Explorers Alternates

I am loving the 2CD Intrada release of Explorers with the previously unreleased alternates on disc two!

I found the alternate of “Crazed Bubble” with the foregrounded “Wak boogie” especially interesting. Per the liner notes, Joe Dante asked Goldsmith not to tease the Wak/alien music before the final act reveal of the character himself, which was the right call...but it reminds me of being 11 years old in the movie theater thinking, whaaaaaahhh?

This movie was on the way to being an all-time classic, not just an ’80s classic. The kids went into space, what would they find? It was promising Close Encounters, something transformative...and it ended up being satire.

It’s the storytelling problem with aliens—you always want to go into that mothership, but it’s better if you don’t. So the end is always a cop-out.

Awesome release from Intrada, and a reminder of what a towering and seminal artist Goldsmith was—check it out!