We Want The D

Disney films have spanned numerous genres over their long history. From fairy tales to epic adventures, slapstick comedy to teen melodrama, and bright and colourful musicals to whatever the hell The Three Caballeros is. In 1995, Walt Disney Pictures released their first proper film in a genre they had only previously dabbled in - the war film. Operation Dumbo Drop is set during and in the thick of the Vietnam War, known for its brutal combat and horrific actions on both sides of the conflict. America's very involvement was controversial at best, but none of the nuance and complex circumstances of the war deterred Disney from telling this so-crazy-it-must-be-true story of the U.S. Military attempting to curry favour with local villagers by providing them with elephants. The premise is crazy, the fact that Disney made a movie about the Vietnam war is crazy, and the fact that they cast Ray Liotta as one of the leads is crazy - and that's not even getting into any of the craziness of the actual film itself. If th

Apologies for the colon massacre in this week's title, D Lovers, but we think about colons the same way TJ Detweiler thinks about recess - there's no such thing as too much. Which is why there is no fourth grader better suited to foil the world-devastating plans of Evil James Woods in this big screen adaptation of the One Saturday Morning classic. This is just one in a niche group of Disney films that were adapted from television series, which means our hosts' knowledge of the subject going in ranges from near-total ignorance to near-total adoration. In the end, it's the nostalgia for simpler times that win our hosts over. When you could count down the seconds until summer vacation, when hanging out by a pond casually tossing rocks with your friends was more than enough entertainment, and when mutual understanding and respect between student and principal could be forged through defeating megalomaniacal villains and roving gangs of ninjas. As summer draws to a close, join us as we celebrate the ultimate reces

There is a lot of excitement from our hosts this week on We Want The D. All three are bursting at the seams to not only talk about their love for the classic animated stories of Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin, and their friends in the  Hundred Acre Wood, but each have very specific takes on what  they love best about the collection of shorts that make up Disney's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. For Vicky, it's all about her love of the title character as not only her spirit animal, but a fashion icon. For Nolan, it's all about love for the charming songs the Sherman brothers turned out for the film. For Jill, it's copyright law. Of course. It's more than just Tiggers that are wonderful in this week's episode, so grab your hunny pots and condensed milk, and join us for another episode of We Want The D!

Welcome, D Lovers, to the first ever We Want The D Head-to-Head battle! In this corner, featuring a young British actress failing to maintain two variations of an American accent, a scandal-ridden Irish actress looking for redemption by playing a physically abusive ex-wife, and an American actor known for playing a cowboy and a scoundral trying his hand at playing an ex-husband and father who is a cowboy and a scoundral - it's 1961's THE PARENT TRAP. And in the opposite corner, featuring a young talent who in a few years will be riddled with scandal and who-knows-what-else, a beautiful angel taken from us far too soon, and...Dennis Quaid - it's 1998's THE PARENT TRAP. That's right, we're taking two versions of the same Disney movie, and seeing which one owns the hearts and minds of Vicky, Nolan and Jill. It's a battle you don't want to miss! 

For any D Lovers out there above the legal drinking age, Vicky, Nolan and Jill are proud to share with you the first ever We Want The D drinking game! Any time you hear Vicky say the subtitle of today's episode, take a drink. Actually, on second thought, don't. Not only because mass consumption of alcohol isn't in line with the Disney ethos (unless you're a baby elephant), but because we don't want to be responsible for the almost certain alcohol poisoning that would occur if anyone actually attempted to play along. So consume your beverages at a reasonable pace, and listen in as we discuss the movie that introduced the world to Anne Hathaway, that provides further evidence of Julie Andrews' ethereal presence, and is a perfect embodiment of what an awkward time the early 2000s were - THE PRINCESS DIARIES.

We made it, D-Lovers! Twenty-five episode of We Want The D seems as good a place to celebrate a milestone as any, and we're doing so by watching one of Disney's most beloved animated classics, The Jungle Book. The film is a master class in taking many of the elements that Vicky, Nolan and Jill have complained about in past movies, and making them a delight. It's not such a big deal if a movie is just a sequence of events loosely tied together by a simple plot if each one of those sequences is a smorgasbord of gorgeous animation, impeccable voice work, timeless songs, and honest-to-goodness funny jokes. So we would like to thank you, our listeners, for tuning in for the past 25 weeks, and hope that  you will stick with us as we continue this adventure in the Disney catalogue. And we want to thank Disney, of course, for providing the fuel - whether it causes us to burn with confusion or anger, or shine with delight and wonder, it's always an adventure worth taking.

We gotta admit, D Lovers, we're a little nervous about the possible reactions to this week's episode, where we discuss Disney's RETURN TO OZ. We Want The D is forging into Cult Film territory here, and like the depiction of Oz in this movie, that's a subject that can turn once bright and colourful worlds into drab and scary places filled with all manner of unfamiliar and horrific creatures. Jill is probably safe, but Vicky and Nolan may be searching for a wind-up soldier of their own to hide from hordes of unhappy fans, descending on them like so many hunched-over men on rollar skates. We'll just have to hope you'll understand our confusion at this kind-of-sequel to a beloved piece of film history. So come over the rainbow with us (or float downriver in a chicken coop), as we RETURN TO OZ.

There were exactly 364 days separating the theatrical releases of Disney's The Little Mermaid and this week's film. What a difference a year can make - specifically, the difference between a film that would jumpstart a flailing company and launch them to new, dizzying heights, and one that would take eight years to get released on home video. It's not hard to see why Disney may have wanted to sweep this movie under the rug. Aside from one very catchy song, this film is a mess of lazy animation, stunt voice casting that rarely works out, and a story so loosely based on Dickens' Oliver Twist  that the only similarities are four of the characters' names. This week on We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill watched OLIVER & COMPANY - and for all the savoir faire the characters claim to have, this movie has none. 

Allow us to take you back in time, D Lovers. Way, way back to a time when the world barely resembled our own. The year is 2000. Pixar had stolen our hearts and minds with a handful of movies about toys and bugs, rendered in a beautifully realized CGI animation style. Meanwhile, our beloved Disney was faltering on the pedestal they had built on their string of 90's classics. Their solution: jump on that CGI animation bandwagon just as fast as possible. No time to think up a good story, or consider whether or not to hire half-decent voice actors, or do anything but hire a director who had told a dinosaur story or two before, and shoot about ten minutes of real-life footage of beautiful landscapes and an hour and twenty minutes of brown, bland desert footage, and fill it with talking dinosaurs (except the carnivorous ones) and a family of lemurs. The result is Dinosaur - a film that Vicky, Nolan and Jill can say "has a pretty good first three minutes," and "sometimes the action is ok." This week on We Want The D

If you thought last week's gushing over John Cusack was entertaining, you're in for a real treat this week as Vicky, Nolan and Jill swing full-force into discussing the slick, oily merits of prime-1990s Brendan Fraser. Disney's George of the Jungle combines a lot of the strange 90's obsessions, like comparing tropical jungles to urban jungles and making feature films based on old television shows. The result is a strange little movie that has our hosts' opinions divided; and an episode brimming with discussion about Leslie Mann's possible perm, convincing gorilla puppets, and mostly the somewhat disturbing amount of sexual undercurrent running through this family film. Grab a vine and swing on down, D Lovers, just watch out for that tree! 

Show of hands, D Lovers, how many of you have seen Disney's THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN? Our guess is not that many. This week on We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill will guide you through this epic journey, much like Natty's own stalwart wolf companion helped guide her from the depression-era streets of Chicago to the wilds of Washington. Also like Natty's adventure, though, we may get a little sidetracked by the epic tree stunts, disturbingly realistic dog fighting, hobo sex cults, and above all else a young John Cusack. We sincerely hope  that you enjoy this episode every bit as much as we enjoyed this forgotten classic.

This week on We Want The D, it's Jill the cat person vs Vicky the dog person vs Nolan the not-a-pet person. Disney's The AristoCats is cute enough, with it's artistically inclined kittens, angelically-voiced Dutchess, and smooth-talking Thomas O'Malley, but whether that cuteness amounts to anything worthwhile depends on which host you ask. Does a pair of vicious and malicious Hillbilly Hounddogs who call the French countryside home make up for a villain's half-baked and ill-conceived plans? Do twin sister Geese and their drunk Uncle make up for the absence of danger and obstacles as four housecats readily find their way home? Does a mouse voiced by Sterling Holloway make up for the lack of any French accents in a movie set entirely in Paris and the surrounding area? Find out what our hosts thought, and make up your own mind by listening now, and learn why everybody wants to be a D Lover!

In the very first episode of We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill talked about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the very first Disney animated feature and as a consequence the very first of their 'Princess' films. There are a lot of similarities between that 1937 film and 1950's CINDERELLA. Both have bland main characters who have close relationships with animals, poor relationships with their step-mothers, and fall in love with a Prince with less than a dozen words exchanged. But Cinderella is far more successful for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost - a fat mouse named Gus. But also a King obsessed with having grandchildren and his loyal Duke who he attempts to murder a few times; a pair of stepsisters with giant feet and featureless, tube-like figures; and a pretty spot-on depiction of a jerkwad cat. In short - the story may be just as bland, but there's some surprising laughs to be had. Hop in  your pumpkin carriage, slip on your glass slippers and elbow-length gloves, and get ready for another e

As always, Dear Listeners, we encourage you to share this episode of We Want The D with everyone you know. This week, however, we ask that you share this episode as covertly and privately as possible. For the NASA Police could be anywhere, and if they catch wind of Vicky, Nolan, and Jill's coversations about them, the consequences could be dire. Your hosts risk their own freedom in order to tell you about Disney's FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR - a movie about a less-than-epic journey in an alien spaceship, piloted by a time-displaced preteen and an AI that sounds suspiciously like PeeWee Herman. A movie so 80s it features timely references to both Twisted Sister AND New Coke. A movie with so little substance that our hosts could only actually generate about forty-five minutes of content, so we filled the rest of the space with some wonderful fan mail we've received, and an announcement of yet another place to get your D fill online. So spread the D around (on the QT, though - NASA Police!), and get your ears ready

Un Indian dans la Ville is a French film that Disney thought might appeal to an American family audience, so they released a dubbed over version to theatres in 1996. The film was harshly panned by critics and flopped at the box office. Undeterred, Disney thought to themselves, "what if we just remake the movie? Maybe it's not the content people are hating, maybe it's just missing Tim Allen," and proceeded to create a near shot-for-shot version they called Jungle 2 Jungle. This week on We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill are faced with the dubious task of talking about a film with no real story, no real jokes, and no real appeal whatsoever. This isn't so much a movie about an estranged father and son from radically different worlds learning something about family as it is about Tim Allen and Martin Short buying too many coffee beans and getting mixed up with Russian gangsters (?!?!) who have severe arachnophobia. Does it all make sense in the end? Absolutely not.

This week on We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill were so disturbed by this episode's film that their conversation couldn't be contained to our regular length. The good news is it means you all get a super-sized dose of D this week. The bad news is it's because there's a lot of in-depth conversation about subjects ranging from the downside of Disneyfication to the appropriateness of including sexual assault as a main drive in a family film. It's a dark episode for a dark film, but much like the wise-cracking and fart noise-making gargoyles, there's still a few laughs to be had in spite of the otherwise serious subject matter. Pour the wine, cut the cheese, and be ready to flee from fires both literal and figurative; this week we're taking on Disney's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME! 

From Air Buddies to Air Buddies V: Spooky Buddies, it is a well known fact that movies starring puppies are infalliably adorable. But long before golden retrievers were the puppies of choice, Disney released a film starring a breed of dogs known for their spots, high energy, and a genetic predisposition to deafness - 101 Dalmatians. This week on We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill are all in agreement that this 1961 animated classic is well worth revisiting. For who could ever get tired of Cruella De Vil and her madcap schemes to murder and skin puppies en masse? Who could not feel compelled stand and salute the bravery and heroism of Sargeant Tibbs the cat? Who doesn't want to puzzle out the answer to "What's My Crime?" before time runs out? You can't resist, dear listeners, no more than anyone can resist getting the Kanine Krunchies jingle stuck in their head. So join us once again for another episode of WE WANT THE D!

The year is 1992. A mere eight months away from releasing the smash hit Aladdin, Disney decides to put out a film that defies all logic or reason not only in its story or construction, but in its very essence. A film helmed by a choreographer with no previous directing experience. A film that, despite being a period piece about a two-week strike in 1899, is for some reason a musical composed by the great Alan Menken featuring none of his typically great work. A film starring a young, English, born-to-be-Batman actor as a New York paperboy, leading a cast of other young men most of whom cannot sing or dance – performing alongside the grossly miscast Bill Pullman, Robert Duvall, and Ann-Margret. A film that, despite all of this, still manages to move Vicky to tears of delight and happiness for some inexplicable reason. Join us on this week’s episode of We Want The D, as Nolan and Jill attempt to figure out just what the hell Vicky sees in the bizarre-o film, NEWSIES!

Ah, the circus. A world of bright lights, spinning rides, drunk clowns, and abused animals. What baby elephant wouldn't want to be born (or special-delivered via stork) into such a wonderous world? So long as said infant doesn't have big ears, at least. Because then they are in for a world of pain and misery; one where their mothers are locked up for defending them against ginger antagonizers, their fellow elephants hate them with the fire of a thousand suns, and their only friend is a mouse who helps them forget their troubles by getting them wasted on champagne and water. Join Vicky, Nolan and Jill as they look at one of Disney's shortest, most charmingly animated, racially problematic, and wholly depressing films ever; this week on We Want The D!

The Black Cauldron was released in theatres in 1985, but wasn't made available on home video until thirteen years later. This week on We Want The D, Vicky, Nolan and Jill are asking "why not twenty years? Better yet, why not never?" Because aside from one extremely adorable psychic pig, there is very little to love about Disney's first foray into PG rated territory. Sure, there's lots of boobs and corpses that kids love so much, but that doesn't make up for a mopey main "hero," a songless bard, a monkey-dog that everybody hates, and a total waste of John Hurt's talents. For a movie where so little happens, there's a lot to talk about - you don't want to miss this episode of We Want The D!