Ciao, cinemaphiles!
This week Ian and Dave go on a quest to bring you an all-spoilers review of Pixar/Disney’s newest animated film Onward plus they go on a sidequest down a primrose path that may or may not be overrun by gelatinous cubes to discuss the new Simpson’s short Playdate with Destiny that accompanies the feature film.
So – join our two intrepid reviewers as they brave a kobold-filled theatre to fansplain it all for you. And that ain’t no nest of owlbears!
Thanks for listening.
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We finally got Disney+, so I finally watched Onward and listened to you Fansplain it! I agree mostly with Dave on this one. It was not the best Pixar movie but it was fun. I liked the brothers’ relationship. I was also a shy kid with a big, loud brother who I felt embarrassed to be related to at times in high school, only instead of D&D he was into religion. My other, older, brother got me into high school drama which got me out of my comfort zone. Theatre was our shared adventure for many years.
One of the goals on Ian Lightfoot’s list which I strongly identified with was “Learn To Drive.” I still have a terror of merging onto a highway. I liked the pixie bikers and the Chuck E. Cheese-ification of the Manticore and her tavern. I didn’t like the Weekend at Bernie’s vibe of the Dad’s disguise. Was that for us older viewers? Well, it got old fast. They could have used other “toppings” along the way for more variety.
I used to call this kind of movie a “divorced dad movie”…something PG and adventurous a dad can take his kids, especially sons, to when he has them for the weekend. (Like Transformers or Real Steel) But I liked how this was more like a “surrogate dad/stepdad movie” that gave props to non-biological father figures.
“Playdate With Destiny” (SPOILERS). I skipped ahead on the podcast when I heard you say that a Simpsons short was shown in theatres in front of Onward. Then I listened to your commentary after I watched it. I thought it had an Our Gang feel to it which I’ve never found that funny, i.e. imposing adult relationships on little kids. But we did laugh when she kept hitting the “Y” button on her speak and spell device. My sister predicted the twist on the train gag. I don’t think it’s worthy of an Oscar nom but no doubt its main purpose was to plug Disney’s acquisition of The Simpsons catalogue. Too bad for them that the pandemic got in the way of their marketing ploy.
BTW, it was my sister who decided to pony up the cheese to the Mouse so we could watch Hamilton, thus saving her 100 bucks to see a touring production (if one ever gets here) or even more bucks to see it in Seattle or New York (if they ever reopen.) I found it over-rated, as I suspected I would. But the hype around the Disney release did lead me to a hilarious gem called “Spamilton: an American Parody.” It’s an off-Broadway musical that tells the story of “Lin-Manuel-as Hamilton” who comes to New York to save Broadway. The superbly funny five-member cast is just as strong as the original cast. The show also parodies composers and celebrities from other hit musicals to scathingly comment on current Broadway trends. The cast album and a few performance are on YouTube. Here’s one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig5q6EhK0LU
As an added bonus, we also finally got to watch The Mandalorian, Season 1, which we loved. Which made me wonder how did they get this series so right but The Rise of Skywalker so wrong? Is it just that Favreau has a way better understanding of Star Wars than Whedon? Can you Fansplain that?