How many times do you think Johnny Tsunami’s mom and his grandpa had sex?
I noticed this years ago and I've always wanted to share it so here it goes! Back when I was a kid Johnny Tsunami (JS) use to play on Disney almost everyday for a period. I saw that movie too many times. Later, Tokyo Drift (TD) blew my mind and I probably saw that too many times too. But at some point much later, I realized that these two movies have the exact same story!
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Main character relocates and becomes the outsider.
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Main character has to join a private school.
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Main character gets embarrassed. In JS, jerks take him skiing and he bombs. In TD, he challenges DK to a drift race and he bombs.
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Main character befriends the cool black person who shows him the ropes and helps him adjust. In JS it's Lee Thompson Young, in TD it's Bow Wow. In both movies, the friend's fathers both happen to be military men.
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Main character is great at something, but now has to switch it up due to his environment. In JS, he has to drop surfing and pickup snowboarding. In TD, he has to drop drag racing muscle cars and pickup drifting with tuners.
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Main character has the hots for the one girl who's gonna cause him the most conflict, the antagonist's girlfriend.
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Both characters get nicknames from the bullies, 'Hawaii' and 'Gaijin'
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Both movies show the transformation of starting as a noob but becoming a pro.
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Tension between father and son. "This isn't Hawaii!" vs "You have nowhere else to go!"
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Father ends up showing support for final race.
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Racing for a prize. In JS, it's claim to the mountain and the Tsunami Medallion from Johnny's grandfather. In TD, its claim to the mountain and title of Drift King. Oh, and both winners get the girl.
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Race down the mountain - I mean, c'mon. Both antagonist play dirty and wipe-out before the finish line.
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Both movies end with a big party.
Well, that's all I got. I think I covered everything but if I missed something, add it!
His dad misses the surfing competition and then nonchalantly pulls up how much the top surfers make to discourage his son, tries to keep him from visiting his own grandpa by demeaning him, and then won't even let him call his grandma when they land, saying he should look towards the future and not to what is behind them in Hawaii. Dick.
The jury is still out on Johnny Tsunami, mainly because the damn Tomatometer doesn’t tell me what to think about this classic.
So, I’m tempted to say yes, because saying no would suggest I’m a Sky when I’ve identified as an Urchin for quite some time now. But what do YOU think?
Predictably, many of you will argue for Genius, the 1999 DCOM starring value-brand Haley Joel Osment / Jurassic Park 3 survival expert Trevor Morgan as a geeky physics prodigy who attempts to attract a young Emmy Rossum by putting on a leather jacket and playing hockey. To that I say, Disney is really asking a lot for me to believe a particle accelerator / ?nuclear reactor? that is prone to meltdowns is best placed under a hockey rink!
Love your pod
I just watched it, and it's still as fantastic as it was 15+ years ago. I'm so pumped up right now. Is it winter yet?
PS: fuck Brett. He's the worst.
Hey guys! So this winter my friends and I are taking our first trip to ride out west in Utah. One of the mountains we're riding while we're out there is Brighton. Recently I found out that Johnny Tsunami my favorite childhood movie of all time (and the movie that inspired me to start riding) was filmed at the mountain. Does any one know of specific trails or features on the mountain that were in the movie? I'd love to make the most out of living my childhood dreams.
The major conflict within the movie is Johnny's struggle to choose between his life back home, and his new life with his father in Vermont. Johnny's life back home in Hawaii is personified by his grandpa, the legendary Johnny Tsunami. His Grandpa is portrayed as a hero or godlike figure who lives simply on the beach free from the struggles of class, economics and the conflicts of a competitive society. He represents the communist. Johnny's grandpa is content with this life style and even refers to his grandson as "pono," which means righteous or more importantly equality. In referring to his Grandson this way, Johnny Tsunami shows a high degree of "Class Consciousness." According to Marx, "class consciousness is required before one can effect a successful revolution. A revolution that we will see by the end of the film.
Johnny's father represents the Capitalist. He is constantly at odds with his father and son. He fears that johnny with follow the path of his father and become a pro surfer. His fear for johnny is almost entirely based on class and economics and the stigma associated with what he sees as someone being on the lowest rung of the social ladder. He very much wants his son to climb that ladder, and in an attempt to give him a better education to achieve those goals, moves him across the country to Vermont. Shortly before this, in an early scene he uses his computer to show johnny how much a professional surfer earns to which johnny scoffs. We are left to wonder: Will johnny heed his fathers advice or choose the ways of his grandfather?
Once in Vermont Johnny falls in with a group known as the Urchins. The Urchins are a group of poor "outcasts" snowboarders who are relegated to the worst areas of the mountain. These urchins are constantly at odds with the rich Skys, or skiers, the other group on the mountain who control all the best slopes. Johnny has left the comfort and familiarity of his old life with the "communist" and in his new one with the "Capitalist" has stumbled into what Marx would refer to as "class conflict."Ultimately, after a trip back home and consulting with his grandfather, Johnny realizes that he must overthrow the bourgeoisie(skys) in order to level the means of production( the mountain)for the proletariat(urchins).
Through this struggle Johnny's father, the capitalist, sees the errors of his ways. Johnny is able to reconcile is old life with his new and both him and his father are content to live their lives in this ne
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