It's our 300th episode! And we couldn't be more happy to be talking about perennial underdog Disney movie TANGLED. Not only did it lose in several straight polls for past anniversary episodes, it somehow feels like this movie never quite gets its due, despite how good it is, always in the shadow of its younger, colder cousin. But no longer, as our hosts sing its praises from the top of a tower in all respects. Well...except maybe one.
At first blush, it doesn't seem like there's anything in Disney's FOLLOW ME, BOYS! that we haven't seen before. It's not the first time we've seen Kurt Russell, Fred MacMurray or Vera Miles. It's not the first time we've seen Disney create a whole small town on their studio backlot. It's not the first time we've had wacky punctuation in the title. But just because it's all been done, doesn't mean it's ever been done this well - because this movie is unexpectedly charming and affecting across the...
Not all live action remakes are created equal, and in the case of LADY AND THE TRAMP that means being a movie that has the look and feel of a direct-to-Disney+ release. That is to say, it's not all that bad as far as these remakes go, it just feels more inessential than usual. Sure, there's some dynamite voice casting, some nicely expanded roles for the non-dog characters, and it's way less racist. But while the original movie is so charming that it's an undeniable timeless classic, this one jus...
On the surface, Disney's RASCAL may appear to be yet another entry in the long list of Disney's "boy and his dog" movies - only this time the dog is a bandit-masked, human-handed, cute lil' raccoon. But in fact, Disney's RASCAL is actually about another one of our favourite recurring Disney themes - children who have not properly grieved the loss of a parent. In this one, all the animal hijinks, of which there are plenty, play second fiddle to the infuriatingly negligent actions of a rambling-ma...
Stop us if you've heard this one before: James Garner, fleeing from a dangerous scenario he wants no part of, gets mixed up with a little boy he only sort of barely tolerates, meets a widowed woman living all on her own in a lonely, isolated location, and through gruffness and the power of 1970s masculinity endears himself to all and escapes danger. No, we didn't rewatch that Castaway Cowboy movie, we watched Disney's ONE LITTLE INDIAN and experienced a whole lot of deja vu.
You may recall from episodes past that our hosts have no small amount of fondness for the bite-sized stories featuring the critters who inhabit the Hundred Acre Wood. Stretch a story to feature-length and throw the most chaotic and thoughtless of those characters into the center of it, however, and it's a whole different story. THE TIGGER MOVIE is no doubt a favourite of a certain, pre-school aged portion of Disney's audience, but for our hosts it may be inarguably bouncy and trouncy, but how mu...
There's a lot of deception going on at the core of Disney's TONKA. The cover/poster doesn't really give any indication of who the title character really is, so it's not until the opening theme song starts to refer to Tonka's powerful hooves and glossy coat that you might start to clue in. Then there's the fact that this movie is based on an actual historical horse, but he was never called Tonka at all. And, of course because this movie was made in the 1950s, there's the fact that none of the Nat...
Historically, Disney's never really been able to knock it out of the park when it comes to Ron Miller-era movies that feature hapless leads going up against bumbling criminal enterprises. NEVER A DULL MOMENT doesn't exactly defy that trend, but it comes close. Likely thanks to having the criminal mastermind be a complex, art-loving Edward G. Robinson, filling his ranks with an eclectic group of henchmen, and putting the always-entertaining Dick Van Dyke in the lead role. Don't know if our hosts ...
It's possible (and these day's maybe even likely) that you've felt trapped, shut in, and unable to escape from your current circumstances. But have you ever wanted to get to a place where the grass is greener so desperately that you'd build a makeshift hot air balloon to float you and seven other friends and family members to safety and freedom? If so, D-Lovers, then you might find a lot to relate to in NIGHT CROSSING. And if not, well, you'll still be treated to another entry in Disney's tonall...
It's Mardi Gras, baby! And just because we can't be in the streets of the French Quarter doesn't mean we can't celebrate in our own way, which means we watched THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. It's a significant movie of firsts and lasts for Disney, so Vicky, Nolan and Jill have a lot to unpack here - but Mama Odie told us to dig a little deeper, so we're only following instructions. Further reading: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG: REWRITING JAZZ AGE HISTORY AND CULTURE from The Black Atlantic...
All things must come to an end, and so the time has come to bid farewell to the definitive Disney sports team - though just a few week away from their Disney+ return/reboot. D3: THE MIGHTY DUCKS sends the ragtag group of hockey players off rather appropriately - with them finally learning how to actually play hockey, free of trick plays and illegal moves. But it also means a reduced role for Gordon Bombay, an unearned shoulder chip for Charlie Conway, and a total sidelining of star player Adam B...
On the surface, THE UGLY DACHSHUND seems like pretty standard 1960's Disney fare - low stakes slapstick-ish comedy, the enjoyment of which will largely depend on how much any given viewer likes dogs and seeing them make messes. Dig a little deeper, however, and a darker portrait of a nearly dysfunctional marriage reveals itself. The couple that owns these dogs love them, at least purportedly. But the real question is - do they even love each other?
Y'all might thing you know Disney's Mulan, but do you know MULAN (2020)? Cause this Mulan is different. This Mulan has magic powers. This Mulan has a silent, possibly imaginary bird friend. This Mulan has less thematic resonance. This Mulan's production has problematic associations with the Chinese Communist Party. It's a whole big thing with lots to unpack, so let's not waste anymore time and just get to it.
Recall the tale of Pinocchio, the story of a wooden puppet brought to life and all his many misadventures. Recall the wish that animated his wooden body, granted by the Blue Fairy and made upon a star by an old toymaker. Haven't you always wondered, D-Lovers, just what that lonely, single man was up to while Pinocchio was off on his own? If you're anything like our hosts, the answer is a resounding 'no.' Yet, thanks to the Wonderful World of Disney, we have our answer to a question no one asked ...
You're old news, Pacino and De Niro in Heat . Step aside, DiCaprio and Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood . It's time to let the big dogs out - or rather, the big dog and big bear. Because Disney's WHITE FANG features the long-awaited and still-to-be-topped pairing of esteemed animal actors Jed the wolfdog (who we last saw journeying with Natty Gann) and Bart the Bear. Oh, and Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke is there too, for whatever that's worth.
It's an episode of first and lasts this week on We Want The D. We bid a not-necessarily fond farewell to director Vincent McEveety, who has sometimes delighted but generally plagued us through several of Disney's 60s/70s offerings over the past few years. But we also sneakily start to pivot to the untapped podcasting market of true crime storytelling. Because SUPERDAD just so happens to star one Bob Crane, who both in this movie and in life wasn't really all that super.
We're closing out the year with another Disney epic. But it's not a swashbuckling adventure or a superhero extravaganza, it's THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE. A classic (or should we say dated) comedy musical that tells the story of...well, we're not really sure. A father who keeps gators in his upscale Philadelphia home? A daughter who wants to find love unfettered by her promising boxing career? A butler with a sunny outlook thanks to a made-up word? It's gotta be something, cause this movie is almos...
We're wrapping up the winter of our discontent with a more modern, more direct-to-video installment with MICKEY'S ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS. This Disney holiday releases features a trio of stories clearly targeted towards very young children, yet still somehow featuring concepts and ideas that will prompt difficult questions for parents to answer. For our hosts' part, they've never felt sorrier for Donald, never loved Goofy more, and as for Mickey...they've got nothing against Mickey.
Finally, after many requests, and after much debate and deliberation, it's happened. We Want The D is talking Muppets. And what better way to welcome them into the fold than by shining some light onto the winter of our discontent in the form of THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL. A beloved classic no matter how you slice it, the first Disney/Muppet collab was a solid showcase for the gang and arguably the best adaptation of the Dickens novella.
Now is the winter of our discontent. And what better way to kick off this most December of seasons than with a Disney movie with a divisive lead actress, a story penned by Meg Cabot, and that awkward early 2000s teen aesthetic (and soundtrack). We could only be talking about the one and only ICE PRINCESS, a movie about blowing a promising career in academia for a few fleeting years as a middle-tier at best figure skater.
We'll give it to you straight, D-sciples: watching the final Fess Parker Disney movie is made all the more disappointing by the fact that THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE just isn't very good. His usual calm-yet-charismatic stoicism just isn't well suited to the character he plays, and that's setting aside the fact that this movie plays the both side-ism card with the American Civil War of all things. But hey, Walt got to play train conductor for a few months, so probably worth it in his books....
Our hosts have been flummoxed by Disney movies before, D-Lovers, but it's unlikely they've ever been flummoxed to this degree. OLD DOGS is ostensibly another entry in the "man not prepared for fatherhood is thrown into it" class of family film, and you'd think having the great Robin Williams in that role would be a recipe for success. But something is off with this movie, something is...wrong. And we're not just talking about whatever is going on with John Travolta's face. Was it written by a co...
A small trivia challenge for you, D-Lovers. Name five famous movie dogs. Now, did anyone happen to name Benji? You're forgiven even if you didn't, because despite starring in his own franchise of movies that spans decades, Benji seems to have flown under the radar, at least for our hosts. So BENJI THE HUNTED, his only Disney movie, was also our introduction to this cute little dog performer. And while Benji may have some impressive tricks up his sleeves, it's unfortunate that this script only re...
Experience has taught us that plot descriptions can be deceiving, especially when it comes to 1960s live action Disney movies. A movie about a cat returning from the dead might be a dud, while the hijinks of a college campus scrambled egghead might be charming. So we can't be fully surprised that EMIL AND THE DETECTIVES, a movie about a small boy who teams up with another small boy who runs a detective agency/tourist company/porter service to reclaim his stolen 400 deutschmarks from a wanted cri...
In these strange and uncertain times, it's nice to have something to rely on. And what could be more dependable than knowing watching Fess Parker's raw and steady charisma in Disney's DAVY CROCKETT AND THE RIVER PIRATES will bring some measure of comfort? And as an added bonus, this movie also treats our hosts to the one-of-a-kind, King of the River, barrel-chested Mike Fink - who may have been a bit of a shit in real life, but his fictional counterpart is pure delight.
Let us explain, D-Lovers. We know that THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS was originally released under the Touchstone banner, and Disney only properly brought it into the fold upon it's rerelease some ten years later. We know we've been pretty strict about what qualifies as a Disney movie for this podcast. But consider this: if Vicky, Nolan and Jill had to watch one more lousy, Halloween-themed TV movie this year (of all years), our hosts would lose their collective and individual minds. So we're t...
No October Season would be complete without a visit to Halloweentown, but it is with great regret that we inform you this year's trip has been cancelled. This time, it's a bunch of Halloweentown teens who are coming to us - more specifically, to a Utah high school/adult learning annex. HALLOWEENTOWN HIGH may be aptly named anyway, since it's the high point in the series so far, but that might be damning it with faint praise. Join us as we see just how dumb and horny these Cromwell witches can be...
Our collective October Season nightmare of Disney Channel Original Movies continues this week with DON'T LOOK UNDER THE BED. Its fan reputation may have you believe that this is a legit spooky story, and sure there may be a jump scare or two, but overall there's just way too many vests worn by the lead character for this to be truly threatening. And it doesn't matter how mean or prankful a boogeyman (or boogeyperson) is, when contrasted with the world's most charismatic imaginary friend there's ...
It's October Season which only means one thing - our hosts are going to be subjected to the horrors of a bunch of Halloween-ish Disney made-for-TV movies. And as you can imagine, this one is a doozy. Because Z-O-M-B-I-E-S is in many ways the spiritual successor to a few other high school-set DCOM musicals you may have heard of, and opinions are sharply divided on whether it is a worthy successor to the throne. The stakes have never been lower and the pastels have never been more sickly.
It's the most spookiest time of the year! We're kicking off this October Season with what isn't really a Halloween movie, but hey at least we're not starting with a DCOM. So MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL will have to do. Which more or less encapsulates our hosts' feelings toward this Disney movie, as a follow-up to a film none of us really liked but had a number of things we liked about it. This sequel though? Not so much. But at the end of the day, it's still got Angelina Jolie and her striking ...
