Pretpark Nederland
★ 8.5 · 2006 · 90m · Documentary
Michiel van Erp shows us what the Dutch do in their spare time and takes a look at the industry behind all these leisure activities.
More Like This
Boblo Boats: A Detroit Ferry Tale
2021 · ★ 7
For over 85 years, steamship Ste. Claire transported generations of Detroiters to Boblo Island, an amusement park nestled in the waters between the US and Canada. When the vessel comes under threat of ruin, a doctor, psychic and amusement park fanatic unite to save their beloved steamship from the scrapyard. Interweaving local lore and mythology, "Boblo Boats" explores the whitewashed history of amusement parks and one crew's crusade to bring back the memories.
More info →Dwarves Kingdom
2015
Dwarves Kingdom is a documentary film about a theme park featuring performances by little people with dwarfism who live in a fantasy recreation of a magical empire. Built by a wealthy Chinese businessman, this other-worldly kingdom, officially called World Ecological Garden of Butterfly and Little People Kingdom, is located in the mountains surrounding the city of Kunming in Western China.
More info →
Coney Island
1991 · ★ 8
Before there was Disneyland, there was Coney Island. By the turn of the century, this tiny piece of New York real estate was internationally famous. On summer Sundays, three great pleasure domes--Steeplechase, Luna Park and Dreamland--competed for the patronage of a half-million people. By day it was the world's most amazing amusement park, by night, an electric "Eden".
More info →
The Spider and the Fly
1938 · ★ 8
Few amateur films with sound were produced in the 1930s and fewer remain extant. A charming artifact that demonstrates the expressive possibilities and technical limitations of amateur talkies, "The Spider and the Fly" includes a backyard Labor Day gathering, a trip to the Riverview Amusement Park, and a homemade Halloween parade of witches and ghouls.
More info →
Joyland: Reliving the Memories
2019
If you grew up in Wichita, Joyland was an important part of your childhood. This documentary tells the epic story of the rise and fall of Wichita’s most famous amusement park, Joyland. Viewers will see historic, never-before-broadcast film clips of the park in its heyday. And learn the story behind the story of this once-great destination that helped define childhood for generations of Kansans. You’re sure to experience a roller coaster of emotions as you watch this dramatic, fun, and heartfelt ode to one of the most-fondly remembered places in Wichita history.
More info →
A Legacy Of Memories: Silver Beach Amusement Park
2022
The Silver Beach Amusement Park operated from 1891 to 1971. For a small price, visitors could go for a swim in Lake Michigan, play games of chance, take in the organ music playing on the midway, or get a bite to eat. Revisit the midway roller coaster, Shadowland Ballroom, the carousel, the Ferris wheel, the waterslide, the penny arcade, visits by Hollywood movie stars, and more. It’s all part of the history of St. Joseph and southwest Michigan.
More info →
Class Action Park
2020 · ★ 6.6
Class Action Park explores the legend, legacy, and truth behind the 1980s water park in Vernon, New Jersey that long ago entered the realm of myth. Known for its dangerous, unsupervised rides and lack of regulation, guests of Action Park expected to walk away with injuries and were lucky if they made it out alive. Shirking the trappings of nostalgia, the film uses investigative journalism, original animations, recordings, and interviews with the people who lived it to reveal the true story of Action Park.
More info →
Knees Up, Mother Brown
1964
70 is definitely the new 20 in this heart-warming 1960s documentary portrait of the Darby and Joan Club for elderly Cockneys.
More info →
Il était une fois Disney & la France
2023
French documentary on Walt Disney's relationship with France through his personal and professional life.
More info →
Tiovivo
2023 · ★ 6
Recover the community through individual stories with which we can connect with other people. This project aims to bring to light, through the symbolic and psychology, those similarities that exist between interpersonal differences.
More info →Knoebels
2015
A look at the long history of Knoebel's Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA. This documentary introduces you to six generations of the Knoebel family and explains how the beloved amusement park made its way from farmland to a recreation area and more.
More info →
Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun
1997 · ★ 6.7
How to create the imagination of movement for fun parks is the theme of this documentary. Although engineers try and try to create machines that shake, tilt, turn, lift and drop people in a way that fools their senses, the real McCoy cannot be imitated: Roller Coasters just let you experience movement much, much more intense than everything else - even on the screen.
More info →