Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn’t be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That’s why we’ve rated them 1-5 on the patented “crunchy goodness” scale. Written by Sherilyn Connelly.
Title: The Black Hole
Date: 1979
Vitals: Disney’s only attempt at a big-budget, relatively serious sci-fi action movie. It was in the works since the mid-seventies, but not considered a major project until Star Wars changed everything, and it probably wasn’t originally so focused on “cute” robots. It was also Disney’s first in-house PG-rated movie, which made a lot of people very unhappy.
Famous names: One of the last films featuring the effects work of Peter Ellenshaw, whose credits include Mary Poppins and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Crunchy goodness: 4
Elevator pitch: “It’s Star Wars meets Forbidden Planet…but a lot more Star Wars, what with the robots the kids are into these days.”
Stunt casting: Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens as the voices of the robots V.I.N.C.E.N.T. and Bob, respectively.
Design breakthrough: Though the filmmakers decided to use more traditional techniques for the models rather than the newfangled motion-control systems, the opening titles used CGI.
