Back when Fred Savage was still a cute child star, The Wizard seemed like another shot for him to find some hook to hold onto and keep his current level of fame. The trek that he and his little brother went on to reach a video game championship was something fun to watch, but the skills of his brother when it came to video games was unparalleled at that time. In fact it was probably one of the first modernized gaming films that showed just how much skill it really took to keep up with the modern day games. And of course, it highlighted the NES Power Glove in a very big way.
Video games seemed so much simpler back then.
10. The dinosaurs in the film are actual tourist attractions.
They’re located in Cabazon, CA and have been seen in a couple of different movies, one of the most notable is Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.
9. Jimmy was believed to be autistic though his disease was never named.
His lack of response and agitation at times kind of made it clear what he was suffering from, though autism is a disorder, not a disease.
8. Christian Slater and Beau Bridges weren’t fans of gaming until they were cast into this movie.
What you’ve got to keep in mind is that they were from previous generations when video games weren’t all that important, or weren’t even invented yet in Beau’s case.
7. The movie has gained a cult following.
People at video game conventions will reference this movie and tend to remember it fondly. The three lead actors have even showed up to several such conventions.
6. Lucas tells the trio that he has all 97 NES games, when in reality there were well over 600 titles released in North America.
At the time that this movie was released 97 titles was a pretty accurate count, as it would take a few years for the the number to rise above 600.
5. The game that the actors are playing are pre-recorded footage.
This allowed them to focus on acting rather than actually trying to play the game. Ever tried to do something else while trying to keep your focus on a video game? It doesn’t go so well since splitting your attentions means you miss a lot of things.
4. Jenny Lewis is from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Her character was apparently from Reno, Nevada, which is a healthy drive from Vegas but not too incredibly far. After all they’re in the same state.
3. Super Mario Bros. 3 was shown in this movie before its release for purchase.
It’s believed that showing this game in the movie before it was available on the shelves would increase its popularity and it seemed to do just that.
2. The filmmakers decided not to focus on Jimmy’s disease.
They were worried that it would look too much as though they were trying to copy the film Rain Man and so didn’t bother labeling Jimmy as autistic.
1. A video game-themed game show emerged 3 years after this films release.
The show was titled GamesMaster and the final prize after defeating one’s opponents in various video games would be the golden joystick.
Needless to say the popularity of The Wizard has outlasted pretty much anything it showcased or was responsible for in some way.
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