E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was a hugely successful film, whose legacy lives on even 40 years later. We both love the film and find E.T. to be an adorable creature, even with the film coming out two decades before we were born. For this edition, we watched the film again after seeing it when we were children, and it was as much fun to watch as it was back then. Why does E.T. leave such a lasting impact on people?
The film was a huge project for its time finishing in just six months. The special effects were amazingly performed, creating an alien that seemed to be truly alive and was able to properly portray and trigger emotions to and from his audience. It is therefore no surprise that E.T., the gentle and kind alien, captured the hearts of many people watching, even over 40 years later.
The film also portrays many emotions people can relate to such as, helplessness, kindness, loneliness, friendship, and most especially helping those in need. It tells the story of a broken family coming together to help the gentle homesick alien in need, the story of an unlikely friendship between a boy and his alien friend, and the story of siblings coming together in a time of need. Topics that are still relevant, feelings we can all still relate to, and the yearning for a home and family incorporated in the story bring out a touching story.
This success and our own adoring of the story has been one of the main motivators to work with E.T., to gain some insight into this gentle alien and the reasons behind his creation as well as theories that can be implemented whilst looking at his story.