Frequent We Want the D listeners may recall that our hosts have a lil' bit of baggage when it comes to Disney adapting the work of Mark Twain. But fear not, for their adaptation of what is called the first (or only) great American novel - THE ADVENTURES OF HUCK FINN - is a welcome break in the trend. And much like the novel it's based on, there's no shortage of analysis and discussion to be had. 

We Want The D

WWTD 314 - The Adventures of Huck Finn: Rusty Knives and Robbie Coltrane Kisses

It's time for another one of Disney's period costume dramas, only THE FIGHTING PRINCE OF DONEGAL puts a little bit of a twist on the formula. See, while most of these types of movies were made and released in the 1950s, this one came out in 1966. What does that mean, you ask? Well, instead of starring Richard Todd, this one stars the guy who played Hayley Mills' love interest in The Moon Spinners, and...actually that about covers it. 

WWTD 313 - The Fighting Prince of Donegal: For Just Country

The Summer of Muppets continues with the latest and to date last theatrical Muppet movie - MUPPETS MOST WANTED. If Disney's 2011 relaunch of the franchise in earnest was a heartfelt and loving tribute to the madcap gang, this follow-up is a reminder that the Muppets are capable of being absolutely off-the-wall zany in just the best way. Packed with more cameos than perhaps any other Muppet movie, more great songs, and more than it's fair share of laughs, if this is the last Muppet movie we get for awhile, it's not the worst note to go out on. 

WWTD 312 - Muppets Most Wanted: We Want the V

Here's the thing, D-Lovers: it's not that G-FORCE - a Disney movie that answers the unasked question "what if guinea pigs were spies?" - doesn't merit any criticism. There's far too many Black Eyed Peas needle drops for that to be the case. It's just that, in our hosts' estimation, it doesn't merit the amount of criticism it has received. Because at the end of the day, there are a lot worse spy movies than this that don't feature adorable guinea pigs adorably using tiny spy equipment. All we're saying is it seems like everyone had a good time making this movie, and we had a good time watching it, ok?

WWTD 311 - G-Force: Boom Boom Pow

If only the differences between the original That Darn Cat! and this 90s remake was the missing explanation mark. Disappointingly, this movie doesn't really live up to its predecessor in any real way. But it's also just way, way too strange to say it's an outright bad movie. The tone is stunningly bizarre unlike anything we've seen so far on this Disney odyssey, creating more questions and rabbit holes to go down than one might expect from THAT DARN CAT.

WWTD 310 - That Darn Cat (1997): A-Bippin' and A-Boppin'

Welcome back to the 80s, D-Sciples, the most turbulent decade of Disney. They're up, they're (mostly) down, they're trying out weird things to varying degrees of success. And TRENCHCOAT is definitely one of their oddest, and to be frank least successful experiments. It's not for lack of trying, at least on the part of Margot Kidder, but it's hard to pull off a movie that's trying to spoof the spy genre and film noir while not being even a little bit funny. It would be like, oh just for example, filming a movie on jewel of the Mediterranean Malta while making it look as drab and uninteresting as possible. You can almost admire the effort, but mostly you wonder how they could have gotten things so wrong. 

WWTD 309 - Trenchcoat: Larry Lightning

We know what you're thinking, D-Lovers - "What the heck is a MOON PILOT?" That's an easy one to explain, it's another word for an astronaut. Explaining what the heck the Disney movie MOON PILOT is, however, is a more challenging question. In some ways it's a contemporary farce about the space race and red scare, in others it's a romance between an all-American chimp-minder and a French alien. Mostly, though, it's just a lot of yelling.

WWTD 308 - Moon Pilot: Space Monkey Madness

Weigh and anchor and hoist the main sail, we're heading back to the high seas with MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND! Disney's second kick at the can at a Muppet movie where they adapt a work of classic literature, will this movie measure up to the precedent set by their version of the Dickens classic, or will good ol' Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure tale come up short? For our hosts, it mostly depends who you ask, so be prepared for rough seas ahead on the Summer of Muppets!

WWTD 307 - Muppet Treasure Island: Full of Doubloons

It's a landmark episode of We Want The D as our finish out our first proper decade of Disney movies. And it's somewhat appropriate that we end the 1940s with SO DEAR TO MY HEART, a movie ostensibly adapted from a book about a boy and his sheep, but as all the best early Disney movies do also provides some insight into Daddy Walt's psyche and how he viewed (or at least liked to view) his childhood. 

WWTD 306 - So Dear to My Heart: Wouldst Thou Like to Find Thy Sheep?

The last time we saw a Disney movie adapted from a Roald Dahl classic, we were a little dismayed at how the team behind The Nightmare Before Christmas handled the translation of James and the Giant Peach from page to screen. Surely THE BFG will fare better, though. It's decades later and it's Steven Feakin' Spielberg making his first and (to date) only Disney movie. And look, the man is one of the greatest directors of all time, there's a minimum threshold of quality that is always going to be hit. But is this movie an unmitigated, whizzpopper of a success? Wellllllll...

WWTD 305 - The BFG: A Story About Farting

In the original Homeward Bound, Shadow, Sassy and Chance make a harrowing, one might say incredible, journey through the wilderness to be reunited with their owners, braving all manner of natural hazards and dangers. HOMEWARD BOUND II: LOST IN SAN FRANCISCO offers a somewhat different set of obstacles. Wild animals and waterfalls have been replaced by raging house fires and, er, a dog love triangle...hey, what do you expect from a mid-90s Disney sequel? 

WWTD 304 - Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco: Ruff Energy

It's time to raise the curtain on the Summer of Muppets! Our latest summer series will be a most sensational, celebrational look at the Disney films that feature these beloved Muppet characters, starting with 2011's THE MUPPETS, which was a bit of a relaunch of the brand under the Disney banner. One that our hosts find largely successful in capturing what makes this cast of characters so special, but maybe doesn't hold up quite as well as we remember from the first time we saw it. But that won't stop Vicky, Nolan and Jill from entering this summer with a boundless, perhaps too intense energy!

WWTD 303 - The Muppets: Wet Ass Piggy

If you've listened to our last few episodes, or even just take a cursory glance at the movie titles, you'll know we've been spending more than our fair share of time talking about Disney animal movies. Unfortunately, NAPOLEON AND SAMANTHA doesn't break that trend. Fortunately, however, things are a little more...exotic in this movie, and not just because the animal in question is an old, milk-loving lion. There is so, so much more than that going on in this movie that our hosts could never have predicted, and no, we aren't just talking about a teeny-tiny Jodie Foster or a strikingly youthful Michael Douglas. 

WWTD 302 - Napoleon and Samantha: Virile and Beautiful

Wayne Gretzky. Don Bradman. Usain Bolt. There are some athletes who are so far ahead of their peers they will likely forever hold the title of GOAT in their respective fields. But the biggest GOAT of all may be a horse - a horse named SECRETARIAT. Secretariat ran three races very fast, and as a result, a lot of rich white people got a whole lot richer, and so of course Disney made a movie about it. But while straight-forward on paper, this movie is anything but thanks to some truly bizarre directorial choices that we get to relish in together. 

WWTD 301 - Secretariat: Commodification of Horse Sperm

It's our 300th episode! And we couldn't be more happy to be talking about perennial underdog Disney movie TANGLED. Not only did it lose in several straight polls for past anniversary episodes, it somehow feels like this movie never quite gets its due, despite how good it is, always in the shadow of its younger, colder cousin. But no longer, as our hosts sing its praises from the top of a tower in all respects. Well...except maybe one.

WWTD 300 - Tangled: The Betrayal

Disney films have enchanted and shaped childhoods for over 75 years, but when you watch them as adults there are things that make you want to unfreeze Walt's head and say "What The Hell, Guy!?" Tune in each week to hear Vicky, Nolan, and Jill rip apart, analyse and laugh at beloved childhood classics from the Disney catalogue.

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