Golden Films? -

[Golly]

Been browsing around the OnDemand section of my TV package lately, and I keep noticing knock-off children's movies. Most of them are by this company. http://goldenfilmsmedia.com/

It's pretty much what you'd expect: low budget Disney knock-offs meant to confuse grandparents. I just watched the Aladdin one with my boyfriend for shits and giggles. Oh man. Lots of poor storytelling choices and public domain classical music. If you have someone to watch them with, though, it can be a pretty fun time. This one even came with a jaunty opening number!

Have any of you seen these movies growing up or ever? Thoughts/opinions?

 

[MysticMisty]

I remember the Aladdin one. Funny enough, I got it at a rental place trying to rent the real-deal as a kid: either somebody mixed up the two on purpose or they just weren't paying much attention. I was upset it wasn't the Aladdin I wanted to see, but my mom insisted I watch the whole thing because it might not be that bad. Once it was over though we both agreed this version sucked. Mom felt bad enough about the mix-up that when we returned the tape she immediately rented the real Aladdin for me (much like actually going to the movies, renting movies was a special occasion for our family).

Also! At the same rental place (a mom and pop store that is almost certainly no longer there) in the kid/family section my folks always dropped me off at I distinctly remember seeing that Jungle King movie almost every time we were there. I had forgotten all about it until I saw the cover art in the link. I was always curious as to what it was about because I liked the cute lion girl on the cover, but not curious enough to actually pick it. After I had a separate bad experience I never wanted to chose movies I'd hadn't seen with very few exceptions so I'm sure it's for the best. I didn't know they made so many ripoffs though.

 

[drtoboggan]

I remember a few of these from assorted day care programs. They're to Disney what Asylum is to mainstream movies. In a word: awful.

 

[Durable Mike Malloy]

Oh man, the video place by my aunt's house in rural Vermont had four versions of Aladdin - Disney, Golden Pictures, Dingo Pictures and Faerie Tale Theatre - and it was pretty much random which one would be in the case you rented.

This store also had, like, tons of B westerns, pretty much no other movies for kids, and a shady off-limits back room from which I assume most of their business was conducted - it lasted far too long into the post-VHS era to be a legitimate venture, that's for sure.

Anyway, if you enjoyed - or "enjoyed" - the Golden Pictures Aladdin, let me recommend the Dingo Pictures version, which is somehow unfathomably worse.

If you are unfamiliar with Dingo Pictures, their cartoons make CoolDudeClem look proud. There are at most two voice actors for each dub - sometimes the original German dialogue is still faintly audible in the background, or the guy mixes up which voice goes with which character, or they don't edit out extraneous remarks and, like, the sound of the voice actor coughing or drinking. Or they just forget the dialogue altogether, and the character's mouths just silently move for a while.

The English version of Dingo's Aladdin doesn't seem to be on youtube at the moment, but here's the Italian dub. It's fun!

I wholeheartedly recommend Dingo Pictures knockoff Dalmatians, and also their version of...Toy Story? Velveteen Rabbit? not sure - for its delightfully dark ending.

 

[Trilby]

Another company that use to do business for Goodtimes was "Jetlag Productions"