless, and creative in his battle with evil.

Gabriel Byrne's role as the evil pirate was so cool. Deep down inside I felt that he enjoyed playing the role in this children's story. This is not the first children's film that he's done and I salute him for it. Perhaps the point of the film IS that right always triumphs in the end. It is unfortunate that this DVD is very scarce. It seems that it has been only available through a Disney film club, but no more.

From first seeing this film in 1991 (I was 9), it became an instant classic for me and my childhood.
It became my "sick day" movie. Whenever my sister or I took a sick day from school, we would have to watch Shipwrecked. It probably drove my mother nuts.

The kids will enjoy it, and adults won't get bored, either. I watched it recently for the first time in years, and I still found it pretty interesting.
It's not a blockbuster, it's not supposed to be. But it's a classy family film nonetheless, which might be hard to find in Disney these days.

Some pluses: the scenery is excellent (shot in three international locations), the music is superb, and the plot will keep you interested.
I strongly recommend it.

I saw this movie when I was about four. Ever since i have been looking for this movies and could never find it. It is a good, adventurous movie that will satisfy any young boys thirst for adventure. I recomend this movie to anyone!

This is definitely my #1 adventure movie of all time!!! I enjoy watching it periodically ever since i first saw it in 1991. It is so interesting since there is a hurricane involved in it, as well as survival on a desert island. I will always rank it high on my list!!

Excellent movie, but why does Disney keep giving us fans the dreaded Pan and Scan versions of great movies? The future of TV is 16X9 TV sets, we want WIDESCREEN versions of movies. When dvd's first came out, they were full screen on one side, widescreen on the other. Now we don't even get the choice. Bummer!

This movie should be reissued for a whole new generation of youngsters.
It's a beautiful tale, with just the kind of imagination inspiring adventure that young children love. The heros demonstrate innocence, strong character, hard work, self sacrifice, family ties, honesty, loyalty and resourcefulness. Beautiful scenary to boot. I for one don't miss the profanity, commercialism, immorality and shallowness that seems to be so common in many of the popular films today.

this is a thoroughly enjoyable action/adventure flick brought to special heights by the presence of young lead stian smestad: arguably the most beautiful boy ever to appear on film. if you're into pirate movies, swashbucklers, &c. you will not be disappointed. and if you're into poulle, you'll never do better.

GET THIS FILM BACK IN CIRCULATION!