Review of Treasure of Matecumbe (1976) by Glenn C — 30 May 2012

â'The Wonderful World Of Disney' was staple viewing for me as a kid. Every Sunday night without fail I would park myself on the floor in front of the tv (in my PJs) and watch every fun-filled adventure they presented.

These were classic made-for-television films which were essentially cheaper alternatives to Disney's theatrical films... and now Disney are releasing a whole collection of them on DVD. I plan to buy a heap of them and I started with 'The Treasure of Matecumbe'.

I suspect that The Goonies took a lot of inspiration from this movie... it's the story of a kid who finds a treasure map in his attic and embarks on an adventure with his best friend to find it so that he can save his home from foreclosure (sound familiar?).

The adventure itself is a lot different, however, with the tw...o boys travelling along a river and finding themselves caught up in all kinds of trouble... they meet a stowaway, a scam artist, native indians and even the KKK.

The essence of the film owes a lot to Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer stories and presents a fun couple of hours for the whole family. For me it was a nostalgic flick and a reminder of how wonderful Disney really used to be, back when family entertainment was valued so much more.

When Sunday nights on television were chock-full of movies and reality tv would have sounded pointless. The Treasure Of Matecumbe is a welcome addition to my collection of films and I'm looking forward to collecting more of these.

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