The Little Rascals (1994)

"Then the clouds opened up and God said, 'I hate you, Alfalfa'!"

Director
Penelope Spheeris

Cast

Travis Tedford - Spanky McFarland
Bug Hall - Alfalfa Switzer
Brittany Ashton Holmes - Darla Hood
Kevin Jamal Woods - Stymie
Ross Bagley - Buckwheat Thomas
Jordan Warkol - Froggy Laughlin
E.G. Daily - voice of Froggy Laughlin
Zachary Mabry - Porky
Sam Saletta - Butch
Blake Jeremy Collins - Woim
Blake McIver Ewing - Waldo Johnston III
Courtland Mead - Uh-huh
Juliette Brewer - Mary Ann
Heather Karasek - Jane

I've never seen the 1994 movie "The Little Rascals" until a few weeks ago. That's kind of odd for me given that I'm a fan of the Hal Roach comedies which includes the "Our Gang" comedy shorts, also known as "The Little Rascals." It also includes the comedies of Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase, and Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts. In fact, I recently wrote a post about Pitts and Todd (later Todd and Kelly) comedies which took me over a year to put together. 

But "The Little Rascals" was one of many movies I've had on my to-watch list.

I've not only wanted to see it because of its being a remake of Hal Roach's "Our Gang" brand, but also because of another Hal Roach brand remake that was released straight to video and doesn't get much attention, if any at all. That movie is "The New Adventures of Laurel and Hardy in For Love or Mummy." It was released in 1999 and stars Bronson Pinchot as Stan Laurel alongside Gailard Sartain as Oliver Hardy. Before I get to that one, I wanted to watch this movie first. 

What's more fascinating about that Laurel and Hardy reboot is that Oscar winning actor F. Murray Abraham also stars in it. Abraham is no small name in Hollywood. He had a masterful performance as Salieri in "Amadeus" and also stars alongside Al Pacino in "Scarface."

In the meantime, I decided to finally watch "The Little Rascals" one Sunday afternoon with my kids after stumbling on it on some streaming app; I don't remember which one. 

To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything fantastic. In fact, I was expecting some disappointment despite having heard several times before from random people how much they love this movie. I'm just a harsh critic, I guess. 

〰 Time Out for Lessons 〰

Hal Roach's 'Rascals' in the 1925 silent film, "Your Own Back Yard."

As for the classic "Our Gang" films, from what I found, there are approximately 220 original short films that span from the 1922 pilot short "Our Gang" to their last movie, "Dancing Romeo" from 1944. 

The first 66 films between 1922 to 1928 are silent movies produced by Hal Roach Studios and distributed by Pathe'. 

Often, these shorts were billed as "Hal Roach presents his rascals." They feature the original cast of kids before the shorts with Alfalfa, Spanky, Darla, Buckwheat and all the rest of the commonly known cast of characters popped up on screen which are depicted in this 1994 reboot. 

The original silent "Gang" include characters such as Sunshine Sammy (later replaced with the character "Pineapple"), Farina, Mickey Daniels, Jackie, Peggy, Snowball and Jack Davis. Mickey Daniels, by the way, was the original leader of the gang. 

There was also another member named Sing Joy, played by Sonny Loy - a Chinese kid who would join in these shorts from time to time such as in "Derby Day" (1922) and "The Mysterious Mystery" (1924).

Several silent "Our Gang" shorts between 1927 to 1929 were also produced by Hal Roach Studios and distributed through MGM. 

Finally, the talking films were produced between 1929 to 1944. 

Some of these original young cast members lasted until the early talking "Our Gang" shorts of the 1930s. Farina was one of those original Gang members to star in the early talking "Our Gang" films. And he's often considered one of the best of the child actors to star in these movies. His comedic performance and emotional displays are well respected for being superb.

As the earlier Gang does what kids have a knack for doing - grow up - new child actors where cast for the talking shorts. 

As Roach saw it, kids are naturally imaginative and creative. So, the humor and entertainment they would provide would be, and is, natural. 

1935 marks the year when the characters who are most popular today began making their "Our Gang" appearances. Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer first appeared in the 1935 short, "Beginner's Luck" as "Tom." In the next short released that same year, "Teacher's Beau" he plays the character "Alfalfa." 

Stymie first appears in "Teacher's Beau." And it's worth mentioning that Stymie's over-sized derby hat is actually an old hat that belonged to Stan Laurel.  

A scene from the 1937 short "Glove Taps" in which 
Tommy Bond (2nd from right) debuts as "Butch."

"Porky" first appears in "Little Sinner." And Darla Hood debuts in "The Our Gang Follies of 1936." 

Spanky McFarland joins the gang a little earlier in the 1932 short "Free Eats."  

Also, actress Hattie McDaniel, famous for her role in "Gone with the Wind" portrayed Buckwheat's mother in the "Our Gang" shorts, "Anniversary Trouble" (1935) and "Arbor Day" (1936).

I knew of the later talking "Our Gang" shorts from the mid to late 1930s since before I can remember. However, I was introduced to the silent films thanks to VHS releases from "Cabin Fever" which came in a set. Each tape had an introduction from film critic Leonard Maltin. 

Quite often, Hal Roach actors would cross paths in other movies. For instance, Stan Laurel has a role in the silent flicks "Rupert of Hee Haw" and "Short Kilts," both from 1924 and starring the original "Our Gang." 

Laurel and Hardy have a cameo in the later "Our Gang" film "Wild Poses" (1933).

And several of the "Our Gang" kids appear in the Laurel and Hardy movie "Babes in Toyland." 

Meanwhile, Little Rascal bully Tommy "Butch" Bond has a cameo in Laurel and Hardy's feature movie, "Block-Heads" (1938). And the famous little rascal, Darla Hood, appears in another Laurel and Hardy movie, "The Bohemian Girl" (1936). 

Lastly, as I've mentioned before, Spanky McFarland stars in Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts final short together, "One Track Minds" right before Todd began making shorts with Patsy Kelly. And Mickey Daniels stars in the Todd and Kelly short "An All-American Toothache." 

〰 'The Little Rascals' 〰

Bug Hall (left) as "Alfalfa" and Sam Saletta as "Butch" in "The Little Rascals."

In this movie, rascal Spanky McFarland (Travis Tedford) and the other young members of the "He-Man
Womun [sic] Haters Club," an "organization" that goes back to the original "Our Gang" series, select Alfalfa Switzer (Bug Hall) to be the official driver of the club's go-cart dubbed "The Blur" in an upcoming soapbox derby. 

They make this decision without Alfalfa's presence. So, when they go to tell him, they find Alfalfa on a romantic outing with a girl named Darla (Brittany Ashton Holmes). This goes against the principles of the He-Man Womun Haters Club.

When Darla and Alfalfa set up a lunch date, which Alfalfa hosts inside the clubhouse, the rest of the gang go out of their way to sabotage it. 

Spanky is the mastermind behind this scheme to split his buddy up with Darla, but Alfalfa doesn't know that.

Their efforts lead to the clubhouse burning down. 

One of the club members leads Darla to believe that Alfalfa no longer cares for her and is, in fact, ashamed of her. 
Stunned and angry, Darla takes an interest in Waldo Johnston III (Blake McIver Ewing), a self-centered rich kid who's trying to win over her affection. 

The other club members then "punish" Alfalfa for spending time with a girl by instructing him to guard "the Blur" until racing day. 

Meanwhile, Alfalfa tries again and again to win Darla's love back, but to no avail. He can't get a break. 

And the other club members have work to do to rebuild their clubhouse. 

They try to come up with money for building materials. They also have to come up with another go-cart after some bullies, Butch (Sam Saletta) and his buddy Woim (Blake Jeremy Collins), steal "the Blur." 

When Alfalfa finds out what Spanky has done to sabotage his romance with Darla, things only get worse...before they get better. 

This is a film that's innocent and, thankfully, family friendly. 

What makes the original "Our Gang" casts stand out is Hal Roach's insistence that their respective characters reflect the real personalities of the actors no matter their class, race, or background. This gives the kids the freedom to meld with each other so well amidst direction. In other words, he

Travis Tedford as "Spanky."

preferred they act like kids instead of trained performers.

I think this movie carries on that legacy to some degree, especially between Buckwheat (Ross Bagley) and Porky (Zachary Mabry) who pal around as a bit of a sideline. Plus, the young actors in this movie perform exceptionally well, and are clearly enjoying what they're doing.

The movie pulls jokes and gags from original "Our Gang" films, primarily "Hearts are Thumps," "Rushin' Ballet," and "Hi'-Neighbor." 

Director Penelope Spheeris has also directed a couple other comedies during the 1990s that have a large fanbase - "Wayne's World" and "Black Sheep." 

She also directed the 1993 movie "The Beverly Hillbillies" based on the TV series. 

This version of "the Little Rascals" is blended amazingly well. Though it's obviously an updated version of the original series, the source material isn't too modernize. It maintains both it's classic nature along side a timeless quality.   

The source material is treated respectfully with a lot of the jokes and gags taken straight from the "Our Gang" shorts plus more updated humor for the time.

This film grabbed the interest of my three oldest children ages five, eight, and nine. So much so, they've taken an interest in the original black and white shorts. Trying to get children interested in old films is nearly impossible. I think the "Our Gang" shorts might be a perfect doorway to introducing kids (at least my kids) to classic films.

The movie also packs in several cameos, including Donald Trump, which I certainly have no problem with. His cameo fits. 

If I have to pick out something negative, I'd say the dialogue sounds scripted here and there, but it's easily forgivable. 

Otherwise, there's such a natural ease in giving this movie a modern feel (for 1994) while maintaining the classic nature of the "Our Gang" brand. It's an innocent and enjoyable experience worth re-watching.