Apr 7: Disney's only cult classic, SWV, Pizza Hut + Marvel
Plus the best baseball movies and disturbing movies millennials show their kids
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
April 7th, 2023 • Issue 146
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
April 7th
28 years ago, on April 7th, 1995, A Goofy Movie hit theaters.
It’s weird to think of any Disney animated movie as a “cult classic” — they blast their movies far and wide, to every corner of the planet, and bludgeon them into hits.
But if any Disney cartoon qualifies as a cult classic, it just might be A Goofy Movie.
I was too old and, therefore, far too cool to care about A Goofy Movie when it came out in 1995. Us aloof high school kids weren’t the only ones to ignore it. The movie, a follow-up to the short-ish lived animated series Goof Troop, did poor box office numbers and received middling reviews.
But over time, the home video version of the movie developed a following… then a larger following. Modern reviews re-examining the movie have been far kinder. The fan base has continued to grow.
I’m now a parent and, as a result, hopelessly entangled in the Disney universe. When we were on a family Disney cruise earlier this year, I was surprised to see one of the costumed characters walking around was the kid from A Goofy Movie. With the entire universe of Disney movies and properties to choose from, somehow Max Goof made the cut.
But to the flocks of kids (and adults) running up to the costumed Max, of course he was there. Of course he was rubbing elbows with the other characters on the ship, the classics like Donald, the princesses, the Marvel superheroes.
A Goofy Movie, perhaps Disney’s only animated cult hit, scratched and clawed its way up to its urrent level. There’s just an entire generation of people like me who had no idea.
1981 - Rick James’s album Street Songs was released.
1986 - WrestleMania II took place at three locations.
1989 - NBA players got the green light to compete in the Olympics.
1989 - Major League hit theaters as did The Dream Team.
1990 - A Robert Maplethorpe photo exhibit at Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center led to multiple obscenity arrests.
1990 - Taylor Dayne’s single Love Will Lead You Back hit number one.
1992 - Toad the Wet Sprocket’s single All I Want was released.
1993 - Indecent Proposal was released.
1994 - Civil war erupted in Rwanda.
1995 - Bad Boys and Rob Roy hit theaters.
1998 - The Goo Goo Dolls song Iris was released.
1998 - George Michael was arrested for solo sex acts in a Beverly Hills bathroom.
1998 - Mary Bono won a special election to serve out her late husband’s congressional term.
2000 - Ready to Rumble, Rules of Engagement, and Return to Me hit theaters.
2001 - The Mars Odyssey launched.
April 8th
1983 - David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear.
1984 - Los Angeles passed Chicago as the second-biggest U.S. city.
1986 - Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, California.
1988 - 18 Again hit theaters.
1989 - Roxette’s single The Look hit number one.
1989 - Mike Myers joined the cast of Saturday Night Live.
1990 - Twin Peaks premiered on ABC.
1992 - Arthur Ashe announced he had AIDS.
1994 - Kurt Cobain was found dead, three days after committing suicide.
1995 - 2 Unlimited’s one hit, Get Ready for This, peaked at number 38.
2000 - The “More Cowbell” sketch aired on Saturday Night Live.
2000 - Santana’s single Maria Maria hit number one.
April 9th
1979 - The Deer Hunter won Best Picture at the 51st Oscars.
1984 - Terms of Endearment won Best Picture at the 56th Oscars.
1986 - Patrick Duffy’s return to Dallas was announced, even though his character was killed off.
1988 - Billy Ocean’s single Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car hit number one.
1988 - Dave of Sam & Dave was killed in a car accident.
1990 - Billy Idol’s single Cradle of Love was released.
1993 - The Sandlot hit theaters.
1994 - R. Kelly’s single Bump n’ Grind hit number one.
1997 - Soundgarden broke up.
1999 - Never Been Kissed and Go both hit theaters.
2001 - Tiger Woods won the Masters to hold all four golf major titles simultaneously.
April 10th
30 years ago, on April 10th, 1993, SWV’s single Weak was released.
I never realized how much SWV lived out the classic music movie rise-fall-reconcile plot until I looked into their biggest single (which came out 30 years ago today), Weak.
But their entire careers played out like a screenwriting beat sheet.
Three teenage girls from struggling families in New York with no industry connections, just raw talent, manage to get their demo in front of record executives. They sign a huge deal on the spot. Up next comes a wave of huge hits and fame, including Weak.
But that all came crashing down in short order. By 1998, the group had broken up — largely because the label only really liked one of the three singers (Cheryl “Coko” Gamble) and promoted her above the others. The others got jealous. Everything fell apart.
After that, Coko’s solo career didn’t take off. The other two members, Tamara “Taj” Johnson and Leanne “Lelee” Lyons, both returned to the real world, outside of the music industry.
In 2005, after the humbling post-fame life had certainly taught its requisite lessons to all three of the members, the group reunited. They never hit the level of success they did in the ‘90s, but they were together again and following their true calling of making music.
SWV has stayed together ever since. Still making music, still having their many ups and downs, but staying together through it all.
It’s the perfect ending for their movie.
And much like the movie, I’ve left out a lot of the stuff about them doing a few reality shows because it’s really not endemic to the plot.
1987 - The Secret of My Success hit theaters.
1992 - Newsies and Ferngully: The Last Rainforest hit theaters.
1995 - Monica’s single Don’t Take It Personal and Boyz II Men’s single Water Runs Dry were released.
1998 - City of Angles and My Giant both hit theaters.
1999 - TLC’s single No Scrubs hit number one.
April 11th
1981 - Hall and Oates’ single Kiss on My List hit number one.
1983 - R.E.M.’s debut album Murmur was released.
1983 - Gandhi won Best Picture at the 55th Oscars.
1986 - Kellogg’s stopped giving factory tours due to suspicion of serial cereal spies.
1988 - The Last Emperor won Best Picture at the 60th Oscars.
1997 - Anaconda and Grosse Point Blank both his theaters.
1997 - Savage Garden’s self-titled debut album was released.
2000 - No Doubt’s album Return of Saturn was released.
2001 - Joe Dirt, Kingdom Come, and Josie and the Pussycats hit theaters.
April 12th
1979 - Mad Max hit theaters.
1985 - Girls Just Want to Have Fun hit theaters.
1987 - 21 Jump Street premiered.
1988 - Sonny Bono was elected mayor of Palm Springs, Calif..
1989 - Garth Brooks’ self-titled debut album was released.
1991 - The children’s game show Fun House aired its series finale.
1992 - Disneyland Paris aka Euro Disney opened.
1994 - Hole’s album Live Through This was released.
1995 - Drew Barrymore flashed David Letterman during an interview.
1995 - The L.A. Rams received permission to move to St. Louis.
1996 - Fear hit theaters when the movie Fear hit theaters (get it?!?!) as well as Jane Eyre.
1996 - James and the Giant Peach hit theaters.
1999 - The Backstreet Boys single I Want It That Way was released.
April 13th
1984 - Friday the 13th: Final Chapter (which was a lie) hit theaters.
1985 - We Are the World hit number one on the Billboard charts.
1990 - The Gods Must Be Crazy II and Crazy People both hit theaters on one crazy day.
1990 - The Pat Sajak Show aired its series finale after less than one-and-a-half years.
1991 - The Bingoboys one hit, How to Dance, peaked at number 25.
1992 - Crystal Pepsi hit test markets.
1997 - Tiger Woods won his first major, the Masters, at age 21, the youngest golfer ever to do so.
1997 - ECW aired it first-ever pay-per-view.
1998 - Dolly the cloned sheep gave birth.
1999 - Brandy’s single Almost Doesn’t Count was released.
2001 - Bridget Jones’s Diary hit theaters.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
The new Super Mario Bros. Movie has led to a re-examination of 1993’s Super Mario Bros. movie — and seemingly ignited a rivalry. Seth Rogen, who does Donkey Kong’s voice in the new movie, says the 1993 edition was “one of the worst films ever made.” John Leguizamo, who played Luigi in the 1993 movie, says he won’t see the new one because “they messed up the inclusion… they could’ve included a Latin character.”
A new Cruel Intentions reboot series is coming to Amazon Freevee.
Adam Driver is in talks to play the young version of Robert De Niro’s character in Heat 2. The movie is still pretty far away from going into production.
Some song lyrics in two songs have been updated for the new live-action Little Mermaid movie — to bring them more in line with today’s standards.
Puff Daddy says he pays Sting $5,000-a-day for using the sample of Every Breath You Take in the 1997 Biggie tribute song I’ll Be Missing You.
The actual Hoverboard from Back to the Future: Part Two is up for auction. It’s estimated to sell for $60,000 to $80,000.
Dee Snider says he “hated” MTV’s Unplugged and he “believe[s] it was partially responsible for the demise of metal in the early ‘90s.”
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
In honor of the start of the MLB season, here’s a ranking from The A.V. Club of the 21 best baseball movies ever. Four of the top five and seven of the top 10 are from the decades covered in this newsletter — even if I disagree strongly with the order.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
Check out the 10 disturbing movies millennial parents show their kids. There are some obscure ones on here, but the rationale behind each pick largely makes sense.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
Here’s the story of how a partnership in the early ‘90s between Marvel and Pizza Hut helped take comic book characters more mainstream — which, ultimately, played a role in the superhero pop culture inundation of the past 15 years.
Have a great week!
-Sam
Apr 7: Disney's only cult classic, SWV, Pizza Hut + Marvel
I think Emperor’s New Groove is a Disney cult hit or close to it, having a disappointing run at the box office but catching on later via home video. And its Looney Tunes sensibility makes it very different tonally from traditional Disney animated films.
Also, I agree with both Seth Rogan (the original Mario movie is very bad) and John Leguizamo (let’s have Latin inclusion in the Marioverse).