Hold onto your socks.
Well it’s finally aired! Good Wilt Hunting has finally graced our tiny television screens with it’s presence, and the good folks at Cartoon Network under the watchful guidance of Craig McCracken and Lauren Faust have not disappointed. And here I get to ramble on about observations that I wrote not a few hours after I first watched the movie, then additions made after more viewings.
Wilt
Wilt has obviously felt bad ever since what happened between him, Foul Larry and Jordan. So bad that he actually ran away from the one place he felt at home, into the wide world only to end up in Foster’s. But what gets me is that whilst he’s spent all his years at Foster’s he’s never opened up to his friends. He never told them who his creator was, where he came from, not even the year he was created (evidence given in the scene of Mac looking at the Foster’s website information on him), yet when he leaves Foster’s to go face against Foul Larry again he tells parts of his history to complete and total strangers. Now why on earth would he do that? Is it because he knows he won’t stay with these people (or imaginaries, in one instance) for long so he can tell them, and then move on? Or maybe Wilt was finally ready, after all these years, to open up and talk about what happened. It’s a tough thing to talk about sure, not lonely loosing your arm and your eye in a basketball game but also to loose your best friend and feel like you let him down so hard, it forced you to run away from him in fears of hurting him even more? True he never gave away the whole story, only bits that mattered. Such as to Floofy Woogums, he only told her about how he too was lost from his child for so long, just like she was. Then because the elderly farmer mentioned that Wilt looked like a sportsman on the television did Wilt divulge him with the story of just why he was created in the first place; to help Jordan become a better basketball player (then his brother at least that was the core reason). And finally in front of some tough (I use the term loosely) men in the jail did he finally say that he crushed his little boy’s dreams. It’s funny that after all these years he finally opens up, but only to complete strangers who don’t know him; but those who will most definitely remember him.
Another thing that got to me was how Wilt lost his arm and eye. To have another friend created for the soul purpose of beating you has got to be one kind of a burn to bear, especially when you finally go up against this friend and his kid. It seems even if Foul Larry was breaking rules left and right, Wilt never once lowered himself to his level and go against the rules. He kept doing the right thing. But sadly the right thing cost Wilt the game, and ultimately, his arm, eye and Jordan. It’s the way Wilt lost it, it’s obvious he could have won the game but in the grand scheme of things Wilt knows what is far more important. The life of his child, his best friend in the whole world, was in jeopardy. How could he just allow Foul Larry to cause some serious damage to Jordan just so he could win the game? Simple, he couldn’t. So despite knowing that it’ll hurt, he pushed Jordan out of the way. I’m surprised he didn’t scream, or at least cry, when the initial pain stepped in. I mean having something that heavy land on your arm, obviously crushing it and breaking it in who knows how many places (I’ll check a screen grab later to see just how many twists and bends his arm takes) you would feel some pain obviously. A lot of pain. But despite the expression of his face he doesn’t. Perhaps the force of the pain was so strong it practically made him numb to it? Even when the basketball smashed his eye he didn’t scream either. He just looked so in pain, and to add to his injuries Jordan doesn’t even see what happened to him. Wilt just lost his arm and eye to save his child, and all he could think about was loosing the game, which at the time was the most important thing. To not only Jordan, but to Wilt as well. Feeling like he’s let his best friend down, despite having just saved his life, Wilt feels he is now inadequate to be his friend and all but runs away. Without even waiting for Jordan to see him. That I feel is very silly. Years of emotional pain could not have happened if Jordan had just looked at Wilt instead of being all bent out of shape on the outcome of the game. But still, he was a child at the time. And he later admits that having lost Wilt made him realise just what was most important to him in life. Not winning all the games, but knowing who his true friends are and caring about them most. So in a sad way, by both of them loosing the other both grew and changed in different ways. Plus, the favour was returned with Jordan saving Wilt from being crushed by Larry this time.
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