Cocoon

Annotation for KRRR! 2025 by Matěj Svoboda

Alien science fiction also rode a wave of surprising optimism during the 1980s. Sure, there were films like The Thing (1982), Aliens (1986), and Critters (1986), but the most influential was E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), in which Steven Spielberg demonstrated for the second time in his career that what comes from space doesn’t necessarily want to destroy humanity or eat a significant portion of it. Aliens, in Spielberg’s vision, could also be kind and communicative — and E.T. showed that with this approach, they could make a damned lot of money at the box office. The family spectacle about a good-natured guy from another planet was such a success that several films, including Cocoon, tried to imitate it. In one respect, however, they are fundamentally different: while in Spielberg's E.T. the center of the action was the child heroes, in Cocoon it is the grandparents.

They live in a Florida retirement home, where they are a bit bored and are coming to terms with the fact that their youth is long gone. For them, the only sure way back home is through secret trips to the pool in a nearby villa. Although a group of eccentric friends store mysterious cocoons fished from the sea in its water, there is still plenty of room for the seniors to swim. And so old friends Ben, Joe and Arthur head there, regardless of something floating around in the water that may not be from Earth… and which they will soon meet personally.

The producing studio 20th Century Fox approached Ron Howard to direct the film, despite several years of experience still considered more of an actor overtrained as a director. However, he made the romantic comedy Splash (1984) with Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah in the lead roles, which earned so much money that Fox eventually entrusted him with the fateful meeting of pensioners and aliens.

Howard repaid the studio for their trust with a big hit, and his Cocoon also celebrated success at the Oscars, where it won in the categories of Best Visual Effects and Best Supporting Actor for Don Ameche. Like E.T., it managed to impress by combining sci-fi elements with a deeply human story, this time about the desire for youth and coming to terms with old age, as well as nice humor for all generations. The sequel, Cocoon 2: The Return (1988), directed by Daniel Petrie, attracted significantly less attention.