As I’ve mentioned in the Pop Culture Retrorama podcasts – when it comes to some of my favorite films, many of them would fall into the cult film category. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension, Krull, Enemy Mine, Phantom of the Paradise, and many others – like 1982’s TRON. A movie that I hold so very close to my heart – having caught it when I was ten-years-old and in the grip, like so many others of “Pac-Man Fever” – a perfect film for a young video game fanatic. I even managed to imitate the disc battles seen in the film with the neighborhood kids in my Grandparent’s neighborhood. Besides the storybook and coloring books I managed to get a few of those beautiful Tomy TRON action figures, although I would be an adult before I obtained the full line – that includes the 2002 rerelease by Neca. I was able to convince my Family to pick up various video game releases for TRON for both the Atari 2600 and Intellivision – including one of the greatest based off the 1982 film – Tron: Deadly Discs. But long, long before I was able to own a personal copy of the film on VHS – it was the Disney Read-Along book and record that allowed me to revisit the majority of the events of TRON. Narrated by Chuck Riley, The Story of TRON not only allowed me to relive some of my favorite moments from the film but also drool over the beautiful artwork of the storybook. I wish I could say I found the name of the artist who provided the illustrations – I’ve checked the Disney Wiki in addition to the TRON wiki but I’ve seen no credits at all. At the very least thanks to Filmscore Fantastic you too can enjoy the book and record that I would sit and listen to over and over again in the middle of my living room floor as a kid.
By the way, you can hear some of the exceptional soundtrack by Wendy Carlos (A Clockwork Orange, The Shining) from the 1982 film in The Story of TRON. Furthermore Chuck Riley was a legendary voice-over artist and it is believed that he provided work on hundreds of trailers, television promos, in addition to book and records – almost always uncredited. While he sadly passed away in 2007 at the age of 66 he did leave behind some very memorable narrations – like for another 1982 film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial!
What about you though, friends – were there any particular book and records that you fondly remember from your own youth?
I had all the Star Wars and Indiana Jones ones in the 80s. I don’t know that I had Tron but I do remember having The Black Hole.
Dex1138, for what it’s worth Chuck Riley actually narrated the Raiders of the Lost Ark book and record!