The Latecomers

Show Notes We’re really cooking now - but not fricasse - with The Little Mermaid. Entering their renaissance, Disney brings us to the ocean and a sanitized version of Hans Christian Anderson, no walking on knives or turning into sea foam, but we do get a rocking soundtrack and a spectacular villain. And the another bland prince in true bland prince form.  Recommendations: Greyhound (Apple+) Next u...

Show Notes Wh at if Oliver Twist with dogs. And Billy Joel of course. This week, we’re talking about Olver and Company and spend most of our time discussing the art and reality of criticism, what makes a good movie and how you can hold subjective and objective views of something that are different and also both correct.  Recommendations: Bring Her Back (HBOMax) Next up: The Little Mermaid (1989)  ...

Show Notes**** Disney brings us Sherlock Holmes - but mice this week in The Great Mouse Detective. Basil doesn’t like people but he is a fan of focussing on the wrong thing. We are treated to an adorable child, an adorable dog, clockwork monarchs, peg-leg bats and an absolutely fabulous villain. And it’s a blast! Recommendations: Devil All the Time (Netflix); Peacemaker (HBOMax) Next up: Oliver &a...

Show Notes This week we liked the movie more than almost anyone else. Everything we wanted The Sword in the Stone to be, it’s The Black Cauldron. Yes, there are a lot of weird cuts and stuff that doesn’t make sense, but there’s also zombies and munchings and crunchings. The drama surrounding the making of this movie causes some head scratching moments, but the visuals and characters make up for it...

Show Notes Once upon a time, we thought we were going to watch a movie about the trials of friendship. Then we watched Disney’s The Fox and the Hound and found it was no such thing. In a film touted to be a paragon of empathy and friendship we find willful misunderstanding, profiling, hypocritical rage, violence, more parental loss, and so many characters who know this relationship is doomed again...

Show Notes We’re saving orphans from crazed thrift store owners this week along side the Rescue Aid Society’s very own Rescuers! As Miss Bianca seduces Bernard into heroism and Penny gets saved from Cruella 2.0, we have thoughts - on the Gabor sisters in all their marriage glory, how deeply messed up the adoption system used to be, and how brave one dragonfly can be.   Recommendations: Tom Hanks -...

Episode Notes We’re discussing the possible genesis of Pixar films Toy Story and Inside Out, the genteel and lovely Winnie the Pooh. The tales of the stuffed friends belonging to Christopher Robin, each epitomizing a different aspect of both the human condition and the features of childhood is firmly set in the world of books - literally. There’s definitely someone here you are going to relate to...

Show Notes Join us for our second Robin Hood foray and an excellent film overall. Foxy Robin and big bear Little John do their best to stand up to the greed of small men. There are chickens who can play the guitar and perform a perfect Shiho Nage and they don’t even have fingers! Running and shooting and singing and dancing, there’s never a dull moment in Nottingham, the geographic embodiment of c...

Show Notes What if Lady and the Tramp had 101 Dalmatians -- but cats, in France? Then we have the Aristocats, a fine feline family lead by the possibly perfect Duchess - cool under pressure and kind to all. All who meet her are smitten, and not even kids can keep them away. We talk the folly of a butler, the problem with Siamese cats, the wisdom of allowing a kitten to oil paint and what exactly i...

Show Notes This week we’re traveling to the Indian subcontinent and spending time with a 10 year old who has no business being in the places we find him. As everyone tries to either eat or save our little friend Mowgli, we spend a lot of time wondering over the straightforward and crystal clear question of “is this a musical.” We clearly forgot both the song list and the definition of musical but...

Show Notes Merlin is an incomprehensible madman this week in The Sword in the Stone. Have you seen the Incredible Mr. Limpet? Do you like watching people turn into animals for no discernable reason? Do you have a vendetta against squirrels and want to see them heartbroken? Do you like irascible owls? If any of these apply to you, you should definitely check this out.  Recommendations: The Incredib...

Episode Notes**** It’s 101 Dalmatians and 6000 spots this week. 1961 brings us our first contemporary film, we’re in 50s London that is populated largely but dogs from Connecticut. But at least the cameos show that dogs live forever and none of the ones we loved from Lady and the Tramp were killed in a shelter. Some might very well be in danger from a fur-obsessed lunatic with an excellent theme s...

Show Notes A ballet becomes a legitimately beautiful and fun cartoon this week. Briar Rose née Aurora and her crazy "aunts" make it almost all the way to safety before jumping the proverbial gun and simple pettiness cause her temporary downfall in 1959’s Sleeping Beauty. Walt is passing on the reins and it’s apparent here that there are new voices and artists in the mix. Beautiful prince...

Show Notes This week we’re watching the romantic classic Lady and the Tramp. Keep an eye out for a problematic ethnic portrayal - or seven. At least the ladies are represented - one as a whore and the other as a madonna. Whoo, it’s a melange of WTF this week on the show. Recommendations: Shrinking (Apple+)   Next up: Sleeping Beauty (1959)    Email us at latecomers@gmail.com Find Amity @ www.amity...

Show Notes**** This week we watch a film that lives deep in the cultural consciousness that we seem to have conveniently added a fun song and a heartwrenching screen near-death to while forgetting just how much blatant racism is actually in it. Peter Pan and his sidekick (girlfriend?) Tinkerbell kidnap a few kids and then get mad at Hook for kidnapping one kid. Discussions include malicious intent...

Show Notes We’re back with Alice as she dreams up Wonderland - and then would very much like to get out of it. Up is down, red is white, and everywhere you look something is telling you to eat it. Characters that live large in culture everywhere you look, and holding it all together is an impetuous and nosy child. Hit the hookah, grab a little cake, and join us in Wonderland. Oh - and we have a ne...

Show Notes First - I am sorry about the short bursts of crackling, my editing skills were no match. They are few and brief. It’s the beginning of the 1950s and Disney enters strong with Cinderella. This is the first film of the series that legitimately feels like it was made for children. We’ve got animals with various levels of personality and anthropomorphism, helpfully delineated by the additio...

Show Notes It’s time to close out the 40s with an adventure and a terror. Mr. Toad goes on a wild ride in spite of his friends’ best efforts and then Ichabod goes on a wild ride at the behest of his rival. Two more stories from the library and the last of the piecemeal films, not only do the characters go on wild rides, we do too!  Recommendations: The Wind in the Willows (80s Stop Motion availabl...

Show Notes Seven songs, seven cartoons - from near death by waterfall to Pecos Bill, with Johnny Appleseed and a tugboat in between. This one is chock-full of stunning animation and fun music in short vignettes so you can’t even get bored. Fun songs, sweet poems and silly gags - it’s a fun one! Recommendations: Quesadillas - yes, those quesadillas Next up: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad (19...

Show Notes We’ve got a duology as well as a debate - is this movie fun, and is it fancy free? We start with a staid tale of the power of love which is expressed through violence as Bongo the bear tries to make his way among nature’s savage beasts after living amongst the civilized circus animals. After nothing happens for a while, he does get there in the end - all he has to do is murder his rival...

Show Notes Back into the world of propaganda and lack of narrative throughline, we learn about birds, burritos and piñatas this week as we discuss The Three Caballeros (no, not Los Tres but The Three…). Donald Duck once again wants to learn all about places and kin from south of the equator. From heat seeking penguins to sex-starved ducks (that’s Donald doing an excellent Pepe Le Pew impersonation...

Show Notes Travel with us - and the Disney animators - to the wild world of South America - from Lake Titicaca to the Argentine Pampas to Rio, we get a cartoon’s eye view of the our neighbors to the south. Disney was trying to lure these South American countries away from the Nazis and Donald Duck was the tool.    Recommendations: Gilda (Tubi), The Traitors (Peacock), The Anniversary Party (Rentab...

Show Notes We were introduced to a wobbly legged pre-cursor Simba this week as we watched 1942’s Bambi. With the story arc of simply growing up, we get to see baby Bambi and his woodland friends frolic freely until Man comes and does what he does best - destroy everything. But everything comes out twitterpated in the end.     Recommendations: Go outside and/or make something with your hands   Next...

Show Notes This week we follow the adventures of a silent baby as he is tormented by all but the one creature who he is supposed to fear - Jumbo Jr. stars as Dumbo! The physically largest circus in all of creation, built on the backs of faceless slaves, and populated by bullies, welcomes a new baby and has nothing nice to say. We remind you and ourselves that our protagonist is a BABY. But at leas...

The combination of music and animation goes back to the beginning of animation and Disney dives all the way into the motif in 1940’s Fantasia. We get dinosaurs, dancing mushrooms and hippos, the first color Mickey Mouse and a full Bacchanal - all while listening to some of the most popular classical music of all time - would you dare ask for anything more? A plot? Nah, not this time. Just kick bac...