Cocoon: The Return (1988)

The old age pensioners that left at the end of the first film come back to Earth to visit their relatives. Will they all decide to go back to the planet where no one grows old, or will they be tempted to stay back on Earth?

Director:

Daniel Petrie

Writers:

David Saperstein (characters), Stephen McPherson (story)

Stars:

Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Courteney Cox

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Don Ameche	...	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

Storyline

Art, Ben and Joe are back! So are their wives and good friend Bernie in their first adventure since their last! Five years since the senior citizens blasted off into space with the Antareans return to earth because their alien friends have to collect the rest of the cocoons in the ocean, believed to be in danger from an earthquake. Ben and Mary visit their family, while Art and Joe visit Bernie, who's still hangin' on. Art, Ben and Joe had forgotten what it was like on earth and immediately begin to feel their weaknesses, except for Art's wife who's pregnant! Meanwhile in the ocean, a biologist company snatched a cocoon out of the ocean and are doing research on it...

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Plot Keywords:

spaceship | senior citizen | alien | old age | elderly protagonist | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cocoon 2

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$18,924,919

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,024,919

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zanuck/Brown Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ron Howard refused to have any association with the film, feeling concerned that the whole point of the first film would immediately be squandered.

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Goofs

When the men go to the beach the first time, Ben's sunburn appears and disappears.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Half of the clips shown through the end credits are scenes from the first film.

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Alternate Versions

All UK versions are cut by 1m 5s to heavily edit Bernie's attempted suicide by hanging in order to achieve a 'PG' rating.

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Connections

Features Breaking Away (1979)

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Soundtracks

Jack's Future
Composed & conducted by James Horner

User Reviews

It Deserved better reviews. Worth a look.

I had hesitated on watching this sequel because it good bad reviews, but I really enjoyed it. They had to come back for the cocoons, right? What makes this movie worthwhile is that all of the Seniors struggle with whether they want to leave Earth again. Immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be.