A Friend Like You, Is A Friend Like Him? - "MR. CROCKET" (2024) REVIEW

Images provided by Hulu

Since the early 90s, it has been said that subliminal messaging is hidden in children’s television shows… Creepy images, sexual innuendos, AD sponsorships, you know the deal. Now we grew up watching things like “The Ren & Stimpy Show” and “Cow and Chicken”, so one could believe there was a little bit of truth behind those “conspiracies.” What a fever dream.

“Mr. Crocket” hosts the once-popular children’s television show “Mr. Crocket’s World.” When ungrateful parents aren’t treating their kids the way they should, Mr. Crocket is there to save the day; by deviously coming through the television set and murdering said parental figure, then kidnapping the child. When you’re a part of his family, there are no bedtimes, vegetables, or rules! Although, everything is not what it seems in Mr. Crocket’s world…

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After suffering the devastating loss of her husband, Summer (Jerrika Hinton) is left to care for her son Major (Ayden Gavin) by herself. As the days pass by, Major still chooses to express his grief in an anger-induced tantrum-filled manner.

The path of “gentle parenting” is not working out for Summer and as soon as she is about to lose all hope, a mysterious library box appears in her front yard, containing a VHS tape inside called “Mr. Crocket’s World.” She reluctantly takes it inside and pops it into the VCR player for Major, and to her surprise, he is entranced by what is playing on the TV.

At this point, Major has been glued to the television watching the mystical Mr. Crocket. Summer tells him that’s enough to go outside to play, but he has a meltdown and smashes a family photo on the ground with his trophy. Finally, Summer reaches her breaking point and lashes out at him. Lo and behold, Mr. Crocket appears and takes Major with him, but oddly not killing his mother. Since this occurrence, Summer will do everything in her power to get her son back; there’s a reason he spared her.

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First off, it can’t go without being said that Major was an absolute brat to his mother. It’s tough when a character is so unlikeable, especially a child; so when he got kidnapped you could imagine we weren’t all too upset. What did upset us though is that Summer was a great mom and tried her hardest with Major, so it was surprising that Mr. Crocket only gave her that one chance. The mother and son dynamic was very well written and felt natural between the two which added a bit of empathetic feeling to the film.

With a short run-time of a little over 80 minutes, it seemed like the last half sort of dragged on. We could see this being a short film and it would still execute the plotline without veering us away with so much dialogue. The overall theming of the film did entice us though. The 90’s nostalgic appeal was there and the cinematography was stunning; it did feel like you were being transported through the television. Speaking of that aspect, we do wish they spent a little more time in Mr. Crocket’s World.

With having a smaller cast, all of the characters must execute their roles well; and they all did just that. Mr. Crocket (Elvis Nolasco) was undeniably the star of the show, literally. Unsettling yet likable but also on the brink of madness, the perfect combination for a great antagonist.

Images provided by Hulu

The story itself flowed well and stayed on the path with its ultimate purpose. As for the ending, we did expect a bit more depth but by no means was it a “bad ending", it just seemed to end abruptly. Probably one of our favorite aspects though had to be the kills of course; Mr. Crocket does NOT hold back and neither do his furry minion friends. The practical effects were spot on and were fun to watch, giving the film the edge that it needed due to the whimsical undertone.

The presented “twist” was a little easy to decipher, we noticed it fairly quickly. Although, it did take somewhat of a turn from what we thought was going to happen. Another little quirk we come to find from the film is that Mr. Crocket was killed shortly after a kidnapping incident in real life, aligning with when his show was starting to take off. We don’t want to spoil too much from that bit of insight but it does play an important role in the film.

Overall, we truly enjoyed “Mr. Crocket” and wouldn’t mind seeing him on the big screen again someday. Special thanks to the folks over at Hulu for providing us with an early screening of the film and the opportunity to review it!

Mr. Crocket premieres on Friday, October 11th exclusively on Hulu for their annual Huluween event; make sure you check it out!

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