E.T. is back for Thanksgiving 37 years after he first crept into the hearts of moviegoers with a heartwarming commercial just in time for the holidays. But that's not all, there's a full video too.
Xfinity just released a new commercial wherein E.T. returns to earth to visit his friend, Elliot for Thanksgiving. Elliot has since grown and became a father of two children, who find E.T. hiding behind a snowman after the Christmas lights started going haywire.
Elliot's children find E.T. hiding behind a snowman. | Source: YouTube/Xfinity.
THE REUNION
The moment Elliot lays eyes on his beloved childhood friend, he is overcome with joy and introduces E.T. to his family. During his stay with Elliot and his family, E.T. sees how much the technology on earth changed since his last visit.
Select scenes from the full video follow before E.T. realizes there is no place like home and rides off with his bike back to his family.
E.T. is introduced to VR technology by Elliot's son. | Source: YouTube/Xfinity.
WHAT TO EXPECT
“The audience is going to get everything they want out of a sequel without the messy bits that could destroy the beauty of the original and the special place it has in people’s minds and hearts. It’s really a win-win,” Henry Thomas said in a statement.
The original Stephen Spielberg film made its debut on June 11, 1982, in the United States and kept the record as the highest-grossing film of all time for eleven years. The film is all about family, and the adventures that Henry Thomas' Elliot and his two siblings experienced with E.T. sent a strong message that resonated with viewers.
THE ORIGINAL MOVIE
Drew Barrymore starred as Elliot's younger sister, Gertie, while Robert MacNaughton played the role of their brother, Michael.
The first voice of E.T. was done by none other than Stephen Spielberg himself. He would stand just to the side of the camera while filming and utter the legendary phrases like "E.T. phone home," and the occasional full sentence.
Director Steven Spielberg attends the 98th Annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton on April 28, 2012, in Washington, DC. | Getty Images.
During the film's rough cut, Stephen's voice was replaced with Debra Winger's but during the final print, the sound designer Ben Burtt decided to have non-actor, Pat Welsh do it instead because of her raspy, deep smoker's voice after hearing her talk in a store.
The iconic scene of Elliot and E.T. flying across the face of the moon is also mostly real. It took the visual effects team a long time to find the right spot for the low moon between the trees when they finally did, they just had to wait for the perfect shot. Elliot and E.T. zooming across the sky came in post-production by adding them with special effects.
HOW FANS CAN WATCH THE FULL VIDEO
The new full film will be available on-demand for Xfinity customers, while also airing on SYFY on Thanksgiving Day.
Relatedly, another film about aliens made it big at the box office. "Alien" might not be of the family variety, but it will scare your sock off. The first film in the franchise hit cinemas a few years before E.T. in 1979, and it launched the lead actress, Sigourney Weaver to fame.
The actress led an interesting life as the daughter of former NBC president Sylvester Weaver, especially after she changed her given birth name to Sigourney.
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