I am the same age as Brooke, and I loved this movie at 13...I had a crush on Peter Fonda after watching it as well, lol. I still watch it every once in a while as an adult....and STILL crush on Peter Fonda.
Brooke was known for her controversial movies during this time period, and credit goes to Fonda for not exploiting her in any way whatsoever in his direction of the film.
I see the script as a "tween" fantasy...at that age, us girls had teen idol posters on our wall, most of which were not anywhere near our "boyfriend" range.
I liken the love interest storyline here to that of "Sooner or Later" with Rex Smith (24 playing a 17 yo) and Denise Miller ((16 playing a 13 yo). SOL perhaps being more socially acceptable because both characters were minors with a four year age difference...but the girl was still only 13.
Coal Miners Daughter is yet another example, and a true story...Loretta Lynn was only 14 when she married the much older Doolittle Lynn.
I thought that Fonda and Shields had great chemistry with a successful acknowledgement by Fonda's character that Wanda was still a child "a good girl underneath all that hot sauce" yet a budding female that would have boys falling at her feet in a few years. I personally bought the relationship with an assumption that there would be a "waiting period" until Wanda was older...this is implied by the lack of physical contact between them and Fondas character rejecting the slight move for a kiss by Wanda.
The cheesy Apache ghost, the comedy added by the bad guys and other characters, beautiful scenery, cute adventures and animated acting made a watchable and adorable flick.
Brooke was known for her controversial movies during this time period, and credit goes to Fonda for not exploiting her in any way whatsoever in his direction of the film.
I see the script as a "tween" fantasy...at that age, us girls had teen idol posters on our wall, most of which were not anywhere near our "boyfriend" range.
I liken the love interest storyline here to that of "Sooner or Later" with Rex Smith (24 playing a 17 yo) and Denise Miller ((16 playing a 13 yo). SOL perhaps being more socially acceptable because both characters were minors with a four year age difference...but the girl was still only 13.
Coal Miners Daughter is yet another example, and a true story...Loretta Lynn was only 14 when she married the much older Doolittle Lynn.
I thought that Fonda and Shields had great chemistry with a successful acknowledgement by Fonda's character that Wanda was still a child "a good girl underneath all that hot sauce" yet a budding female that would have boys falling at her feet in a few years. I personally bought the relationship with an assumption that there would be a "waiting period" until Wanda was older...this is implied by the lack of physical contact between them and Fondas character rejecting the slight move for a kiss by Wanda.
The cheesy Apache ghost, the comedy added by the bad guys and other characters, beautiful scenery, cute adventures and animated acting made a watchable and adorable flick.