The ‘90s Nickelodeon game show — known in part for its colorful animal team names — is getting a nostalgic reboot, this time in the form of a scripted story rather than kids trivia.
“What’s wonderful about this movie is that the old-school fans who remember the series will get to go through the whole story of the game show, but in movie form,” original Legends host Kirk Fogg told the New York Post. “It’s really fun and makes a lot of clever references and incorporates the old ideas from the actual game show.”
The 90-minute movie, which premieres Saturday at 8 p.m. on Nickelodeon USA, follows siblings Noah (Colin Crichtly), Sadie (Isabela Moner, “Transformers 5”) and Dudley (Jet Jurgensmeyer) who get trapped inside a temple after wandering off from a boring jungle tour. Like in the game show, which aired on the network from 1993 to 1995, the trio must survive several obstacles within the ancient Mayan ruins — including not-so friendly encounters with the temple guards — in order to make it out in time.
Original “Legends of the Hidden Temple” host Kirk Fogg makes a cameo as himself in the movie.Photo: Michael Courtney
“There are different rooms, each with a mysterious idea that you have to unlock a puzzle in order to get to the next room, and if you successfully unlock all those puzzles, you get the grand prize at the end,” says Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of craggy narrator Olmec. “It’s sort of a mission-based adventure. It’s very exciting, there are interesting supernatural elements involved and it’s great fun.”
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Longtime fans will be pleased with references to the original series. In addition to Olmec, the talking stone head who greets anyone who dares to enter the temple, the movie also revives details like The Steps of Knowledge, which serve as the entrance to the temple and launch pad for the kids’ mission, as well as cameos by a few colorful creatures.
“There is a silver monkey room, and if you’re a fan of the old show, you may have some ideas as to how that will play out,” Baker says, referring to the three-piece monkey statue that was notoriously difficult to assemble.
While the film’s young stars weren’t born during the first run of Legends, Fogg hopes a new generation of fans will embrace the franchise, noting there’s something for everybody with the movie’s “action and the Indiana Jones-like story line.” As for a sequel, both Legends alums would welcome a return to the temple.
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“Like the game show, the temple isn’t destroyed at the end of the episode,” Baker says. “[It] is left standing and the mystery endures to call us back in for another run at this wonderful world.”
Legends of the Hidden Temple airs Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on Nickelodeon USA.
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