Marquee Attraction: The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit
Release Date: January 23, 1998
Budget: Very Tiny
Plot Synopsis
Gomez has a plan to buy the perfect suit. The problem is that he doesn’t have the money. So, he finds four other individuals, Dominguez, Vamanos, Martinez, and Villanazul who happen to share the same measurements.
Gomez convinces the men to pool their money, and they buy the most wonderful one-of-a-kind ice cream white suit. The men are eager to wear the suit and after devising a system for sharing the outfit, each man has one hour the first evening to wear the suit out.
While Gomez, Villanazul, Martinez, and Dominguez have a life changing moment while in the suit, it’s Vamanos and his wild ways that leads the men to an adventurous night of trying to protect the suit from getting ruined, only to learn something about themselves.
Standing Ovation
The opening title sequence is a work of art that not only shines in animation terms but tells a mesmerizing story through the animation. I was hooked on this movie the moment the credits began, and that is something I have never said before.
Mantegna, Morales, Omos, Collins, and Sierra are dynamic, funny, and heartfelt in their work. They make this story, which is a simple narrative, compelling and wonderful.
Time for the Hook
Why this film is not more readily available on Disney+ is beyond me. There is a fortune of storytelling that Disney needs to bring back to the public.
Bit Part Player(s)
Comedy legend Sid Caesar has a small and pivotal role as the owner of the store where the gentlemen buy the suit. Caesar has a couple of moments on screen, but he is funny and memorable and just right for the film.
His assistant in the store is played by Howard Morris who is well known for playing Ernest T. Bass in The Andy Griffith Show.
Did You Know
- The film was nominated for an Annie Award for the incredible opening credits. These alone are worth the time to commit to watching the film.
- The opening title sequence was created with sand animation.
- The movie premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
- Disney gave the film a budget that was fit for a tv movie. The company reportedly realized that if the film was released in the theatres, they would have to pay the cast more, so the movie was sent direct to video, with only a handful of film festival showings for the picture.
- Joe Mantegna starred in a 1975 stage production of the story.
- Director Stuart Gordon had previously directed the Mantegna led stage adaptation.
- The film is adapted from a Ray Bradbury short story, and Bradbury wrote the script for the movie.
- Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez who plays the landlord in the movie is Clifton Collins Jr.’s grandfather.
- This was also the last role in Gonzalez’s forty-five-year career.
- Roy E. Disney is a producer on the film.
- In an interview with the Television Academy, Disney talks about seeing the play for the first time in the 1960s and falling in love with the story. He pursued Bradbury for years to get the rights but was rebuffed. When Disney met Stuart Gordon, he was just finishing up a staging of the play with Mantegna and agreed to work together to get the film made.
- Disney is still angry with Joe Roth for the miniscule budget given to the film, and according to Roy Disney, Ray Bradbury told him that it is his favorite adaptation of any of his written work.
Bill’s Hot Take
The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit is a better film than most of the movies that will be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar for 2024.
Casting Call
- Joe Mantegna as Gomez
- Esai Morales as Dominguez
- Edward James Olmos as Vamanos
- Clifton Collins Jr. as Martinez
- Gregory Sierra as Villanazul
Production Team:
Directed by Stuard Gordon
Produced by Touchstone Pictures
Written by Ray Bradbury
My Critical Response
{Snub-Skip this Film, Lifeboat Award-Desperate for Something to Watch, Commuter Comforter-A Perfect Film for Any Device, Jaw Dropper– You Must Watch This Film on a Big Screen, Rosebud Award– This Film is Cinema.}
It is a shame to see good films get small budgets that get them buried from the public. The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit is a delightful whimsical tale of a group of men looking for salvation in a beautiful suit.
The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit gets the Rosebud Award. This movie is cinema and deserves to be seen.
Coming Soon
Next week, a look back at The Wind Rises.