![]() THOMAS: (As Buckwheat) My Mommy hit him on the head with a monkey wrench. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) What made your papi's head swell? UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) There he is.īILLIE THOMAS: (As Buckwheat) Pop's had his head swell. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Where's Buckwheat? (SOUNDBITE OF UNIDENTIFIED "OUR GANG" FILM) But there was this constant -while most of the gang were white, there was always at least one black child in the cast. SIEGEL: That's the tune "Good Old Days" - the theme song of "Our Gang." The child actors would age out of the "Our Gang" comedies, and they'd be replaced. (SOUNDBITE OF OUR GANG THEME SONG, "GOOD OLD DAYS") More recently, a couple of forgettable movies with the title "Little Rascals" were made in an attempt to revive the franchise that was originally called "Our Gang." They were renamed "Little Rascals" for TV. Then came sound, and then came reruns on television. Before movies had sound, they had silent shorts with the kids - kids who were always solving problems or making trouble. "But it really doesn't matter, because their parents pay for the tickets.The kids in the "Our Gang" comedies - "The Little Rascals" - enjoyed as long a run on screen as anyone, starting in 1922. If they find it too slow or old-fashioned, I understand. "Unfortunately, very small children today have never experienced that comfort, so they never miss it. Hopefully, for at least the teen-agers and young adults, they can go back in their memory to a time that was a little more comforting. "What she meant was that the film is comforting. "Someone described the movie as a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of tomato soup," she said. The result is a nostalgic film for all ages, she said. Spheeris said she intentionally maintained a timeless look in the film, keeping skateboards, in-line skates, video games and Day-Glo clothing out of sight. Once they were intimidated, they didn't bother me. "I built a video village away from the set so they could watch from a distance and not get too close to the set. "Fortunately, it was the first film for most of them, so the parents were so happy their kids got chosen they didn't cause trouble. ![]() "I pity the next director who has to work with these kids, but for me it wasn't bad," she said. With so many kids around, there were bound to be at least as many stage parents. The youngsters weren't the only ones who caused problems for the director. He was supposed to play Stymie's dad, but the day we were going to shoot his scenes, he was picked to be the Lakers' coach, so he was a little busy." "The only one we couldn't get was Magic Johnson. "Once she said yes, it was a matter of calling people up and saying, 'We're doing this movie about the "Little Rascals," and Whoopi is playing Buckwheat's mom.' "The trick was getting Whoopi, who is a big 'Little Rascals' fan," Ms. ![]() The movie is filled with cameo appearances by celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg, who plays Buckwheat's mom, and Donald Trump, who plays Waldo's dad. "I also wanted an issue in this movie, and that's why we did the women-haters club. "I wanted little boys wearing little girls' clothes. "As for the plots, I wanted to get certain things from the original films into this movie, like I knew I had to get Spanky and Alfalfa into a tutu," she added with a laugh. ![]()
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