My review of 'A Plumm Summer'

Thank you for the review.
I was one of those 'under 8'ers who loved Froggy Doo.
I had the red tennies just like Froggy Doo did, as did all of my friends.
I loved Froggy Doo and Happy Herb.
At five, I was shocked to see Happy Herb in the grocery store. What does a magician need with a grocery store.

I hope I get to see this movie soon. It has brought some happy memories back to me.

I can't add much to what has already been said, other than GO SEE THIS MOVIE! It is a very sweet film, and reminds me very much of the original Air Bud in that it features excellent acting all around that overcomes its modest production values. (For example, some of the costumes weren't historically accurate for 1968.) My favorite films are those with heart, where characters care about each other (e.g., Sling Blade), and A Plumm Summer is one of those films. I have to single out Henry Winkler for special mention. He plays a kind-hearted host of a children's show with such childlike innocence and wonder that you begin to believe (or want to believe) that Froggy Doo is in fact real.

Also worthy of note are the teen leads, Chris J. Kelly and Morgan Flynn. I'm not giving away anything here, but the last line of the film implies that more happens with their characters in the future, and I would love to see that story made. The two have great chemistry together. Chris J. Kelly gets an 'introducing' credit and he makes quite an impression in his first feature film, as he is called upon to exhibit a wide range of emotions. Excellent films have strong actors in the supporting roles, and A Plumm Summer is no exception. Newcomer Ben Trotter is also noteworthy as the camera shop clerk Orin.

I hope some of the people associated with the film are monitoring this board, because I have a concern when it comes to the DVD. It seems like it's almost standard operating procedure that if children are leads in a film, the DVD is released 4:3, despite how it was shown theatrically. And even worse, sometimes the film is released to DVD in letterbox rather than anamorphic widescreen, resulting in black bars on all four sides of a small image when shown on a 16:9 television. I know it's probably too much to hope for to wish for a Blu-ray release, but I really hope that the DVD is released in anamorphic widescreen ("enhanced for 16x9 televisions"), because there are some beautiful Montana landscapes that DP Mark Vargas captured. (I noticed that he was second unit DP on two of my favorite films: 3:10 To Yuma and The Patriot.)

My congratulations to everyone associated with this fine film; I hope that it brings much success (and future work!) to all in the cast and crew.