MovieChat Forums > The Hugga Bunch (1985) Discussion > Read this if you remembered this movie b...

Read this if you remembered this movie but never knew the name of it...


Ok - I, like many of you it would seem, have had bits of this movie floating around in my brain for the majority of my life without knowing from where they came... specifically I have had an image of a tree in a glass jar, accompanied by a sense of danger - I would say I have thought about this image at least three times a year and have always tried to get a title from someone, to no avail. And then tonight, at the "I Heart Video" in Austin, TX, i finally got the answer. On one of the "employee picks" shelves there were a bunch of fantasy children's movies (Return to Oz, Peanut Butter Solution, etc.)... long story short, when I asked this guy if he knew what movie featured a tree in a jar, he immediately and enthusiastically said, "Oh, yeah, the Hugga Bunch movie!" Now, it was incredible for me on a personal level to have the mystery solved, but I don't imagine that that little story is of particular interest to anyone else... what IS of major interest, or at least should be, is the fact that there are thousands of people who have had a similar experience with this movie. Why did this movie imprint itself onto my mind instead of something else? I watched a fair amount of movies and television as a kid, but no other movie stuck with me in the way that this one did... notice i said "in the way" not "as much as." I remembered other movies much more vividly than this one, cartoon TV shows more than anything, but this Hugga Bunch movie got deep into my head and sent fragments of images up into my conscious mind from time to time... almost like the feeling you get during a conversation when you've lost something you meant to say and you don't know exactly where to find it... you try to retrace your conversational steps, but you can never pull the thought out again - and yet you have a keen awareness that the thought is missing, that you haven't verbalized it yet and you really really wanted to verbalize it... anyhow, that's how this Hugga Bunch movie has felt for the last twenty years. So now I am curious... what are all these people like who were similarly affected by the same images... how and why did this movie make such an impression on all of us? so I think I'll conduct a little informal survey... it would be awesome if anyone responded to this... (I'll include my answers at the bottom)

Survey Questions for people who at some point remembered visuals from the Hugga Bunch movie, but didn't remember the name of the movie:

1. What year were you born?

2. Are you male or female?

3. Using 3 words, describe your childhood.

4. Using 4 words, describe how your parents raised you.

5. Using 5 words, describe where you grew up.

6. On average, how many hours of television or movies did you watch per week between the ages 2 and 10?

7. How old were you when you first saw the Hugga Bunch movie, and how many times did you see it?

8. How old were you when you saw your first "Rated R" movie? (and just for fun what was it)

9. What images from this movie stayed with you the most?

10. How did you finally find out the name of the movie?


If images from this movie lodged themselves into your memory when you were a kid you should take the time to fill out this little survey! I don't know if we'll find any patterns or anything, but you have to admit that it is a little too weird that so many people have been affected in such similar ways by this movie. Maybe there is something subliminal at play! ;) Ok, here are my answers...

1. 1980
2. Male
3. safe, fun, loving
4. liberal, Catholic, active, affectionate
5. apartment, lake, sisters, midwest, suburb
6. 2-3 hours per week
7. I was 5 or 6, and I only saw it once.
8. I was 9 and it was Rainman
9. The tree in the big glass jar, something about eating berries, and the queen aging or shattering or something
10. The all-knowing fellow at "I Heart Video" told me

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I too had a problem remebering this movie. The fragments of it that stuck with me was the little girl going through a mirror to a different land to save someone from something. I remembered them being in a cave or something. Anyway it took a few years and alot of research on the net to figure out what it was called. I was so excited when I finally found it I immediately went to ebay to find it. Unfortunately everytime I bid on it I got outbidded & the other ones were too expensive. Fortunately I found it on there yesterday & won the bid. I got it for only $10.07. I am so happy I can't wait for it to come..

1. What year were you born? 1981

2. Are you male or female? Female

3. Using 3 words, describe your childhood. Fun, Sad, Energetic

4. Using 4 words, describe how your parents raised you. Protective, careless, loving, liberal

5. Using 5 words, describe where you grew up. Kansas, Wyandotte, Grandma's, House, Urban

6. On average, how many hours of television or movies did you watch per week between the ages 2 and 10? 3 - 4 hours

7. How old were you when you first saw the Hugga Bunch movie, and how many times did you see it? I cant remember

8. How old were you when you saw your first "Rated R" movie? (and just for fun what was it) I can't remember

9. What images from this movie stayed with you the most?
The girl going through the mirror

10. How did you finally find out the name of the movie?
I did some research on the net & after years finally found it.

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Funny, I didn't know there was a Hugabunch Movie. My sister's 2nd birthday was Hugabunch complete with a Hugabunch pinata. As far as the way you recall the movie, I have similar memories of other movies. I had some images pop into my head today, just like you described having, and that's when I started doing some research and came across your post. I usually go to Vulcan 'cause I have the hookup there but I'll have to check out the selection at I Love Video. I have a membership there but never use it.

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OMG! Finding this has been like the end to this personally haunting feeling that I've had since I was a kid too! Like many of you- I could only remember random ideas from the movie and that it scared the absolute crap out of me when I was a kid! I, too, was starting to think it was some strange dream I had as a child. I guess you all are the only ones who may understand how I'm feeling right now- that I've just found out. I tried to tell my boyfriend and he was all like, "great- OK let's talk about something else"... not understanding the feeling of closure and happiness I feel right now. After searching on an off for years... It's finally done!

1. Birth Year: 1981
2. Female
3. Loving, supportive, safe
4. Catholic, peaceful, free, understanding
5. Warm, big, busy, green, nice
6. Maybe 5hrs a week
7. Probably about 5 years old- more than once, not sure
8. Probably around 10... I have no idea
9. Tree in a glass dome, fountain of youth fruit, evil lady, bookworm, falling/going through some sort of sideways door or something
10. IMDB!





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1. What year were you born? 1982

2. Are you male or female? Female

3. Using 3 words, describe your childhood. Fun, Loving, Happy.

4. Using 4 words, describe how your parents raised you. Catholic, Fun, Rules, Loving.

5. Using 5 words, describe where you grew up. Northeast, friends, pool, school.

6. On average, how many hours of television or movies did you watch per week between the ages 2 and 10? Probably 3-4.

7. How old were you when you first saw the Hugga Bunch movie, and how many times did you see it? I don't think I saw the movie until I was like 8 or 9. I watched it a LOT even though it scared me (the witch/queen changing at the end). We actually had the tape (that's how I saw it) and still do..although it was in storage until recently.

8. How old were you when you saw your first "Rated R" movie? (and just for fun what was it) I don't remember how old I was, and I don't think it was rated 'R'..maybe it was, but Jurassic Park was my first real 'adult' movie..and I saw it in the theater too :)

9. What images from this movie stayed with you the most? The big glass thing coming down on the queen's hand as she reached for the key..the girl going through the mirror, the washing machine/dryer incident, the tea party.

10. How did you finally find out the name of the movie? I actually always remembered the name of the movie. I remembered watching it when I was a kid, but a few years later when we had moved a few times (and it got put into storage) my parents, brother and sister had NO recollection of it! I've also tried explaining it to other people, but no one had ever heard of it. Just recently we finally went throught EVERYTHING in our storage unit (for a big yard sale) and I found it!! I can now prove to everyone that I wasn't making it up, lol!

Maybe I am the only one, but that movie totally scared me as a kid (as I mentioned above)..that scene where the glass thing closes on the queen's arm and she gets all old and icky looking. Even now, watching it, it's creepy, not really scary, but still sends a chill up my spine. Probably just because I remember how scared, creeped out I used to get!! Anyway, lol!


~Holly Sarah~

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I decided not to do the survey, but like everyone else I too grew up with images from this movie that I had no clue where they came from. It is the same way with a friend of mine, but we did not grow up together until the age of 12 or so. I remember the Queen's rocky fortress and either a rose or a tree under a glass. I do not remember the scary little hugga bunch at all, but found a picture online where the girl is hugging one and it freaks me out. I still have not been able to watch the film. My friend, mentioned above, figured out what the movie was and told me. She hasn't seen it since she was young still either. I have been trying to buy it, but it is so expensive online!

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1. 1983

2. Female

3. fun,diverse, entertaining

4. intellectual, creative, tidy, lonely

5. army brat: enough said

6. at least 14 no more than 20

7. I was probably 4.

8. 6 and it was the Lost Boys

9. Walking through the mirror, the "soft" world, and the fruit under the glass

10. I was searching for the name online and came across a message board on another site where a girl about my age was asking the same questions. I for one am a little creeped out.

Dre: That money's got blood on it, man.
Fallon: You ever seen any that didn't?

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This is crazy how many people remembered this movie but not the name! Everyone thought I was crazy and making it up. I found it!!!

1. 1981
2. Female
3. Loving, kind, safe
4. Evangelical, conservative, giving, thoughtful
5. rural, house, midwest, brick road
6. ? I couldn't even guess - not too many though
7. ? I saw it at my next door neighbor's house a few times, but I can't remember when. Probably around 6
8. My cousin Vinnie...but I don't know how old I was
9. The sideways sidewalk, the bookworm, the mirror
10. No one believed me - they would say Labyrinth or Alice in Wonderland. Finally, this weekend, a friend that I have known forever and I were talking about Labyrith and it was her sister's favorite movie growing up. Yea! Now I can watch it again.

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1. What year were you born? 1985

2. Are you male or female? F

3. Using 3 words, describe your childhood. Normal, Strict, Education

4. Using 4 words, describe how your parents raised you. Strit, Eduction, Responsibility, Nice

5. Using 5 words, describe where you grew up. South, Religion, Warm, Hot, Humid

6. On average, how many hours of television or movies did you watch per week between the ages 2 and 10? Um, maybe about 5?

7. How old were you when you first saw the Hugga Bunch movie, and how many times did you see it? I have no idea

8. How old were you when you saw your first "Rated R" movie? (and just for fun what was it) No idea

9. What images from this movie stayed with you the most? I remember a wall. Like, walking along a wall. But i only remember it as part of a dream. And I remember being scared

10. How did you finally find out the name of the movie? Because, yes, I am a little slow not to think of this before. But I have little figures from this movie on my walls. Have for as long as I can remember. And I knew they were from the movie with a scary wall. And I finally thought of looking at the tag on the figurines. And it said HuggaBunch. And then I figured it out!

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