Ah, the 90's remake of the Hal Roach shorts from the Great Depression. I liked this movie as a child and most other kids I knew enjoyed it too. But
as an adult I feel differently about it.
Spanky (Travis Tedford) and his best friend Alfalfa (Bug Hall) are the founders of the He-Man-Woman-Haters Club, a club of little boys who get together and do "boy" things without girls. But when Alfalfa falls in puppy love with a girl named Darla (Brittany Ashton Holmes), Spanky and his other friends do everything to sabotage the relationship. And when Alfalfa accidentally burns down their clubhouse the other boys have completely had it with him, and force him to guard their prized go-cart day and night. Meanwhile, Darla has fallen for a new rich boy Waldo (Blake McIver Ewing), but Alfalfa is still determined to get her back. Everything boils down to the local fair when the boys try to win the go-cart derby, raise enough money to rebuild the clubhouse, and mend broken friendships.
This movie is weak. The plot itself isn't that bad, and most children who watch it are entertained, but it's just not good. The overwhelming problem with this film is that none of the kids can act their way out of a paper bag. The fact that none of the kids have been in anything more than a few made for TV or straight to video movies since this proves that. Honestly I found the outtakes of the kids' mistakes funnier than the movie itself. In terms of being based off the original "Little Rascals" shorts, they don't have much to do with them aside from the same looks and names as the originals. That being said it's hard to relate children of the 90s to children of the 20's, 30's and 40's. A lot of the old ones are based on poverty, hunger, and child abuse as a part of their lives, along with other themes that were anachronistic or not applicable to children of the 90's. But they tried to integrate some themes like the go cart derby, Alfalfa singing and the He-Man-Woman-Haters Club. With that all said this is still a movie that would entertain most children under ten, but can quickly get annoying for parents that have to sit through it with them.
Spanky (Travis Tedford) and his best friend Alfalfa (Bug Hall) are the founders of the He-Man-Woman-Haters Club, a club of little boys who get together and do "boy" things without girls. But when Alfalfa falls in puppy love with a girl named Darla (Brittany Ashton Holmes), Spanky and his other friends do everything to sabotage the relationship. And when Alfalfa accidentally burns down their clubhouse the other boys have completely had it with him, and force him to guard their prized go-cart day and night. Meanwhile, Darla has fallen for a new rich boy Waldo (Blake McIver Ewing), but Alfalfa is still determined to get her back. Everything boils down to the local fair when the boys try to win the go-cart derby, raise enough money to rebuild the clubhouse, and mend broken friendships.
This movie is weak. The plot itself isn't that bad, and most children who watch it are entertained, but it's just not good. The overwhelming problem with this film is that none of the kids can act their way out of a paper bag. The fact that none of the kids have been in anything more than a few made for TV or straight to video movies since this proves that. Honestly I found the outtakes of the kids' mistakes funnier than the movie itself. In terms of being based off the original "Little Rascals" shorts, they don't have much to do with them aside from the same looks and names as the originals. That being said it's hard to relate children of the 90s to children of the 20's, 30's and 40's. A lot of the old ones are based on poverty, hunger, and child abuse as a part of their lives, along with other themes that were anachronistic or not applicable to children of the 90's. But they tried to integrate some themes like the go cart derby, Alfalfa singing and the He-Man-Woman-Haters Club. With that all said this is still a movie that would entertain most children under ten, but can quickly get annoying for parents that have to sit through it with them.