The Peanut Butter Solution
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''The Peanut Butter Solution'' (
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
title: ''Opération beurre de pinottes'') is a 1985 Canadian
children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...
directed by
Michael Rubbo Michael Dattilo Rubbo (born 31 December 1938) is an Australian documentarian/filmmaker. Early life Rubbo, film maker and artist, was born in Melbourne, the son of Australian microbiologist Sydney Dattilo Rubbo, and artist Ellen Rubbo with whom ...
. The second installment in the '' Tales for All (Contes Pour Tous)'' series of films by Les Productions La Fête, the film stars Mathew Mackay,
Siluck Saysanasy Siluck Saysanasy (born January 30, 1974) is a Laotian-Canadian television actor. Saysanasy is best known for playing Yick Yu, a character in the ''Degrassi'' series. He went to high school at Vaughan Road Academy in Toronto, Ontario, in the In ...
, Alison Darcy, and Michael Hogan.


Plot

Michael Baskin is an average 11-year-old boy. His father, Billy Baskin, is a struggling artist and temporary sole caretaker of the children, while his wife attends to the estate of her recently deceased father in Australia. Upon hearing the news that an abandoned mansion has recently burned down, Michael and his friend, Connie, decide to explore the remains. Outside the mansion, Connie dares Michael to take a look inside, leading to a frightening encounter with the ghosts of its homeless inhabitants who had died in the fire. Michael does not know this yet, but his fearsome run-in with the ghosts has given him a mysterious illness, "The Fright." Michael wakes up the next morning to find that "The Fright" has made him lose his hair. After a failed attempt with a wig (an older boy pulled his wig off during a fight in a soccer game), the ghosts visit Michael in his sleep and give him the recipe of a magical formula for hair growth, the main ingredient of which is
peanut butter Peanut butter is a food Paste (food), paste or Spread (food), spread made from Grinding (abrasive cutting), ground, dry roasting, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, ...
. Michael's first attempt to make the formula is thwarted when his father and sister dispose of it, thinking he was creating something to ingest (rather than use topically). The ghosts return the following night, giving themselves a second chance to repay him for giving his money to some homeless people. They also give Michael special instructions on not adding too much peanut butter, which will result in dreadful results. Michael successfully makes the formula this time, but ignores their instructions, and wakes up the next morning to find that his new hair has already begun to grow super super fast. After only a few minutes, Michael has grown a full head of hair. Suspicious of his fast-growing follicles, Connie confronts Michael about his unusual ability. When Michael reveals to him his concoction, Connie decides to apply some to his pubic area, in an attempt to create the illusion that he is going through puberty. Connie soon discovers that the joke is on him. Soon, Michael and Connie's hair grows to such lengths that it becomes a nuisance for the school and their classmates, resulting in their suspensions. While Michael frantically searches for a solution, Connie discovers the hair will stop growing by yelling at it. The art teacher at Michael's school, called the Signor, frightens children and forbids them from using their imagination. After getting fired from the school, the Signor finds out about Michael's condition and kidnaps him (and many other neighborhood children) to make magic paint brushes from Michael's ever-growing hair, in which he subdues Michael with a knockout drug. The kidnapped children are put to work under harsh conditions ("We have to make 500 brushes a day, or we don't eat!"). The paintbrushes are so powerful that they paint whatever their user imagines without need for detail or neatness. Michael's sister, Suzie, and Connie discover the Signor's magical paintbrush factory and try to rescue Michael and the other kids. Connie tries to use force, but Signor and his dog James overpower him. Instead, Connie tricks the Signor into painting a picture of the abandoned mansion. Connie then dares him to investigate inside, leading "The Fright" to be passed on from Michael to the Signor. The Signor, now bald, escapes from the haunted house and chases the children, locking them up. Just as Connie is about to escape with Michael, Susan and their dad find the factory, and the local police arrest the Signor. The film ends with the family reunited, the mother returning home, and Michael's hair no longer growing out of control.


Cast


Production

* The original working title of the film was ''Michael's Fright''. * This film features the first English-language songs performed by
Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...
(''Listen to the Magic Man'' and ''Michael's Song''). The French-language version of the film features French-language versions of the same songs ('' Dans la main d'un magicien'' and '' La ballade de Michel''). * Skippy peanut butter paid for prominent
product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of t ...
in the film.


Home media

''The Peanut Butter Solution'' has been released on home video numerous times. In the USA, the film had been released only on VHS (through New World Video, Anchor Bay, and Starmaker Entertainment) until 2019. In Canada, the film was released on DVD in 2006 as part of a box set with 5 other Tales for All films. Another box set, with every Tales for All movie, was released in 2011. In 2012, the movie was released separately. All of these DVD releases were in French only. In 2013, the movie was transferred to
high definition High definition or HD may refer to: Visual technologies *Blu-ray Disc, the universal optical High Definition disc format *HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format *HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tap ...
from the original
35mm 35 mm may refer to: Film * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM, a "musical exhibition" by Ryan Scott Oliver that features music ...
camera negative. This transfer was used for a
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
release in Canada on April 11, 2017, and includes French and English language tracks. On December 10, 2019,
Severin Films Severin Films is an American independent film production and distribution company known for restoring and releasing cult films on DVD and Blu-ray. It is considered a boutique Blu-ray and DVD label. History The label was created in 2006 in Los A ...
released it for the first time on Blu-ray/DVD in the US as the first offering of their new Severin Kids label. This release includes an "extended version" with 3 minutes of extra scenes.


Reception

The ''
How Did This Get Made? ''How Did This Get Made?'' (''HDTGM'') is a podcast on the Earwolf network. It is hosted by Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas with occasional substitutes and/or guest hosts. Each episode features the deconstruction and mocker ...
'' podcast released an episode on the film on July 3, 2020. In 2020,
YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
Coda Gardner released an hour-long documentary about the film, ''Michael's Fright: The Strange True Story of the Peanut Butter Solution''.


References


External links

* * *
Productions La Fête
Official Production Company Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Peanut Butter Solution, The 1985 films 1985 children's films 1985 independent films 1980s children's fantasy films Canadian children's fantasy films Canadian ghost films Canadian independent films 1980s dark fantasy films English-language Canadian films Films about child abduction Films about families Films about fear Films about friendship Films directed by Michael Rubbo Films set in Montreal Films shot in Montreal Films scored by Lewis Furey New World Pictures films Quebec films French-language Canadian films 1980s Canadian films