History YMMV / TheWizard

* HarsherInHindsight: Corey's response to Lucas' infamous "Power Glove" line: "Yeah, well, uh, just keep your Power Gloves off her [Haley], pal, huh?" is now this since Jackey Vinson (the actor who played Lucas) has [[http://www.homefacts.com/offender-detail/NY20653/Jack-Vinson.html been convicted of child molestation.]]

* TheyCopiedItNowItSucks: One of the biggest criticisms surrounding the film (other than its constant ProductPlacement) is that the outline of its plot is remarkably similar to that of ''Film/RainMan'' from the previous year -- both films revolve around a neuroatypical savant going on a road trip with his neurotypical brother, who realizes that his unconventional talents can be used to benefit the both of them. ''The Washington Post'' outright accused ''The Wizard'' of plagiarizing ''Rain Man'' when it released, and the similarities between the two films remains a common knock against ''The Wizard'' to this day.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It will forever be a symbol of the time when the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was the dominant force in video games, featuring many of the games that were popular at the time, a scene where the kids call the ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' hotline for game tips (''Nintendo Power'' ceased publication in late 2012), and the final challenge of the movie being [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 SUPER! MARIO BROS.! 3!]] A video game that was soon to be released in North America at the time.

** "You got 50,000 in ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''?!" [[labelnote:Explanation]] The Wizard gets a game-completion level score within two minutes of playing the game.[[/labelnote]]

** "I love the Power Glove. It's so bad." - The film's most earnest moment of product placement, made funnier by a combination of how saying "bad" to mean "good" stopped being a thing by the end of the 90s, and that the Power Glove very quickly became known for being the other kind of bad.
** "California..." - The Wizard's saccharinely delivered catchphrase.
** "You got 50,000 in ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''?!" - The Wizard gets a game-completion level score within two minutes of playing the game.
** "HE TOUCHED MY BREAST!" - The children randomly accuse the villain of pedophilia to get away from him. Moment is an abrupt escalation in the film's tone, which is otherwise very PG.

* DesignatedVillain: The villain of this movie is a horrible, sleazy, opportunistic asshole who is ''literally the finder of lost children.''

* HilariousInHindsight:
** The Power Glove really ''was'' bad, however Lucas is using slang, so he meant "cool".
** The fact that Lucas shares his name with two actual Nintendo characters because of ''VideoGame/Mother3'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''. Furthermore, [[https://pkloveomega.deviantart.com/art/Claus-in-the-Wizard-160533464 there's a redheaded boy with a yellow-and-blue striped shirt,]] just like the former's twin brother, Claus.
** The film being a blatant advertisement for Nintendo products is this as Universal later on marketed Nintendo products once again in [[Ride/UniversalStudios their theme parks]] with Ride/SuperNintendoWorld. Even more so once it was announced that Creator/IlluminationEntertainment would be making a feature-length adaptation of -- wait for it -- ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' titled ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie''.

* DesignatedVillain: The villain of this movie is ''literally the finder of lost children.'' The protagonists think he's sick because he gets paid for it. Putnam is a {{Jerkass}}, but he was just doing his job. However, Putnam does actively attempt to stop the father of the boys from finding him first by slashing his tires and later bribing a tow truck driver into towing the dad's truck which results in it getting stripped just so Putnam can get the reward money, so he's not exactly innocent.

* {{Narm}}:
** Lucas is pretty much a walking Narm due to how awesome he's portrayed. Could also count as NarmCharm, given his MemeticBadass status.
--->"I love the Power Glove. It's so bad."
** Jimmy is also a good example thanks to how much of a dramatic cliche he is.
--->"California..."

* MemeticBadass: '''Lucas'''. He can actually use the Power Glove and ''win''. That says it all.

* MemeticMutation:
** "I love the Power Glove. It's so bad."
** "California..."
** "You got 50,000 in ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''?!"
** "HE TOUCHED MY BREAST!"
** "JUST SIT DOWN AND HAVE FUN, DAMN IT!"

* SignatureScene:
** "I love the Power Glove. It's so bad."
** "So I give you... [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 SUPER! MARIO BROTHERS! 3!!!]]"

** The film being a blatant advertisement for Nintendo products is this as Universal will market Nintendo products once again in [[Ride/UniversalStudios their theme parks]] very soon. Even more so once it was announced that Creator/IlluminationEntertainment would be making a feature-length adaptation of -- wait for it -- ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: While a lot of Christine's actions are based on the grief over losing her daughter and not knowing how to address her own son's trauma on it either—to be fair, Sam still clearly is avoiding his own grief, her throwing away her marriage and connection to her stepsons as well as putting Jimmy in an institution when he becomes too much to deal with, hiring a shady bounty Hunter to bring him back rather than try to work with Sam and Nick to figure out how best to act, hire Putnam only to get back Jimmy and not Corey too and making a big deal of Putnam not being able to return Jimmy sooner, even with her coming around in the end, it's still really hard to like her after all that. While a deleted scene from the trailer has Corey press her to think about what Jimmy wants—and she lets him compete in the finals of the competition as a result—that's still not something shown in the movie itself.