Cocoon: The Return (1988)

The seniors return 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	...	Ben Luckett
Courteney Cox	...	Sara
Hume Cronyn	...	Joe Finley
Jack Gilford	...	Bernie Lefkowitz
Steve Guttenberg	...	Jack Bonner
Barret Oliver	...	David
Maureen Stapleton	...	Mary Luckett
Elaine Stritch	...	Ruby
Jessica Tandy	...	Alma Finley
Gwen Verdon	...	Bess McCarthy
Tahnee Welch	...	Kitty
Linda Harrison	...	Susan
Tyrone Power Jr.	...	Pillsbury
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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The entire main cast of Cocoon (1985) returned for this sequel.

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Goofs

David opens the 1962 Cadillac's trunk from the inside, but that is not possible. It requires a key from the outside. It would also have been impossible for him to get inside without the keys, which his grandfather has.

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Quotes

Ben Lucket: [talking to David] It looks to me like what you're doing is listening to a lot of people tell you you can't do it when maybe what you should be doing is listening to yourself say that you can.

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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

References First Blood (1982)

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Soundtracks

Rescue/The Ascension
Composed & conducted by James Horner

User Reviews

A worthy follow up to the original

After I enjoyed the first Cocoon so much I decided that the sequel could not be too bad. For the most part, the Cocoon: The Return remains a generally enjoyable film even if most of the magic remained in the original. In this one, the elderly friends return back to earth to catch up on everything that had missed out on while they were away. The biggest problem when they get back to earth is that all of the special protection from illness and aging that they had with the aliens eventually wears off, and if they don't get back to their planet with the aliens quickly, some of them may die. Overall, an enjoyable and harmless sequel to the original. If you liked the original you will most likely enjoy this sequel. ***1/2 out of *****.

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)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,568,143, 27 November 1988

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 Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1