G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987)

As a child, arriving home each day after school was bittersweet, on one hand school was dismissed, and obviously that is good, on the other hand GI Joe didn't come on until 4:30, leaving an hour and a half of Smurfs, that awful fake Ghostbusters show and Heathcliff!! Only at 4:30 would the ever-so-radical GI Joe come on, never failing to entertain, as all the characters were my personal associates in my toy box, fighting evil along side their TV counterparts! But as young as I was I didn't realize the potential of the animated property known as GI Joe.

Everything changed in 1987.

This movie aired in four or five parts and after thinking that the previous year's Serpentor Saga was as cool as TV had ever and would ever be, then came The GI Joe Movie, starring Don Johnson and Burgess Merideth!!

Of course those actors names meant nothing to me then, but as the movie unfolded a series of interconnected new characters I had had in my toy box for over a year were making their first TV appearances. It all sounds trifling if you were not a boy between ages 7-12 in 1987, but this was spectacular, I am sure there are those who agree and you know who you are.

But to describe this film to the neophyte, I would say it appears considerably sillier than it really is. To say I was not moved by the relationship that develops between Good Guy Roadblock and Ousted Bad Guy Cobra Commander would be a lie. To say I wasn't held to the edge of the sofa for the finale episode would also be a lie.

Saying this is better done than the previous lot of GI Joe episodes would be an understatement. Although not up to par with animation houses like Bluth or Disney, this is very well animated for a toy commercial, and the story is more involved and varied than ever before. It doesn't hurt that Don Johnson had the part of the brash young Green Beret Falcon and the begrizzled Burgess Mereideth provided the awe inspiring voice of Golobulus!! This is a must see for Don Johnson fans under age thirty and highly recomended for anyone who liked the episodes they used to show on USA network, just keep in mind this movie is much higher quality than the average GI Joe episodes, so don't avoid it on the basis of the regular TV episodes!

And to sweeten the deal, the Film is available on DVD with the coolest special feature I have seen, all of the Knowing Is Half The Battle public service announcements are included on the Rhino version! Very cool. Very Nostalgic. (8.9 out of 10 in my humble opinion)