As the song goes, Christmas is "the most wonderful time of the year." In spite of the cold, the slush and the sun setting around mid-afternoon the days still feel warm and bright - at least for those who have Christmas spirit. And those who don't...woe betide you; as Mary Steenburgen learns in a movie that proves once again Disney had no idea what the hell they were doing in the 1980s. Because in One Magic Christmas, the way to get a woman struggling to keep herself and her family afloat in tough times to start feeling Christmas cheer (aka blow their meager savings on presents) is to send a grim Christmas Angel of Death to literally kill her family. This week on We Want The D, Vicky is rendered virtually speechless, Nolan becomes so enraged he can't stop yelling, and Jill delights in the fact that she's added two more people to the list of those that have been tortured by a film she inexplicably watched multiple times throughout her childhood. Merry Christmas, D Lovers!
With only a few weeks left in this godforsaken year, Vicky, Nolan and Jill take a look back at all that Disney had to offer in 2016. On top of Scrooge McDuck levels of money earned at the box office, our favourite film company had a good year with a healthy mix of originals, re-imaginings, and third party movies - and only a few flops! They also had television shows end, start, and chug along into triple digits episodes numbers. Join We Want The D for a special look back at the year that was, and a glance forward to what the next year has in store for us.
On this week's very special episode of We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill are taking a deep dive into the man without whom this podcast wouldn't be possible - Walter Elias Disney; better known his friends (and enemies and underpaid workers) as 'Walt.' If we learned anything from our discussion, it's that Walt was a complicated figure. Sure, he may have creating Mickey Mouse (kinda), but he also thought Song of the South was a good idea. He may have changed the world of film and animation, but he also named names in front of HUAC while wearing a silly tie. He thought up Disneyland, but only after falling down a bizarre rabbit hole of toy train obsession. We hope you enjoy this departure from our regular format as we celebrate and scrutinize the life and works of the man who built the empire that this podcast gluttonously gorges itself with each week.
Vicky, Nolan and Jill emerged from their podcast cave this week to watch the latest Disney offering in theatres. With the generally steadfast team of Musker and Clements (Treasure Planet aside) handling directing and current musical darling Lin-Manuel Miranda making his Disney debut as a composer, the hype was high for Disney's return to an animated South Pacific among our hosts. Listen to our spoiler-free first half of the episode to hear our thoughts, and keep listening for a more spoiler-laden discussion of MOANA's swole characters, stupid sidekicks, and sailing songs.
Walt Disney created a wonderful world of animated creations early on in the company's history, and none more beloved than the classic trio of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy...Goof? The trio don't feature heavily in Disney's theatrical canon, but in 1995 the success of the Goof Troop television show led to A GOOFY MOVIE; a kind of musical kind of about a father-son relationship that is kind of based on the characters of that show. Goofy is still Goofy, his son Max still raises difficult questions about Goofy's "romantic" past, Pete still treats his son PJ as an indentured servant, and the rest of the citizens of...Dogberg(?) are still kind of a weird mixture of grotesque or overly sexualized. It's a movie that may be a lot weirder than some of our hosts remember, but hey at least the Tevin Campbell/Powerline songs are still great.
Vicky, Nolan and Jill can all remember when High School Musical was the huge Disney Channel phenomenon of the mid-to-late 2000s. In fact at least one of them may have been an active participant (guess which!). The franchise got so big, in fact, that the elevated budget of the third and final installment meant it had to be released in theatres...so here we are. This week on We Want The D, our hosts try to parse the third installment in a trilogy with (in at least two out of three cases) no context from the first two made-for-tv movies. And while the plot is anything from overly complicated, there is still plenty to puzzle over. But mostly this movie is just annoying - the songs are annoying, the acting is annoying, the writing is annoying. Kenny Ortega strikes again in HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR.
We recorded this week's episode of We Want The D just a few days ago, early in the evening on election night. Like most people, Vicky, Nolan and Jill had no idea what a rollercoaster ride that night would end up being, so this podcast represents an interesting snapshot in time - one where optimism and bright possibilities were still alive and well. We hope that this episode will take you back to simpler, less troubled times as our hosts are able to laugh and make light of yet another Kurt Russell Disney vehicle, NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON'T, blissfully ignorant of what the immediate future holds. From a purple dune buggy to a young Ed Begley Jr.; characters named Schuyler and characters (presumably) named "Girl;" from extended golfing sequences to extended invisible car chase sequences - it's all the treasures the late 60s/early 70s era of Disney has to offer on full display.
Disney's 2016 adaptation of their own beloved classic THE JUNGLE BOOK currently holds a robust 95% critic rating on RottenTomatoes. It's host score on We Want The D is...somewhat less than that. Opinions are divided on multiple fronts; is this an achievement in animation or a movie that only looks good on the big screen? Is there an interesting blend of story from the original Rudyard Kipling books and the 1967 animated classic, or is it more awkwardly paced with large chunks that serve no purpose? Did they absolutely nail the voice acting, or are there more than a few unfulfilled expectations? Vicky, Nolan and Jill each reach their own conclusions, but the one thing they can all agree is that this installment doesn't come near the original 1967 adaptation and has all of us more than a little skittish about Disney's remake-heavy future. Only time can tell what those movies will look like, though, so until then we'll take solace in the beloved media of our youth, like classic Disney and Law & Order episodes.
It's been awhile since we've talked about a legitimate classic in the Disney animated canon, and Vicky, Nolan and Jill could think of no better installment to explore than a personal favourite for all of our hosts - The Sword in the Stone. It's got all the hallmarks of classic Disney - great animation, songs by the Shermans and memorable characters like Merlin, Mad Madame Mim and the new We Want The D mascot, Archimedes. It's also got a lot for our hosts to really dig into, like the possible tyrannical rule of Woolie Reitherman as a solo director, fat horny squirrels, and a strategic breakdown of a wizard's duel. A classic movie makes for a classic podcast, so get ready to blast off to Bermuda with us this week on We Want The D!
We're no strangers to controversy here at We Want The D. We've watched Peter Pan, Dumbo, The Sign of Zorro and many other Disney movies that have had less-than-ideal depictions of diverse peoples. But we've always managed to find solace in the fact that those movies are from another time, when attitudes and perceptions were more ignorant and less developed. So when it comes to 2013's THE LONE RANGER, we are at a bit of a loss in how anyone involved thought this movie was a-ok in its depiction of indigenous people, particularly in agreeing to let Johnny Depp star as Tonto. The result is our longest episode yet, which feels appropriate for a two and half hour movie that has so much to unpack we still feel like we left much of it unexplored at the end.
What would you do with a million dollars? Wait, let's be more specific: what would you do if you were a young boy with a million dollars in 1994? Your imagination may be running wild; but when Disney attempted to answer this simple question with BLANK CHECK, things somehow went horribly wrong. This week on We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill are providing a little education to go along with our regular goofs and gaffes, as we pick apart this movie the way it truly deserves - by seeing if it follows the fifteen essential beats every movie should adhere to as laid out by this film's very own author, Blake Snyder. Author of one of the most popular books on the craft of screenwriting, Snyder's work here may be (kinda) structurally sound, but you have to question what was going through his head when he came up with ideas for his pint-sized protagonist like a Roots fashion shows with his middle-aged limo driver or a romantic dinner date with a woman old enough to know better than to flirt with a prepubescent boy.
It's been awhile since we visited the first decade of Disney's theatrical films, and our return to that early era of Disney is a somewhat rocky one. Maybe not as rocky as the circumstances under which many of those films were made - what with all the World War Two and propaganda demands going on at the time. But when you cobble together an anthology movie based on some pseudo-thought-out ideas all centered generally around the concept of music, you're gonna end up with mixed results. Enter MAKE MINE MUSIC, a collection of shorts that range from delightful and inventive to barely coherent and boring. Vicky, Nolan and Jill have grades to pass out to each segment in this week's We Want The D, and while there is a healthy mix of successes and failure, the overall assignment feels like a miss; especially when the theme of music seems secondary to all the sex and death.
This week on We Want The D, Vicky Nolan and Jill are looking at a movie all about adolescents with special abilities going off to school, where they are sorted into different categories immediately upon arrival, and having them struggle with navigating the social awkwardness of high school coupled with the return of a villain long-thought defeated. That's right, we're going all way to Hogwarts for this special episo- wait, what's that? This isn't a movie about wizard school? Oh, right, it's super hero school. You know, the Disney movie about a high school for kids with super powers. And the school is in a giant floating building in the sky. A high school...in the sky...it's Sky High!
Welcome back to Bob's Lake, D Lovers! Vicky, Nolan and Jill could think of no better way to celebrate the sequel to our kinda-sorta live show than doing our very first Disney sequel; so let's give a warm welcome back to the Szalinski family (except for Amy who vanishes about five minutes into the movie) with Honey, I Blew Up the Kid! You may wonder what inspired a sequel that basically just does the inverse story of the original, but if you thought it was because someone thought of the idea "giant baby" and shoehorned it into an existing property, you wouldn't be that far off. The end result is a sequel that doesn't quite compare to its original (or arguably its own direct-to-video sequel), but certainly has its charms. More Rick Moranis is always a plus, especially when paired with a very impressive toddler performer; the Nick and Keri Russell romance has just the right of dark sexual undertones to it; and watching a fully-grown man dressed up as a toddler in an over-sized sports jacket is more entertaining than you might think. So enjoy the sounds of nature and the great outdoors and celebrate the last days of summer with your favourite podcast hosts in this week's episode of We Want The D!
We Want The D is back after a short hiatus, and what better way to reward our beloved listeners' patience than with another classic Disney film from that odd 60s/70s era of weird animal movies. The Cat from Outer Space has the distinction of not only being one of the most out-there Disney movies we've watched so far conceptually, but also the most boring realization of it's off-the-wall concept. The only thing amazing about this movie is how straight everyone plays the fact that this movie is supposedly about a CAT from OUTER SPACE. No madcap antics or zany adventures to be had here, just long sequences of illegal sports betting and some pretty dismal green screen plane stunts. Oh, and the casual animal cruelty we've come to expect from Disney films of this ilk. Vicky, Nolan and Jill are glad to be back in your ears, but can't say they're glad to have watched this movie.
For all the inexplicable strange movies we've watched on We Want The D, and all the ones yet to come, it's hard to imagine that any of them will match the off-the-wall absurdity of this week's Disney film. There's a zany energy to this movie that doesn't compare to anything else the House of Mouse has produced, but that doesn't mean that it's missing the core or heart of what makes a great Disney movie. Which is what made watching MEET THE ROBINSONS such a delight for Vicky, Nolan and Jill. It's a movie that knows how to have fun; with its sense of humour, with its character designs, with its dialogue. It's equal parts a wild ride that drags you along whether you like it or not, and a heartwarming story about family and moving on from past failures and sadness. It's a movie that fully realizes the ethos of Walt Disney, beloved creator - though maybe not so much the ethos of Walt Disney, tyrannical studio head.
We're about to get as cultured as hell on this week's mini episode of We Want The D. Join Nolan, Jill and special guest/resident art expert Cat for a look at the surreal Walt Disney/Salvador Dali collaboration that took over half a century to bring to life: Destino.
We Want The D has Olympic fever! (Not to be confused with the fever many of the athletes will come down with at the Rio Games.) To celebrate this historic athletic competition that supports good sportsmanship and fosters international relations, Vicky, Nolan and Jill are taking a look at Disney's COOL RUNNINGS. For some, a cult classic; for others, a problematic film that makes jokes out of serious competitors. Our hosts will have to reconcile their fond memories of this movie with the knowledge that Disney execs were constantly calling for watered down accents or that John Candy's worn features may not have been all make-up. Tempered though our reactions to this movie are in hindsight, its still an undeniably fun movie to watch, discuss, and try to guess Disney's dream cast before they decided they'd rather pay all the actors scale.
As much as Disney movies may have delighted and entertained us throughout our lives, what makes these movies so special is their ability to scare the pants off us. In this mini-episode of We Want The D Vicky, Nolan and Jill are reopening old wounds and facing old fears as we recount the scariest moments from some of our most beloved or not-so-beloved Disney films from our childhood.
It's easy to imagine a reality where Disney's Around the World in 80 Days went down in history as a classic. After all, it stars noted and beloved martial artist and actor Jackie Chan, the versatile British comedian and performer Steve Coogan, and features enough cameos in the second half that it almost made our hosts' heads spin. But, alas, that is not the reality, as this live action cartoon ended up bombing hard at the box office, despite all it had going for it. Where did it all go wrong? Could it have been the choice to let one of Adam Sandler's buddies, whose last film was The Waterboy, direct an action-packed, globe-spanning adventure? The decision to change protagonists partway through probably didn't help much. It's unclear whether getting all the British actors to act approximately 200% more British helped or hurt the film in the end. Join Vicky, Nolan and Jill as we try to get to the bottom of what went wrong this week on We Want The D.
EXPLICIT CONTENT WARNING. We Want The D is always marked explicit everywhere you listen, but this (not so) mini episode deserves a second warning. Probably a third and fourth, too. Because Vicky, Nolan and Jill are fulfilling the request of multiple listeners to explore the world of Disney Fan Fiction, and boy howdy if it isn't every bit as crass, hyper-sexualized and downright disturbing as we hoped and feared. Needless to say, this is a non-family friendly episode of a podcast that not very family friendly to begin with. You're gonna need headphones for this one. Keep out of reach of children and those with heart conditions. MOM, DON'T LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE.
This week on We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill face a brand new challenge - how do you talk about a movie that is actually just several episodes of a television show from the late 1950s edited together for a theatrical release? To our hosts' dismay, the answer is "with difficulty." The series the movie is cut from, Disney's very popular 'Zorro,' came out long before the golden age of television, so the resulting film is a bit lacking when it comes to impressive set pieces, non-expository dialogue, or basically any scene that was filmed in anything but a wide shot of a studio backlot. Sure, there's sword fights, a singing sergeant and some very odd sign language; but it doesn't really add up to much. At least not much worth talking about.
Welcome to another debate-filled mini episode of We Want The D. Things only get a little heated this week as Vicky, Nolan and Jill put forth their picks for the best Disney Princess pairing. There's a lot to consider when trying to figure out which relationship is the most stable and has the best chance of not ending in divorce or otherwise acrimoniously, but you can rely on your diligent hosts to look at every angle and discuss our opinions without resorting to too much speculation on what goes on in the royal bedrooms. We promise, only 50% or less of this episode is dedicated to weird sex talk.
It's officially summer, which means parents all over the world are spending thousands of dollars to ship their kids off into the woods just to get a few weeks of peace and quiet. Vicky, Nolan and Jill all have their own fond (or not-so-fond) memories of summer camp, but none can compare with the experience the cast of overweight characters have is Disney's HEAVY WEIGHTS. From the mind of a young comedy writer named Judd Apatow, this movie has everything you could want in a summer adventure: prison-like smuggling of illicit goods like candy and deli meat, a manic Ben Stiller playing a crazed fitness instructor turned camp owner, and four Mighty Ducks. This week on We Want The D, we're gathering around the campfire and chewing the fat over whether this film deserves its cult status or not.
It's another head-to-head episode of We Want The D as 1959's The Shaggy Dog faces off against 2006's The Shaggy Dog. Unfortunately for Vicky, Nolan and Jill these two movies actually have very little in common aside from the basic premise of "one character turns into a dog at random intervals for seemingly no reason." So rather than just give you an hour of comparing the shagginess of the respective dogs, your hosts instead spend the time trying to figure out which of these two barely coherent movies is the least unbearable. Both feature big name casts full of familiar faces, from the return of Ernst and Jimmy Bean and first appearance of Fred MacMurray on the podcast to Tim Allen's hard-yet-round body, blink-and-you'll-miss-him Danny Glover, and Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr. Both feature ill-conceived and explained reasons of the dog transformations, from Borgias magic to...DNA magic? There's disagreements over which of the two movies ends up taking the dubious honour of "most terrible," and while it may end in draw you can rest assured that the real winner here is all the D Lovers out there who get to listen in on the debate without having the watch the movies.