Musical Dreams Reviews: action

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Honoring Chinese New Year - Step Up: Year of the Dance (Step Up China)

Yuehua Entertainment/Lionsgate Films, 2019

Starring SuperDino, Meiqui Meng, Bobo, and Kim Sung-joo

Directed by Ron Yuan

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's head to modern-day China to celebrate the Year of the Horse and one of the most internationally popular musical franchises. The original Step Up debuted in 2006. It wasn't popular with critics who found its class war story to be too formulaic, but the incredible dancing made it a hit with teens and young adults who loved the moves and the rebellious characters. It was such a success, it led to four more unrelated Step Up movies that were all hits in their own right and a TV show that lasted for three seasons.

One of the reasons it continued to do well was its enormous popularity in international markets, especially Asia. Even when the fifth film, Step Up: All In, didn't do well in North America, it still made money elsewhere. China took notice and made a Step Up film exclusively for their country in 2019. It came over here as a streaming exclusive in 2020. Is it as good as the other titles in this franchise, or should it be left on the streets? Let's begin with a young Chinese man (SuperDino) right before a big dance battle and find out...

The Story: Tie Hou (SuperDino) landed in prison after a bar brawl two years before, right as he was about to tell his crush Xiao Fe (Meng) he loved her. He's able to reunite with his old dance group the Iron Crew, but she hasn't forgiven him. Wealthy young He Chaun (Bobo) is trying to audition for a major international dance competition with the Black Tigers, but fellow dancer Dai (Sun-joo) kicks Chaun off the stage and injures him. They both get the trophies, but Dai isn't happy when it turns out the judges were paid off.

Meanwhile, Tie Hou has tried to get a job working with everyone from strippers to kids, but his tougher style of street dance doesn't work with poles or children's classes. He even dances when he works at a construction site. Chaun sees him and tries to get him to join his new dance crew. Hou refuses at first, until he sees Chaun's elegant dance battle with the Black Tigers that even works the cane in. Fe is impressed and flirts with him. She's out of place at Chaun's birthday party, until she shows up the snobs there with a few great dance moves of her own.

Chaun has started a dance team of his own, Sky Crew. Even with Chaun pushing them hard to practice everywhere, they still lose in their first dance battle with the Black Tigers. They come up with the idea of filming their combination dance and Kung Fu moves. That gets them the dance battle invitation, but it also gets them recognized. Hou loses his best friend Tie She when the gang he fought in the bar tries to get him back. Now they really have a reason to beat the Black Tigers, and then take on the American team the Phantoms.

The Song and Dance: And the dance, along with some decent cinematography that makes the best of this film's low-budget origins, is the lone saving grace here. It really is exceptional. Director Yuan was normally a stunt man and martial artist, so he at least had the right instinct about how to shoot the choreography, both for the fight scenes and the dance scenes. Some of the dance scenes, especially the dance battles, are excitingly choreographed and not badly edited for something this cheap. I also appreciate that there's no hard feelings at the end. None of the dance teams indulge in bad sportsmanship or put down the others. Even the Phantoms, who were built up as the villains, bow for their fellow competitors.

The Numbers: We open with Tie Hou, Tie She, and Xiao Fe doing their own robot moves at the bar before the gang war breaks out. Tie Hou has his solo number as he interprets the fight through dance. There's a chorus routine at a club when he gets out that includes some pretty sweet breakdancing. Hou tries to explain his feelings to Fe during their robot dance duet to "Honey Honey." They even dance with metal poles that he uses to play drums on trash cans at one point. The Black Tiger's slick number in white suits is going great, until Dai gives Chaun that fatal kick.

Next up is our first montage, as Tie Hou first tries to teach dance to strippers, then fan dancers, then children. None of them are there to learn the street dancing he favors. He even dances briefly at a construction site. Tie Hou starts dancing at an outdoor ring, until the same toughs who attacked him at the bar make nasty prison jokes. Chaun out-dances them even with a cane. Fe gets her big solo at the party when some of the snottier girls call her a "street bum," and she dances to show what a street bum can do. Chaun joins her, to the consternation of Tie Hou. Chaun and Hou have a stiff-kneeded dance off to rap music later that night at the party.

The Sky Crew start off briefly "dance battling" each other before Chaun reminds them that they have their own unique style. The next montage shows the Sky Crew training everywhere - even over a grill and while bench-pressing a fire extinguisher. They're still arguing during rehearsals, until they realize that they do better when they come together as a team. The next montage shows different dance groups - even a black group and an all-kid team - competing at a club. When the Black Tigers are the winners, the Sky Crew film their moves - dance and Kung-Fu - and post them online. The Phantoms rise to the occasion at the competition with their genuinely excellent hip-hop dance. The Black Tigers are more athletic, often dancing on their knees. The Sky Crew start out with traditional Chinese music before getting into their own rap dance.

What I Don't Like: First of all, the dubbing on the copy of this at Tubi is lousy. Lips don't match, voices often don't sound like they belong to the characters. Second, whether this franchise takes place in Baltimore or Beijing, the cliches are the same. There's a reason the Step Up films (this one included) were never popular with critics. No amount of terrific dancing can cover the fact that the story is the same overcoming the odds parable we've seen hundreds of times. Admittedly, Tie Hou having been in prison and his difficulty finding jobs does give it a slightly more realistic edge, but Tie She's death is played for melodrama, and the class war drama isn't nearly as exciting as the movie wants to think it is. There's also this being a low-budget film. It does show at times, especially in the dull sets.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the other Step Up films or of Asian musical cinema, this is worth checking out once for the dance routines alone.

Home Media: Streaming only in North America. Tubi currently has it for free with commercials.

Tubi

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Valentine's Short Subject Special - The Valentine's Day That Almost Wasn't

Showtime, 1982

Voices of Lisa Buckley, Richard J. Schellbach, Paul Fusco, and Bob Fappiano

Directed by Paul Fusco

Music and Lyrics by Ed Bruder and Jeff Cannata

From 1981 through 1983 Paul Fusco, the creator of ALF, made a series of six holiday specials for cable featuring his unique comic puppets. We've already seen his Easter and Thanksgiving stories over the past year. For Valentine's Day, we get a mystery and action spoof that turns cupids into Bogart-style investigators and gives us a little more action than in the more character-based early specials. In fact, we begin with our first real villain from these specials, Rubella Slime (Buckley) and her brothers, as they create a brew to spread hate in the world and end Valentine's Day as we know it.

The Story: Rubella hates Valentine's Day so much, she and her brothers Bugsy (Fusco) and Weasel (Fappiano) create a hate potion to put into the Cupids' Pot of Love. They first spray it on innocent Cosmo Cupid (Schellbach) when he's giving away puppies at the pound to create a distraction. While Sam Cupid (Fusco) and his boys are dealing with Cosmo, Bugsy and Weasell are able to sneak in and put the potion in the pot. When the cupids shoot their arrows, they turn everyone mean instead of loving. Sam has to find the antidote and stops Rubella, before she and her brothers ruin Valentine's Day for everyone.

The Song and Dance: Well, you can't say this one isn't unique. You don't often see a holiday special, especially for Valentine's Day, framed as a film noir spoof. The city and above the clouds setting gives this one a different vibe from the other specials, and it's a bit more action-packed, as per the mystery thriller vibe. Buckley pretty much steals the show as the hilariously evil Rubella, who wants everyone to hate Valentine's Day because she's never gotten a real Valentine in her life.

The Numbers: "Poison Brew" is Rubella's big song and dance with her brothers early-on. We get their explanation as to why they're doing this, how they plan on doing it, and what it will do to the people on earth.

What I Don't Like: This might be the strangest thing Fusco ever did. Humphrey Bogart-imitating Cupids? Villains who act like a cross between Maleficent and Morticia Addams? A Valentine's Day story framed as a mystery? Yeah, this is pretty weird, and more action than musical. Like Fusco's other work for Showtime, it's also incredibly cheap. Some of the sets are a little bit more interesting than the ones for Easter and Thanksgiving, especially when Cosmo and Sam are in their hot air balloon, using a laser (that is obviously a spotlight) to spread love, but it still looks like something made for cable in the early 80's.

The Big Finale: If you're looking for something different (and maybe a little less romantic) this Valentine's Day, take a trip to the big city with Sam and help him stop Rubella from destroying the holiday forever.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, including free on Tubi with commercials.

Tubi

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Cult Flops - The Vagabond King (1956)

Paramount, 1956

Starring Oreste Kirkop, Kathryn Grayson, Rita Moreno, and Walter Hampden

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Music by Rudolf Friml; Lyrics by Brian Hooker and Johnny Burke

Operetta made a comeback in the early 1950's when several classic operettas of the 1910's and 20's were recreated on TV and on record. Paramount saw the success of The Student Prince at MGM and "spectaculars" like The Chocolate Soldier on television and went looking for their own version of Mario Lanza. They thought they found him in Maltese opera tenor Oreste Kirkop, who, despite his limited knowledge of English, was handsome, manly, and possessed a marvelous singing voice. They picked up Kathryn Grayson from MGM and gave dancer Rita Moreno one of her first major roles, but then let it sit on the shelf for over a year before it was released to an indifferent public. Did this deserve that fate, or should this rousing color retelling of Francois Villon's story deserve another chance to rule? Let's begin with the scheming Duke of Burgundy (Tom Duggan) and his men just outside of Paris and find out...

The Story: Francois Villon (Kirkop) and his fellow vagabonds are arrested by Louis the XI (Hampden) and his men when they visit the tavern he frequents disguised as peasants. Louis anoints him the new provost marshal after his actual marshal Thibault (Leslie Nielson) is revealed to be a spy to Burgundy. He's hoping to enlist him and his fellow peasants, poets, and drinks in battling the Duke and his army. Earlier in the day, Francois had encountered the beautiful Princess Katherine (Grayson) at a church and had fallen hopelessly in love with her, despite already having a girlfriend in the tavern wench Hugette (Moreno). It's the ladies who are willing to lay down the line - and in Hugette's case, her own life - to make sure Louis stays on the throne and Francois stays off the hangman's noose.

The Song and Dance: The ladies are the stand-outs here amid the brilliantly colored pageantry of 15th-century France. Grayson is equally spunky and sweet, especially later-on, when she begins to fall for Villon. Moreno brings enough fire and passion to Hugette to power the entire City of Lights, and is certainly more realistic as a tavern wench than cutesy Lillian Roth was. The production benefits from the improved Technicolor, with lavish medieval costumes and fanciful headgear for both genders that would make the rainbow pale. We even get a medieval ballet near the end with a literal warring heaven and hell that gives us a good idea of court amusements among the rich in the fifteenth century. And at least if they had to have additional numbers, Friml actually got to write the music this time.

The Numbers: Our first number is "Bon Jour," which introduces us to Francois and his men as they travel back to Paris, waving to the peasants they see along the way. Hugette joins the vagabonds for the swirling chorus number "Viva La You" at the tavern. Katherine performs "Some Day" in the courtyard as she dreams of the man she saw at the church. Francois, Hugette, and the Vagabonds make "Comparisons" between the wealthy and the poor and Burgundy and Louis just before Francois is arrested. "Hugette Waltz" takes us to the dungeons as Hugette laments the loss of her beloved rogue.

"Only a Rose" is performed in the courtyard, with Francois telling Katherine how much he's fallen for her. "Watch Out for the Devil" is the big ballet depicting the fight between heaven and hell - or Louis and Burgundy in this case - performed by Katherine and Francois. We end with "Song of the Vagabonds" for Francois and the chorus as they rout the Duke of Burgundy and his men and a reprise of "Only a Rose" as Francois and Katherine drive off into the countryside.

Trivia: Final movie for Katherine Grayson and only movie for Oreste Kirkop. Kirkop didn't speak English at the time. His speaking voice was dubbed by Elliot Reid.

Rita Moreno's singing voice was dubbed by Eve Boswell.

That's Vincent Price doing the narration in the opening sequence.

What I Don't Like: The men are the problem here. While Hampden isn't bad as opportunistic Louis, Jack Lord and Leslie Nielson are simply too modern to be believable as scheming medieval spies. Kirkop is a wonderfully lusty singer, but lacks the presence of either Dennis King or Mario Lanza (who had been considered for the role early-on). He has no chemistry with Grayson or Moreno and frankly belongs back in an opera house in Malta, not film. Not to mention, the dubbing on his voice is terrible, with Reid sounding nothing like his singing voice. The sets look spectacular but are obviously fake and give the film the feeling of an overripe stage play, and Friml and Burke's added songs are pleasant but unremarkable compared to the soaring "Some Day" and "Only a Rose" or the devastating "Hugette's Waltz."

The Big Finale: Mainly worth checking out for operetta fans like me or fans of Grayson, Moreno, or the huge colorful musicals of the 50's and 60's.

Home Media: At press time, this rarity can only be found on YouTube.

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Cult Flops - The Vagabond King (1930)

Paramount, 1930

Starring Dennis King, Jeanette MacDonald, O.P Heggie, and Lillian Roth

Directed by Ludwig Berger

Music and Lyrcis by various

For the next two weeks, our weekday reviews will look at musical remakes, either of older films, or a remake and the original. This version of the 1926 stage hit of the same name was intended to be Paramount's stately answer to major film operettas like Warner Bros' The Desert Song or MGM's (now-lost) Rogue Song. It proved to be too stately for 1930 audiences who were looking for war movies and gangster films, but how does it look now? Let's begin in fifteenth-century Paris, where only a lawless poet stands between the King of France (O.P Heggie) and the Duke of Burgundy's attempt to take over his throne...

The Story: Francois Villon (King) is arrested by Louis the XI and his men while drunk and brought to the castle. Louis anoints him king for a day, hoping to enlist him and his fellow peasants, poets, and drinks in battling the Duke and his army. Earlier in the day, Francois had rescued the beautiful Princess Katherine (MacDonald) and had fallen hopelessly in love with her, despite already having a girlfriend in the tavern wench Hugette (Roth). It's the ladies who are willing to lay down the line - and in Hugette's case, her own life - to make sure Louis stays on the throne and Francois is hung for a king's amusement the next day.

The Song and Dance: Oh, how I wish the full color copy was available online! What little color is seen during the "Only a Rose" number is blurry but exquisite, with MacDonald looking every inch the princess she's supposed to be in exquisite peach, standing out against the lavish green garden. In fact, even in the blurry mostly black and white copy currently on YouTube, it's that much-vaunted pageantry where this stands out. MacDonald is a radiant princess in glittering gowns amid enormous, craggy castles and the fetid alleys of a shadow-strewn Paris, while Heggie makes a wonderful opportunistic King Louis. European director Ludvig Berger had made several similar sumptuous fantasies in France and Germany during the silent era, and he knew something about spectacle and how to make it work.

The Numbers: We open over the credits and at the tavern Francois frequents with "Song of the Vagabonds." "King Louis" is Francois' mocking rhyme and assessment of Louis' ability to rule his people. "Mary, Queen of Heaven" is a number for the choir when Katherine is praying in Notre Dame. The ballad "Some Day" is Katherine's first solo as she changes for bed and contemplates Francois and their first meeting in Paris. Francois declares to his followers what he would do "If I Were King." He tells the disguised Louis "What France Needs."

"Only a Rose" is the only Technicolor sequence existing in current online prints. The gorgeous singing from King and MacDonald and exquisite color somewhat make up for MacDonald being right about King's ego and his continued attempts to push his nose or hands into her shot. Roth's solo is "Hugette's Waltz," as she explains to the vagabonds that she is how she is, take her or leave her. Francois and Katherine get a second duet, "Love Me Tonight," shortly before he is to fight the Burgundians. The people of Paris reprise "Song of the Vagabonds" during the actual siege. "Nocturne" is the executioner's number as he's about to hang Francois.

Trivia: The color prints do exist and were restored by UCLA in 1990, but alas, to date have only seen there other than the "Only a Rose" sequence taken from the PBS documentary Broadway: The American Musical.

This is based on the fanciful book and non-musical play If I Were King. If I Were King was filmed as a non-musical three times, in 1920 and 1938 under its original title and in 1927 as The Beloved Rogue.

The Vagabond King opened on Broadway in 1925 with King as Villon and was a huge hit for the time, running over 500 performances. It had a brief revival on Broadway in 1943. It hasn't been seen there since, but remains popular with light opera companies in New York and elsewhere. The film would be remade in 1956 with Kathryn Grayson as Katherine (which we'll be looking at on Thursday).

What I Don't Like: Jeanette MacDonald had a point about Dennis King and his ego. He's a little too into the role, proclaiming everything to the rafters when film calls for a somewhat subtler approach. He's too hammy even for a swashbuckler. This is likely why he very rarely made movies after this. Lillian Roth has the opposite problem. She's too much of a cute comedienne to be playing a sensual streetwalker and really can't pull off her "Hugette's Waltz." And oh, how I wish UCLA would release the rest of that color copy to the general public! I have the feeling it would help this tremendously, and certainly be nicer to look at than the dim, blurry copy currently on YouTube.

The Big Finale: In the end, as lovely as it is, it's really only for fans of MacDonald, operetta, or early film musicals.

Home Media: Which perhaps makes it just as well that the only place you can see this is in that blurry copy I mentioned that's currently on YouTube.

Saturday, December 27, 2025

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Twits

Netflix, 2025

Voices of Margo Martindale, Johnny Vegas, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, and Natalie Portman

Directed by Phil Johnston

Music and Lyrics by David Byrne and others

Our last animated review of 2025 takes us back to streaming for something that's been a long time coming. The Twits, the 1980 Roald Dahl children's book about a nasty couple who played pranks on each other and other people, had originally been optioned by Vanguard Animation back in 2003 as a live action/animated hybrid. It moved with Vanguard to Universal from Disney in 2006. There were mentions of it until around 2012, but it seemed to stall there until Netflix bought the Roald Dahl Story Company in 2022. How does this tale of a gruesome twosome who learn a lesson about meanness from a group of orphans look now? Let's begin as a mother firefly named Pippa (Emily Clarke) tells their story to her son Jeremy (Sami Amber) and find out...

The Story: Mrs. Credenza (Martindale) and Mr. James (Vegas) Twit are the proprietors of Twitlandia, an amusement park that is the only thing they love. After it's shut down on opening day for health violations, the Twits spitefully fill the water tower of the town Tripelot with liquid hot dog meat. This causes a massive explosion that floods the town and damages its reputation as the go-to place for fun.

Orphans Beesha (Ramakrishnan) and Busby (Ryan Lopez) have their own score to settle with the Twits. Busby was about to be adopted when the flood caused the couple who were interested to back out. Beesha takes Busby to Twitlandia, where the Twits gleefully admit to everything they did. Beesha also encounters a group of colorful monkeys called the Muggle-Wumps, who are being kept as the main attractions. The kids aren't able to rescue them right away, but Beesha does record the Twits' confession. The Twits are arrested, but are released by a family who desperately wants their help in making the town a center for fun again.

After they discover that the children have freed the Muggle-Wumps, the Twits chase them to the orphanage. Beesha won't let them in, claiming the orphanage belongs to the city. The Twits run for mayor, convincing everyone that they'll make them billionaires. When they trick Beesha into thinking her parents are coming for her, Mary Muggle-Wump (Portman) reminds her that family isn't always the one that's related to us. Sometimes, it's the one we create...and that there's a lot of people out there who are willing to help fight our battles. Beesha and all of the orphans learn their own lesson in empathy when they play the ultimate joke on the Twits to get them to admit they had no intention of helping the town...but it costs them their ability to understand the Muggle-Wumps.

The Animation: Though likely computer animated, it has the look of a jerky stop-motion animated film of the 80's and 90's like The Nightmare Before Christmas. Everything is all sharp angles, bushy, kinky hair, or squashed ovals. This adds to the unsettling story and the obscene and outrageous gross-out gags. The fact that most of the colors are fairly subdued makes the things that are more colorful - the Muggle-Wumps, Mrs. Twit's green hair - stand out all the more.

The Song and Dance: I give them credit just for getting this weird. Most animated musicals intended for kids don't go in for gross-out gags and strange scatological humor, which makes this almost oddly refreshing in that respect. Roald Dahl's trademark wacky-dry weirdness comes across loud and clear in Martindale and Vegas' appropriately loud and obnoxious performances. Ramakrishnan doesn't do too badly as the kid who wants to prove how "good" she can be so her parents will come back for her.

The Numbers: We begin with the Twits singing about how "We're Not Like Everyone Else" as they fill the water tower with liquid hot dog juice after their amusement park is condemned. Mary Mugga-Wump performs a "Lullaby" for the orphans to show how wonderful their dreams can be. The Twits claim that "The Problem Is You" as they campaign for mayor. We get an almost operatic "Twitlandia" over the destruction of their amusement park, then "Trick Me." The movie ends with "Open the Door" on being willing to grow and learn.

What I Don't Like: See the "gross-out gags" mentioned up there? What audience did Netflix intend this for again? It gets too weird and scary for younger kids, while older kids may be turned off by the cute kids and fantasy sequences with the Muggle-Wumps, and their parents my be too grossed-out to care. There's also that "inspired by" credit. Apparently, the book version of The Twits were a hateful couple who did make bird pie, use a special super-sticky glue to catch them, and own a group of colorful monkeys called Muggle-Wumps, but they intended to start a circus with the Muggle-Wumps, not an amusement park. There were four boys who scared the birds away, but they don't end up saving the Muggle-Wumps. The Muggle-Wumps were the ones who came up with the idea of gluing the Twits' furniture on the ceiling, not the kids. The whole subplot with the liquid meat and tricking the townspeople was invented for this movie.

The Big Finale: Definitely not for younger kids despite the PG rating, but older kids and pre-teens who like their humor rude and their action frantic and can tolerate a little sentimentality may find a lot more in this weird gross-out tale than I did.

Home Media: It's currently a Netflix exclusive.

Netflix

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Merry Christmas! - The Christmas Toy

ABC, 1986

Voices of Dave Golez, Steve Whitmire, Kathryn Mullen, and Brian Henson

Directed by Eric Till

Music and Lyrics by Jeff Moss

This year, we celebrate Christmas and New Year's with the Muppets in two very different lesser-known Muppet and Sesame Street specials. The Christmas Toy was Jim Henson's second shot at a holiday special after the more subdued Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas on cable. Christmas Toy goes in the opposite direction, with a more traditional holiday story in bright primaries revolving around toys and holiday friendship. How does this Muppet toy story look now, after other animated tales of playthings have come and gone? Let's begin with Kermit the Frog dressed as Santa goes down the chimney and introduces us to the Jones family and the residents of the playroom and find out...

The Story: Rugby Tiger (Golez) is little Jamie's (Marsha Moreau) favorite toy that she got for Christmas last year. When he hears it's Christmas Eve, he thinks he'll be opened and found by Jamie again. Trouble is, if toys are found out of place, they're frozen permanently. Rugby and Mew the Cat Toy (Whitmire) go downstairs to climb into a box so Jamie can open him, but it's not that easy. Jamie does have a new big toy this year, Meteora the Space Queen (Camille Bonora), who thinks they're aliens. Meanwhile, Apple the Rag Doll (Mullen) convinces Cruiser the Cab Driver (Henson), Belmont the nervous ride-on horse (Richard Hunt), and Bleep the Robot (Rob Mills) to help her rescue Rugby and keep him from getting them all frozen. Rugby ends up learning a lesson in real friendship when Mew not only helps him convince Meteora to get back in the box, but sacrifices himself to save the others, too.

The Song and Dance: This charming special is faster-paced and more high-energy than Emmett Otter, but just as much fun. Golez revels in playing the hilariously egotistical Rugby, who thinks that just because he's Jessie's favorite toy means he'll stay that way forever. Whitmire is adorable as Mew, who remains a loyal friend despite Rugby insulting him about being a cat toy. The songs are really catchy too, with "Try the Impossible" and the heartbreaking "Together at Christmas" the standouts. I love the bright color palate on the toys, the deep blacks and glittering silvers and golds of Meteora and the tree in the living room, and some of the gags, especially when they try to get Meteora back in the box!

The Numbers: We open with a big chorus routine for the toys, as we're introduced to their world in the play room and how "Toys Love to Play." "I Was the Greatest Christmas Toy" is Rugby's recollection of the year before and how it made him feel like a big star. Apple reprises it briefly in the living room when she remembers it, too...but she felt left out when Jamie said Rugby was now her favorite. Apple tells Belmont and the other toys to "Try the Impossible" as she rounds up a posse to rescue Rugby and Mew. Rugby coaxes Metora back into the box by singing "The Song of Meteora," telling her how much she'll be adored the next day. Mew already adores her and occasionally adds his besotted asides. "Together at Christmas" is Rugby's sad song to Mew downstairs after he's been frozen. Kermit the Frog joins the toys to reprise it for the finale in the play room.

Trivia: This would be spun off into a series in the 90's, The Secret Life of Toys.

The copy currently on DVD deletes the opening and closing intros with Kermit the Frog. (Fortunately, most streaming copies are uncut and retain Kermit.)

What I Don't Like: The story itself is nothing new, and is even less original after all of the Toy Story films have come and gone. In fact, this has a lot in common with the Toy Story movies, including a space-themed protagonist who doesn't believe they're a toy, a favorite toy who is jealous of the space toy, and the general idea of toys coming to life. The special mostly focuses on Rugby, Mew, and their relationship, with a little of Apple and Belmont in the rescue sequence. I'd love to learn more about the other toys, especially wise old teddy Balthazar (Jerry Nelson), super-cool Cruiser, and the fashion doll who, in a running gag, keeps missing all the action because she's constantly changing clothes to fit the mood.

The Big Finale: A charming special with some great songs and delightful characters that's well worth checking out with your kids this holiday weekend, especially if any of them are big Toy Story or Muppet Show fans.

Home Media: The DVD is currently expensive, and as mentioned, is missing the opening and closing segments with Kermit anyway. You're better off looking for this one on streaming.

Saturday, December 13, 2025

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Nutcracker (1995)

Jetlag Productions/Goodtimes Entertainment, 1995

Voices of Andrea Libman, Tony Ail, Nathan Aswell, and Kathleen Barr

Directed by Toshiyuki Haruma and Takashi Masunga

Music by Nicholas "Nick" Carr, Ray Crossley, and Andrew Dimitoff; Lyrics by Joellyn Cooperman

Our last review for the year of a low-budget animated knock-off from the 90's is actually much better than you might think. Though there was an Canadian animated Nutcracker film that came out in 1992, most previous versions of The Nutcracker were short subjects or live-action recordings of the ballet. That and the fact that this sticks more to the original story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.H Hoffman than to the ballet makes this unique among Nutcracker adaptations, and gives it a stronger plot than most of the Jetlag films as well. How well does this do with the whimsical story? Let's begin as Marie (Libman) and her brother Fritz wait to see their tree and open presents and find out...

The Story: Marie and Fritz love their presents, especially his toy soldiers and the Nutcracker she found on the tree. Their Godfather Drosselmeyer brings them a special present - a castle with figures that really move in an endless loop. Fritz is quickly bored with it, but Marie thinks it's lovely.

That night, she sees the Nutcracker and toy soldiers fight an evil seven-headed Mouse King. She throws her shoe at the Mouse King to distract him and save the Nutcracker, but hits her head while doing so. She wakes up with a bump on her head, in her bed with her parents worried. Godfather Drosselmeyer tells her how the Nutcracker had once been his handsome young nephew who cracked a nut for the Princess Pirlipat. The princess was cursed into ugliness by the Mouse Queen when her parents trapped the Mouse Queen's children. The cracked nut changed the Princess into a beautiful young woman, but with her last breath, the Mouse Queen transferred the curse to the nephew and turned him into the Nutcracker.

Late at night, the Mouse King comes to Marie and demands her candy, then her clothes and books, or he'll destroy the Nutcracker. Marie knows she can't keep doing this, but she doesn't want her Nutcracker hurt. She finally gets Fritz to give up a sword, so he can defeat the evil Mouse King once and for all and take Marie to the magnificent Christmas Wood, Candy Town, and the Marzipan Castle. She wonders if it was all a dream, until Godfather Drosselmeyer comes and introduces his very familiar nephew...

The Animation: Not the greatest thing ever, but not bad for Jetlag. Everyone has the same enormous blue eyes, but at least the humans have more than one expression. There's some wonderful details on the colorful Christmas Woods and Marzipan Castle in the second half. I do wish they hadn't made the Mouse Queen and Mouse King look so cute and cuddly! It belies their roles as terrifying villains.

The Song and Dance: This wound up being a rather big surprise. There couldn't be a greater contrast between this and our previous direct-to-video animated review, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Here, the whimsical comic tone is appropriate for a satirical fantasy. It even uses the entire backstory with Princess Pirlipat that most ballet-centered versions leave out. Marie is adorable, Fritz is funny, and Godfather Drosselmeyer is appropriately roguish, especially insisting that Marie's dreams are true.

The Numbers: We open with "The Season of Love" as unnamed singers tell us what's to come over scenes of people preparing for Christmas. Marie, dressed as a princess, enjoys "Dancing Through the Night" with the Nutcracker near the end of the film. It ends with "A Dream Come True" as Drosselmeyer's nephew and Marie return to the Marzipan Castle, this time to dance forever. "Season of Love" is reprised over the credits.

What I Don't Like: Though it has a better story and script than most of the Jetlag animated movies, it's still a cheap animated knock-off from the 90's. The animation is colorful but stiff, the few songs are tinny and unmemorable ballads, and the Mouse Queen and King are much too cute and cuddly-looking to be believable as villains. You wonder why Marie believed this seven-headed cutie would ever hurt anything, let alone her Nutcracker.

The Big Finale: Actually, this isn't a bad introduction to the original Nutcracker and the Mouse King for elementary school-aged kids who will enjoy the story and action and be able to overlook the cheap animation and songs.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and on streaming, the latter currently for free with commercials at Tubi.

Tubi

Thursday, November 20, 2025

Cult Flops - The Lottery Bride

United Artists, 1930

Starring Jeanette MacDonald, John Garrick, Joe E. Brown, and Zasu Pitts

Directed by Paul L. Stein

Music by Rudolf Friml; Lyrics by J. Keirn Brennan

If you thought The Desert Song was campy, get a load of this. Arthur Hammerstein, uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II, was known at that point for producing lavish operettas. He'd just come off the successful Rose-Marie and so-so Golden Dawn when he headed west to Hollywood for more opportunities. He joined up with United Artists, known as the home for independent producers like Samuel Goldwyn, and got on the early talkies operetta band wagon with one of the most expensive movies the company had put out at that point. Hammerstein even borrowed up-and-coming soprano Jeanette MacDonald from Paramount and popular comic Joe E. Brown from Warner Brothers. How does all this manage to mix with a dance marathon, a rescue on the ice, and an Italian dirigible? Let's start at the Viking Ship, a club Oslo, Norway, as American orchestra leader Hoke (Brown) arrives for his gig there and find out...

The Story: Hoke suggests a dance marathon to drum up publicity for the Viking Ship and the orchestra's gig. Club singer Jennie (MacDonald) enters to help her brother Nels (Carroll Nye) with his gambling debts, against the wishes of her sweetheart Chris (Garrick). Jennie is arrested when the police, encouraged by Italian dirigible pilot Alberto (Joseph Macauley), come looking for Nels. She's arrested for helping him escape. Heartbroken, and believing her to be in love with Alberto, Chris runs up north to join a mining camp.

To his shock, Jennie turns up there as well. She and Hilda (Pitts), the owner of the Viking Ship, offered themselves as "lottery brides," brides for the men in the camp. Jennie is won by Chris' brother Olaf (Robert Chisholm). Olaf is kind to Jennie, but she and Chris are still deeply in love. After Alberto turns up with his dirigible, Chris joins the crew. Jennie's terrified when the ship goes down in the Arctic wastes and insists on organizing a search party herself. Meanwhile, Olaf goes after his brother on his own with a sled dog, hoping to bring his brother home and back to his beloved Jennie.

The Song and Dance: Well, I give this one credit for being original. At least, unlike the last operetta I reviewed that was set in Norway, this one moves pretty fast for a movie of its era and involves no children whatsoever. MacDonald and Garrick sing beautifully and wear some pretty fabulous costumes, including fur coats that must have cost more than the entire city of Oslo. Brown and Pitts make the most of their limited roles, stealing the show with their surprisingly decent chemistry whenever they're on-screen.

The Numbers: We open with the college students and their sweethearts populating the Viking Ship performing "Yubla," before MacDonald and the chorus take over. Chris and Jennie insist that they are "My Northern Lights" while strolling together at the club. "The Marathon" is performed to a driving instrumental number from the orchestra that picks up as we see more and more couples drop out. "When a Brother Needs a Friend" is the rousing number for the brothers and the chorus in the mining camp's recreational hall. "I'll Follow the Trail" is the camp's song for the dirigible crew when it arrives. It's reprised by the chorus when the dirigible leaves for its ill-fated journey with Chris as part of the crew. "You're an Angel," Olaf sings to Jennie, not knowing she's in love with his brother.

Trivia: The movie as it stands online and on Kino Lorber DVD is missing ten minutes of footage, including the two-strip Technicolor finale with the dirigible and more scenes with Brown and Pitts. That version has been restored and was shown on Turner Classic Movies in 2011.

John Garrick would go on to be a popular singer and actor in British film during the 30's and 40s.

What I Don't Like: I don't think even a two-strip Technicolor finale with a crashing dirigible could save this mess. MacDonald is clearly bored other than her singing, and Garrick is playing a jerk who dumps his girlfriend over something she could have explained and runs off, twice. Pitts and Brown may be the best thing about the movie, but their parts are so greatly reduced, they have almost nothing to do in the second half. It's like someone threw together the worst parts of five different movies and tried blending them together. Absolutely nothing makes sense, including the lovers ending up together. Frankly, Olaf may not have been the most passionate guy, but he treated Jennie a lot better than his brother did.

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent enthusiasts of MacDonald, operetta, or the early talkie era.

Home Media: As mentioned, the truncated version can be found on DVD and on streaming.

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

The Desert Song (1929)

Warner Bros, 1929

Starring John Boles, Carlotta King, Myrna Loy, and Johnny Arthur

Directed by Roy Del Ruth

Music by Sigmund Romberg; Lyrics by Otto Haurbach and Frank Mandel

This week we dive into the romantic, swashbuckling world of operetta, where every romance is a rhapsody, every duel a symphony. The Desert Song, inspired by the actual Riff tribe uprisings in North Africa, was a huge hit on Broadway in 1926. Warner Bros thought it would be perfect for their first all-talking, all-singing film and pulled out all the stops. There's lavish costumes and scenery, then-up-and-coming John Boles as the Red Shadow, most of those gorgeous songs recorded onto live Vitaphone discs, and originally, blazing two-strip Technicolor. While the color prints don't survive, how does the rest look in black and white today? Let's begin with "The Riff Song," as we see the tribes riding in the desert, and find out...

The Story: The Red Shadow (Boles) is the mysterious Robin Hood-like leader of the Riffs. He is in reality Pierre Birabeau, the son of the French General Birabeau (Edward Martindel) who came to Morocco in an attempt to impress Margot Bonavalet (King), a girl at his father's outpost. He took over the Riffs and now pretends to be a weakling in order to hide his secret identity. Margot is engaged to the General's dashing right-hand man Captain Fontaine (John Miljan), but she yearns to be romantically swept into the arms of some desert sheik.

She gets her wish when the Riffs attack the outpost and take her, Pierre's friend Benny Kidd (Arthur), and Benny's female friend Susan (Louise Fazenda) to their camp. Susan and Margot are quite surprised when the Red Shadow treats them with every Western courtesy. Margot eventually falls for the Red Shadow, while Benny dresses as a woman to escape and get help. The General comes to rescue Margot and challenges the Red Shadow to a duel, but Pierre can't harm his own father. Meanwhile, Captain Fontaine is told the location of the Riffs by jealous dancing girl Azuri (Loy), and Benny and Susan end up having their own fun when they get lost in the desert.

The Song and Dance: Oh boy, this was fun. The archaic stiffness of most early operetta is replaced by some of the hammiest acting I've ever seen in a major film musical. It's clear everyone knew darn well they were in a hoary old melodrama and just ran with the lunacy. Boles might be a little bit better as supposedly spineless Pierre than the dashing Red Shadow, but he and King do more than justice to their songs. Check out King's incredible high note on "The Sabre Song!" Some of the supporting cast works too, including Loy as the traitorous Azuri and Roberto E. Guzman as the Red Shadow's second-in-command Sid El Kar.

The Numbers: We open with "The Riff Song" as they explain who they are and why they follow the Red Shadow. "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "French Military Marching Song" are Margot and the women of the barracks' lament that their men are perpetually away fighting. Margot has modern dreams of romance, but Pierre's are more courtly. "Then You Will I Know," he tells her after she explains her dreams of being swept off her feet. "Why Waste Your Time?" The Red Shadow wonders, before he and Margot go into the rapturous title song. One of his men, Sid El Kar, sings "Soft as a Pigeon Lights Upon the Sand" as Azuri and her girls dance in traditional Arabian garb. Margot and The Red Shadow reprise the title song when she's being abducted to end the first half.

The second half starts with Spanish dancers performing "My Little Castagnette." Clementina, the lead Spanish dancer, also performs "Song of the Brass Key." Head of the Riffs Ali Ben Ali (Jack Pratt) tells the Red Shadow to "Let Love Go." This goes right into Sid's big ballad, "One Flower Grows Alone In Your Garden." Red Shadow counters with one of the big standards from this, the ballad "One Alone." The Red Shadow insists to Margot when she complains about the desert that "I Find the Simple Life Entrancing." "The Sabre Song" is Margot's soliloquy as she wonders about the Red Shadow and who he really is. "You Love Me" Margot and the Red Shadow declare before going into another reprise of the title song. The Red Shadow sings "One Alone" before going off into the desert...and it's how Margot knows it's really him when he sings it in the finale.

Trivia: Though this was completed in late 1928, it was held back until May 1929 due to Warners' release schedule at the time. It was a hit when it came out, but critics thought it stilted compared to movies that had been released in the interim like The Broadway Melody.

What I Don't Like: First of all, though this is probably the most complete version of this show on film or TV, there's still a few songs missing, notably Margot's solo "Romance" and Benny's two comedy numbers. Second, Warners really needs to take a crack at restoring this, even if they can't find the color. The black and white copies on YouTube are horribly blurry. Third, this is not for those who want their musicals quieter or more subtle. This is a romantic adventure drama where everyone shouts their lines to the non-existent balconies.

King sounds better than she acts. She's stiff as a board in the first half unless she's singing, until she really gets into "The Desert Song" and "The Sabre Song." There's this being an early talkie, too. People do stand around and just sing a lot. We also have all your attendant Arab stereotypes, mixed in with your obvious gay stereotypes with Benny (how he ultimately ended up with Susan I will never know).

The Big Finale: Great for early talkie enthusiasts and operetta and action fans like me who may be willing to sit through some of the baked ham to enjoy some truly fine singing.

Home Media: Best place to find this one is on YouTube.

Thursday, October 30, 2025

Happy Halloween! - Sinners

Warner Bros, 2025

Starring Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, and Jack O'Connell

Directed by Ryan Coogler

Music and Lyrics by various

We celebrate Halloween with something truly unique, and one of the biggest surprise hits of the year. Director Ryan Coogler was mainly known for his adaptations, including the two Black Panther films. This is his first original. There was a lot of question marks surrounding this movie when it debuted this April, but it received some of the best reviews of the spring. Positive word-of-mouth turned it into a huge hit, a rarity for an R-rated movie and an original without a franchise behind it. Considering other musicals this year, including Snow White and Kiss of the Spider Woman, have struggled, what made this one stand out? Let's head to Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1932, where twin brothers Elijah "Smoke" and Elias "Stack" Moore (Jordan) are "Wanraising the roof in their father's church with "This Little Light of Mine" and find out...

The Story: The twins buy an old sawmill from smarmy landowner Hogwood (David Maldonado) to open their own juke joint, an African-American nightclub and dance hall. They bring in their cousin Sammie (Caton), despite his pastor father Jeddiah (Saul Williams) warning him against the sins of blues music. They recruit local field worker Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) as the bouncer, Chinese grocery store owners Grace (Li Jun Li) and Bo (Yao) Chow as suppliers, and legendary blues man Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) as a musician. Smoke talks his wife Annie (Wunami Mosaku) into cooking for them, despite them being estranged after the death of their infant daughter, while Sammie admires pretty singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson) and Stack tries to court his white-passing ex-girlfriend Mary (Steinfeld).

The opening night of the juke joint attracts a lot more than customers who only pay in company money. Sammie's music is so transcendent, it attracts the spirits of the past and future...and Remmick (O'Connell), a vampire looking for someone whose music can restore his lost community. He's already turned Hogswood's nephew Bert (Peter Dreimanis) and his wife Joan (Lola Kirke) into vampires, and he attacks Mary when she tries to reason with him. After she turns Stack, he becomes set on taking the entire African-American community. Smoke won't go down without a fight, but when Remmick rallies the rest of the town, it's up to him and those who remain to save the joint and their music from this supernatural menace.

The Song and Dance: Wow, no wonder this was so huge. First of all, the movie is gorgeous. The costumes and sets (filmed in Louisiana) are stunning and period-accurate, perfectly redolent of the sweat and grime of the real south in the early 30's. There's some fabulous performances, too. Jordan does well as both twins, especially the determined Stack, and Caton's performances at the juke joint are good enough to make you understand why Remmick wanted him to play his music, too. Maldonado is a good smarmy landowner, and O'Connell's Irish vampire obsessed with resurrecting his lost home is chilling. And I appreciate how much music is central to the story. It's the reason they want that juke joint, that Sammie defies his father, that Remmick attacks them.

The Numbers: We open with Sammie raising the roof (along with the DC6 Singers Collective and the Pleasant Valley Youth Choir of New Orleans) at his father's church with the traditional "This Little Light of Mine." "Wang Dang Doodle" is the song heard while the men are driving to discuss opening the juke joint with Hogwood. Sammie performs "Travelin'," "Juke," and "I Lied to You" at that "transcendent" juke joint opening night. "Can't Win for Losin'" is another number for Delta Slim and his musicians. There's also "Old Corn Liquor." "Pick Poor Robin Clean," "Will Ye Go, Lassie Go?" and "Rocky Road to Dublin" are the numbers for Remmick and Hogswood's nephew and his wife. The last-named turns into a chorus number when they bring the others vampires in on it. The eerie "Pale, Pale Moon" is Pearline's big number in the juke joint, while Mary gets "Dangerous."

Trivia: This became the first movie to ever be offered by a streaming service with American Sign Language interpretation (which is how I saw it on Amazon Prime).

What I Don't Like: First of all, heed that R rating. Given vampires and gangsters are involved, you probably won't be surprised to hear that there's a ton of violence, blood, and swearing in this movie. This juke joint is for adult revelers only. Second, frankly, the more realistic first half, where we learn about the relationships between the Moore twins, their family, and the community is slightly more interesting than the supernatural second half. The second half almost gets into horror Marvel territory and shows that Ryan Cooger hasn't quite left the Marvel action movies behind yet.

The Big Finale: If you're an adult who loves horror, black cinema, or the blues and are willing to take a chance on something different, you'll want to take a trip to enjoy the Moore twins' supernatural Halloween horror party, too.

Home Media: Easily found anywhere, on disc and on streaming.

Amazon Prime (American Sign Language Interpretation Only)

Blu-Ray

Saturday, October 25, 2025

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

Thursday, October 16, 2025

Cult Flops - Cats (2019)

Universal, 2019

Starring Francesca Hayward, Judi Dench, Idris Alba, and Jennifer Hudson

Directed by Tom Hooper

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by T.S Elliot and Taylor Swift

Cats is another musical from the last 40 years that had a long road to the big screen. It had been a smash everywhere it played since its debut on the West End in 1981. Steven Spielburg had originally planned on turning it into an animated film in the early 90's, but then his studio Amblinmaion shut down. A taping of the stage show in London did make it to home media in the late 90's and received excellent reviews, but most people thought that was the closest Cats would ever get to the big screen...until 2013, when Andrew Lloyd Webber started talking about a film adaptation. The movie finally debuted in December 2019 to some of the worst reviews and box-office for a major film that year. Does it deserve that fate, or should this Jellicle Cat get another chance to ascend the Heavinside Layer? Let's begin on the streets of London with the arrival of something the cat let out of the bag, a scared white kitten named Victoria (Hayward), and find out...

The Story: Victoria was abandoned on the streets of London just in time for the Jellicle Cats to have their Jellicle Ball. This is where they decide which cat will ascend to the Heavinside Layer and be granted a new life. Victoria meets all the competitors - Jennyanydots (Rebel Wilson), a domestic tabby who can make mice and cockroaches dance, Rum Tum Tugger (Jason Derulo), known for his extravagance, Skimbleshanks (Steven MacRae), a ginger cat who works for the railroad, Gus (Ian McKellen), a kindly old cat who had once played major roles onstage, and Busterphous Jones (James Corden), a plump tuxedo cat who shares his food with the others.

Each one vanishes before Victoria's eyes, to her horror and that of Old Deuteonomy (Judi Dench), the head cat who will decide which will make the ascension. Macavity (Alba) wants to be the one chosen, and he'll do anything to get that new life, including eliminate the competition. Meanwhile, at the ball, Victoria befriends Grizabella the Glamour Cat (Hudson), who had once been aligned with Macavity. When Macavity takes off with Old Deuteonomy, it's Victoria who suggests that magician cat Mr. Mistoffelees (Laurie Robinson) use his magic to retrieve her. It works, inspiring the other cats to rescue themselves. Old Deuteonomy doesn't need a song and dance to know which cat is truly worthy of the Heavinside Layer, and Victoria to know where she truly belongs.

The Song and Dance: While yeah, this is not a great movie, or even a decent one, a few good things do manage to sneak in. Swift and Webber's "Beautiful Ghosts" is a genuinely touching song that sounds gorgeous on Hayward. Swift, rather surprisingly, isn't too horrible as Macavity's current flame Bombilina, Dench gives Old Deuteonomy tremendous gravity under her thick fur, and Alba makes a perfectly slick and greedy Macavity.

The Numbers: We open with Victoria's entrance to the first chorus number, which introduces us to "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats." Mr. Mistofflees and Munkustrap (Robbie Fairchild) introduce "The Naming of Cats" and give "The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball." Munkustrap takes Victoria into a typical London home to introduce "Jennyanydots: The Old Gumbie Cat" and her dancing mice and cockroaches. She in turn introduces "The Rum Tum Tugger." Victoria stops several young cats from abusing "Grizabella the Glamour Cat," and befriends the exiled former animal star. Rum Tum Tugger takes Victoria to meet "Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town" and his huge appetite. Victoria gets into major trouble - and almost gets attacked by a dog - thanks to the mischievous cat burglar twins "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer."

"Growltiger's Last Stand" gives us the nasty old pirate cat who watches the kidnapped competitors for Macavity. Munkustrap brings Victoria to meet "Old Deuteonomy," who begins "The Jellicle Ball." Grizabella tells Victoria about her "Memory" of better times, while Victoria admits that all she has are "Beautiful Ghosts." Old Deutoeonomy talks about "The Moments of Happiness" and introduces "Gus the Theater Cat." Munkustrap takes us for a ride with "Skimbleshanks: the Railway Cat." Bombalurina (Swift) performs a lurid number about her current lover "Macavity: The Mystery Cat." Victoria and Munkustrap encourage "Mr. Mistofflees" to use his magic and free the missing cats. After everyone has been returned, Grizabella and Victoria reprise "Memory," while Victoria and Old Deutoenonomy reprise "Beautiful Ghosts." The movie finishes with "The Journey to the Heavinside Layer" and Old Deutoenonomy describing "The Ad-Dressing of Cats."

Trivia: Cats ran from 1981 through 2002 in London and 1982 through 2000 in New York. It had brief limited-run revivals in 2014 in London and 2016 in New York and saw a stripped-down off-Broadway production in 2024. The off-Broadway production is currently said to be moving to Broadway in April 2026. It also occasionally turns up in regional stages for theaters with a large amount of dancers or who are looking for a surefire audience pleaser.

What I Don't Like: The idea of humans dressed as cats and dancing in giant sets made to look like the back alleys and bourgeois homes of London is far more believable onstage, where you can feel the intimacy of all those people dancing almost literally around you, than it is on film. If they had to adapt it to film at all, they should have stuck to animation. Even with the revised special effects put out after the ones in the first version of the movie were said to be terrible, this still looks ridiculous. It's more like dancing AI animal paintings than human-sized cats moving around gracefully.

Hayward dances beautifully and does do well by "Beautiful Ghosts," but she otherwise spends most of the movie looking scared or blank. Most of the cast, including Rebel Wilson as the languid Jennyanydots and lively Robinson as Mistofflees, are defeated by their silly dance numbers, the almost spooky uncanny valley CGI, or just not being onscreen for very long. The movie shares a problem with the Broadway show in that there's so many cats who do so much, none of them are on the screen for very long. You don't get to know the ones like Bombalurina or Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer you'd like to know better. Hudson's far too bombastic as Grizabella and certainly doesn't suggest an aging glamour cat.

The Big Finale: I'm going to be honest and admit that, though I have the original cast album, I've never been a fan of the stage Cats, either. "Memory" aside, it all just seemed too silly and way too much. This certainly won't change my mind. Unless you're a really huge fan of Swift, Webber, or any of the stars involved, you can look for "Beautiful Ghosts" online and abandon the rest of this one on the streets of London without another thought.

Home Media: Easily found everywhere, including on disc (often for under $10) and on Netflix and Amazon Prime with subscriptions.

Saturday, October 11, 2025

Animation Celebration Saturday - Once Upon a Forest

20th Century Fox, 1993

Voices of Michael Crawford, Ellen Blain, Benji Gregory, and Paige Gosney

Directed by Charles Grosvenor

Music by James Horner; Lyrics by Will Jennings and others

Concern for the environment was so prevalent during the early 90's that it even seeped into animation. Having had mild success with Ferngully: The Last Rainforest the year before, Fox returned to the well with an even more emotional story about taking care of our earth. It wasn't a hit at the time, but is it worth checking out 30 years later? Let's begin with dawn at a lovely meadow called Dapplewood, as the animal residents are starting to awaken, and find out...

The Story: Cornelius the badger (Crawford) mentors four little "Furlings," Abigail the energetic mouse (Blain), Edgar the sweet and shy mole (Gregory), Russell the always-hungry hedgehog (Gosney), and his sweet little niece Michelle (Elizabeth Moss). One day, poison gas from a ruptured truck leaks into the forest. The children are with Cornelius and are unharmed, but Michelle loses her parents and inhales the gas. Cornelius sends Abigail, Edgar, and Russell to retrieve Lung-wort and Eye-bright, the only herbs that can save the little badger. The trio learn to work together to avoid a barn owl, cross a construction site, help a wren (Rickey D'Shon Collins) get unstuck from the mud, and retrieve the lung-wort from a cliff, and discover their own hidden talents in the process.

The Animation: Extremely Disney-esque and very typical of this time period and of Hanna-Barbara. The woods are beautiful, with their sun-dappled forests and blooming plants...but then you get the ultra-realistic construction site and the devastation wrought by the poison gas. The animals look like a cross between The Secret of Nimh and some of the cutesier Hanna-Barbara TV shows of the 1980s like The Biskitts or Shirt Tales. They're designed to be adorable, especially little Michelle, but they can get some darker expressions out of them - check out when they realize Michelle is sick.

The Song and Dance: I do give Hanna Barbera some kudos for daring to go this dark. Even Ferngully: The Last Rainforest didn't kill off characters or completely destroy the forest. This is darker than some Disney movies of the 90's. Crawford makes an appropriately gruff mentor, and Ben Vereen does get into his big number with the birds and the Furlings after they rescue the wren from the mud.

The Numbers: Our first number isn't until 15 minutes in, but it's the devastating "Please Wake Up," sung by Cornelius to the comatose Michelle after she's gassed. Even Crawford had a hard time performing this emotional ballad of love and loss. "He's Gone" is the birds' number when they think they're losing the wren to the mud. They change this to the joyous "He's Back" after the kids get him out. Florence Warner Jones performs the gentle "Once Upon a Time With Me" over the closing credits.

Trivia: This would be the last Hanna-Barbera movie released to theaters.

What I Don't Like: See that "dark" thing above. Um, what audience did Hanna-Barbera intend this for again? The cutesy kid animal characters and bucolic setting indicate a children's movie, but the poison gas, construction site, and bird stuck in the mud mourned by his family at a funeral are more likely to give them nightmares, or at least upset them quite a bit. No wonder it was a massive flop in 1993. Some audiences today might not know what to make of this, let alone then. The sequence with the birds and the wren is totally out of left field and feels like it was dropped in from another movie entirely to give Vereen something to do.

The Big Finale: That said, there are quite a few people who saw this on video in the 90's and found it profoundly moving. Frankly, while it can be moving, the clash of tones and utterly depressing plot was a bit too much for me. Your mileage may vary on whether your elementary school kids are up to this one; might actually be better for tweens if you can get them past the cute animals.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD - Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection Volume 2

Saturday, September 20, 2025

Animation Celebration Saturday - Plankton: The Movie

Netflix/Nickelodeon, 2025

Voices of Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Tom Kenney, and Bill Fagerbakke

Directed by David Needham

Music and Lyrics by various

We're remaining at Netflix, but going to a whole different franchise. SpongeBob SquarePants is the story of a very enthusiastic sponge who lives in under the sea and has some of the most peculiar friends in all of animation. Plankton is technically one of the show's villains, a tiny one-eyed creature with an ego three times the size of his body who is married to a computer and thinks stealing the formula for Krabby Patties will help him take over the world. Although the film revolving around SpongeBob's squirrel friend Sandy Cheeks wasn't well-received critically, it was popular enough on Netflix for them to go ahead with this one. How well does music fit with SpongeBob's oddly sunny world? Let's begin with SpongeBob as he introduces us to the world of his home Bikini Bottom and find out...

The Story: Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) is furious when his computer wife Karen (Talley) tries to make over his dreary restaurant, the Chum Bucket, to be more cheerful and "contemporary" and actually get customers. Him destroying the restaurant is the last straw. She turns into a larger robotic form with three heads and claims she'll take over the world without him. Her new fortress magnetizes the Chum Bucket, stealing it and other buildings in Bikini Bottom.

Plankton wants to get to the bottom of why Karen's behaving badly, so he lets SpongeBob (Kenny) hypnotize him to recall his past. This leads him to remember Karen's previous form as a calculator attached to a potato, which he upgraded at Bikini State University. They built their first machine to take over the world there. That didn't work, but it led Plankton to the Chum Bucket and to overhearing Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) jokingly say that the Krabby Paddy formula will help him take over the world is what made Plankton want it for his own. It's not until he encounters Karen's "Gal Pals" Sandy Cheeks (Carolyn Lawrence), Mrs. Puff (Mary Jo Catlett), and Pearl Krabs (Lori Alan) that Plankton realizes what he'd been missing...and downloads her empathy chip into his own brain to see that what she really wanted all along was to be acknowledged as his favorite partner in crime.

The Animation: The SpongeBob movies have been done in 3D for several years now. This is...just ok. Everything looks the way it should, including Plankton and Karen's many forms, but it doesn't always move as smoothly as it could. Some of the 2D and 3D isn't very well-combined, either. It looks more-or-less like the TV show, which is really all this franchise needs in the end. In fact, the film looks better when it gets away from computer animation, including the psychedelic sequence where Plankton experiences empathy for the first time.

The Song and Dance: SpongeBob was always a bit...strange...and this movie is no exception. Kudos to them for doing something a bit different with this material. To my knowledge, the other SpongeBob films are all straight action comedies. This is the first time they've done a film musical...and it's not bad. Mr. Lawrence and especially Talley have a lot of fun with the spoofs of 80's movie musical tropes, and Kenny's attempt to hypnotize and understand Plankton's overwhelming ego is hilarious. This goes slightly darker than usual for SpongeBob, which doesn't often go into complicated marital relationships or why empathy is so important for humans and AI alike, and it's rather refreshing for the show.

The Numbers: We open with SpongeBob cheerfully introducing us to life in the colorful undersea world of "Bikini Bottom." "I'm Plankton" introduces Plankton, Karen, and Plankton's usual desire to take over the world. Karen insists that her husband "Say My Name, Karen" when she suddenly turns into a monstrous version of herself. "I Made a New Friend" says Plankton when he creates Karen as a child. He finally admits "I'm a Jerky-Jerk" to Karen by way of an apology. "Taking Over" brings everyone together to fight Karen's new forms. "Welcome Back to Bikini Bottom" is SpongeBob's big chorus finale as the underwater world is restored. We end over the credits with "You and Me."

What I Don't Like: Start with the so-so animation mentioned above. There's also the cliched plot points...and the fact that, if you don't know the show all that well, especially in its later seasons, you might be slightly confused. There are times when, despite being the title character, you wish they actually focused more on Plankton and a bit less on SpongeBob.

The Big Finale: Highly recommended if you're a fan of SpongeBob or Plankton, or just want a unique animated musical to watch with your older elementary school-age kids.

Home Media: This is a Netflix exclusive at the moment.

Netflix

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Animation Celebration Saturday - KPop Demon Hunters

Sony (Columbia)/Netflix, 2025

Voices of Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, and Ahn Hyo-seop

Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Applehaus

Music and Lyrics by various

This review is dedicated to the children in the after-school and summer camp program I work for. KPop Demon Hunters was all the older kids at the summer program could talk about all summer long. The girls admired the young women band and warriors. The boys drew artwork of the imaginative demons. Their teachers and caretakers constantly played the catchy soundtrack on their speaker and let the kids dance along. I'd only vaguely heard of this before it caught on in a big way. I'm not the biggest fan of Korean pop. It always seemed so cutesy, regardless of what part of the world it came from. This is about as far from cutesy as you can get. What is this, and why are all the kids into it? Let's head to a concert with Korean pop group Huntrix and find out...

The Story: Huntrix is in reality the most recent incarnation of three female demon hunters who stopped demons from taking human souls for their leader Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun) by creating a barrier from communal energy known as the Honmoon. They're also a wildly popular Korean rock trio, at least until the Saja Boys turn up on the scene with their smash hit "Soda Pop." Their rise coincides with their leader Rumi's (Cho) voice fading. Rumi herself is part demon, but she was raised to hide her demon marks and what she is by former demon hunter Celine (Yunjin Kim).

The girls quickly figure out that the Saja Boys are demons, but after Rumi has an encounter with their leader Jinu (Hyo-seop), she begins to question what she is and her role in the group. Everything comes to a head at the Idol Awards, where the girls are to perform their new anti-demon song "Takedown." They decide it's too inflammatory and substitute their hit "Golden" instead...but then it seems like Rumi's fellow Huntrix Mira (Hong) and Zoey (Yoo) are against her. Rumi confronts Jinu, then Celine...but she finally learns that the best way to rescue her friends and everyone's souls is to love herself the way she is, demon marks and all.

The Animation: Wow. Done in a style similar to the Spider Man Spiderverse films, replacing that series' palate of primary colors with the bold black, white, gold, and neons of concerts and music videos. It's blocky and sketchy, computer animation that's made to look like hand-drawn, and it's most effective. The demons in particular are really creative, both in design and movement. No wonder the boys wanted to draw them.

The Song and Dance: Ok, I can see why the kids are into this. The action-packed story is very much in tune to Korean culture and the music that's wildly popular right now - and not a bit of it is cutesy. Cho and Hyo-seop are the stand-outs in the voice cast as the young woman who finds her voice when she accepts all of what she is and the man who gave himself to save his family, only to lose his soul. The music is genuinely catchy and well-done. They say as much in the film about "Soda Pop," but that applies to "Takedown," "Golden," and "What It Sounds Like," too.

The Numbers: We open after Huntrix finally arrives at the last leg of a major concert tour with their confidant "How It's Done" and see just how much their fans adore them. "Look Back at Me" and "Strategy" show us more of Huntrix and their demon hunting past. "Golden" is first their big "I want" single, then Rumi's attempt to shine at the Idol Awards. They're outdone by the Saja Boys and their silly, simple, and totally earworm-worthy hit "Soda Pop." The members of Huntrix respond with "Takedown," their attempt to expose the demons and reveal their true natures to their fans. The Saja Boys replace the effervescent fizz of "Soda Pop" with the moody, eerie "Your Idol" at the Idol Awards. Rumi sings "What It Sounds Like" as she claims her own truth about being part demon. Mira and Zoey join in for the end of that song and a reprise of "Takedown."

What I Don't Like: For all of their fidelity to Korean music and culture, the story isn't the most creative. You've seen something similar in a thousand sci-fi and superhero movies before it, including the Spiderverse films. Rumi and Jinu are the only characters we really get to know well. Even Mira and Zoey are more archetypes than actual characters, and the other Saja Boys aren't even that. The girls' manager Bobby (Ken Jeong) can occasionally bend into annoying stereotype territory.

The Big Finale: No wonder the kids love this. Stunning animation, admirable fidelity to Korean culture, and terrific music more than make up for the unimaginative story and characters. If you have kids ages 6 on up and a subscription to Netflix, you've probably already seen this. Even if you're an adult, it's still recommended for the animation and music alone.

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

Netflix

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Pardners

Paramount, 1956

Starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lori Nelson, and John Baragrey

Directed by Norman Taurog

Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn

We're staying out west with two more popular comedians who ironically also began at Paramount. By 1956, rumors abounded that Martin and Lewis were breaking up their very profitable partnership and going solo. This movie was one way they denied those rumors. How does this remake of the Bing Crosby vehicle Rhythm On the Range look nowadays? Let's begin out west, as Matilda Kinglsey (Agnes Moorehead) flees the K Ranch with her son Wade Jr shortly before bandits kill her husband Wade (Lewis) and his partner Slim Mosley (Martin) and find out...

The Story: Wade Jr. (Lewis) longs to be a cowboy in the real wild West, but his mother would rather he marry a formidable girl from a wealthy family. He's impressed with the son of Slim (Martin), who is a ranch hand at the K-Ranch, and his cousin Carol (Lori Nelson), who runs it, and follows them to the rodeo. Slim wants to win a bull named Cuddles and replenish their stock after a raid, but Wade's bungling costs him the top prize. Feeling guilty and still wanting to see the authentic West, Wade buys him Cuddles and inadvertently ends up following him there when he gets stranded on the train. Slim was annoyed with Wade at first, but finally warms up with him to the point where they agree to become partners like their fathers.

There's even more trouble when they do finally arrive at the K Ranch. Banker Dan Hollis (Baragrey) has been trying to buy the ranch and sell the land for a dam and asking Carol to marry him. She's not interested in selling or marrying him. Slim, hoping to avoid teasing, claims Wade is Killer Jones, the roughest, toughest man in the entire state. The townspeople dub Wade their new sheriff, but because they think he's the one who stopped a runaway stagecoach. It was really Slim, who has to help keep Wade from ending up like all the other sheriffs in town and dig up the dirt on who is really after the K Ranch and its holdings.

The Song and Dance: You'd never know Martn and Lewis were having problems by this point with hilarious performances here. Martin has more to do, for once, and runs with it, especially in the second half when he's supposed to be protecting Wade and making him look like a lawman. Though this starts out relatively similar to Rhythm On the Range, once they get Cuddles to the ranch, it becomes a whole different - and frankly, far more interesting - story. The focus on Martin, Lewis, and Lewis' antics as a mama's boy who learns to take care of himself also keeps this from degenerating into a series of unrelated specialty numbers like Rhythm did near the end of the film. Not to mention, this feels a lot more like an actual western complete with bandits, shoot-outs, and land-grabbing schemes.

The Numbers: "The Wind, The Wind" is Slim's song at the rodeo, which he performs to win enough money for Cuddles after Wade's antics end with him dropping out of the bucking bronco race. "Buckskin Beauty" is Wade's song once he's out west. They declare themselves "Pardners," first on the way out west with Cuddles, and later in the finale. Slim sings "Me N' You N' the Moon" later for Carol when they're at the ranch.

Trivia: Taurog also directed Rhythm on the Range.

What I Don't Like: Martin and Lewis are really the only ones who have much to do. Nelson and Jackie Loughery as the saloon dancer Wade falls for barely register as much more than love interests. Both Hollises are pretty obvious villains, too. Where this really falters is with the music. Rhythm on the Range produced the standard "I'm an Old Cowhand" and had a few other decent songs. None of the four numbers here get anywhere close to that, though "The Wind The Wind" is mildly interesting.

The Big Finale: One of Martin and Lewis' better later vehicles is worth checking out for fans of theirs or of 50's comedy.

Home Media: Only on DVD in the US as part of a collection of Martin and Lewis movies, though the solo Blu-Ray is due on September 12th. At the moment, you may be better off streaming this. Like most Martin-Lewis titles, this can currently be found for free with commercials at the Paramount-owned Pluto TV.

Blu-Ray

Pluto TV On Demand

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Go West (1940)

MGM, 1940

Starring Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx, John Carroll, Diana Lewis, and Walter Woolf King

Directed by Edward Buzzell

Music by Bronislau Kaper; Lyrics by Gus Kahn

Saddle up, pardners, 'cause we're going west this week with some of your favorite comedians. We kick off our look at the funny side of the Old West with one of the Marx Brothers' later movies. It's also their only film with a non-contemporary setting and the only time they played with western tropes. How well do the Marx Brothers deal with land-grabbers and family feuds? Let's begin with swindler S. Quenton Quayle (Groucho) as he attempts to buy a train ticket west and find out...

The Story: Quayle loses his ticket money to a pair of even smarter swindlers, brothers Joe (Chico) and Rusty Panello (Harpo). The brothers in turn use that money to buy Dead Man's Gulch from old prospector Dan Wilson (Tully Marshall), who claims it has no gold. As it turns out, it's valuable in another way. Terry Turner (Carroll), the son of Wilson's long-time rival, went to New York to attempt to convince the railroad to buy Dead Man's Gulch. He's convinced them that the gulch is the only route through the mountains linking east and west. He's also in love with Wilson's granddaughter Eve (Lewis), who wishes to marry him no matter what her grandfather thinks.

After the railroad agrees to buy the property, Quayle attempts to swindle it away from the Panellos. Corrupt railroad executive John Beecher (King) and saloon owner Red Baxter (Robert Barrat) use saloon singer Lulubelle (June MacCloy) to charm the deed off them. Now it's up to Quayle and the Panellos to make sure that deed gets to the railroad officials in New York, even if they have to tear the train apart to keep it going to its destination!

The Song and Dance: This wound up being really cute, probably one of the Brothers' better later efforts. Chico and Harpo in particular have some nice moments. Harpo tearing up the train to keep the engine moving in the finale is one highlight. Groucho both ducking and enjoying Lulubelle's advances are another. King is almost as good here as he was in Night at the Op era and continues to play well off the Marxes, his bluster more than matching their anarchy.

The Numbers: We start over the credits with "As If I Didn't Know." Groucho joins Lulubelle onstage for "You Can't Argue With Love." "Ridin' the Range" has the Marxes joining in with Carroll as they discuss their devotion to their new western home. Eve sings the old Stephen Foster number "Beautiful Dreamer" at home. Chico performs "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" and "The Woodpecker Song" on the piano, while Harpo gets "From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water) for the Natives whom they have to convince to give up their claim on the land.

What I Don't Like: Not one of the Marxes' better movies. Carroll is particularly dull in a thankless role, and Lewis isn't much more interesting and is too nasal to pass for a western heroine. Although it doesn't hit the lows of their next movie after this The Big Store, it's still not one of their best efforts. Only the train finale is really vintage Marx Brothers madness.

The Big Finale: Mainly for fans of the Marx Brothers or comic westerns.

Home Media: On DVD and streaming from the Warner Archive.