So I decided to give this a shot. I know many others have done this, but as Nostalgia Critic pointed out in his video these lists can vary. I mean what made a cool trailer for him may not be the same as for me. Though I do match one of his choices. In order for this to work there is one rule, these are trailers I personally saw, never forgot, and just love even if there are better and more remembered trailers out there (so no Alien trailer as good as that was). And they have to be trailers for movies that I saw because no matter how cool a trailer is if I did not see the movie than it still has to be a fail in my opinion. And yes teaser trailers are fine, they exist for a reason-to wet our appetite and get us pumped for the movie. When done right anyway.
So anyway, movie trailers! The whole point behind a trailer is to excite you and make you want to see the movie. It should also be memorable and even entertaining. I think it’s fair to say that some trailers are almost better than the movie that ended up being released. I also hate trailers that tend to give a little to much info, like a lot of classic Disney trailers did. But when done right they are effective as hell.
Here are ten that I loved and/or never forgot (in no particular order)
10.Independence Day
Yeah yeah, I know. But what can I say, this ad worked! All it showed was an alien ship literally blowing the White House to pieces. WTF?? No plot details, heck I didn’t even know who was in the movie until I saw it. But I just had to see how The White House blows up! Yeah today it’s been done to death, but at the time it left a huge impression.
9.Parenthood
Much like the ID4 trailer, the worked because it didn’t show us the movie. Instead we see the family gathering for a family portrait which Steve Martin’s character is unable to pull off. It’s just a charming sweet family scene which really did sum up the basic tone of the movie. At the time these kind of trailers were rare. To not show any scenes of the movie or give any plot elements at all? Imagine!
8.Titanic
True there is nothing clever here, it’s a standard trailer. But it’s a really well made one which captures the romance in the story. Then as the trailer goes on the suspense and action built up, leading to that one final scene that everyone had to see! It must have worked since the trailer basically gives the story away and yet hundreds of people went to see this when it came out. It was a monster hit, and t all started with a trailer that worked on every level.
7.Lilo & Stitch
I loved these! Stitch was kind of designed to be an anti-Disney character. Not cute and stuff. It didn’t work out, but that was the plan. And to convey this before the original movie came out, we get these ads where Stitch invades classic scenes from Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Lion King. Yeah today this idea probably isn’t new, but at the time it was very clever and I still love these trailers.
6.Toys
I didn’t love the movie, at all, but this ad has always fascinated me. This was a Robin Williams movie and whether it was good or not is debatable. So what happens in the ad? Robin Williams stands in a field telling jokes and doing improv while talking about the movie. No, really. That’s it, it’s basically him selling the movie. It worked, I went to see it. Good lord was it bad, but that’s another story. The trailer is worth checking out for how unique it is.
5.Star Trek VI:The Undiscovered Country
This is just a beautiful trailer. If you love the original series and/or movies in any way you have to love this. Focusing on the fact this would be the final voyage of the original crew, we get a trailer combining scenes from the tv series and movies over the Enterprise as it prepares to warp. Yeah it doesn’t give you any plot details, but who cares? The ad still brings a nostalgic tear to my eye.
4.Star Wars Episode III
I admit, I kind of liked this one. It was the one prequel that actually was interesting, and felt the closest like the original trilogy. Was it perfect? God no! It’s easy to forget know but we were all anxious to see just how Anakin became Vader, and this trailer really made us excited! Especially that shot of Vader rising with his suit and all..still gives me the chills! Of course we had no idea then that Lucas would screw the whole thing up. The trailer worked and still gives me goosebumps.
3.Gravity
I heard about this movie and knew I wanted to check it out. Then I saw the trailer. Wow! I had to see this movie, and I did. This trailer will get your heart pumping it’s so fast.
2.Adventures in Babysitting
So let’s say you have a movie which is kind of a silly 80’s comedy with nothing really special about it. How do you promote it? By showing that it’s silly and having fun with that. The trailer is funny and makes you want to know what’s going on without giving the whole story away. I include this because this trailer worked so well it really made me wan to see it, and it’s probably why this silly comedy was a big hit in 1987. If you’ve never seen the movie check it out, it isn’t a stupid as some other silly 80’s comedies that were made at the time and features a young Elizabeth Shue in her first role. This movie proves that a good trailer does make a difference.
1.The Avengers
So I wanted to get one superhero movie on here, but which one? Sure the Chris Nolan movies have great trailers (Man of Steel almost kept me away but I digress). And there are classic trailers from the old Superman and Batman movies. But the one for Avengers was the one I chose. Why? I hate Marvel, have never read an Avengers comic, couldn’t care less about most of these characters…..and yet I still really wanted to see this movie! This was the superhero movie I had been waiting for and the trailer got me hyped!
Honorable Mention:
How could I not include one of the coolest teasers ever from my favorite movie ever? Not on the list because I don’t recall seeing it at the time so it kind of breaks the rules. Here is the teaser for Back to the Future.
Which are your favorite trailer? I may be back with trailers which failed for one reason or another if I can get that list together. Until then, take care of yourselves.
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