MovieChat Forums > Mazes and Monsters (1982) Discussion > This movie is total BULL!!! *rant*

This movie is total BULL!!! rant

posted 20 years ago by bustinecto
25 replies | jump to latest

When I first saw this movie my satellite's "Info" thing said it was about "a group of teens enter a fantasy world, etc." or something. And I was thinking "Wow, I didn't know there was a movie like the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon where a bunch of kids get tossed through a portal into a fantasy game-like dimension!" Instead we have some guy played by Tom Hanks (whose only movies I hate are this one and Philledelphia) who becomes a schizoid near the end of the movie and thinks he's the character he really plays. This movie is nothing more than mixed stereotypes and false controversy plus stupid superstition. I myself am an avid role-player (and I didn't become a born-again Christian for nothing you know). I believe TSR (now owned by Wizards of the Coast) should have sued do to bad publicity. And another thing, overprotective parents and "Fire-and-Brimstoners" should go after worse things such as Ouji Boards, Ecstasy-raves, subliminal messages, and Teletubbies; instead of trying to give D&D, The Real Ghostbusters, Charles Darwin, Pokemon, and Harry Potter a bad name.

[–] shomizu 20 years ago

What's wrong with Teletubbies and Raves? I go to raves dressed up as a teletubby all the time.

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] MarkoOhNo 19 years ago

Hey, waitaminute... Pokemon's evil too! lol I mean c'mon, isn't that animal cruelty to lock 'em up in those little pokeballs until you FEEL like letting them out, like some kind of djinni? hehe And Charles Darwin IS evil - he came up with "survival of the fittest" which has become the mantra of lawyers and yuppies everywhere. =P I didn't realize anyone was goin' after The Ghostbusters...? They better back off, man (I'm a scientist! hehe)

I actually love this movie despite the whole "roleplaying is evil and leads to naughty, naughty things" message. I have a horrible sense of heights, so I was kinda freaked that Hanks' character was gonna try to jump or fly or whatever from one of the Twin Towers to the other (inspiration for The Matrix? heh) Granted, it DID make me apprehensive to check out D&D, at first, when my best friend got the Basic Set (as a present from his Catholic mother heh) back in grade school. So that sucks. So long as it isn't taken too seriously, it's a great flick.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Tigatron1 19 years ago

...r u seriousy...this movie is anti-rp??? how lame. Their going after ghostbusters???ROFL hahahahaha.

[–] superbadger 19 years ago

So this was the movie that I heard about was anti-D&D. That lead to my community going into a virtual witchhunt to stop roleplaying because it leads to Satanism. I had to put up with listening to that crap all through my childhood. And was forbidden at a young age to watch my then favorite cartoon (D&D). Admittedly this movie wouldnt have been so bad if not taken seriously. My mother still believes all that garbage.

I became interested in rpgs when finally exposed to it.

[–] doctorcrimedog 8 years ago

And Charles Darwin IS evil - he came up with "survival of the fittest" which has become the mantra of lawyers and yuppies everywhere.

No, he discovered the natural fact of "survival of the fittest." It's an observation about the natural world, not a moral precept. You might as well blame Louis Pasteur for the existence of germs, or Isaac Newton for deaths by falling. Please tell me you're kidding.

And to the original poster, what, other than the waste of a small amount of money, is bad about Ouija boards?

-There is no such word as "alot."

[–] Duncan_Idaho02 8 years ago

Agenda much.

[–] sword4hire 19 years ago

You miss the point... the movie (And the book) isn't anti-RPG... the movie is anti-obsession... It could have been called "Flies And Rods" and been about an unstable dude who lets Fly-Fishing ruin his life... Or "Strikes and Spares" and been about guy who bowls...

That it was about a guy who RPGed was a tool, because RPGing was relatively new, and had been in the news being blamed by the Religious Right for everything from teen suicide and Devil worship to sunspots and psoriasis...

And they wonder why no one takes them seriously...

So grab yer dice bag and order us up a pizza.... But keep half an eye on yer chums... The stories of folks freaking out over RPGs aren't ALL made-up

[–] MrD_scifi 18 years ago

This is nicely wrapped up movie about mental disease in your clique. By using the role playing theme they drew in the younger, intelligent crowd who are drawn to creativity and drama and are probably the best target for this message.

We've all known people who have become disabled by injury or disease, or simply comprehended finally that someone we grew up with isn't fully healthy in the mind. "If" the message got through to its intended audience then it did the job I saw it as doing, educating people about the problems associated with those who are mentally ill.

[–] Emhilradim 19 years ago

Actually, Mazes and Monsters had the opposite effect. It caused MORE people to play Dungeons & Dragons. Which is why Tactical Studies Rules never pursued any legal action over Mazes and MOnsters.

As for Wizards of the Coast, it is now owned by Hasbro. Their first line of business was going into the WotC building, tearing apart the giant minotaur statue and throwing the pieces on the front steps of the building.

[–] mjf-4 19 years ago

Yeah the anti-D&D hysteria really only made D&D explode around the same time. It's also the reason my dad got me He-Man stuff instead of the D&D stuff I asked for :(

[–] Psychoface 18 years ago

someone might have said this but I read only your post because I'm kind of lazy.

In the end when it became apparent Robbie wasnt coming back, the mom did say she didn't blame his friends, nor did she say anything about the game except it was a vent, she blamed it on the problems he'd been going through.

I seem to have a different opinion from a lot of people here, but I dont think it's particularly anti-RPG. I think it's a statement showing these people are outcasts because of their parents, family, whatever and just want to escape. When I saw the movie I told myself I'd never act that way toward my son and daughter. Yes, I'll introduce them to RPG's when they come of age (probably around 8 years old or so), but I'm going to make sure they do it for fun, not to escape anything I might have done to them.

oh and Robbie's dad was right, the blasted games did give me bad grades lol

[–] complexthoughts27 18 years ago

It's not REALLY, but keep in mind the year it was made. My brother, the sole reason I got into and still do role playing games, was among the old guard of the Dungeons and Dragons crowd and was still playing when this flick came on TV. He told me the scare over D&D was downright absurd, so naturally the movie was going to take it to that level. "Consider this the 'Reefer Madness' for the gaming crowd". And he was right; it's a campy movie laughably trying to be a cautionary tale.

[–] JRotten9802 18 years ago

I never thought I'd be confirming the clarity of a guy named PsychoFace, but if the shoe fits...Robbie is, as his mother said, "fragile"; he was screwed up to begin with. And if the film were truly "anti-RPG", Daniel, Kate, and Jay-Jay would also be screwed up and probably writhing on the floor like drunken sex slaves. And to the guy bashing Teletubbies and Ouija boards: What is your major malfunction, numbnuts? Is the top poster really Pat Robertson in disguise? Demonizing RPGs seems to me like the same crap the early Catholic Church used to persecute pagans. How else did Baphomet become Lucifer? Now, it's the homophobes who really deserve a kick in the balls! Intolerance is what is truly against God.

[–] doctorcrimedog 8 years ago

I assume you believe in a god other than the one in the Bible, which is full of intolerance towards gays, women, people of other religions, unbelievers, and most everyone other than the tribes for and by whom it was written.

-There is no such word as "alot."

[–] Lovaela 18 years ago

Thank you (for the first post). Haha. ;_;

[–] Xilbup 18 years ago

MTG!!!!!!! baby
MTG!!!!!!!!!!!