Vicky, Nolan and Jill are on their annual pilgrimage to Bob's Lake, and since they've already done all the movies in the Szalinski franchise what could be more appropriate than talking about a real-life genius? In this special mini-episode, Vicky gives a crash course on Ub Iwerks; who not only shaped the legacy of Disney, but the entire film industry.
The past weeks and months have been a wild ride here on We Want The D, thanks to The Summer of Love Bug. From the top of the Golden Gate Bridge to the bottom of the ocean, we've followed the adventures of the little car with a big heart with fascination, disbelief, horror and delight with equal measure. But now it's time to say goodbye, and there's likely no better way to spend our final hours with Herbie than by being wholly distracted by the fact that HERBIE: FULLY LOADED was also the final Disney film for Lindsay Lohan as well. It's almost a shame that the title character and franchise star plays second fiddle in their final film, but that's what happens you have Lohan, Michael Keaton, Matt Dillon, Justin Long all vying for screen time. It may not be the ending we hoped for, but it's the one we got. So we say to you - Adieu, Herbie. Adieu. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
In retrospect, the missing possessive apostrophe 's' in MOTHER GOOSE ROCK 'N' RHYME should have been a sort of clue or portent for what was to come. Because this week's movie is missing a whole lot. A beloved childhood favourite of Vicky's, this Disney Channel world premiere is cause for great befuddlement for our other two hosts. Why does it look like it was filmed with a potato? Why are all the women in this children's program dressed in costumes from some sort of bizarre fetish video? How could one person have dirt on so many huge stars, thereby forcing them to appear in this production? Why does a movie that proudly proclaims it rocks and rhymes have such a dearth of songs? There are no answers to be found here. All those questions are lost in rhyme...like tears in rain.
Unfortunately, the penultimate episode of the Summer of Love Bug doesn't set us up to go out with a bang as one might have hoped. And we suppose that's to be expected - after all, we're in Disney television movie territory here. But there was always the hope that Bruce Campbell and Herbie would be a winning combination - but all for naught. Sure, Bruce's handsome face is here, but he's given little to no opportunities to show off his charisma - and neither is Herbie for that matter. The 1990's TV movie version of THE LOVE BUG is a drab and depressing affair; featuring a bonkers cast that absolutely fails to deliver, a Herbie that is a mere shadow of his lively and somewhat-homicidal past self, and that rat bastard Jim Douglas showing up acting like he never abandoned Herbie twice in the past. We've rounded the last corner and are in the final stretch, D-Lovers, let's hope the final entry can end things on a relative high.
Bear with us, D-Lovers, as we tell the tale of ROB ROY, THE HIGHLAND ROGUE. Rob Roy MacGregor is a proud Scotsman whose refusal to bow to the new King of England (who is German) puts him into conflict with the Secretary of State (who is Scottish), kicking off a guerrilla-like campaign; against the wishes of Ma MacGregor (who is a Campbell) and his new bride (who is Glynis Johns). It's actually a rather simple, if somewhat anti-climactic story; but Disney knew how to make a period history movie back in the 1950s, so there's lots of period accurate costumes and on-location shooting for our hosts to swoon over - and that's not even mentioning Richard Todd's bare chest.