When we last checked in with Benjamin Franklin Gates, his creepy dad, his put-upon girlfriend/wife, and his goober-yet-handsome pal they were embroiled in a plot to steal the Declaration of Independence before Sean Bean could and uncover a lost treasure hiding in plain sight under Manhattan. In Disney's NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS the gang comes back together to kidnap the President of the United States because he has this secret book of secrets that will hopefully have the second half of a clue that will lead them to a hidden city (or temple?) of gold somewhere in the Dakotas so Benjamin Franklin Gates can clear the smeared name of his ancestor so hundreds of years from now the Gates name won't be Mud thanks to Ed Harris who also wants to find the treasure but mostly so that people will say nice things about his own family's name....yeah these movies are a lot. 

There's a feeling of familiarity in this week's episode of We Want The D. It could be, of course, all of the familiar Disney faces in THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR - our favourite old dad Fred MacMurray (though playing an old bachelor this time); our favourite scrambled egghead Tommy Kirk (though playing the popular jock this time); our favourite villain from the Herbie franchise Alonzo Hawk (who we compare to popular Greater Toronto Area personality Russell Oliver). But then again, it could just be all the bouncing from the flubber making our hosts a little disoriented.

At this point in our journey through the Disney filmography, it feels like we've pretty much seen it all. There's no new ideas, just an endless parade of hapless leading men, car chases, animal sidekicks, and trios of mobsters and villains. How, then, does one inject a much needed boost of the unfamiliar to make the formula of 1970s Disney feel fresh? Turns out, it's as simple as moving the action from dry land to the water, as the coast guard, criminals and just general populace who congregate at the Balboa marina managed to mostly win over our hosts' hearts and mind in this week's film - THE BOATNIKS.

After two hundred and twenty five episodes, it appears we are only just getting to our first proper Disney western. Sure, we've seen movies with cowboys and frontier living, but most of those cowboys are played by people like Don Knotts. WESTWARD HO, THE WAGONS! is a movie with a lot of punctuation, but even more classic trappings of the western genre...and not all of them good (bet you can guess which ones based on the poster alone). It's not all bad though - the infinitely watchable Fess Parker is here to soothe our viewing, along with his golden voice and stoic, comforting presence. And nobody on this particular wagon train taking the Oregon Trail dies of dysentery...at least on-screen.