Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

With my 300th Epinions piece/review, I wanted to write about Moonwalker, which has been a favorite film of mine because it contains the complete short film of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal. It also shows Michael's range as a singer, dancer, writer, producer, and actor. It is divided into many different segments instead of playing as an entire continuous reel (or, one storyline), but each individual segment is still entertaining. It was released on VHS in 1988, which was still during Michael's Bad era. It is pretty hard to find nowadays, although since Michael's passing, it has cropped up on auction sites at "collector prices", and can still be purchased via those means (although VHS is a bit obsolete now). It was released in Europe a few years ago in Region 2 (DVD) , and I believe Australia (Region 4) and perhaps Korea. But, it never hit the USA on DVD (as an official release and in stores), and since there are no plans to do so, there are not many options to see this, other than on VHS. There are DVD bootleg copies floating about on auction sites (which I DO NOT support or endorse) that are copies of the DVDs, stripped of their encoding, but I keep hoping for an official US release. *fingers crossed*

The first segment shows various concert footage of Michael singing Man in the Mirror during his Bad tour. It pans to the crowds, more to show his sold out arenas, but I always love it because it shows fans who have fainted. I just find it amazing that he could do that to people; it blows me away. Michael once said each concert had something like 5,000 fans to faint, but I do know that in a few of them, they'd have a sea of medical tents set up just for that purpose, so it sounds plausible (especially if you're talking about up to 70,000 people). There are also clips thrown in from the music video of the same name (mostly of the notable figures like Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon, and Martin Luther King Jr.)

The next segment is a montage that spans his musical career from early Jackson 5 days to Bad. It features various performance footage, video clips, and songs. The highlights for me were always the short shot of him singing Who's Lovin' You, the segment showing him dancing during Dancing Machine in the late 70's, and the remastered short segment of Rock With You (which at one point shows him with sparkly wings). It's shot with such extras (awards, news voice-overs, covers of magazines and newspapers, and etc.) and in an 80's-pop video way, that it would serve as a great tribute reel today. It shows him as a media sensation, but all positive, because this is the time where he was on top of the world and he was our king. I just love watching it.

Badder is the next segment, which was one of my favorite parts because it is a parody of the Bad music video. This one features kids acting out the video in it's entirety (the video, not the short film version) while lip syncing to Michael's voice as the song plays. It's humorous because the little boy playing Michael (Brandon Quinton Adams), when he goes for the "junk grab", he ends up hitting himself there and makes such a funny face as he sinks to the ground. Kids think stuff like that is a riot, for my daughter laughs like mad when she sees it.  It's cool watching the kids pull off all the dance moves, but their antics make this video so cute and funny.

Speed Demon is a great segment that starts out with Michael trying to avoid rabid Claymation fans at the studio, before ducking into a costume room and emerging as a Claymation (rabbit) himself. Then, a chase ensues while the song Speed Demon is played. I used to go ape over Will Vinton's Claymation pieces; I thought they were the coolest thing ever back in the day. That's why I still think this is a great short film, perhaps. That, and Michael does a bit of acting here, although he smiles too much to make it believable. Still, I just think that made him all the more adorable. The best part is the ending, which features dancing alongside his Claymation counterpart, Spike.

Up next is the music video Leave Me Alone. It's about the media frenzy and all of the tabloid headlines about his personal life that surrounded him at the time. It's a pretty self explanatory song. I always thought it was brilliant though, because there was such a media circus going on at the time, and in this video, Michael himself is a circus, with all of the pieces built on and around him. It's even won a Grammy in 1989.

Smooth Criminal is the next segment and is my favorite Michael Jackson piece, of all time. It's a true short film, and is the one that features the video of Smooth Criminal (.."Annie are you okay, will you tell us that you're okay...") In this film, Michael is a type of good-guy gangster that is befriended by and protects 3 children (one of them being a young Sean Lennon, son to John). He has bad guys (the boss being Frankie Lideo aka Mr. Big (Joe Pesci) after him because Michael and Katie, a young girl, stumbled upon Mr. Big's plan to have the world addicted to drugs, starting with the children. And so, Mr. Big wants to destroy them. Michael has the children meet him at Club 30's, which is a haunted, abandoned club, and while they go there to wait, we see that Michael is magical and he can transform into "whatever he wants" with the help from (the power of) shooting stars. When he gets to the club, the once abandoned place suddenly turns into a swinging 1930's era club......and here we see the Smooth Criminal music video (not the fast, sped up version). Of course, Mr. Big has to ruin the party, kidnap Katie, and it's up to Michael to rescue her. The film then continues on, but I've already given so many spoilers to it, that I'll leave it at that.

I tell you, I ate this stuff up then and I still adore it. Michael turns into several cool vehicles of destruction in order to try and save the children (I love his line "Do it and ya' dead" during an integral part of the film), and I loved the sci-fi feel near the end, although by today's standards, it's pretty campy. Of course, now I get to enjoy it as "retro sci-fi" ! Joe Pesci, I love him in gangster/bad guy roles and he was great in this short, even though this is probably the first film I didn't root for him to become the victor in. (Loving his line.."It isn''t so smooth now, is it?" to Michael when he's on the ground. you know..."Smooth Criminal" and all) It's my favorite piece, I don't know what more to say. There's the "gangster chic" look, which Michael looked gorgeous in, there's violence, special effects are pretty decent, a little bit of sci-fi (robot, spaceship, lasers), and even some magical elements. The entire film segment, up to the point he performed Come Together, ran for about 45 minutes. See what I mean by "short film"?

In the final segment, Michael performs a cover of The Beatles' Come Togetherin front of a small audience (made up of extras). The set was awesome and he did the song justice, and is yet another reason to grab up a copy if possible. During the closing credits, Ladysmith Black Mambazo (an amazing South African group who sing in an isicathamiya style..check them out!) sing "The Moon is Walking", which was a perfect fit for both the film, and Michael Jackson. During this, behind the scenes clips air until we are shown the four minute version of Smooth Criminal (the sped up version) until the movie ends.

I don't like to "spoil" films, but I found it a struggle not to talk about each segment individually, because I do not consider this a "movie". I've always viewed it as a music video and short film collection, like his others on the market now (HIStory, Dangerous, etc.) But, this is a film worth seeing if you are a Michael Jackson fan and haven't yet. Look around and you'll find a way. Who knows though, maybe they'll officially release it to the US soon (here's hoping). It runs for about 93 minutes, altogether.


Thanks for reading!

Game Time: With films that have recurring events, my daughter and I make a game to count how many times the event happens. Throughout his video career, Michael changes forms many times (such as a black panther in Black or White, or up from dust in Remember the Time. Heck, he was even once a California Raisin in a commercial performance). In Moonwalker he undergoes many transformations. How many can you spot? I have my answer....what's yours?.


Other DVDs You May Enjoy:

Michael Jackson Video Greatest Hits HIStory
Michael Jackson Video Greatest Hits HIStory on Film Volume II
Michael Jackson Dangerous The Short Films
Michael Jackson Number Ones
Michael Jackson Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour (Concert)
Michael Jackson Live in Japan: The Bad Tour (Concert)
Making Michael Jackson's Thriller (VHS) 
Michael Jackson's This Is It

Music:

Michael Jackson This Is It
Michael Jackson: Number Ones

Books:

The Michael Jackson Tapes: A tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation  
Moonwalk by Michael Jackson

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12