Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller

Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveler, directed by Michael Rubbo

Another 80s Canadian film, Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveler is an unusual film with a strange concept: magical stamps that can transport people all over the world.  Ralph is a timid, stuttering, pre-teen boy, whose paralyzing awkwardness prevents him from making many friends.  When the school prankster, the eponymous Tommy Tricker, tricks Ralph into trading him a valuable stamp from Ralph’s father’s prized collection, Ralph and his sister go on a quest to replace the stamp.  They learn of a magical stamp that can take literally pull a person into the stamp’s picture, which will transport the traveler when the stamp is placed on an envelope and mailed.  Ralph travels to Australia and China in search of a rare stamp collection, which he believes contains another copy of the very stamp which he traded.

This film has the distinction of showcasing the very first recording of lauded Canadian singer-songwriter RufusWainwright, son of legendary folk musicians Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle.  Early in the film, Ralph is pursued by a school bully through a mall.  During the chase, Rufus and his band are seen performing a song “I’m Running,” a very literal accompaniment to the chase montage.