Family Fun Saturday - Geppetto

ABC/Disney, 2000

Starring Drew Carey, Julie Louis-Dreyfus, Brett Spiner, and Seth Adkins

Directed by Tom Moore

Music and Lyrics by Steven Schwartz

We're staying with TV films this weekend, but skipping ahead a decade and a half to the turn of the new millennium. ABC had successfully relaunched its Wonderful World of Disney in 1997 with Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. After it's 1999 version of Annie was also a hit, Disney stuck closer to home for its next big show. Drew Carey's self-titled sitcom was right in the middle of its almost 10-year run on ABC in 2000. Between his sitcom and his stint hosting the improv show Who's Line Is It Anyway, Carey was one of the most popular comedians on TV as the calendar changed to the 2000's. Louis-Dreyfus was almost as popular, coming off the run of the phenomenally beloved Seinfeld. Disney threw them both into their next TV musical, switching Pinocchio to focus on his woodcarver father and the Blue Fairy. Does this work, or should it be swallowed by a whale? Let's begin with the title character (Carey) as all of the children in town rush to his store to buy new toys, and find out...

The Story: Geppetto is tired of seeing children with scolding parents, thinking that he'd be the perfect father. He gets a chance to learn how hard it is to be a parent when the Blue Fairy (Louis-Dreyfus) makes his puppet Pinocchio (Adkins) come to life. Pinocchio is lively and funny, but he's also a bundle of questions when he should be sleeping, wanders off downtown, and isn't interested in woodcarving like his father. Geppetto sends his new son to school, only for him to come home admitting he got into a fight after imitating the other boys. Geppetto is furious with his son and with the Blue Fairy, who points out that no child or parent is perfect. 

By the time he's willing to listen, Pinocchio has run away with Stromboli (Spiner) and his puppet show. When Geppetto goes to see the show, Stromboli tells him his son went to see the world. What Pinocchio really did was board a carriage to Pleasure Island. Geppetto goes after him, encountering an inept magician (Wayne Brady) and a town filled with perfect, obedient children made by Professor Bunoragazzo (Rene Auberjononis). He and Stromboli arrive at Pleasure Island almost at the same time, but they're both thrown out for being adults. When Pinocchio and the other boys at the Island turn into donkeys, Geppetto follows him in a boat. He's swallowed by a whale, only to be reunited with a repentant Pinocchio. It then that they finally realize that being a parent means loving your child even when they're at their worst, and that the best any parent can do is help their child grow.

The Song and Dance: It's the song and dance, along with a relatively lavish production for a TV musical in 2000, that are the stand-outs. Some of the songs in Steven Schwartz's score aren't bad. I especially like "Satisfaction Guaranteed" for Professor Bunoragazzo and the townspeople and Geppetto and the Blue Fairy's counterpoint duet "Just Because It's Magic." Wayne Brady is hilarious in his sequence with Carey as the lousy magician, and Spiner makes for a funny and scary Stromboli. At the very least, this is better than the  live-action remake that focused on Pinocchio in 2022. 

The Numbers: We open with Carey singing "Once Upon a Time" as the traditional Disney Storybook opens. The first big chorus number is "Toys," as the kids in the town beg for Geppetto's wares, and Geppetto wishes he had a child of his own. "Empty Heart" is his lonely lament that he's never been blessed with a son. He's thrilled to be "Geppetto and Son," until Pinocchio constantly wanders off while he introduces him to the townspeople. The Blue Fairy tries to explain that "Just Because It's Magic" doesn't mean it guarantees a happy ending. We hear "I've Got No Strings" from the original film as Pinocchio dances with Stromboli's puppets. Stromboli's more likely to cheer himself in "Bravo Stromboli!" 

Lezamo the magician reprises "Toys" with Geppetto, reminding him that he's beloved by other children. Professor Bunoragazzo, his son (Christopher Marquette), and the townspeople of Idylla insist that they can deliver a perfect child "Satisfaction Guaranteed" in a huge chorus number, but Geppetto finds those so-called "perfect" children more creepy than delightful. Usher Raymond (aka Usher) is the "Pleasure Island" ringleader who encourages the boys there to break away from their parents' rules and do whatever they want. Geppetto reprises "Geppetto and Son" when Pinocchio finds him in the whale. He tells Stromboli he'll give him his business or anything he wants. He doesn't need anything "Since I Gave My Heart Away." This is also heard over the credits, performed by singer Sonya Issacs.

What I Don't Like: First and foremost, Carey and Louis-Dreyfus are too modern and goofy to work as a resident of fairy-tale Italy in the late 1800's and a magical fairy. Carey fully admitted he was miscast and that making this wasn't a happy affair. You don't buy him as a concerned father who just wants his son to listen. And...frankly, Geppetto's story isn't all that interesting. Some of the sequences, like the creepy "Satisfaction Guaranteed" town, have their moments, but it doesn't add up to much of a whole. You really wish they'd just done a live-action remake of Pinocchio 22 years early and focused on the character who actually does the growing up and makes the journey. 

The Big Finale: While it is better than the 2022 Pinocchio remake, considering how bad that was, that's not saying much. Unless you're a huge fan of Carey, Brady, or Louis-Dreyfus, you're better off just watching the original animated film on DVD or Disney Plus again.

Home Media: Disney is all too aware of the negative reception this one got. At press time, this is DVD only.

DVD

Family Fun Saturday - Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires

Disney, 2025

Starring Meg Donnelly, Milo Manheim, Malachi Barton, and Freya Skye

Directed by Paul Hoen

Music and Lyrics by various

ZOMBIES has been one of Disney's most popular franchises since the original film debuted in 2018. I thought this one ended in 2022, but the subsequent animated show was enough of a success to revive interest in the films. Apparently, Disney was right to return to this well. This wound up being a hit this summer, on the Disney Channel and on Disney Plus. Is the fourth time the charm, or should this franchise be defanged? Let's begin back at Seabrook, just as zombie Zed (Manheim) and part-alien, part-human Allison (Donnelly) are finishing their first year at Mountain College, and find out...

The Story: Zed and Allison intend to spend the summer at separate camps to focus on joining the first-string football team and becoming head cheerleader. They're driving to the camp grounds with Zed's fellow zombie Eliza (Kylee Russell) and werewolf Willa (Chandler Kinney) when an energy surge damages Zed's band that keeps him human, causing him to lose control of the car. They have no idea where they've crashed and split up to find help.

Zed runs across the Daywalkers, led by Commander Bright (Jonno Roberts) and his sweet daughter Nova (Skye), while Allison befriends the live-by-night Vampires, headed by slightly nerdy Victor (Barton) and their eldress (Liza Chappell). The two groups subside on blood fruit and have been competing for the dwindling supply for centuries. Victor and Nova are being taught to follow in their parents' footsteps, but they end up bringing everyone together when they discover the gate to the orchard is locked. Zed and Allison encourage the two group to learn about each other at the abandoned Camp Rayburn, and Victor and Nova admit that they've been having visions of each other. 

Though the kids do come together, their adult leaders don't understand. Not to mention, the energy surges continue, threatening werewolves and zombies far beyond the camp. Zed and Allison have to teach Victor and Nova and their groups that working together is the best way to solve your differences, and there's more than one way to live.

The Song and Dance: At the least, the filming in New Zealand is gorgeous, with its emerald grass and sparkling forests, is absolutely gorgeous. You can understand why people would argue over this land. Donnelly and Manheim remain charming, and there's some terrific group dance numbers, especially in the second half. 

The Numbers: We open with Allison and the cheerleaders and Zed and the football players all claim to be "Legends In the Making" at Mountain College. The two different groups of Vampires insist that their valley home is "The Place to Be," but claim "Don't Mess With Us" when they learn about the dwindling food supply. It's a "Dream Come True" for Victor and Nova when they realize they've been having visions of each other. Nova insists she must lead the Daywalkers "My Own Way." Zed and Allison remind the vampires that anything is "Possible" when they search for the clues to open the way to the blood fruit orchard. They will "Show the World" that they call all work together, cause there "Ain't No Doubt About It," Zed and Allison make a great pair. They come "Together as One" in the finale.

What I Don't Like: Can we say "rehash?" This is basically the same idea as the first movie with a different type of monster and moved outside. The camp setting gives it mild echoes of the Camp Rock franchise, too. Frankly, while Skye and Barton are adorable, they aren't interesting enough to offset their cliched romance or the twice-told story. The music isn't really all that memorable, either. 

The Big Finale: Girls in the appropriate 8 to 12 age range who are already big horror or musical fans will likely get a lot more out of this supernatural love story than I did.

Home Media: It's a Disney Plus exclusive at the moment.

Disney Plus

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning

Disney, 2008

Voices of Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Jim Cummings, and Sally Field

Directed by Peggy Holmes

Music and Lyrics by various

By 2008, Disney's series of direct-to-home-media "sequels" had entertained children for fourteen years..but they made a lot of other people less than happy. Most critics complained that the stories were rehashes, the animation was way under Disney's standards, and they were cheapening the brand. Indeed, this would be the last of those films made, and the last direct-to-home-media animated film that wasn't a Disney Fairies movie. The second Little Mermaid  had done well enough to warrant this "prequel." Is it an improvement on Return to the Sea, or should it be silenced? Let's begin with a younger King Neptune (Cummings), his wife Athena (Lorelei Hill Butters), and their daughters and the merfolk of Atlantica and find out...

The Story: After Athena is killed when a pirate ship crashes into the lagoon, Neptune banishes all music from Atlantica. Ten years later, his daughters live by a strict routine, kept up by the governess Marina Del Rey (Field). Marina really wants to take over the job of attache from Sebastian the Crab (Wright), Neptune's right-hand crustacean. Ariel is frustrated and bored with her father's rules and ends up following sweet little Flounder (Parker Goris) to an underground club, where Sebastian and fish and crustaceans have a band.

Delighted, Ariel brings her sisters to the club to let them enjoy music for the first time in their lives. Unfortunately, Marina catches them and spills the beans to Neptune. He destroys the club, arrests Sebastian and the band, and locks the sisters in the castle. Ariel runs away and frees the band, but she decides to go back after she finds a music box that belonged to her mother. She hopes to remind her father how much fun and happiness music brings, but Marina isn't about to give up her position with the king now and sends electric eels to kill Ariel and her friends.

The Animation: While this is a major step-up from Return to the Sea, it's still not at the level of the original Little Mermaid or what they were doing for the big screen in 2008. The colors are vibrant, the characters have fairly mobile expressions - even on the fish and crustaceans - and the backgrounds are far more detailed than in most of the direct-to-home-media movies.  

The Song and Dance: This actually wound up being rather sweet. At least it isn't a full-on rehash of Little Mermaid this time. My favorite character was by far Benjamin (Jeff Bennett), the gentle and lovable manatee who worked with Marina. He was drawn more like a character from Studio Ghilbi, with his big, soft body and tiny eyes, and was such a gentle dear, he almost seemed to come from another movie entirely. I also like that we finally get to know Ariel's sisters somewhat, or at least that they're a bit less interchangeable than they are in the other two films. Sebastian and especially Flounder have some great moments, notably when he's helping Ariel find the music box and Flounder saves everyone from the eels. 

The Numbers: We open with "Athena's Song (Endless Sky)" as Athena sings and plays with her husband and daughters in the lagoon. "Just One Mistake" is Marina's song. She initially sings it in the hope that Sebastian will drop his guard, and she'll be able to take over. Later, she reprises it after he's arrested and she's hired, to her delight. The standard "Jump In the Line" is the bouncy number for Sebastian and the band at the club. It's reprised by Ariel and the band after they flee the castle. Ariel performs the gentle ballad "I Remember" when she finds the music box and tries to recall all the things she did with her mother as a child. We also hear another Calypso standard, "Man Smart, Woman Smarter." 

What I Don't Like: Though better than Return to the Sea, this still isn't all that great. Not only does the story not align with what we see in The Little Mermaid, it doesn't make much sense. Neptune bans music just because his wife was killed by a pirate ship? His banning his daughters from the surface would make more sense. Field's Marina is more annoying than a real threat; Benjamin being a total sweetheart, too much to be hanging around with her, doesn't help there. The music is once again bland, including two Calypso interpolations that could have been done with original music.

The Big Finale: Mainly worth checking out for major fans of this franchise and little girls who can't get enough Little Mermaid and can handle some of the scarier or sadder moments, especially early-on. 

Home Media: Easily found anywhere, including on individual DVD, packaged with Return to the Sea, and on Disney Plus with a subscription.

DVD

DVD - Little Mermaid II and Ariel's Beginning 2-Movie Collection

Blu-Ray - Little Mermaid II and Ariel's Beginning 2-Movie Collection

Disney Plus

Family Fun Saturday - Muppets Most Wanted

Disney, 2014

Starring The Muppets, Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tiny Fey

Directed by James Bobin

Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie and others

The Muppets were riding high after the enormous success of The Muppets. All of a sudden, they were back, seen everywhere from YouTube to the Disney Parks. Trouble was, they couldn't seem to hang on to that momentum. It took three years for Disney to develop another script for them, and when it came out, though it got some critical praise, it didn't do quite as well at the box office as the first film. Did it deserve that fate, or is there more to this goofy crime caper than meets the eye? Let's begin with the Muppets declaring that what we're about to see is a sequel and find out...

The Story: After their successes in The Muppets, the Muppets really don't know what to do next. Enter theatrical manager Dominic Badguy (Gervais), who convinces them to go on a world tour. Turns out he has more in mind for this than sampling the local customs and cuisine. Kermit is ambushed by Constantine, who is his exact double with a spot on his chin. Constantine glues a spot on Kermit's chin and has him arrested and sent to a prison camp in Russia. Nadya (Fey), the head of the camp, insists on him running the prison talent show.

Meanwhile, Walter, Fozzie, and Animal start to get suspicious when "Kermit" lets the Muppets do whatever act they want, turning their shows into even more chaos than usual. Not to mention, they keep playing shows next to museums that are robbed the next day. Constantine and Dominic have been using their shows to rob artworks from museums, including one that could lead them to the British Crown Jewels. Constantine has also proposed to Miss Piggy...but she's beginning to wonder if this is really her frog. Not to mention, FBI agents Sam the Eagle and Napoleon (Burrell) think the Muppets are involved with the thefts and are after them as well.

The Song and Dance: I give them credit for not only going with a more original story this time, but putting more focus on the Muppets themselves. One of my biggest problems with the first movie was it focused a little too much on the humans and not enough on the Muppets. Here, though Gervais, Burrell, and especially Fey are having a lot of fun as the art thief, not-so-super spy, and devoted Russian prison guard, it's the Muppets who really take center stage. Some great costumes and cinematography, too, especially the actual shots at the real Tower of London.

The Numbers: Though we do get a bit of the previous film's "Life's a Happy Song" in the opening, this segways into the massive spoof of sequels and opening numbers in movies, appropriately titled "Let's Do a Sequel." Constantine and Dominic both claim "I'm Number One" as they relate their complicated art theft plot. We get a bit of "The Muppet Show Theme" at each stop, re-written and staged in the appropriate language. "The Big House" is Kermit's big chorus number for the talent show at the Gulag. "I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo In Malibu)" is Constantine and Dominic telling the Muppets that they'll give them everything they ever wanted...for a price. 

"Macarena" is Piggy's big, outrageous Spanish number, complete with her in a lacy mantilla. "Interrogation Song" begins with Napoleon and Sam questioning the Muppets, and ends with them concluding that they're all too dumb to mastermind anything more complicated than their numbers for the show. "End of the Road" is an attempt at a big, dramatic number for the prisoners at the Gulag. It's a bit...off-putting, to say the least. Their "I Hope I Get It" is only slightly less weird. The Penguins think they have the "Moves Like Jagger." Piggy's "My Heart Will Go On" at the piano is disrupted by Constantine's sudden proposal of marriage. Piggy and the other Muppets wonder in London how "Something So Right" can feel so off. 

Kermit finally escapes the Gulag via the number "Working On the Coal Mine." The finale at the Gulag gives us a slightly re-written "Together Again" from Muppets Take Manhattan, this time with the Muppets and prisoners joining in.

What I Don't Like: Ok, this is weird even by Muppet standards. It feels like they're throwing together bits and pieces of everything from Muppets Take Manhattan to The Pink Panther and seeing if they'll stick. The new music, while not bad, isn't quite as catchy as the previous movie...and the wacky caper plot lacks the sheer heart of the relationship between Walter and his brother in the previous movie as well. Plus, see the previous movie's complaint about every Muppet project after Jim Henson's death being scrutinized for how it treats the characters.

The Big Finale: While not quite at the heights of the previous film, it's certainly far from terrible, and deserved better than it got at the box office in 2014. Fun for families, older kids, Muppet fans, and fans of the previous film. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, including Disney Plus with a subscription. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Disney Plus

Family Fun Saturday - The Muppets

Disney, 2011

Starring James Segal, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and The Muppet Performers

Directed by James Bobin

Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie

Though Disney bought the Muppets in 2004, they didn't really do much with them until Segal came to them with a script in 2008. Even then, it wasn't until 2010 that it all really came together. The Muppet Company had been trying for years to do another Muppet movie, but cute ideas like The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made! never came to pass. When this came out, it was a massive hit, suddenly throwing the Muppets back into the limelight much as they are in the film. Was this renewed attention deserved, or should this show be left back in the 70's? Let's start with the close relationship between Gary (Segal) and his Muppet brother Walter (voice of Peter Lintz) through the years and find out...

The Story: Walter, a Muppet among humans, is the ultimate Muppet Show fan. Gary adores him and can't deny him anything, even bringing him along to Los Angeles with him and his girlfriend of ten years Mary (Adams) to see the Muppet Studios. While there, Walter discovers a foul plot by greedy oil man Tex Richman (Cooper) to demolish the studio and drill for oil. He, Gary, and Mary tell Kermit (Steve Whitmire) at his mansion. 

Determined to earn the 10 million needed to save the Studios, Kermit, Gary, Walter, and Mary round up the remaining Muppets...except Miss Piggy, who is busy in Paris. Even when she returns, they still need to build the theater and find a celebrity host. Walter feels inadequate around all of his talented idols...and Mary feels neglected when Gary spends more time with Walter and goes home. Even when the show goes on, thanks to celebrity callers, Richman is determined to do everything he can to keep the Muppets off the air for good. It takes a concentrated effort from Gary, Mary, and every Muppet made to show Walter that he does, indeed, have a talent...and that family is more than a theater, it's shared experiences and a place we belong.

The Song and Dance: No wonder this was such a hit in 2011. It's utterly charming and hilariously self-aware, spoofing "put on a show" musicals, long-time relationships, brotherly love, and even the Muppets themselves. Segal knew what he was doing. His Gary is an adorable goofball, only wanting to make his brother happy, and Adams is hilarious as the fiancee who is getting tired of waiting for him to put her first. Lintz's Walter is the heart of the film, so totally devoted to his beloved idols, and yet nervous about fitting in having been born in a world where he was the only Muppet. Great location shooting around LA too, especially with Disney's own El Capitan Theater standing in for the Muppet Theater, and there's the very funny retro candy-colored "Smalltown" sets in the opening.

The Numbers: We see Walter and Gary grow up together and how Walter became the Muppets' biggest fan in an opening montage to the Paul Simon song "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard." Our first original song introduces Mary and Smalltown in a massive, cheery chorus spoof of opening numbers in musicals, "Life's a Happy Song." Kermit laments the breaking up of the Muppets and admits he misses his friends in "Pictures In My Mind." Fozzie's with the Muppet imitations "The Moopets" at Reno, singing a really weird version of "Rainbow Connection." "We Built This City" gives us a montage of the Muppets, Gary, and Walter repairing the Muppet Theater while Kermit tries to get those celebrity callers. 

Poor Mary, tired of being neglected, goes out for a "Me Party" at a local diner...which turns into a two-me party as Piggy joins in for a raucous disco spoof. Richman gives us a rap spoof of the ultimate wealthy bad guy in "Let's Talk About Me." Walter contemplates growing up in two words, and which one he belongs in, in the Oscar-winning "Man or Muppet?" We open the actual show with a recreation of "The Theme from The Muppet Show." Jack Black is right that a Muppet Barbershop Quartet of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a bit...odd. Camilla and her girls cluck "Forget You" in glittery costumes. We get a far more accurate "Rainbow Connection" reprise as all of the Muppets come together in a big finale in the theater. Outside, everyone reprises "Life's a Happy Song" after they see the throngs of Muppet fans. The credits end with one of the most infamous Muppet songs, the instrumental "Mah Na Mah Na."

Trivia: Look for Mickey Rooney, who knows a little something about "put on a show" musicals, during the opening "Life's a Happy Song" number. 

After finishing the movie, the filmmakers gave Jason Segal the Muppet version of himself to keep.

Walter was apparently named for Walt Disney.

What I Don't Like: Some major fans of the Muppets (including some Muppeteers) questioned how the Muppets themselves were handled, and how the humans ended up in the spotlight. Pretty much every Muppet project since the death of Jim Henson has come under scrutiny for not being like the originals, and this is no exception. There's a few beats that seem off and a little bit of off-color humor that is a bit out-of-place, especially during the "let's get everyone together" montage.

The Big Finale: No wonder this was so popular. This mostly manages to find a way to make the Muppets look fresh, while still respecting what made us love them in the first place. Highly recommended for Muppet fans like Walter and me and those looking for a fun musical for older elementary school kids. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, including Disney Plus with a subscription.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Disney Plus

Animation Celebration Saturday - Mufasa: The Lion King

Disney, 2024

Voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tiffany Boone, and Mads Mikkelson

Directed by Barry Jenkins

Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda

While the photorealistic remake of The Lion King wasn't popular with critics in 2019 (including me), it wound up being one of the biggest hits of that summer. Plans for a prequel focusing on the young Mufasa were announced in 2020, though they were derailed somewhat by the strikes in 2023. This finally debuted last Christmas, and while it wasn't the massive hit the first film was, it was by no means a failure. The success of some of Miranda's songs did help, and so did competition dropping off as the holidays ended. Is this movie more worthy of the Lion King legacy than the previous film, or should it be left to the raging flood waters? Let's begin, not with Mufasa, but with his grandaughter Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter) as Rafiki (John Kani) tells her the story of Mufasa's life and find out...

The Story: Mufasa and his parents search for the mythical land of Milele, where animals can live in harmony. Young cub Mufasa (Braelyn and Brielle Rankins) is swept away in a flood and ends up in a marsh, where he befriends local cub Taka (Theo Somolu). His mother Eshe (Thandiwe Newton) accepts him into the tribe, but his father Obasi (Lennie James) sees him as an outsider. He prompts a race between the cubs, only for Taka to lose so Mufasa is able to stay.

The two cubs grow to young lionhood as the closest of brothers, but Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) is all too aware that Obasi favors Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Two white lions, part of a pride of outsiders, attack the youngsters. Their king Kiros (Mads Mikkelson) is furious when Mufasa kills his son and ends up killing Mufasa and Taka's pride. The two flee, discovering stray lioness Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) and her horn bill scout Zazu (Preston Nyman), along with a young Rafiki (Kadiso Lediga). Rafiki leads them through the snowy mountains to the promised land of Milele...but Taka, who is jealous when Sarabi falls for Mufasa rather than him, betrays them to the Outlanders. It's Mufasa who finally brings all the animals in the Pridelands together to fight this menace...but he never quite forgives his "brother" Taka for his cowardice and abandonment, even after he saves him. 

The Animation: This a big improvement over the first film. The animals show more expression and detail. Every hair on their body is crystal-clear. The backdrops are gorgeous. The snow looks so realistic, you really do feel cold in those scenes. There's a greater range of color too, from the gray rocks and raging blue waters of the flood in the opening to the Technicolor grasslands that is Milele. 

The Song and Dance: At least we get an original story this time, and one that's a tad more interesting than just regurgitating the 1994 animated film. The movie's at its best when it's just Pierre, Harrison, and the charming Boone playing off each other as they travel across frozen and glowing landscapes. Lediga and Nyman also get to toss in a few good quips as the young baboon aiding Mufasa in finding his destiny and the bird scout who does not want to end up in a lion stomach! Though not his best score, Miranda's music is far from horrible, with the cubs' "I Always Wanted a Brother" as the adorable stand-out. (And as someone who did mildly enjoy Lion King II: Simba's Pride, I appreciate the continuity, mentioning characters from that film and the Disney Jr. show The Lion Guard.)

The Numbers: We open with Lebo M singing "Ngomso" over the credits as the Pridelands prepares for the birth of Simba and Nala's second cub. Mufasa's parents (Anika Noni Rose and Keith David) explain why "Milele" is a paradise for lions. The hilarious "I Always Wanted a Brother" takes Mufasa and Taka from childhood friends to inseparable young lion siblings. The Outlanders say "Bye Bye" as they dispatch Taka's pride. "We Will Be Together" say newly-forged friends Sarabi, Taka, Mufasa, Rafiki, and Zazu as they make their way over the mountains to Milele. "Tell Me It's You" is Mufasa and Sarabi's big ballad as she encourages him to admit he was the one who saved her, not Taka. "Brother Betrayed" has Taka admitting why he brought the Outlanders there and why he's frustrated with his best friend.

What I Don't Like: First of all, though the continuity with Kiara and Lion King II is nice, the framing device with Rafiki telling the story while Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogan) make goofy comments takes you out of Mufasa's story and is completely unnecessary. They either didn't think Zazu and Rafiki were enough comic relief, or just wanted to include two of the most popular characters in the franchise whether they belonged there or not.

Second...we still didn't need this. As several critics complained, not every character has to have a backstory. Though this was technically better than The Lion King and had a slightly more interesting plot, it's still awash in cliches. The villains are underused, with Mikkelson's Kiros being a bit on the dull side. You can't figure out why Taka would run to them. 

The Big Finale: Though it's a slight improvement on the 2019 Lion King, it's still mainly for fans of the franchise or families with kids who love animal stories. 

Home Media: Easily available on disc and Disney Plus, the latter with a subscription. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

4K

Disney Plus

Musicals On Streaming - Hollywood Stargirl

Disney, 2022

Starring Grace VanderWaal, Judy Greer, Elijah Richardson, and Tyrel Jackson Williams

Directed by Julia Hart

Music and Lyrics by various

Disney put a sequel into development almost immediately when they saw how well Stargirl did during the pandemic. Though author Jerry Spinnelli did write a sequel to the Stargirl book, Love, Stargirl, Disney opted to create their own story that followed what Stargirl and her mother did after they left Arizona. So, what did happen after the duo packed up and moved to Hollywood? Let's begin as they're leaving and find out...

The Story: Stargirl (VanderWaal) is thrilled when her mother Ana (Greer) gets a permanent job as the costume designer on a movie and settles them in a Los Angeles apartment building. She manages to befriend gruff old Mr. Mitchell (Judd Hirsch), a former producer who lives downstairs, and Roxanne Martel (Uma Thurman), whom she shares drinks with at table six in a local restaurant. Evan (Richardson) and his older brother Terrell (Williams) are so impressed when she sings at the bar, they ask her to star and write music for the movie they're hoping to make. After Stargirl tells Roxanne her song is one of her favorites, she encourages her to write her own, then records it. Stargirl is thrilled when Terrell gets a deal for his movie...but then Ana's movie shuts down production, and she may have to leave all over again.

The Song and Dance: First of all, kudos to Disney for trying an original story this time. VanderWaal and Greer are the stand-outs as the free-spirited teen who befriends everyone she meets and the mother who thinks she's living her dream, until it turns out to be a lot harder than she thought. Thurman also works well as the one-hit-wonder who sees a protege and a major talent in Stargirl. Gorgeous location shooting in the real Los Angeles and Hollywood is a major plus, giving us all the laid-back, candy-colored west coast hipness.

The Numbers: We open with "Just What I Needed," first performed by Stargirl, then in its original version by the Cars, as her mother drives them to California. "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac provides the backdrop for Stargirl's first time exploring her new neighborhood, including making a new friend on the bus. After the director on her mother's film is rude to her, she cheers herself up by playing "Make Your Own Kind of Music" at the apartment. A brother-sister duo perform a nasal "No Myth" before Stargirl gets up to the crowd and sings Brian Wilson's "Love and Mercy." We pick up briefly with the original "Love and Mercy" as Evan and Stargirl admire the view from the hills. 

Stargirl convinces Terrell to let her listen to Roxanne's only hit "Miracle Mile" on the cassette player in his car. Not only does she love it, but the boys are impressed, too. After Roxanne says they can't use "Miracle Mile" on their film, Stargirl writes "Figure It Out," which provides the backdrop for Terrell's initial filming on his phone camera. Roxanne and Stargirl create their own band and play Blondie's "Dreaming" at Roxanne's club. The movie ends with the kids finally making the movie they want to make as Stargirl wonders "Heaven Knows" how their story will end.

What I Don't Like: Stargirl way too easily charms away any conflict. The last ten minutes with her mother leaving comes the closest, but even that is too quickly solved after a long talk between mother and daughter. The director on Ana's movie is the only person who doesn't succumb to her quirks, and we see him for all of five minutes. I kind of wish she had to work a little harder to gain Mr. Mitchell and Roxanne's favor. I highly doubt a major studio would buy the kids' phone-filmed movie, either, which mainly seems to consist of them chasing each other and kissing, let alone offer a million dollars for it. 

The Big Finale: I liked the first movie slightly better, but both are worth checking out for fans of coming-of-age stories or unique teen romances.

Home Media: Same deal. It can be found pretty much everywhere on streaming but Disney Plus.

Amazon Prime

YouTube

Snow White (2025)

Disney, 2025

Starring Rachel Ziegler, Gail Godot, Andrew Burnap, and Jeremy Swift

Directed by Marc Webb

Music and Lyrics by various

I've been looking forward to this movie, if only to see what Disney would do with it. I have a mixed track record with Disney's remakes. There's a few I found to be genuinely enjoyable in their own right, but most were mediocre or added nothing to the original story. This one had strikes against it from the outset. It's remaking Disney's very first animated film, its female leads got into trouble for ragging on the film and firing off their political opinions before the movie's opening, and the depiction of the dwarfs as more cartoonish than the rest of the cast came under fire from real people with dwarfism. After all that, how does the actual movie come off? Let's begin, as so many Disney movies do, with a lavishly-decorated storybook...and a couple of forest animals...and find out...

The Story: Snow White (Ziegler) once lived happily in a prosperous mining and farming kingdom with her beloved parents. After her mother (Lorena Andrea) dies, her father the King (Hadley Fraser) marries a woman (Godot) who is outwardly gorgeous, but is in reality cold and cruel. She forces the farmers to become soldiers and locks Snow White in the castle. Snow White, however, remains kind and gentle no matter what. She even releases a thief (Burnap) who stole potatoes from the queen.

Incensed with that incident and with her Magic Mirror's (Patrick Page) insistence that Snow White is now fairer than she, the Queen orders her Huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to kill her. He can't do it and sends her into the woods instead. She ends up at the home of seven dwarfs who work in the nearby mines. They distrust her at first, but finally let her stay. Even after she leaves, she encounters Johnathan, the thief she released at the castle, who is the head of the bandits who are fighting in the king's name. Johnathan doesn't believe she can make things better, but Snow knows that the best way to fight evil is to work together...and prove that there's more to being "fair" and being a good ruler than looking pretty for a mirror.

The Song and Dance: For all of the fussing before this came out, I actually ended up enjoying it. At least, it's a lot better than I thought it would be from the reviews. Rachel Ziegler is simply luminous as Snow White, who manages to be both sweet, funny, and infinitely intelligent. She sings beautifully, performs well with the dwarfs, and even pulls off her final confrontation with Godot nicely. I actually like most of the changes to her character and think they work out pretty well, including her desire to follow in her father's footsteps and become a truly fair ruler. 

Though Johnathan is basically an imitation Flynn Rider from Tangled, he's also infinitely more interesting than the cardboard prince in the original film. The dwarfs have their funny moments too, especially after they meet Snow White and they're all bickering. And actually, my favorite moment from the film may have been Snow White teaching Dopey to whistle. The CGI works better here, making it all the sweeter when he finally gets the others' attention. Disney spared no expense on the production, either. The costumes and sets are gorgeous, nicely recreating a fairy tale Germany straight out of a Grimm Brothers' story. 

The Numbers: We open and close with "Good Things Grow," as the young Snow White (Emilia Faucher) and her parents make apple pies for the entire town and we see how everyone helps and depends on everyone else. Snow White thinks she's "Waiting On a Wish" as she sings to the wishing well on the castle grounds, and later after she frees Johnathan. "Heigh Ho/We Dig" is more elaborate here, as we see how the dwarfs mine the gems they collect under the ground before they march home. The Queen claims that "All Is Fair" to Snow White, and later to the townspeople...fair to her, that is. 

"Whistle While You Work" is moved from before the dwarfs arrive to the day after. This time, Snow White manages to get the dwarfs and animals working together to clean up their house in a charming tour-de-force. Johnathan sneers about Snow White's "Princess Problems," and how it's better to live for oneself than hold out for a hope that might not come. "The Silly Song" brings the dwarfs and bandits together for a night of revelry, but it's only heard briefly. Snow and Johnathan wonder what happens when "A Hand Meets a Hand," and people start to look out for one another. "Snow White Returns" in the finale, as the Queen rages that "All Is Fair" and the rest of the kingdom reprises "Good Things Grow."

What I Don't Like: This has the opposite problem from the original film. Now Snow White and her love interest are the interesting characters, and the Queen is the dull one. Godot is neither much of a singer, nor has the required menace to really carry off her role. She comes off as a silly comic book villain, too noble of a warrior to be truly wicked. And yes, the CGI dwarfs do frequently fall into uncanny valley, especially during action sequences or when they're all talking at once. It can be more frightening than funny at times. There's also the waffling on whether the king is dead or not, and the feeling that they just snitched some ideas from the darker live-action Snow White and the Huntsman from 2012 (like Snow White joining bandits and searching for her father) and filtered them through Disney's rosy lens.

The Big Finale: Though not mirror-perfect, this movie does have a lot of fun points, not the least being spot-on performances by Ziegler and Burnap and some great new songs. It's different enough from its predecessor for me to recommend catching it in the theaters with your favorite little princess or bandit, especially if they're already a Disney fan.

Home Media: The soundtrack can currently be found on Amazon Streaming; the physical version won't be out until May 9th. No word yet on when the movie will be on Disney Plus or physical media. 

Amazon Music Streaming

Musicals On Streaming - Stargirl

Disney, 2020

Starring Grace VanderWaal, Graham Verchere, Karan Brar, and Darby Stanchfield

Directed by Julia Hart

Music and Lyrics by various

After those two less-than-terrific spring break trips, let's jump to Arizona for a coming-of-age story that has real charm. The young adult novel Stargirl by Jerry Spinetti debuted in 2000. The book's positive and individual protagonist hit such a deep chord, students in Ohio created a Stargirl Society to promote its views. Disney initially optioned the book back in 2015, but they didn't get it out until 2020. How well do they do with the story of a boy who learns about life, love, and being yourself from one very unique young woman? Let's begin with Leo Borlock (Verchere) in his younger years after his father's death, as he and his mother Gloria (Stanchfield) move to Mica, Arizona and find out...

The Story: After Leo is bullied over the porcupine tie his father gave him the first day of school, he becomes determined to be just like anyone else and hide who he is. Someone, however, sends him porcupine ties every year on his birthday. He's still baffled about the gifts in high school when he's playing trumpet in the marching band and helping his friend Kevin (Brar) with his TV show Hot Seat.  He's not the only one trying to hide his personality. Mica High School has never excelled at anything. The football team loses every year, and Kevin always wins the speaking contest.

Enter Stargirl Caraway (VanderWaal), a capricious newcomer who spent most of her life being homeschooled. She wears bright vintage clothing and comes to school with her ukulele and a positive attitude, playing "Happy Birthday" for kids she doesn't even know. Leo is charmed by her, especially after his older paleontologist friend Archie (Giancarlo Esposito) tells him more about her. The rest of the school is wary at first, until she plays her ukulele at a football game and the team actually wins. She becomes the most popular girl at school after that and a good-luck charm for the team. She and Leo even become a couple. 

Her success is short-lived after she goes to the hospital with an injured member of the opposing side during the big championship game. Now all of the kids shun her, and an appearance on Kevin's Hot Seat show only makes things worse. Leo suggests that she act and dress like everyone else. Stargirl tries, but she can't stop being who she is. It takes a special gift and a reminder of his father for Leo to finally understand why Stargirl acts like she does, and why it's so important to be yourself, even if others don't love you for it.

The Song and Dance: What a sweet movie! I'm glad Disney finally got to making this. The kids were a delight, with VanderWaal the stand-out as the upbeat girl who teaches everyone around her that it's not so bad to be one of a kind. There's some gorgeous desert vistas too, filmed in New Mexico. I also appreciate the message of non-conformity, kindness, and sharing one's grief. 

The Numbers: We open with school band practice and our first view of Mica High. Our first real view of Stargirl is of her playing "Happy Birthday" on her ukulele for Leo in the school cafeteria. She definitely gets more of a response than the school band at the football game playing "Be True to Your School" for the crowd. They get so jazzed, the football team plays better. "We Got the Beat" is the first full-on chorus number, as Stargirl joins the cheer squad and the cheerleaders tailor their routine to her moves. 

"Thirteen" by Big Star provides a backdrop for the montage of Stargirl and Leo getting closer and the football team's continued success. "Be True to Your School" gets a chorus reprise for Stargirl and the cheerleaders at the championship game, while Stargirl and Leo do their own version of "Thirteen" at her house afterwards. "I Just Wanna Dance" is the first number as Leo enters the Winter Dance. Stargirl finally convinces him to sing his version of the Cars' "Just What I Needed" in front of the whole school. Stargirl and the kids get so into it, they lead a conga line right out of the school and into rare desert snow. She sings the George Harrison hit "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" and her own "Today and Tomorrow" over the credits.

What I Don't Like: First of all, from what I gathered, there were a lot of changes from the book. Stargirl stayed in Mica for a year, not a few months, and apparently had even quirkier and more disruptive behavior. It was a basketball game where she comforted the injured player, not football, and she had a girlfriend named Dori along with Leo. It's a barbecue,  not a dance, that the kids attend in the end, and Stargirl insists on all of them doing the Bunny Hop rather than Leo singing "Just What I Needed." Stargirl and Leo's fathers were living; Leo got the original porcupine tie from his uncle. Hillari Kimble was even meaner, and she wasn't related to the boy who had the bike accident.

Second, this is a mass of goofy cliches that runs out of steam a bit in the second half, when the kids start shunning Stargirl and that quirkiness wears out its welcome a bit. The magic Artie talks about is never heavily explored and sometimes seems a bit forced. Many people who read the book complained about the story being watered down, and that maybe Stargirl could have done things that were stranger than singing a Beach Boys number or two.

The Big Finale: I'll be honest, I never read the book. I was in college when it came out. I do know the movie version is a sweet look at a relationship between a boy who lost himself and a girl who knows who she is...and how to make others want to find themselves, too. Highly recommended for teens who are also navigating how to stay true to themselves at school and home and those looking for a unique romance.

Home Media: Surprisingly, it was pulled from Disney Plus back in 2023, despite being made for that platform. It can still be found elsewhere on streaming, including Amazon and YouTube.

Amazon Prime

YouTube

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

Disney, 1998

Voices of Neve Campbell, James Marsden, Matthew Broderick, and Suzanne Pleshette

Directed by Darrell Rooney

Music and Lyrics by various

In honor of the Lion King prequel Mufasa that's currently in theaters, we're jumping back to another attempt to extend the Lion King franchise. Honestly, this follow-up makes more sense than some of the other random direct-to-home-media sequels Disney put out in the 90's and early 2000's. The Lion King is their own material, not a fairy tale that was never meant to be continued, and the original film does end with the birth of a new Lion King. 

In fact, considering that film's overwhelming success, it might have been more surprising if they didn't release a sequel to it. Is it worthy of the first film, or should it be banished to the Outlands? Let's begin where the first film left off with the birth of Simba (Broderick) and Nala's (Moira Kelly) daughter Kiara (Michelle Horn) and find out...

The Story: Kiara is tired of her father constantly hovering over her and not letting her leave his sight, so she wanders to the Outlands to escape him and her bodyguards Timon (Nathan Lane) and Puumba (Ernie Sabella). She befriends a smaller cub named Kovu (Ryan O'Donahue) who saves her from a crocodile-filled river. Simba comes to rescue her, only to discover that Kovu's mother is Zira (Pleshette), a follower of Scar. Zira's training Kovu to kill Simba and allow her to regain the throne.

Years later, the adult Kovu (Marsden) once again rescues Kiara (Campbell), this time from a wildfire set by his sister Vitani (Meredith Scott Lynn) and his brother Nuka (Andy Dick). Simba does let Kovu join the Pridelanders, even though he doesn't trust the younger lion. Rafiki (Robert Gulliame), who has been instructed by the spirit of Mufasa (James Earl Jones) to bring Kiara and Kovu together, does his best to introduce them to "upendi" (Swahili for "Love") while Kovu trains Kiara as a hunter.

Their love is challenged when Zira and the Outlanders attack Simba. Simba thinks Kovu initiated it and banishes him. Horrified, Kiara goes off in search of Kovu, while Timon and Pumba follow her. It's the two lovers who finally bring everyone together to show that, no matter whom they follow, they're all still lions deep down and aren't all that different from one another.

The Animation: This isn't bad, per se, but it's far from great. Even The Lion Guard Disney Jr. TV show from 15 years after this had more detail and better movement. Like all of the Disney direct-to-home-media sequels from this period, it looks like a Disney Channel cartoon. It's colorful and the animals still remain very expressive (especially Timon and Pumba), but the backgrounds aren't nearly as detailed.

The Song and Dance: Given its made-for-TV pedigree, this is probably better than it has any right to be. Pleshette is definitely having the most fun as the angry and scheming Zira. Dick is also good as her equally nasty older son who laments that he should have been "the Chosen One" who followed in Scar's paw prints. Broderick is even more interesting here as a Simba grappling with raising a feisty daughter and how to deal with the specter of his past than he was in the first film. The majestic opening number "He Lives In You" is far and above the best song in the score. It was taken from the cassette Rhythm of the Pride Lands and has far more African flavor than anything else in the film. 

The Numbers: And we open with "He Lives In You" as we see Kiara's birth and its aftermath. Simba teaches his daughter how "We are One" after her harrowing adventure in the Outlands. "My Lullaby" is anything but soothing as Zira reminds her children of their place and what she's trained them for. Rafiki teaches Kira, Kovu, and all of the Pridelands about "Upendi" in the film's big chorus number. The other chorus routine is "One of Us" as Kovu is accepted into the Pridelands. Kira and Kovu hope "Love Will Find a Way" and reunite them for good.

What I Don't Like: This is cliched as heck, and nothing you haven't seen before. Timon and Pumba basically have nothing to do besides a few moments chasing Kiara. They don't even get a comic song this time. The delightfully nasty Zira and troubled Simba are shoved aside in favor of the bland Kiara and Kovu. "He Lives In You" and to a lesser degree "We are One" are the only songs of even mild interest. "Love Will Find A Way" is an imitation "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" that's just as dull as the characters singing it.

The Big Finale: Mainly of interest to huge fans of anyone in the cast or the original animated Lion King or Lion Guard. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, including streaming on Disney Plus.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Disney Plus

A Complete Unknown

20th Century Fox/Searchlight Pictures, 2024

Starring Timothy Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, and Monica Babaro

Directed by James Mangold

Music and Lyrics by Bob Dylan and others

We return to the biographical well for our last theatrical musical film of 2024. Bob Dylan is one of the most beloved and influential singers and songwriters in the world. His music inspired everyone from the Beatles onward to dig a little deeper, be a little more poetic, and take stronger chances. He started out as a folk singer in the early 60's, but by 1965, he was lamenting the restrictive world of folk and having to sing other people's songs. His attempt to bust out of the mold and gain his own artistic freedom by playing with a band and an electric guitar was hugely controversial in the folk world at the time. How well does this film depict what caused that controversy? Let's begin with Dylan (Chalamet) as he arrives in New York City to meet  his hero Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) and find out...

The Story: Dylan eventually travels to a hospital in New Jersey, where Guthrie is bed-ridden and unable to speak, to play a song he wrote for him. Guthrie and fellow folk legend Pete Seeger (Norton) are so impressed with his performance, Seeger takes him in and introduces him to New York's folk scene. He meets pretty civil activist Sylvie Russo (Fanning) at a concert and falls for her, eventually getting an apartment together. 

Dylan's equally attracted to folk star Joan Baez (Babaro) after seeing her play and flirting with her. Manager Albert Grossman (Dan Fogler) is so enamored with him, he takes him on as a client and encourages Columbia Records to let him make an album. They order him to sing covers of folk songs rather than his own material, something he hates. He and Baez have an affair after Russo goes on a long work trip to Europe and he starts to create more socially-conscious material.

By 1964, Dylan's one of the most popular stars of folk and rock music, and he and Russo have separated. He's seriously beginning to regret his desire for fame. All anyone wants him to do is play the same songs he did on his previous albums. He's so tired of it, he won't even sing them with Baez on tour. Looking for a new sound, he starts recording his next record Highway 61 Revisited with an electric guitar, something that's shunned by the folk community, which prefers simpler acoustic arrangements. It becomes a bitter feud between Dylan and the arrangers of the Newport Folk Festival, including a shocked Seeger. In the end, he learns the price of freedom when he does get what he wants...but damages his relationships with Seeger and the women in his life in the process.

The Song and Dance: This is the second December in a row Chalamet put in an incredible performance as  an enigmatic, eccentric genius in a musical film. His Dylan is no charming Willy Wonka, but a mysterious figure who keeps everything about himself hidden, from his childhood to just what's going on in his troubled head. Fanning and particularly Babaro more than match him as the women who inspired by him, but were driven away by his ego and inability to talk about himself. Norton is also excellent as the gentle Seeger, who is afraid for what Dylan's electric experiment means for the future of his beloved folk music, and there's Boyd Holbrook as country legend Johnny Cash. Though mostly filmed in New Jersey rather than New York or Rhode Island, the cinematography and Mangold's simple direction still manages to mostly capture both Dylan's gritty world and the little odd moments that show Dylan at is mercurial best.

The Numbers: We open with the "Song for Woody" that so impressed the two old folk musicians. This leads into "I Was Young When I Left Home." He does his own "Girl from the North Country" with Baez at that concert he spends flirting with her after being impressed with her version of the traditional folk ballad "Silver Dagger." He gets in his own "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall." Seeger performs the South African number "Wimoweh" (better known to most people as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight") for an enraptured crowd at Town Hall. Baez is almost as popular with her "House of the Rising Sun" shortly before her affair with Dylan

"Folsom Prison Blues" introduces Cash, who encourages Dylan to sing his own material his way. He does "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" with Baez before the Civil Rights movement and Cuban Missile Crisis inspire his "Masters of War" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues." He and Baez get "Blowin' In the Wind," a big signature number for both. Cash is heard doing his own "Big River," while Dylan insists "The Times, They are A-Changin'"...even if the folk community doesn't like it. He joins Seeger and black blues man Jesse Moffette for a dynamic "When the Ship Comes In" on a local educational TV show Seeger hosts. After Bob refuses to sing "Blowin' In the Wind" and barely finishes "It Ain't Me, Babe" Joan gives the audience at the disastrous tour a version of "There but for Fortune." They record "Highway 61 Revisited," complete with a whistle Dylan picked up from a street busker, in New York. 

"Maggie's Farm" kicks off the Newport Beach Festival with a literally and figuratively electric performance. Chalamet does so well capturing Dylan's raw performance style here, you're glad when Seeger's Japanese wife Toshi (Eriko Hastsune) refuses to let her husband turn the sound down. "Like a Rolling Stone" is even better, with the pure energy rolling off the stage in waves. This is followed by "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Lot to Cry." "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is the song he finally plays the the acoustic guitar.

Trivia: The New York scenes were filmed in Jersey City; the ones set at the hotel in Newport were actually filmed in Cape May at the southern tip of New Jersey.

Everyone in the film did their own singing, including Chalamet.

The real name of the Sylvie Russo character is Suze Rotolo. Dylan insisted her name be changed to protect her privacy. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, this is a nitpick, but I grew up in Cape May and walked past the Victorian Hotel (the Viking Hotel in the movie) and its yellow next-door neighbor Congress Hall a thousand times as a kid. I don't know how much Jersey City and Paterson look like New York, but I do know Cape May is pretty obviously not Newport. (I also recognized the North Cape May Ferry Terminal when Sylvie was leaving town.)

Second, and more importantly, while this isn't quite your standard biopic, it does hit some standard beats. The focus on Dylan's music comes at the expense of Fanning, who doesn't really have as much to do in the second half after she breaks up with him. It tries hard to get under Dylan's skin...and it becomes frustrating when it almost, but doesn't quite succeed. Apparently, only a few documentaries have come anywhere near truly revealing the inner workings of Dylan's genius. Also, rough language and the focus on Dylan's affairs makes this for adult folk lovers only. Start your older kids on the earlier albums represented here if you want them to learn more about Dylan. 

The Big Finale: If you love Dylan or Chalamet or want to catch some truly electric performances this Christmas season, head to the theater to check out how one restless young man changed the way music was presented forever. 

Home Media: The soundtrack is currently available for streaming and will be released on vinyl in January and CD in late February.

Amazon Music

Animation Celebration Saturday - Moana 2

Disney, 2024

Voices of Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, and Rose Matafeo

Directed by David Derrick Jr, Dana Ledoux Miller, and Jason Hand

Music by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear

Apparently, this one had a bit of a convoluted trip to the big screen. It began as a limited series for Disney Plus, but Disney was so impressed with the animation, they strung the episodes into a full-length movie in February. It's done wildly well against heavy Thanksgiving competition in theaters, but critics aren't as impressed. How does Moana's second adventure in the South Seas come off? Let's begin, not with Moana, but with demi-god Maui (Johnson) in trouble and find out...

The Story: Moana (Cravalho) returns to her beloved island home and her little sister Simesa (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) who adores her. She's about to receive the title of Wayfinder when there's a massive lighting storm. During the storm, she sees a vision of her ancestor Tataui Vasa (Gerald Ramsay) revealing why she's found no other people traveling the seas. Storm god Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea'i) pulled the island Motufetu that connected all islands into the sea, and the people of her island will go extinct if she can't find it. 

Deciding that this adventure is too big for just her, she corrals a crew that includes historian, artist, and Maui fan boy Moni (Chung), craftswoman Loto (Matafeo), and grumpy farmer Kele (David Fane), and sets off across the Pacific to find the island. They're first captured by the coconut pirates from the first film, then by a giant monster clam. They rescue Maui from the clam, and Moana is aided by goddess Matangi (Awhimi Fraser) and encouraged to think outside the box. When Maui insists he can raise the island and Moana should be the first to touch it, she'll need every ounce of intelligence and strength to get to that island...and remember that we're all connected to our past and to other people on their own journeys.

The Animation: This was made for streaming? No wonder Disney wanted to push this on the big screen. It's gorgeous. Every wave glows, every hair and blade of grass looks stunningly real. Everyone moves well, including the gods and other fantasy characters. Maui's famously funny moving tattoo has somewhat less off a role this time, but it's still animated well and has a few good moments.

The Song and Dance: That lovely animation really carries the day here, along with some decent performances and the glimpses of South Seas culture. Cravalho and Johnson have just as much fun this time around. They do especially well in the sequence after they're stranded on the island and Maui finds himself having to cheer up a despairing Moana. Of the newcomers, Matafeo and Fraser come off the best as the quirky boat designer who is constantly trying to take everything apart and the vengeful goddess who is willing to help Moana in order to get out of that clam.

The Numbers: We open with "We're Back" as the villagers await Moana's arrival. Moana describes the world "Beyond" for her little sister before the storm. She insists "What Could Be Better Than This?" to her squabbling crew as they begin their journey. Matangi encourages Moana to "Get Lost" in the center of the clam and not be afraid to make mistakes. "Can I Get a Chee-Hoo?" insists Maui as he attempts to put a smile on Moana's face. "Beyond" is heard again when she finds the island and in the end credits.

What I Don't Like: At times, it's too obvious that this is six episodes of a streaming mini-series strung together. Most of the plot is even more meandering than the first film, and the incidents with the coconut pirates and the clam pop up with no rhyme or reason. Moana's crew doesn't really have all that much to do, either, nor do we get to know them that well. 

It feels like a far more advanced version of the "movies" Disney put direct-to-home-media in the 90's and early 2000's that were episodes of canceled series strung together. While I appreciate Disney using their first all-female songwriting team, I'm afraid the songs they came up with are only so-so, and not nearly as memorable as Lin-Manuel Miranda's music for the first film. 

The Big Finale: Even with the meandering plot and so-so music, it's still worth seeing on the big screen for the stunning animation and some terrific performances, particularly for fans of the first film or those with young girls who are looking for female-oriented action.

Home Media: No listings for the actual film yet, but the soundtrack will be released on physical media in January. 

CD soundtrack

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Hunchback of Notre Dame II

Disney, 2002

Voices of Tom Hulce, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Michael McKean, and Haley Joel Osment

Directed by Bradley Raymond

Music and Lyrics by various

Here's another movie from that period between 1994 and 2008 where Disney made direct-to-home-media sequels for every single animated film it ever did. Critics took shots at them even then, but they were wildly popular with kids who couldn't get enough of their favorite Disney characters. Nowadays, while a few of them are mildly well-regarded, they mostly look like the chintzy cash-grabs they are. Where does Hunchback II fall in the pack? Let's begin back in Paris six years later as the citizens prepare for "Le Jour d'Amour," the Day of Love, and find out...

The Story: Quasimodo (Hulce) is glad to take care of his friends Esmerelda (Demi Moore) and Phobeus' (Kevin Kline) energetic son Zephyr (Osment), but he's still often alone with his bells. He's especially proud of the largest and most elaborate bell, La Fidelitie, which is gold and studded with gems inside. He'll ring it to begin the Festival of Love.

Zephyr is especially excited when a circus comes to town. Quasimodo is more interested in Madellaine (Hewitt), the beautiful assistant for magician Sarousch (McKean). Madellaine is frightened by Quasimodo at first, but then he shows her around Paris and she sees him taking care of Zephyr and realizes how sweet he is. Meanwhile, Phobeous has been searching for the thieves who have stolen valuables from people all over the city. Zephyr and Quasimodo don't want to believe it when he learns that Madellaine and the circus are involved in the thefts, until Quasimodo realizes that the bell is gone. When Zephyr goes after the thieves, Madellaine has the chance to prove her worth and show that real love requires looking far deeper into a person than what's on the surface.

The Animation: Talk about cheap. It looks like one of Disney's animated TV shows of the time. Most of the characters are off-model. The colors are lovely, but the backgrounds lack the sumptuous details that went into the original. They move stiffly, too, and lack the expression of the original film. 

The Song and Dance: I'm surprised they managed to get such a great cast for this. Not only is most of the original cast back, but they added then-hot child and teen stars Osment and Hewitt and comedian McKean. McKean's making the most of his limited material as the greedy magician who is more interested in making people's valuables disappear than making them happy. Madellaine and Quasimodo's relationship is surprisingly sweet, even when you can see where it's going from a mile away. And while the music isn't great, I do kind of like Quasi's "Ordinary Miracle." 

The Numbers: We open with "Le Jour D'Amour" as Clopin and the cast explains about the festival and its importance. Quasimodo tells Madellaine his feelings about how "An Ordinary Miracle" can change someone's life. "I'd Stick With You" is Quasimoto's buddy song with Zephyr, letting Madellaine see how cute their friendship is. "Fa La La Fallen In Love" turns into a huge chorus number in the rain as the gargoyles gush over Quasimodo's new girlfriend and half of Paris dances around the two in the rain. The movie ends with Hewitt's self-penned ballad "I'm Gonna Love You" over the credits. 

What I Don't Like: This screams "watered-down rehash" at the top of its lungs. Madellaine is neither well-drawn, nor all that interesting despite her troubled past. She looks as bland as she is. The gargoyles don't fit in any better here than they did in the original. Their material is still a little too vaudeville for medieval France. The dialogue is often clumsy, the animation is barely Saturday-morning level, and other than the lovely "Ordinary Miracle," the songs are totally unmemorable, especially Hewitt's too-sugary end title ballad.

The Big Finale: Unless you're a really huge fan of Hunchback of Notre Dame, you can easily pass on this one.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats. It's on Disney Plus with a subscription.

DVD

Blu-Ray - The Hunchback of Notre Dame/The Hunchback of Notre Dame II Special Edition

Disney Plus

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Fox and the Hound 2

Disney, 2006

Voices of Patrick Swayze, Reba McEntire, Jonah Bobo, and Harrison Fahn

Directed by Jim Kammerud

Music and Lyrics by various

Even Fox and the Hound got a sequel during the late 90's and 2000's, when Disney was obsessed with giving every movie in its back catalog a direct-to-home-media follow-up. Critics complained that they were cheapening the brand, but they were consistent money-makers. This one came out during the tail-end of that era, when the quality had started to improve slightly. Was it enough to help this tale of Tod and Copper's adventures with a country band at the local carnival? Let's begin with Tod and Copper playing together on a summer's day, chasing crickets, and find out...

The Story: Tod and Copper are excited when the fair comes to town, especially with a group of dogs known as the Singing Strays. Copper gets a chance to join the group after diva dog Dixie (McEntire) refuses to go on. He's such a hit, head dog Cash (Swayze) fires her and hires Copper on the spot after Tod lies and says he's a stray. Tod's so disappointed when his friend spends the whole day with Cash and the Strays, including the fireworks, he tells Dixie Copper has an owner. 

Dixie thinks this is a way to get back with the band, but Tod's attempt to bring Copper's owner Amos Slade (Jeff Bennet) to the performance ends up driving off the Grand Ol' Opry talent scout (Stephen Root) who was supposed to come see them sing. After Tod ends up with the scout's hat, he gets Copper to use his tracking skills and bring Dixie and Cash back together...and make them understand that their relationship and love of singing is more important than any fame.

The Animation: Lovely, warm fall colors almost make up for a distinct lack of detail. In fact, in some ways, this looks a bit better than the rough animation from the original. They were just starting to phase out the Xerox process when they made the 1981 movie. This came long after that had been retired, and it doesn't look half-bad for one of these cheap transfers. The characters look decent and move pretty well, though you do miss the lovely woodsy backgrounds of the original.

The Song and Dance: This wound up being a lot more fun than I expected. As I mentioned last week, The Fox and the Hound was never my favorite Disney movie to begin with, and this does correct some of my problems with that film. Dixie, Cash,  and the Singing Strays are far more interesting characters in the side plot than the two birds chasing a caterpillar in the first film. The country music fits the rural milieu better than Pearl Bailey and her languid ballads did, too. Frankly, the music always did seem a bit out of place in the first film. Tod and Copper have slightly more to do, especially Copper, and Bobo and Fahn are adorable. Swayze and McEntire are the stand-outs as the two dogs who get so caught up in chasing fame, they forget that their true loves are performing and each other.

The Numbers: We open with "Friends for Life," performed by country group One Flew South as Tod and Copper romp and play with the cricket in the beginning. Copper breaks into "We're In Harmony" and becomes an instant sensation. Swayze and the chorus sing about him being a "Hound Dude" at the fair. Frustrated Dixie tells Tod how she's been constantly told "Good Doggie, No Bone!" and that life as a musical act is no bed of dog bones. Trisha Yearwood sings the dark "Blue Beyond" as Dixie realizes all the trouble she's caused and Tod realizes he's ready to make up with Copper. "We're In Harmony" is heard twice in the ending, when Dixie and Cash get together and the group shows the talent scout how good they are, and in the finale as Tod and Copper hear them over the radio. The movie ends with Lucas Grabeel singing "You Know I Will" over the credits.

Trivia: This would be the last Disney film to feature the blue and white castle logo they'd used for over twenty years.

What I Don't Like: At times, it's a lot more apparent that this is a direct-to-DVD sequel to a movie that wasn't all that great to begin with. While it is nice to see Tod and Copper having fun before their break-up, you barely see Amos Slade or the Widow Tweed, Slade's older dog Chief has maybe two lines, and Big Mama and her two bird friends are gone all together. It's hard to see how this upbeat little romp fits into the original dour, dark story. It feels more like a stand-alone movie than any kind of sequel. 

The country music may suit the setting, but it still isn't all that great. Dixie and Cash can be unbearably self-centered, especially Dixie, and their quest for fame seems petty and cliched. The remaining three strays aren't nearly as fleshed out, though Vicki Lawrence has her moments as the eldest member Granny Rose. 

The Big Finale: I consider this to be less of a sequel and more of a stand-alone story that happens to feature Tod and Copper. If you have country fans or younger kids who will enjoy the music and Tod and Copper's antics, this is mildly worth checking out once for the cast and decent numbers. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc packaged with the original and on Disney Plus with a subscription.

DVD

Blu-Ray - The Fox and the Hound/The Fox and the Hound 2

Disney Plus

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Fox and the Hound

Disney, 1981

Voices of Pearl Bailey, Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, and Jeanette Nolan

Directed by Ted Berman, Richard Rich, and Art Stevens

Music and Lyrics by various

Disney was in transition when they made this one. This dark and unassuming animal story was a first for them in many respects. It was their first animated movie whose creation Walt had no involvement with. The book it's based on debuted in 1967, the year he died. It was also the last movie made by their Nine Old Men who had helped animate many of their earliest films, and the first for many animators who would help create hits for them and elsewhere in the 90's and beyond. How did all this effect the tale of a fox cub and hound puppy who are friends when they're young, only to become mortal enemies when they grow into adulthood? Let's begin with Big Mama Owl (Bailey) rescuing an abandoned fox cub after the death of its mother and find out...

The Story: Big Mama and her bird friends Dinky (Dick Bakalyan) and Boomer (Paul Winchell) bring the cub to lonely Widow Tweed (Nolan). She names him Tod (Keith Coogan) and raises him as a pet. Around the same time, hunter Amos Slade (Jack Anderson) brings home a hound puppy named Copper (Corey Feldman). When the two meet in the woods, they become fast friends and vow to stay that way forever. Neither Tweed nor Amos are thrilled with their relationship. Amos thinks Tod is after his chickens, and Tweed doesn't like Amos harming animals. 

Amos takes Copper and his older dog Chief (Pat Buttram) on a long winter hunting trip. When they return in the spring, Copper (Russell) and Tod (Rooney) have grown to adulthood. Tod wants to renew their friendship, but Copper doesn't want to go against his owner and friend. After Chief is badly hurt in an accident with a train, Copper is determined to track Tod down. Widow Tweed lets Tod into a nature preserve to protect him. Tod's lonely, until Big Mama introduces him to sweet Vixey (Sandy Duncan). Amos and Copper are still after them...but when a bear attacks the entire group, Copper has to decide if he wants revenge, or to respect the friendship they once had.

The Animation: Disney was only just pulling itself out of its 70's slump when they made this. It isn't the best they ever did, but it's also not without its virtues. It's kind of obvious Don Bluth worked on some scenes before he and 13 other animators walked out. This looks and feels more like one of his movies at times, especially in the beginning when Tod and Copper are younger and play with their tongues hanging out. 

The Song and Dance: Considering how much they softened from the original anti-deforestation novel, this still wound up being one of their darker films. I forgot what a terrific cast it has. All four of the actors playing Tod and Copper are splendid; Rooney and Russell give a lift to the dramatic scenes in the second half, and the younger boys would go on to have substantial careers as teens and young adults. Bailey's three songs are charming and sweet, and Anderson and Nolan play off each other well as the cantankerous hunter and the kindly old widow who wishes he'd leave her pet alone. 

The Numbers: The first song isn't until more than 15 minutes in, but it's the charming and bittersweet "Best of Friends." As Tod and Copper frolic in the woods, Mama wishes they really could stay friends forever. Mama and Dinky try to explain why a "Lack of Education" could lead Tod to an early grave, and why Copper won't be his best friend for much longer. Amos claims he's "A Huntin' Man." Widow Tweed talks the lyrics for the heartbreaking "Goodbye May Seem Forever" as she releases Tod into the wild before the chorus takes over. Big Mama encourages Tod to "Appreciate the Lady" and get to know Vixey better after his bad night in the woods.

Trivia: This was also the last Disney movie to simply feature a "The End" graphic at the end and push all the credits to the beginning and the first to use CGI graphics (mainly when Amos is trapping Tod and Vixey in their burrow). 

Though Kurt Russell did ten other Disney movies, this would be his only appearance in one of their animated films. 

Phil Harris and Charo were originally going to appear in the film as two goofy cranes, but it was decided that they and their comic number slowed the pacing and they were removed early in development. 

What I Don't Like: Did I mention how dark this is? Amos and Chief get hurt, there's shooting and gunplay, not to mention the fact that Tod and Copper's relationship, no matter how adorable it is in the beginning of the film, is doomed from the start. Despite all that, I wish they'd gone even darker. Not as dark as the book, where everyone dies and the woods are demolished, but at least let Chief die and give Copper more of a reason for wanting to attack Tod. Unfortunately, I think that was the Disney old guard getting wishy-washy.

And I'm glad they cut the Harris and Charo cranes. Winchell and Bakalyan do have some funny moments as the two birds relentlessly chasing a caterpillar, but their side story seems out of place and disconnected from the main plot about Tod and Copper's relationship. Other than "Best of Friends," Bailey's songs don't really seem to belong, either, and she doesn't have much to do besides sing and rescue Tod in the opening.

The Big Finale: This has never been my favorite Disney movie, thanks to the uneven tone and dark themes, but if your older kids are fans of other animated animal movies like The Secret of NIMH or you're a fan of anyone in the cast, it's worth checking out for that great voice cast and the animation. 

Home Media: It took them so long to release this on video, it was the last movie to appear in the original Walt Disney Classics line in 1994. Thankfully, it's long out of the Vault and is now easily found in all formats, including on Disney Plus. The current disc versions bundle it with its direct-to-video sequel, which I'll be looking at next week.

DVD - The Fox and the Hound and The Fox and the Hound II

Blu-Ray - The Fox and the Hound and The Fox and the Hound II

Disney Plus

Evita (1996)

Hollywood Pictures, 1996

Starring Madonna, Jonathan Pryce, Antonio Banderas. and Jimmy Nail

Directed by Alan Parker

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Tim Rice

Let's switch things up a bit with our last biography of the week. Though Eva Peron began as an actress and dancer, she's best known as the wife of Argentinian lieutenant general Juan Peron. Eva was even more beloved with the much-abused lower-classes of Argentina than her husband, due to her own lower-class background and her ability to speak directly to and relate to them. Even now, the Perons and their years ruling Argentina are highly controversial in and out of South America. 

Andrew Lloyd Webber released a concept album revolving around her reign in 1976. It became a full-fledged musical in 1978 and was a hit in productions around the world. It took almost 20 years to bring Evita's story to the big screen, with the production running through multitudes of directors and scriptwriters. How does it look nowadays, with the world and politics once again in upheaval? Let's begin in 1952 just as the owner of a movie house in Buenos Aires, Argentina announces the death of beloved political figure Eva Peron and find out...

The Story: After our narrator Che (Banderas) decries all the media hype around Evita's death, he takes us back to her beginnings in 1934. Eva Duarte (Madonna) is determined to get out of Juanin and find her destiny in Buenos Aires. She hitches a ride with tango dancer and writer Agustin Magdali after she meets him at one of her shows, but once she's in the city, she doesn't stay with him for long. Every lover she falls in with is another step up the ladder, from model to radio star and movie actress. 

She first meets Juan Peron (Pryce) at a charity ball for the devastating 1944 San Juan earthquake and is immediately taken by him. They have a similar background, with him also coming from humble beginnings, and share the same desire to elevate the ignored common man in Argentina. Evita even goes on a "Rainbow Tour" of Europe. Spain adores her, but Italians are still wary of Fascism and attack her car. The English won't even see her. 

Eva is not in good shape when she finally returns home. She does start a fund for the poor and gains Argentinian women the right to vote, but she's seen less and less, and becomes more and more tired. Che asks her what she's really done with her life, before it slips away, making both of them wonder if it was really for the people...or for her own glory.

The Song and Dance: Madonna spent over a decade begging for this part...and she was right. She's a wonderful Eva, coquettish enough to make you understand why all those men fall for her, yet tough and ambitious enough to capture Juan Peron's attention. Pryce and Banderas more than match her as the general who becomes dictator with the help of his devoted wife and those who adore her and the "common man" who sees all, sings all, and knows even more. 

Disney spared no expense on the production, too. Thousands of extras hang onto Eva's every word. There's gorgeous gowns and luxurious furs that show Eva's lavish lifestyle, filming in Budapest to stand in for Buenos Aires, and enormous sets representing other landmarks in Argentina like the Casa Rosada where Evita gave her famous speeches to the public. 

Favorite Number: We open with the people mourning in "A Cinema In Buenos Aires, 1952" and the instrumental and chorus "Requiem for Evita" as people around Argentina cry for one of their own. Che decries the mass hysteria surrounding her death in "Oh What a Circus." He finally takes us back to the young Eva, as she remembers when she first met Agustin ("On This Night of a Thousand Stars"). She's warned "Eva Beware of the City," but she's so happy to be leaving Juanin, she doesn't really care. She's on the train to "Buenos Aires." 

She rapidly works up the ladder, using powerful men and common men alike to get herself out of the gutter and into a place of power. It's just "Another Suitcase In Another Hall." "Goodnight and Thank You" has Banderas singing about the 1942 coup and how Eva switched from pursuing photographers and directors to politicians. "Hello and Goodbye" and "I'd Be Surprisingly Good to You" introduces Juan Peron to Eva, who becomes "Juan's Latest Flame." Even after he's arrested, she still promises "A New Argentina" if he's made president.

After Juan is elected president, Eva gives her famous speeches "On the Balcony of the Casa Rosada." In between, she tells her country "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina." Che reminds her at a government ball that she's now "High Flying, Adored," but those who fly too fast and too hard often fall even faster. Eva thinks she's on a "Rainbow High," but as Che points out, her famous "Rainbow Tour" isn't as successful as the government paints it. Che thinks "The Actress Hasn't Learned the Lines (You Want to Hear)" as Eva spends money trying to woo the aristocracy, who aren't impressed with her donations to the poor. After all, "And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out)." 

"Pardito Feminista" shows Eva's work for the poor as Juan insists "She's a Diamond." Even as Eva realizes just how sick she is, she imagines herself swirling with the scolding Che in a "Waltz for Eva and Che." As Che reminds her, "Your Little Body Is Breaking Down." Eva is more worried about how her husband will react to her cancer in the Oscar-nominated ballad "You Must Love Me." "Eva's Final Broadcast" takes place shortly before her death in a reprise of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," while she and Che end with a "Lament" that she wasn't able to do more.

Trivia: Evita began as a concept album by Webber and Rice in 1976. It went over well enough for them to do a fully-staged version of the show in London in 1978 and on Broadway a year later. Both shows were hits, with the London version running six years, and the Broadway show four. The 2006 London revival didn't go over well. It went slightly better on Broadway in 2012, running over a year. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, like most of Webber's big epic rock operas, this is not a feel-good musical. It's a dark, dark story about one of history's most controversial leaders. It's also not for families. We see all the violence going on in Argentina with all the coups and strikes before, during, and after Peron's regime, not to mention the insinuated sex with Eva's constantly changing partners and the talk of politics, Fascism, and South American history. Argentinians were so incensed with the depiction of one of their most beloved historical figures, they put out a government-sanctioned film that dove further into Evita's life around the same time. 

This is also a very long movie, over two hours. Not to mention, it's a through-sung opera with no dialogue. That would be a hard sell for even for a more upbeat movie. It's also a huge movie, with tons of extras, an epic story spanning three decades and a major war. It's not for those who prefer their musicals simpler or fluffier. There's also the simple fact that, while Evita and her controversial reign is still much-discussed in South America, she's not as well-known in the northern half of the world. I'd never even heard of her myself until I read about this show. 

The Big Finale: Powerhouse performances from the three leads and the breathtaking production makes this worth checking out for adult fans of Madonna, Webber and Rice, or Banderas, those with an interest in world history, or folks who like their musicals on the bigger side. 

Home Media: In print on DVD, but fairly expensive at the moment. Between the current price and the length, you might be better off streaming this one.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime