The Wizard

The Wizard (1989)

  • 24% of critics liked it
    (17 reviews)

  • 58% of users liked it
    (20,079 ratings)

In this comedy, Corey Woods (Fred Savage) sneaks his emotionally disturbed little brother, Jimmy (Luke Edwards) out of the home he has been placed in, and sets off on a trip across the country. Along the way they team up with young Haley (Jenny Lewis), and together they discover that the silent… More

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In Theaters
Dec 15, 1989 Wide
Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Janet Maslin, New York Times

    Video-addicted kids may well find this exciting, but for anyone old enough to stay out later than 9 P.M. it's a distinct bore.

  • Rita Kempley, Washington Post

    Hollywood hucksters, zap them, have borrowed from Japanese game-pushers in this shameless attempt to sucker America's children.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    It was only after the three kids arrived safely at the championships that I began to question the ethics of the film, which is, among other things, a thinly disguised commercial for Nintendo video games and the Universal studio tour.

  • , TV Guide's Movie Guide

    The runaways' actions provide anything but responsible models for the children who make up the film's target audience, and the likable cast flails against the rampant idiocy and gross commercialism.

  • Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

    one of the best movies about the nintendo entertainment system...

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Manu G


    It's more than a game... It's the chance of a lifetime. Saw it again! Great movie from my childhood which I still love and enjoy every single time I see it! Very nice roles by everyone who acted on this one. Super Mario Bros.3 one of the best video games ever created hands… More

  • danny d


    having grown up on this film i was excited to show it to my kids, and despite being about dated games, they loved it as much as i did. as long as one goes into this for good family fun, it works despite the unbelievable storyline.

  • AJ V


    A great kids movie, very modern, I mean, a video game competition? That's so rad. They should have some of those today. This movie is really cool, I highly recommend it.

  • Lenny M


    Fred Savage is not a robot, only good thing about this movie is the cheesy Super Mario Brothers 3 showdown and the Double Dragon face-off. Fred Savage was a strapping young lad, wise beyond his years.

  • Tim S


    80's classic.

Read all 13 featured audience ratings

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