Cocoon: The Return
1988  PG  FANTASY  1h 56min
CAST— Don Ameche, Jack Gilford, Gwen Verdon, Maureen Stapleton, Steve Guttenberg, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Wilford Brimley, Elaine Stritch, Tahnee Welch, Courteney Cox
MUSIC— James Horner  DIRECTOR— Daniel Petrie

     If you’ll remember, at the end of Cocoon (1985) the Antareans were taken aboard their spaceship with their newfound human friends from the retirement village, having no choice but to leave the cocoons in the ocean for another rescue attempt. Well, they’re baaack. And guess who they’ve brought with them. Yep, the three “old farts” who started it all. This time they’ve come for one last goodbye to family and friends who can’t believe that these people (whom they thought to have died five years ago) are standing before them. But Earth starts to take its toll on their not-so-young human bodies and their little pleasure trip soon turns into one of pain. Meanwhile, scientists have discovered one of the Antarean cocoons, so Jack and Kitty have to forego their little romantic reunion to undertake a rescue mission. The film, while having great moments reuniting us with characters from the original, loses some of the charm along the way, using more special effects and more of a sci-fi driven storyline, whereas the original relied almost entirely on the characters, being more of a comedy-drama than anything else. The film is still worth watching, if just for the performances.
OUR RATING— ** ½
PRECEDED BY— Cocoon (1985)