The Zoltar machine is, of course, from one of my very favorite movies from the 80s, Big. As you can see from the quick picture I took, it was not the exact same type of machine featured in the movie, but it had the same name and was close enough to give me that cool nostalgic feeling.

Big is the 1988 movie directed by Penny Marshall that stars Tom Hanks as a kid who makes a wish to be "big" that comes true overnight. The Zoltar machine is what seemingly grants the wish and has Hanks' character wake up suddenly in an adult body. Tom Hanks is fantastic in this role which actually landed him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film is quite charming and magical and it was also deservedly nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Here is the original trailer for Big...

One of the most iconic scenes of the 80s is when Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia play on a giant piano keyboard. Here is a link to the best video (though poor quality) I could find to watch this incredible scene. According to Loggia, on the day they filmed the famous keyboard scene at F.A.O. Schwartz, he and Tom Hanks noticed that doubles dressed like them were on hand just in case the two could not do the dance moves correctly. It became their goal to do the entire keyboard number without the aid of the doubles. They of course succeeded. The "Walking Piano" used in this memorable scene to play "Heart and Soul" and "Chopsticks" was created by an Italian inventor named Remo Saraceni.

Though it was not a genuine Zoltar machine like in the real movie, I am still happy that I saw the one I did. It reminded me of my favorite decade and one of my all time favorite movies. I think I will watch Big again as soon as I get the chance.

That's all for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any particular 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also now follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: If you read my very popular Best Classic Arcade Games or Best Nintendo NES Games issues, you would already know my love for the game Super Mario Bros. The song from that game is even the ring-tone on my phone right now. I recently had the pleasure of seeing Dave the Horn Guy perform. What this guy is able to do is quite incredible. I have already posted a link to this on Twitter, but wanted to share with you his performance of the Super Mario Bros. theme song...

Quote of the day: "The only measure of performance is performance. Not effort, not explanation, not reasons why not. If you accept short falls, that's what you'll get." -Lee Thayer