The Wizard (1989)

A boy and his brother run away from home and hitch cross country with the help of a girl they meet to compete in the ultimate video game championship.

Director:

Todd Holland

Writer:

David Chisholm

Stars:

Luke Edwards, Vince Trankina, Fred Savage

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luke Edwards	...	Jimmy Woods / The Wizard
Vince Trankina	...	Tate (as Vincent Leahr)
Wendy Phillips	...	Christine Bateman
Dea McAllister	...	Councelor
Sam McMurray	...	Bateman
Beau Bridges	...	Sam Woods
Fred Savage	...	Corey Woods
Christian Slater	...	Nick Woods
Will Seltzer	...	Putnam
Roy Conrad	...	Bus Clerk
Jenny Lewis	...	Haley
Roderick Dexter	...	Trucker #1 / Wrecking Yard Man
Ray Bickel	...	Trucker #2
Chuck Skinner	...	Grease Monkey
W.K. Cowan	...	Salesman #1

Storyline

Corey and Jimmy Woods are two brothers who are being separated due to their parents divorcing. Jimmy is a mentally unstable kid that has had problems ever since his sister died at a young age. One day, Corey discovers that Jimmy has a natural talent for playing video games. He is one of the best around, and the two journey to the West Coast to compete in a video game championship, but along the way, they must avoid the adults, who are trying to take Jimmy away.

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Plot Keywords:

championship | cross country | boy | girl | gambling | 

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Taglines:

They're on a cross-country adventure to the world's greatest video championship. It's more than a game...it's the chance of a lifetime.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

A varázsló

Filming Locations:

Cabazon, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$14,278,900 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Finnegan/Pinchuk Productions, Pipeline Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Corey has Jimmy challenge the businessmen to an arcade game bet, the side of the arcade cabinet features an ad for the then-recent Tom Petty album Full Moon Fever.

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Goofs

When Sam and Nick first encounter Putnam at the bus depot, Putnam uses his pocket knife to puncture and deflate the tires, and then runs away with it. Later, at the auto repair shop, you can clearly see a screwdriver punctured through the front left tire.

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Quotes

Corey: Where are we?
Haley: Does it matter? We're broke.
Corey: Oh yeah you're telling me! You're the one with all the trucker friends, the one who knows all the codes.
Haley: I got you this far, didn't I?
Corey: Oh, I don't even know where "this" is!
Haley: A lot of faith you got.
Corey: Oh will you stop Haley? I mean we don't have any money. Aren't you just a little scared?
Haley: I don't get scared! Now give me the four bucks you're holding out on.
Corey: What?
Haley: You flashed 21, you stashed four from the change at lunch. They didn't get it because you put...
[...]

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Connections

References Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (1987)

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Soundtracks

"I Found My Way"
by Sally Dworsky

User Reviews

Love Nintendo, and (sorry) love this movie

The fond memories I had of this flick from my youth were not disappointed when I finally caught up with it again recently.

Its simply a great kids adventure. Many claimed at the time that it was little more than a rather enormous advert for Nintendo, and it is. But they bothered to make a decent movie out of it as well. I remember how excited I was at the prospect of Super Mario Bros 3, and this movie plays up to those expectations very entertainingly.

If you love videogames, the film is a fascinating cultural artifact. If you are a youngster, you should thoroughly enjoy a very well maintained adventure, with surprisingly few flaws.

It may sound pretentious, but for what it is, it is near flawless. Go figure!