Cocoon: The Return (1988)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

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 | Space | Return | Old Age | 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: When Bernie tries to hang himself, the rope is in front of his left ear in close-ups and lower, around his neck, in the longer-distance shot.

Quotes:

Ruby: You know, when you want to, you can sure do a good impression of an old fart.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Seinfeld: The Stakeout (#1.1)" (1990)

Typical By-the-Numbers Sequel.

All the major players return for this disappointing sequel, but director Ron Howard's absence sends shockwaves through this unappealing second installment. Those who left Earth at the conclusion of the first (Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley and company) return, but all start to have serious thoughts about their true places in the universe. Once again the comedy and drama seem to get in the way of each other and in the end the film is just really a cheap rip-off of the original. By-the-numbers mess. 2 stars out of 5.