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Top Kids

 Top Kids
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TVTItem
 Top Kids
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Top Kids
 Top Kids
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TopKids
 Top Kids
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Released in 1987, the vaguely-named Made-for-TV Movie Top Kids (also originally known as Centurion Odyssey) is one of those telefilms Disney seems to have forgotten after airing it on their channel back in the 80s. Around the time, Mercedes-Benz was about to celebrate their centenary, and what better way to do so than to commission a movie about the history of the automobile? Disney later stepped into the picture and took up the film to be aired on their newly-established Disney Channel, with new scenes and a hacking subplot shoehorned in at Disney's behest so they can market the retooled film as an "after-school special".The premise is simple: a group of elementary school-age boys rig an arcade video game cabinet to work as a time machine after haggling a used car salesman into financing their project. When one of their friends, computer genius Eric Morgan (played by Rossie Harris of Airplane! fame), gets stuck in the past after hacking into Eric's computer car, the boys set themselves out to rescue him, with Formula One driver Niki Lauda along the way.Besides being one of the few film appearances by the late Niki Lauda (and a very, very obscure one at that), as well as having been aired on the Disney Channel, there isn't much information about the film on the web, not helping matters was its rather vague title confounding Google searches which instead shows results about the top-grossing and/or critically acclaimed children's movies of the era unless you make your search query even more specific.A link to the full movie can be found here.
 Top Kids
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2024-02-09T06:14:55Z
 Top Kids
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2024-02-09T06:14:55Z
 Top Kids
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Dropped link to EdutainmentShow: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 Top Kids
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Dropped link to HistoricalDomainCharacter: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 Top Kids
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Top Kids / int_1078bba8
type
"Mister Sandman" Sequence
 Top Kids / int_1078bba8
comment
"Mister Sandman" Sequence: Throughout the film, we see Niki and Eric witness events from various periods in automotive history.
 Top Kids / int_1078bba8
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Top Kids / int_1078bba8
 Top Kids / int_10de0193
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Time-Travel Romance
 Top Kids / int_10de0193
comment
Time-Travel Romance: Eric falls for Mercedes Jellinek (yes, that Mercedes), but said romance was not meant to be—only for Mercedes herself to show up in the future, donning her white dress from the era.
 Top Kids / int_10de0193
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Top Kids / int_10de0193
 Top Kids / int_132d93f1
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Human Shield
 Top Kids / int_132d93f1
comment
Human Shield: Eric becomes this when Clyde Barrow holds him hostage as they flee from a bank robbery.
 Top Kids / int_132d93f1
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Top Kids / int_132d93f1
 Top Kids / int_18d15922
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Title Drop
 Top Kids / int_18d15922
comment
Title Drop: Operation "Top Kids" was the name of the boys' arcade machine hacking scheme.
 Top Kids / int_18d15922
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Top Kids / int_18d15922
 Top Kids / int_259d5879
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Anachronism Stew
 Top Kids / int_259d5879
comment
Anachronism Stew: Niki pilots a sleek silver glass machine from the future in a 1904 Grand Prix and no one seems to bat an eye.
 Top Kids / int_259d5879
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Top Kids / int_259d5879
 Top Kids / int_2be271c7
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Hollywood Hacking
 Top Kids / int_2be271c7
comment
Hollywood Hacking: With a bunch of elementary school kids tapping into an arcade cabinet and remotely hacking a smart car in an auto show.
 Top Kids / int_2be271c7
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Top Kids / int_2be271c7
 Top Kids / int_2bf84ccb
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Omniscient Database
 Top Kids / int_2bf84ccb
comment
Omniscient Database: S.A.M. was built with an impressive library of information about the automobile.
 Top Kids / int_2bf84ccb
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Top Kids / int_2bf84ccb
 Top Kids / int_3d699462
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Curb-Stomp Battle
 Top Kids / int_3d699462
comment
Curb-Stomp Battle: Eric and Niki challenges a greaser and his girlfriend to a drag race—with a Volkswagen Beetle. With some intervention the Beetle changes to a Lamborghini Countach and outruns the hot rodding greaser by a wide margin.
 Top Kids / int_3d699462
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Top Kids / int_3d699462
 Top Kids / int_49180a5f
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Non-Actor Vehicle
 Top Kids / int_49180a5f
comment
Non-Actor Vehicle: Formula 1 driver Niki Lauda appears as himself in a Doc Brown-esque role.
 Top Kids / int_49180a5f
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Top Kids / int_49180a5f
 Top Kids / int_51a12a6f
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Hong Kong Dub
 Top Kids / int_51a12a6f
comment
Hong Kong Dub: The scenes with Mercedes dating Eric were glaringly dubbed over, hinting at the film's original incarnation.
 Top Kids / int_51a12a6f
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Top Kids / int_51a12a6f
 Top Kids / int_7315fd38
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Covers Always Lie
 Top Kids / int_7315fd38
comment
Covers Always Lie: The Spanish VHS release as seen above has two kids in front of a lighthouse, none of which appear in the film proper.
 Top Kids / int_7315fd38
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Top Kids / int_7315fd38
 Top Kids / int_807ceed9
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Outlaw Couple
 Top Kids / int_807ceed9
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Outlaw Couple: Bonnie and Clyde, whom Eric crosses paths with during a robbery.
 Top Kids / int_807ceed9
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Top Kids / int_807ceed9
 Top Kids / int_856a425a
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TheFifties
 Top Kids / int_856a425a
comment
The '50s: Eric and Niki wind up in a diner of the era, complete with youths in the typical fashion of the day—poodle skirts, black leather jackets, hot rods and so on.
 Top Kids / int_856a425a
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Top Kids / int_856a425a
 Top Kids / int_8a295a46
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Cool Car
 Top Kids / int_8a295a46
comment
Cool Car: Loads and loads of them, from the automobile's humble beginnings in the late 1880s to the present day (or at least at the time of the film's release that is).
 Top Kids / int_8a295a46
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Top Kids / int_8a295a46
 Top Kids / int_9a1d239e
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Been There, Shaped History
 Top Kids / int_9a1d239e
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Been There, Shaped History: Niki and Eric participate in one of the first automotive races—in a futuristic glass car.
 Top Kids / int_9a1d239e
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Top Kids / int_9a1d239e
 Top Kids / int_a5e0c01
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As Himself
 Top Kids / int_a5e0c01
comment
As Himself: Niki appears in the film portraying a fictionalised version of himself, racing suit and all.
 Top Kids / int_a5e0c01
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 Top Kids / int_a5e0c01
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Top Kids / int_a5e0c01
 Top Kids / int_b3393a2e
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Trip to the Moon Plot
 Top Kids / int_b3393a2e
comment
Trip to the Moon Plot: The final chapter has S.A.M. transform into a moon buggy where Eric and Niki drive around the surface of the moon, in reference to the last few missions of the American Apollo program where said buggy was used.
 Top Kids / int_b3393a2e
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Top Kids / int_b3393a2e
 Top Kids / int_c10da874
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The '80s
 Top Kids / int_c10da874
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The '80s: With the requisite synth music and of course the 8- and 16-bit arcade machines prominently displayed.
 Top Kids / int_c10da874
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 Top Kids / int_c10da874
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Top Kids / int_c10da874
 Top Kids / int_c25c7890
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Fun with Acronyms
 Top Kids / int_c25c7890
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Fun with Acronyms: The computer car's name is S.A.M., standing for Synthetic Algorithmic Mentality.
 Top Kids / int_c25c7890
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 Top Kids / int_c25c7890
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Top Kids / int_c25c7890
 Top Kids / int_c322a093
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A Bloody Mess
 Top Kids / int_c322a093
comment
A Bloody Mess: Eric finds himself taking a bullet wound to the chest. Fearing for his life, he pleads S.A.M. for help; the computer having a cheeky sense of humour turned what was ostensibly a 1930s bank heist into a film set, and the "blood" on Eric's chest was just ketchup all along.
 Top Kids / int_c322a093
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Top Kids / int_c322a093
 Top Kids / int_c867e57
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TheRoaringTwenties
 Top Kids / int_c867e57
comment
The Roaring '20s: Eric passes by a car show with models from that era along with a bunch of flappers dancing in front of them.
 Top Kids / int_c867e57
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 Top Kids / int_c867e57
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Top Kids / int_c867e57
 Top Kids / int_cd809603
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Tank Goodness
 Top Kids / int_cd809603
comment
Tank Goodness: Niki and Eric are seen riding on top of a tank during the World War I segment.
 Top Kids / int_cd809603
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 Top Kids / int_cd809603
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Top Kids / int_cd809603
 Top Kids / int_d417c53d
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I'm Mr. [Future Pop Culture Reference]
 Top Kids / int_d417c53d
comment
I'm Mr. [Future Pop Culture Reference]: Niki introduces himself as "Louis Chevrolet" in a 1904 race. The organiser didn't buy into Niki's ruse and outed him as an impostor.
 Top Kids / int_d417c53d
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 Top Kids / int_d417c53d
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Top Kids / int_d417c53d
 Top Kids / int_e11b003d
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Translation Convention
 Top Kids / int_e11b003d
comment
Translation Convention: The Benzes speak English with American accents when Eric visits them in 1870s Germany, and he has no problem communicating with them (although the police who try to arrest Daimler have accents.) Since everything is happening inside of S.A.M.’s memory, it may be an In-Universe Translation Convention by her to make things easier to understand.
 Top Kids / int_e11b003d
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Top Kids / int_e11b003d
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Top Kids

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Top Kids
hasFeature
Time Travel Tales / int_c754e4a8