Cocoon: The Return (1988)

Director:

Daniel Petrie

Writers (WGA):

David Saperstein (characters)
Stephen McPherson (story) ...

Release Date:

23 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

This holiday season, journey to the most wonderful place in the universe... home.

Plot:

The old age pensioners that left at the end of the first film come back to earth to visit their relatives...

Plot Keywords:

Cocoon | Senior Citizen | Old Age | Return | Alien

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Don Ameche	...	Arthur 'Art' Selwyn
Wilford Brimley	...	Benjamin 'Ben' Luckett
Courteney Cox	...	Sara
Hume Cronyn	...	Joseph 'Joe' Finley
Jack Gilford	...	Bernard 'Bernie' Lefkowitz
Steve Guttenberg	...	Jack Bonner
Barret Oliver	...	David
Maureen Stapleton	...	Marilyn 'Mary' Luckett
Elaine Stritch	...	Ruby Feinberg
Jessica Tandy	...	Alma Finley
Gwen Verdon	...	Bess McCarthy Selwyn
Tahnee Welch	...	Kitty
Linda Harrison	...	Susan
Tyrone Power Jr.	...	Pillsbury - Antarean
Mike Nomad	...	Doc

Also Known As:

Cocoon 2 (USA) (working title)
Cocoon II: The Return (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

116 min | UK:115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Netherlands:MG6 | West Germany:6 | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:PG (cut) | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Zanuck/Brown Productions

Trivia:

Producers Richard D. Zanuck and his wife, Lili Fini Zanuck, co-owned the rights to the sequel with 20th Century-Fox. Initially opposed to the concept of a second film, they only went ahead with it out of a need to preserve the integrity of the original. As it transpired, Lili, who was very much opposed to doing a sequel, had only nominal interest as she was busy prepping her own directorial debut, Rush (1991).

Goofs:

Continuity: The color of Ben's hair changes from white to gray throughout the film.

Quotes:

Ben Lucket: Last one in is a pantywaist!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Mighty Boosh: Journey to the Centre of the Punk (#3.2)" (2007)

The sequel

Sequels are usually not as good as the original, unless the sequel happens to be called "Godfather II," so "Cocoon: The Return" is no exception. On the other hand, I didn't find it ghastly (though a few others on this board did). It has the same terrific cast, which includes Don Ameche, Jack Gilford, Maureen Stapleton, Gwen Verdon, with the addition of Elaine Strich in the old folks' department, and Tawnee Welch, Tyrone Power Jr., and Steve Guttenberg with the addition of a very young Courtney Cox in the young folks' department. Brian Dennehy makes a brief appearance at the end of the film.

The Anterians need to return to pick up some cocoons, so the old folks come back to catch up with friends and family, with some interesting results.

Another plot concerns scientists taking one of the cocoons and studying it, while the Anterians attempt to rescue it before it's too late.

The movie actually has some very sweet moments - it probably would have been lousy without the same cast, but they're all very likable.

Okay, not great, and anyone under 55 probably won't want to be bothered. By the way, I cried during some of it. Guess my age.