Before YouTube and streaming.
Before Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS.
Before taping shows off TV with a VCR.
Kids were at the mercy of whatever happened to be on TV at the time.
Or playing in a theater, assuming parents would take them.
Feel like watching cartoons? Better not sleep in on Saturday morning.
Feel like watching STAR WARS? Hope you can go the next time it’s rereleased in theaters, whenever that might be.
It was during these times of the pre-80s that Kenner produced some fantastic toys that allowed kids to see in-motion scenes from favorite shows anytime they wanted.
Here’s one of the Easy-Show Movie Projectors from 1966, featuring TV favorites such as The Flintstones. (Not from my collection – thank you, Steve C!)
And here’s the Star Wars Movie Viewer from 1978. Of course, it didn’t play the entire film. There were different cartridges that showed short segments of random scenes.
There was no sound for either of these, but hey, no problem for kids with a good imagination.
These toys were a lot of fun for a generation that grew up without today’s show-viewing options and are relics of a bygone era.