Journey to the Center of the Earth (1988)

[Andrew]

I recently purchased two versions of "Journey to the Center of the Earth."  One was a 1976 production called "Fabulous Journey to the Center of the Earth" and that turned out to be fairly entertaining.  It had a strange time traveling/clone bit thrown in out of nowhere to boot. 

The one of the two that caught my attention (in the same manner that a child drawing on the wall attracts your attention), was the 1988 version.  You have this English nanny, older teenager or twenty-something, who is brought to Hawaii to babysit a dog.  Once there, she accidentally joins up with two brothers and a little girl.  They become trapped in a cave during an eruption and find themselves forced far beneath the surface, so far that they discover Atlantis.  Now, Atlantis reminds me of the fantasy world created for the dinosaur descendants in "Super Mario Bros."  Suddenly, the film ends with an extended music montage, leaving you wondering what the heck was the point.  It was literally cut off, before any sort of major plot resolution had been accomplished.

Anyway, there are two possibilities that I can think of.  One is that this was the pilot for a failed television series.  The other is that they began making the movie, ran out of money, and tried to salvage something by cobbling together what had been finished.

Oh, did I mention the weird dream that the younger brother has?  He discovers the others are captives of weird monsters (think muppets) and comes to their aid like some sort of kung fu warrior.  This is done as nonviolently as possible.  Imagine the kid running through the monsters, while they raise their hands up in the air and get frustrated about not being able to catch him.

[trekgeezer]

Hey Andrew, check out the IMDB page for the 1989 version you describe. One of the directors (Rusty Lemorande) posted a comment about the film. Only 8 minutes of it are Journey to the Center of the Earth, the rest is a sequel to Albert Pyun's "Alien in L.A." Seems they needed a quick movie to meet a contractual obligation.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097630/

[Flangepart]

Hey Andrew, check out the IMDB page for the 1989 version you describe. One of the directors (Rusty Lemorande) posted a comment about the film. Only 8 minutes of it are Journey to the Center of the Earth, the rest is a sequel to Albert Pyun's "Alien in L.A." Seems they needed a quick movie to meet a contractual obligation.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097630/

As soon as i read 'EMO PHILLIPS AS NIMROD" in the cast list, i know this is a promising cheese fest!...mind you, it could cause brain damage,and bladder problims, but hey...

[Andrew]

As soon as i read 'EMO PHILLIPS AS NIMROD" in the cast list, i know this is a promising cheese fest!...mind you, it could cause brain damage,and bladder problims, but hey...

I did not notice him when I watched the film, but caught his name in the IMDB credits too.  Weird.  Well, it is old enough he had probably not developed his present personality.  Plus, everyone in Atlantis wears weird costumes.