For most part of my childhood, we didn't have television. We had this big black and white TV, but when it died, my parents can't find the means to replace it, so we only had it for decoration (hahaha). Before my sister was born, the family's way of living has improved, and not only did my parents buy a small colored TV, they also bought a Betamax machine. Every weekends then were spent watching lots and lots of movies.

1980s has got to be the time when fantasy stories graced the silver screen. Some locally produced films that brought back memories were:

• "Puto," 1987 starring Herbert Bautista - I could never forget the dwarfs named Elvis, Travolta, and Boy George.
• "Magic Tree" - A story of a family gifted with a magic tree, which bears fruit with money inside.
• "Black Magic,"1987 starring Dolphy - A story of a man who sold his soul to the devil, but even if he was supposed to do bad things, he still did good things to people.
• "Tiyanak"1988 - Possibly one of the scariest Pinoy films I have watched.

Even with the foreign produced films, that era seemed to be filled with more fantasy stories (either that or my parents just borrowed lots of betamax tapes with this genre because it's kid friendly), and some memorable movies I have watched were:

• "Back to the Future," 1985 starring Michael J. Fox - A story of a teenage who traveled back in time with a mission to make sure his would be parents would fall in love so he can get back in the future.
• "Ghostbusters," 1984 - Loved the cartoons, loved the movie. My favorite will always be Dr. Egon Spengler.
• "ET: Extra Terrestrial," 1983 - Who will never forget "E.T. phoned home?"
  

So many movie memories, but my favorite will have to be this:





"The NeverEnding Story," 1984 - A story of a boy named Bastian who lives a dreary life being tormented by school bullies. On one such occasion he escapes into a book shop where the old proprietor reveals an ancient story-book to him, which he is warned can be dangerous. Shortly after, he "borrows" the book and begins to read it in the school attic where he is drawn into the mythical land of Fantasia, which desperately needs a hero to save it from destruction. {Source: IMDb.com}

Truth be told, I cannot recall the whole story anymore. I just remembered, our next door neighbors were the ones who lent the betamax copy of this film because they said it was a fun movie to watch. For a kid who cannot understand much English, I really had a difficult time understanding the story, but sure enough, the graphics and how each scenes were presented were enough for any kid to understand and relate to it. My favorite scene? When he rode the big fluffy dog. My brother and I once hoped we could fly, too.

At my age now, I don't know if I could still appreciate fantasy movies, but even if stories were hard to believe, the movies' lessons these movies impart was something each of us can learn from.

*** Jenn ***