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| Notes | For the 40th anniversary, Little Shop got the 4K restoration treatment, and if you were in LA, you got to see it followed by a Q&A with Frank Oz. The movie stands out as a singualr acheivement. The cameos alone are golden, with some of the most talented names of that generation. Seeing it as an adult, in 2026, I realize how much subtext just flew over my youthful head when I first saw it. This movie has almost no special effects and certainly no CGI. 20+ puppeters brought tons of latex and foam rubber to life. While it is a musical, it feels like a closterphobic and gritty surreal nightmare. While terrible things are happening, you find yourself laughing. The movie reached past all formula and convention to create something different and challanging; that also acheived mass popularity and adoration. In a world where everything is being made simpler to be easily digested and commoditized, where dialog is dumbed down for audiences expected to be half paying attention while also on their phones, where everything has to be francised – this movie trusted in the intelligence of the audience. That is not to say it isn't a commercial product. They changed the ending because it didn't test well with audiences; but it was pop, commercial art that was also smart, subversive, and stands the test of time. |