On this week's episode of We Want The D, we're watching a movie all about the love between a singing harpoonist and a meek professor's assistant. Wait, no, that's not right. It's about the love between a professor and a megalomaniacal submarine captain. No, that doesn't seem right either. Is it a story about the love between a harpoonist a seal named Esmerelda? Or is it about the love between a squid and a submarine? You know what, D Lovers, it's probably none of those things. But what we can tell you is that this podcast episode is all about the love between Vicky, Nolan and Jill and Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We love it's striking and iconic production design, it's complex characters, and it's one song - and everything in between. In terms of Disney films that largely take place under the ocean, this one stands up with the best of them, even if they maybe possibly probably harmed some rare and exotic aquatic sea life in the process.
Don't get it twisted, D Lovers. The above subtitle and multiple in-episode endorsements to watch the brilliant television series Friday Night Lights shouldn't be taken as a recommendation to watch the show instead of Disney's Remember the Titans. It's just hard to talk about any piece of football-related entertainment without whole-heartedly recommending the adventures of Coach Taylor and the town of Dillon. But don't worry, Vicky, Nolan and Jill are able to keep mostly on-topic and have a blast praising the emotionally manipulative excellence of this film, from the hit-packed soundtrack to the star-studded cast. This movie hits all the right notes at the exact right times, and sure, we know it's a little hokey and cheesy, but we don't mind when we're watching Denzel tearing into high school students like a Marine Drill Sergeant, or the budding friendship between Avon Barksdale from The Wire and Opie from Sons of Anarchy, or Ryan Gosling dancing to The Beatles' "Act Naturally." This is We Want The D's first venture into the world of Disney sports movies, and we gotta say, this one is all touchdowns and trick plays.
Welcome, D Lovers, to the World of Tomorrow! By which we mean, welcome to Disney's Tomorrowland, a film of multiple visual delights and even more head-scratching plot points. From the brilliant vision of acclaimed animation director Brad Bird and the often-criticized writer Damon Lindelof, this film is a hodgepodge of set pieces featuring an obnoxiously overly-intelligent teenager, killer robots who enter and exit the film with little fanfare, and terse romantic undertones between George Clooney and a twelve year old girl (don't worry, she's a robot as well). Sprinkle all that with a helping of Tim McGraw and plenty of unresolved questions, and you end up with...probably not the blockbuster original film the House of Mouse was hoping for. It's easy to say this movie didn't live up to anyone's expectations for it, but Vicky, Nolan and Jill sure had a ball talking about it. So as We Want The D strides confidently into their own world of tomorrow and second year, join us as we discuss one of Disney's most recent missteps.
Dearest D Lovers. Vicky, Nolan and Jill would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support of We Want The D. Because of wonderful people with ears like yours, we are now celebrating 50 episodes of Disney canonical investigations, fabulous journeys deep in to the vault, and dark, disturbing, sexual theories about beloved childhood memories. And because you have all been such lovely boys and girls and Kevin the Temps, we let you vote for what we should watch on this monumental occasion in We Want The D history and you did not let us down. So grab your magic carpet, and try not to think about how much you miss Robin Williams, as we venture to the mystical city of Agrabah with the 1992 phenomenal classic, Aladdin.