Episode 20 - A GOOFY MOVIE

Almost the polar opposite of the operatic musical dramas that defined the output of Walt Disney Animation Studios during the 1990s, A Goofy Movie is a simple, sweet story about a single dad and his insecure teenage son trying to bond with each other on a summer road trip.

Loosely based on Goof Troop, a mid-90s weekday afternoon cartoon series featuring many of the same characters, A Goofy Movie mostly eschews spectacle for a handful of well-defined relationships, small scale drama, and classic Disney slapstick.  Even with the occasional cartoon mayhem and comic exaggeration, it's a surprisingly recognizable world, grounded in familiar emotions and elevated by a stellar soundtrack that's still influencing modern pop culture.



A Goofy Movie (1995)
Directed by Kevin Lima
Produced by Dan Rounds
Written by Jymn Magon, Chris Matheson, and Brian Pimental
Starring Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Rob Paulsen, Kellie Martin, Jim Cummings, and Pauly Shore

Episode 19 - The 1st Annual Dubbie Awards!

The Grammys. The Emmys. The Oscars.

And now, the Dubbies!

We put our own spin on awards season in the inaugural Dubbie Awards, honoring the previous year in cinematic nostalgia, as well as discussing our favorite films and performances of 2014.

Categories include:

• Best Comeback
• Most Unnecessary Throwback
• Future WWWW Candidate
• Most Nostalgic Moment

Episode 18 - STAR WARS EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES

"She hardly even recognized me, Jar Jar" complains a plaintive Anakin Skywalker early on in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, perhaps echoing the disappointment the creators of The Phantom Menace must have felt regarding Star Wars partisans' tepid reaction to Episode I.  As such, this second prequel is crammed full of fan service-y tidbits and grace notes - sometimes interesting, sometimes awkward - meant to spark associations with the films of the original trilogy.

Yet though the effort to please is plainly visible onscreen, Attack of the Clones leaves most people cold.  Prequel whisperer Eric Wheeler returns as our special guest to help us unpack the glimmers of artistic ambition and the inevitable commercial retrenchment of Star Wars Episode II.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Directed by George Lucas
Produced by Rick McCallum
Written by George Lucas and Jonathan Hales
Starring Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Temuera Morrison, and Ian McDiarmid

Check out the rest of our series on the Star Wars saga:
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Star Wars: Clone Wars
Star Wars Holiday Special
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure

Episode 17 - THE BRAVE LITTLE TOASTER

Dragged through development, animated overseas on the cheap, and unceremoniously dumped onto home video without an American theatrical release, The Brave Little Toaster's production history practically mirrors the experience of its protagonists - a group of five outdated home appliances left behind at a vacation cottage to gather dust and contemplate their own obsolescence.

Those appliances, however, rage against the dying of the light - as so has the film, as repeated airings on cable revealed its influence on the most affecting films of animation's modern high-tech era.  Echoes of The Brave Little Toaster are present in later masterpieces like Toy Story and The Iron Giant, and its sturdy emotional blueprint is still admired by generations of fans and filmmakers.  Indeed, one person's trash is another's treasure - and this BLT is a gem.

The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
Directed by Jerry Rees
Produced by Donald Kushner and Thomas L. Wilhite
Written by Jerry Rees and Joe Ranft
Based on the novella The Brave Little Toaster by Thomas Disch
Starring Deanna Oliver, Timothy E. Day, Tim Stack, Jon Lovitz, and Thurl Ravenscroft

Episode 16 - HARRIET THE SPY

Step into the baggy work pants of Harriet M. Welsch circa 6th grade and you’ll notice that your cozy, familiar world is transforming.  Everything seems more complicated and more fraught with expectation.  You’re breaking taboos you didn’t know existed simply by inching over the amorphous, invisible line that separates childhood from adulthood.  (Hint: most people won't react well when they learn that you record all their dirt in your diary.)

Harriet the Spy’s charm comes from its liberal sprinkling of ‘90s ephemera across a sturdy coming-of-age narrative born in the ‘60s, though these days Harriet’s tech-free lifestyle feels just as quaint as its optimistically orderly urban setting.  But even if city kids grow up faster than others, the point remains that they eventually realize they're part of a bigger picture and have to cope with it somehow.  In this episode, we navigate the pitfalls of preadolescence along with special guest Blythe Wolber, and come to understand what it's like to walk a mile in someone else's Dickies.

Harriet the Spy (1996)
Directed by Bronwen Hughes
Produced by Marykay Powell
Written by Douglas Petrie and Theresa Rebeck
Based on the book Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Starring Michelle Trachtenberg, Gregory Smith, Vanessa Lee Chester, J. Smith-Cameron, Robert Joy, and Rosie O'Donnell

Episode 15 - BATTLEFIELD EARTH

Filmmaking is all about making the right choices, and few recent movies illustrate the importance of this more than Battlefield Earth.  John Travolta's intergalactic passion project - based on L. Ron Hubbard's 1982 novel about Earthlings rebelling against their cruel alien conquerors - is a keen reminder that the slippage of time can ravage the best-laid plans of any creative project.

Yet, in a way, Battlefield Earth's reputation as a monumentally misguided flop gives it a notoriety that this tardy Spartacus-meets-Star Wars epic might not have achieved otherwise.  Like any pop culture punching bag, this one is more interesting than it looks...

Battlefield Earth (2000)
Directed by Roger Christian
Produced by Jonathan Krane, Elie Samaha, and John Travolta
Written by Corey Mandell and J.D. Shapiro
Based on Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 by L. Ron Hubbard
Starring John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker, and Kim Coates

Episode 14 - JINGLE ALL THE WAY

Not your typical heartwarming holiday tale, Jingle All the Way is an alternative Christmas classic that pokes fun at that most sacred value of the season: materialism.  Surprisingly cynical for a family film, it’s a skewering of crass consumer culture (thanks to an uncredited rewrite by Home Alone director Chris Columbus) that includes bomb threats, brawling Santas, and a suburban lothario played by the late, great Phil Hartman.  The bug-eyed, grunt-y performance of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a harried dad who’ll do anything to nab the perfect gift for his son is simply icing on the cake.

Jingle All the Way (1996)

Directed by Brian Levant

Produced by Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, and Mark Radcliffe

Written by Randy Kornfield

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Rita Wilson, Jake Lloyd, Jim Belushi, and Phil Hartman