SNAPSHOT
During this [year’s] Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Xfinity dropped an incredibly nostalgic commercial reuniting Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster alien with his former co-star Henry Thomas. It’s a moving commercial, all things considered, mostly due to all the callbacks and the use of John Williams’ iconic score. Die-hard fans will no doubt revel at seeing several accoutrements from the OG film, from the Raggedy Ann doll to the ivy backyard patio. (synopsis (c) Consequence of Sound)
Given how close he came to being taken away for alien vivisection the last time he was on good old super-hospitable-to-outsiders planet Earth [insert sarcasm here], you’d have to wonder why ET, the titular protagonist of Steve Spielberg’s 1982 justifiably much-lived classic would come back here at all.
But almost 40 years later, come back to our pretty blue planet he does to see Elliott (played by a grown-up Henry Thomas, who starred as ET’s pal and rescuer in the film) and to discover the technological advances we have made in the intervening period.
It is, after all, an ad for Xfinity, a US telco provider so the tech angle makes sense but even with its commercial imperatives, this ad knocks it clean out of the park in four precious minutes, delivering a deeply-touching sequel of sorts that will have you reaching for a box of tissues.
And phoning home, of course, because honestly, how could you not?