The Blue Lagoon Chronicles
Director: Randal Kleiser
Cast: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, Milla Jovovich, Brian Krause, Lisa Pelikan
When two young children are cast into the sea and separated from their guardian following a shipwreck, they find themselves on a deserted island with only a cantankerous ship’s cook to guide them. Frightened and alone, the children must learn to survive in this tropical sanctuary and rely on each other for companionship and protection. Years later, Richard, who is rescued from the sea after his parents’ untimely death, endures a similar fate as he, along with a widow and her young daughter, returns to the island and must also learn to survive. As they grow up on the island, the children discover a rare and powerful love binding them together, and their relationship is put to the ultimate test as they overcome the daunting challenges of becoming an adult.
While the circumstances which caused the children to become lost in the sea with their guardian are significantly different, there are similarities in how the crisis plays out. In both circumstances, the children face imminent danger and are protected by their guardian. The children and their guardian also find refuge on a deserted island. The marked difference between the first film and its sequel is that while both films depict the children as being a boy and a girl, in the first, the guardian was a cantankerous man who was forced into the role of guardian, and in the second the guardian was a woman whose motivation was to protect her child and the orphaned son of the original children.
While Paddy Button, the children’s guardian in the first movie, taught the children practical skills and infused them with the knowledge they would need in order to survive in the event that they were left alone, he lacked the wisdom to teach the children the more intimate details of becoming an adult. Consequently, while the children were able to cope on their own after Paddy’s death, they both struggled with the frightening and unfamiliar sensations that come with maturity. On the other hand, Sara Hargrave, the guardian in Return to the Blue Lagoon, was able to educate the children on the more intimate details of growing up and this allowed the children to have some frame of reference for the unfamiliar sensations they experienced after she was gone.
While initially the children desperately yearn for a ship to find them and rescue them from their solitary life on the island, as the years pass and their love deepens, they become less intrigued with the notion of being rescued and they begin to think of the island as their true home. While there is a marked difference in the circumstances that allow the children to reconnect with civilization, their resolution is ultimately identical. In the original movie, civilization is merely seen by Richard and Emmeline and while it has been their lifelong desire to be rescued, they realize that the island is their true home and their life there is happy and they no longer wish to leave. In the sequel, civilization shatters the quiet paradise that Richard and Lilli have created and tries to assimilate the young couple into their own image. Compared to the simple purity of Lilli and Richard’s love, the civilization that encroaches on the island seems harsh, almost brutal and one cannot blame the couple for rejecting it.
The Blue Lagoon and its sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon, both create an exceptional marriage of true love, humor and adventure. The strength of the movies rest in a solid story and a cast which allows the characters to be brought to life in a way that is both believable and heartwarming. I would highly recommend these movies to anyone with a heart for an epic romantic adventure.
© 2013 – 2016 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Randal Kleiser
Cast: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, Milla Jovovich, Brian Krause, Lisa Pelikan
When two young children are cast into the sea and separated from their guardian following a shipwreck, they find themselves on a deserted island with only a cantankerous ship’s cook to guide them. Frightened and alone, the children must learn to survive in this tropical sanctuary and rely on each other for companionship and protection. Years later, Richard, who is rescued from the sea after his parents’ untimely death, endures a similar fate as he, along with a widow and her young daughter, returns to the island and must also learn to survive. As they grow up on the island, the children discover a rare and powerful love binding them together, and their relationship is put to the ultimate test as they overcome the daunting challenges of becoming an adult.
While the circumstances which caused the children to become lost in the sea with their guardian are significantly different, there are similarities in how the crisis plays out. In both circumstances, the children face imminent danger and are protected by their guardian. The children and their guardian also find refuge on a deserted island. The marked difference between the first film and its sequel is that while both films depict the children as being a boy and a girl, in the first, the guardian was a cantankerous man who was forced into the role of guardian, and in the second the guardian was a woman whose motivation was to protect her child and the orphaned son of the original children.
While Paddy Button, the children’s guardian in the first movie, taught the children practical skills and infused them with the knowledge they would need in order to survive in the event that they were left alone, he lacked the wisdom to teach the children the more intimate details of becoming an adult. Consequently, while the children were able to cope on their own after Paddy’s death, they both struggled with the frightening and unfamiliar sensations that come with maturity. On the other hand, Sara Hargrave, the guardian in Return to the Blue Lagoon, was able to educate the children on the more intimate details of growing up and this allowed the children to have some frame of reference for the unfamiliar sensations they experienced after she was gone.
While initially the children desperately yearn for a ship to find them and rescue them from their solitary life on the island, as the years pass and their love deepens, they become less intrigued with the notion of being rescued and they begin to think of the island as their true home. While there is a marked difference in the circumstances that allow the children to reconnect with civilization, their resolution is ultimately identical. In the original movie, civilization is merely seen by Richard and Emmeline and while it has been their lifelong desire to be rescued, they realize that the island is their true home and their life there is happy and they no longer wish to leave. In the sequel, civilization shatters the quiet paradise that Richard and Lilli have created and tries to assimilate the young couple into their own image. Compared to the simple purity of Lilli and Richard’s love, the civilization that encroaches on the island seems harsh, almost brutal and one cannot blame the couple for rejecting it.
The Blue Lagoon and its sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon, both create an exceptional marriage of true love, humor and adventure. The strength of the movies rest in a solid story and a cast which allows the characters to be brought to life in a way that is both believable and heartwarming. I would highly recommend these movies to anyone with a heart for an epic romantic adventure.
© 2013 – 2016 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.