The Neverending Movie Rental Debate

Back before Blockbuster overran the city, there were the independently run video stores. The ones with a personal touch... and an admittedly smaller selection. But we hadn't really noticed then, not having had the Blockbuster experience yet. We only had a few that we went to, but Video Shack is the one I'll remember most.

Just the drive there was half the fun. It was a bit hidden, and I'd like to think that it was a place that only special people knew about. Mom and Dad even knew the back roads shortcut to get there. Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but that was how it felt. You really couldn't see the place until you drove into the parking lot. It was surrounded by a tall, log wall of sorts that looked like something straight out of Robin Hood. But not once you got on the inside! Then, it turned into a wild west scene. See, the place was built next to a stable. And, if I recall correctly, there was a small corral just off the parking lot, and sometimes we got to see the horses. The whole place looked like a rustic log cabin - southwest-style.

I don't remember too much about the inside of the store, but one shelf full of videos is etched into my memory. The kids' section. Not all of it, mind you, but just one shelf. Yeah, I'm probably smushing everything together in my mind, but I have such a clear image of that shelf, especially the top left-hand corner and the movie that always sat there.

Usually, us kids would have to decide on one video to rent. And between the three of us... it wasn't always easy. I always wanted to rent The Neverending Story, but we'd seen it so many times before, I usually got vetoed. Which was a shame because I really loved that flying, dragon-dog-type creature... there was something about him that was just so comforting, I guess. Another favorite of mine (and most of the time of my sisters, too) was Wrinkles in Need of Cuddles, probably because Joanne and I had our own Wrinkles stuffed dogs. (I still have mine, and I'm a bit disconcerted that most all the ebay listings classify them as vintage...). Another popular choice, one that we usually could agree on, was anything from the Faerie Tale Theatre series. These were especially fun because there were famous people in them. Like Robin Williams as the Frog Prince, Gena Rowlands and Jeff Bridges in Rapunzel, Christopher Reeve as Sleeping Beauty's prince.

No matter the argument over whose turn it was to pick, or what we shouldn't rent because we'd seen it fifty bazillion times, there was always one movie we could agree on. That was the one on the top left-hand corner of that shelf: My Little Pony the Movie. And it wasn't just any My Little Pony video, it had to be the one with the evil, purple ooze. I think the only movie we watched more than that one was The Chipmunk Adventure. But you don't want to get me started on the Wooly Bully song...