Articles by Theda Kleinhans Reichman

So many films in recent years are based on comic book heroes and villains or robots and futuristic fantasy. But often a movie is at its very best when it tells true stories about real people who are able to overcome obstacles in their lives.

In 1960, “The Fantasticks” opened off-Broadway and ran for a record-breaking 42 years. I first saw the show in New York in the ‘60s. At the time the very talented Jerry Orbach (Broadway musical star and TV’s “Law and Order” cop) was the dashing bandit El Gallo. The theatre was small, intimate and the effects were simple, yet mesmerizing. The memory of that magical night will never be forgotten, even though I have seen the show three more times since then, most recently at the Pasadena Playhouse.

“If we could talk to the animals…” is a catchy lyric from the movie “Dr. Doolittle.” And any of        us who have a pet actually do talk to our animal friends whenever we chat with our cat, or verbally schmooze with the dog. But how often do they ever talk back to us, unless they are a parrot or a well-trained crow capable of saying more than “nevermore.” 

“Pete’s Dragon” first appeared on screen in 1977 and combined live-action with animation. Now the huge, lovable dragon is back in a charming remake directed by David Lowery, who co-wrote the screenplay with Toby Halbrooks. This time however, the 24-foot magical creature is no longer a hand-drawn cartoon, he’s a lovable dragon created by Eric Saindon of Weta Digital that is covered in soft green fur composed of 15 million computer generated hairs.