Rent The Boy from Space (1980)

Good fun - The Boy from Space review by YR

This is a two-DVD set providing two different versions of "The Boy from Space". If you want to watch the feature length film from beginning to end, then be sure to rent disc 2 (it was originally filmed in 1971, but it looks like they filmed a new preamble in 1980 when the children were older). The other version (on disc 1) is a children's show called "Look and Read" where the film was repackaged into a season where they showed excerpts of the film and were encouraging the viewers to reflect on the grammar told in the story (the "Boy from Space" originally being a book). There are also a number of humorous animated segments (populated by weird and wonderful creatures and people in space) where they sing a song about some aspect of grammar (the animated segments can also be viewed in isolation on disc 2). I didn't grow up in the UK, so I didn't see these as a child. Yet, I really enjoyed these. I would have been watching this if I lived here (I was just the right age). I especially enjoyed the uninterrupted feature length film. It was just so nostalgic and lovely and good natured (although when I looked at online comments, some people who saw it as kids found it scary). Also, the film was surprisingly well-acted (Sylvestra le Touzel, who plays the girl, eventually became a high respected actress in period dramas and such). The space aliens, with their weird-sounding language and futuristic clothing and hair and technology, are actually kind of retro-cool. Mostly, I loved the friendship that developed between the two human children and "Peep-Peep", the boy from space. It's a reminder of how children accept friendships more openly than adults, and often have a natural tendency to help people in need. The adults, meanwhile, are the ones who are too absorbed in their own affairs (there are four main adults in this story, two alien and two human). In the end, the film becomes a kind of science-fiction crime story, and it's really not a spoiler to say that the kids save the day.