Not sure if any of: them were “classic” films, but I remember that Muppet Babies used old films in their imagination sequences.
It’s weird how when you’re a kid you don’t notice how bad all the acting is. ;)
I loved Are You Afraid of the Dark and Twilight Zone as a really young kid, and really if you want to be introduced to the concept of storytelling tradition those aren’t bad places to start. Raise a kid on that and The Storyteller and you’ll have a healthy imagineer yet.
—PolarisDiB
My son and I are tearing through the original Twilight Zone episodes and having a wonderful time doing so.
Twilight Zone is excellent.
What strikes me about Twilight Zone compared to newer series along the same line is that it takes its time. It doesn’t try to shock you immediately in the first scene to get you interested. It takes its time and builds up the characters for a superior payoff.
It still baffles me that Orson Welles was the first choice for Twilight Zone. He didn’t do it because he asked for too much money, so Rod Serling signed on instead.
It’s really impossible to imagine anyone but Serling narrating and running the show.
Brentos
it’s interesting to watch this episode as a cinephile after all these years it’s been. this was the first memory i have of Nosferatu, i was wondering how many others experienced it through Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Looking back, i wish that more kids shows would have these references built in to expose children to “classic” or “great” cinema at an early age!
i’ve been revisiting Are You Afraid of the Dark? for nostalgia purposes and it’s crazy how many little references are found in these episodes periodically. The Tale of the Twisted Paw is a good take on the Monkey Paw story, and the Tale of Old Man Corcoran has some nice homages to Night of the Living Dead (without having zombies at all!!)