Doc and Bob's Disney Adventures

  Release Date: February 7, 2003 Watch Date: April 26 - April 27, 2023 "Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson jump back in the saddle for Shanghai Knights, the hilarious sequel to the hit action-comedy Shanghai Noon. When Chon Wang (Chan) gets news of his estranged father's murder in Shanghai, he leaves his honorable life as Carson City's sheriff in a cloud of dust and reunites with his yarn-spinning sidekick, Roy O'Bannon (Wilson). Together they make their way to London on a daring quest for honor and revenge. Hilarious escapades and hair-raising adventures ensure as our heroes find themselves in the middle of a devious plot to eliminate the entire royal family. Watch as Chon gives Victorian Britain a royal kick-in-the-pants as he tries to avenge his father's death and keep love-struck Roy away from his sister."     I am one of the many people of the opinion that it is incredibly rare, and nigh on impossible, for a sequel to be as good as the original, and Shanghai Kni...

  Release Date: May 26, 2000 Watch Date: April 24 - April 25, 2023 "Two cultures collide when East meets West in Shanghai Noon, a wildly hilarious, stunt-filled action-adventure comedy starring death-defying action hero Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson and Lucy Liu. Chan plays Chinese Imperial Guard Chon Wang (say it out loud) who hightails it to the wild and woolly West to rescue the kidnapped beautiful Princess Pei Pei (Liu). When he meets up with a laid-back outlaw cowboy dude Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) - the best mismatch ever made in the rough and tumble Old West - the two face jail, brawls, bordellos and the vilest villains this side of the Great Wall."     "Let's watch a movie we don't have to think about too much." This was Bob's request Monday night, after an exhausting return to the work week. I don't blame him, we'd both had long days, and we do tend to gravitate towards movies where there's quite a lot to talk about, and process after. We ...

  Release Date: July 3, 2013 Watch Date: April 21, 2023 "Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer star in this wild ride of high-velocity action, explosions and gunfights that brings the famed masked legend to life through brand-new eyes. The Lone Ranger (Hammer), the last of his kind, teams with Tonto (Depp), a dark and mysterious vigilante, to seek vengeance after justice has failed them. It's a runaway train of epic surprises as these two unlikely heroes must learn to work together before the ultimate showdown between good and evil explodes."     The best time to discover that your husband is not a fan of western movies is probably not twenty minutes into a two and a half hour long western movie. But sometimes, you can't help it. Sometimes, you have to keep prodding him awake until he sits up and actually decides the movie might be worth it. But we got there in the end, and that's all that matters.     This movie checks the very big racist box and that's to be expected...

  Release Date: December 13, 2013 Watch Date: April 17 - April 19, 2023 "Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson bring to life the untold story about the origins of one of the most treasured Disney classic of all time, revealing the surprising backstory behind the making of Mary Poppins. Determined to fulfill a promise to his daughters, Walt Disney (Hanks) tries for 20 years to obtain the rights to author P.L. Travers' (Thompson) beloved book. Armed with his iconic creative vision, Walt pulls out all the stops, but the uncompromising Travers won't budge. Only when he reaches into his own complicated childhood does Walt discover the truth about the ghosts that haunt Travers, and together they set 'Mary Poppins' free."     There's something magical about a moment in the past being captured in a beautiful way. It makes you look past the obvious moments of dramatization or inaccuracies, and let's you believe there might just be meaning and a message to your own life a...

  Release Date: March 5, 2021 Watch Date: April 16, 2023 "Walt Disney Animation Studios' 'Ray and the Last Dragon' travels to the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together in harmony long ago. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it's up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she'll learn that it'll take more than a dragon to save the world-it's going to take trust and teamwork as well."     Now here is a Disney Princess every little girl should grow up wanting to be.     She's complicated, flawed, but fierce. She is extremely capable and does not need a partner of any kind to save her, but at the same time she is capable of learning the value of trust and friendship. With her, Moana, and Mirabel, gone ...

  Release Date: December 19, 2014 Watch Date: April 15, 2023 "Larry Daley and his heroic friends embark on their greatest adventure yet as they travel to London in order to save the magic that bring the museum exhibits to life after dark."     Life has been...chaotic in our household for the past few days. That's putting it mildly. I'm hopeful things will begin to calm down, but you never can tell with two kids running around, a day, careers to manage. Fingers crossed.     We needed Robin Williams last night. Needed. And maybe this movie is incredibly bittersweet for his inclusion in it. His last film. When I watched it in the theatre I cried. When Bob, watching the last last film his favourite actor would ever perform in, watched it for the first time last night, he cried. Robin Williams was one of the greats - and completely irreplaceable.     So was this film a good send off?     I think so.     I think it's fitting we got to say...

  Release Date: March 14, 2008 Watch Date: April 10, 2023 "A playful pachyderm named Horton becomes a reluctant hero when he discovers the microscopic city of Who-ville on a floating speck of dust and embarks on a hilarious adventure to save the town from the dangers of those who do not believe it exists. As he helps the townspeople prove they are there, we learn that a 'person's a person no matter how small.'"     Growing up, I loved Dr. Seuss, and of his many, many books, my favorite would have to be "The Lorax." But that movie isn't on Disney+. My second favorite would probably be  "Yurtle the Turtle", which I don't really see being transformed into a film anytime soon, at least not a book accurate one. "Horton Hatches An Egg" was probably my third most requested of the Seuss novels, but that too doesn't have a film, but it does have Horton. Which was a long walk to say, we watched "Horton Hears A Who!" becaus...

Release Date: April 5, 2023 Watch Date: April 8, 2023 "Ten young people from all over the world meet in Rome with Pope Francis, with the aim of talking and conveying to him the main concerns of their generation. What awaits them is an unprecedented meeting, a face-to-face conversation, and a unique event. In this talk, guided by the young people's own questions, they will address such important issues for today's youth as migration, sexuality, gender identity, or religious freedom."     I was raised agnostic, Bob is Protestant. Neither of us, in that context, have any connection to the Pope, or any reason to value what he says. But, while my parents may not have any traditional spiritual calling, both sets of grandparents are very, very, religious Catholics. Bob's family, too, has a long line of Catholicism running through it. It's actually strange to most people in his family that his tiny portion isn't. So while neither of us look the Pope for guidance i...

  Release Date: July 27, 2007 Watch Date: April 8 - April 9, 2023 "After Homer accidentally pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpsons family are declared fugitives."     I grew up watching and loving The Simpsons. Every Friday night my family would get take out, sit in the living room, and eat and watch The Simpsons. It became a family tradition that didn't fade until I was a teenager, and even then it faded out slowly and sporadically. I had to cover my eyes during the 'Itchy and Scratchy' sequences, mom's rules. When this movie we came out, we saw it in theatres, as a family, and purchased it as soon as we could.     The best part about this movie, I think, is the game of Where's Waldo you get to play every time you watch. I notice a new character in the background that I never had before, but the main characters, our constantly repeating recurring characters each get a line or two, which ...

  Release Date: August 5, 2022 Watch Date: April 8, 2023 "The newest entry in the 'Predator' franchise, 'Prey' is an action thriller set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. It is the story of a young woman, Naru, a fierce and highly skilled warrior who has been raised in the shadow of some of the most legendary hunters who roam the Great Plains. When danger threatens her camp, she sets out to protect her people. The prey she stalks, and ultimately confronts, turns out to be highly evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal, resulting in a vicious and terrifying showdown between the two adversaries."     I hate horror movies. This is an established fact. Hate them. Least favorite genre of movie on the planet, would rather watch pretty much anything else. Bob loves them. Loves them. Adores them. Can't get enough of them. Watches them all October, and would watch more of them more often if I could tolerate it.     So it is frankly amazing ho...

  Release Date: June 21, 1996 Watch Date: April 5 - April 6, 2023 "Inspired by Victor Hugo's classic novel, these are the adventures of Quasimodo, the gentle and lonely hunchbacked bell ringer of Notre Dame. At the urging of his gargoyle pals Victor, Hugo and Laverne, Quasimodo leaves the solitary safety of his tower, venturing out and finding his first true friend, the gypsy beauty Esmeralda. When Esmeralda is arrested and confined to the Cathedral, Quasi helps her escape, and she entrusts him with a secret map to the gypsies' hideout. When the hideout is threatened, Quasi-the most unlikely of heroes-fights to save the people and the city he loves. They, in turn, learn to see people for who they are, rather than how they appear."     This movie is probably the closest that Disney animation will ever get to a classic piece of literature - and it is a masterpiece.     Now, is this movie pretty much forgotten to the annals of time? Yes, and it's unfortunate. It co...

  Release Date: May 22, 2009 Watch Date: April 4 - April 5, 2023 "When Larry's museum resident friends get packed up and shipped off to the Smithsonian archives, the magic Egyptian tablet goes with them. This causes problems as the Smithsonian is home to Ahkmenrah's evil brother, who wants to use the tablet's power to release an army of the undead..."     Have you ever wanted to experience what a tiny portion of the Smithsonian was like without having to endure lines or pay ticket prices? Than this is the movie for you!     Because that's what this movie is, a fun tour of the Smithsonian, which is not a bad thing necessarily. But there's no heart to it. No Nicky. A forced romantic plot that couldn't possibly be continued past the one night. The Smithsonian is also completely destroyed without any consequences and exhibits returned from it without nary a piece of paperwork in sight. Maybe it's the fact that I work in an extremely structured office, ...

  Release Date: December 22, 2006 Watch Date: April 2 - April 3, 2023 "Ben Stiller plays the new night guard at the Natural History Museum who discovers that when the visitors go home, the real adventure begins, as the museum's exhibits come to life."     One thing most people know about me is that I love history. Now, normally, the history I love is around the time of the ancient Greeks or the Tudor period, but really if it's old news, I want to learn all I can about it. So a film where history literally comes to life? That's a dream come true. A film that heavily features Robin Williams? Bob was also immediately on board. Especially since this was one of the rare Robin Williams films he'd never seen before, in an astounding change of pace. I think it's one of his greatest, so how it had managed to escape Bob's notice I have no idea.     The setting of this movie, while extremely interesting and pulled off very well, is merely a backdrop for a story a...

  Release Date: January 20, 2006 Watch Date: April 1, 2023 "Troy (Zac Efron) is best known as the player who keeps the East High basketball team on the scoreboard. Of course, life isn't always about athletics, though, and as Troy slam-dunks on the boards, beautiful and brainy Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) is raising the school's reputation as the key member of its highly successful academic team. Despite their outgoing natures, no one would ever peg Troy and Gabriella as theatre types. When word gets out that this popular pair has decided to audition for the school's musical, the students of East High are about to learn an important lesson in teamwork...while gearing up for a performance that will have their audience dancing in the aisles."     The story of the star-crossed lovers, Basketball Guy and Science Girl.     I mean, this entire movie is meant to show that we are more than just the labels people give us, that we are complete people with varied intere...

Release Date: November 21, 1997 Watch Date: March 31, 2023 "A young girl heads from Russia to Paris, hoping to learn if she really is the long lost princess Anastasia, only to find unexpected love complicating matters of identity."     There used to be a lot of confusion surrounding this movie, because a lot of people kind of remember it as a Disney princess movie. To be fair to them, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck it usually is a duck. In this case though, it's a movie made by Don Bluth who did used to be an animator for Disney before leaving the company, and a lot of his films could easily masquerade as Disney classics. Of course, now Disney owns the company that originally produced 'Anastasia' so technically the film is now a Disney princess movie, so no one who ever remembered it as such was ever wrong and the world can keep on spinning.     I don't know why people have so clung to the idea that Anastasia survived the cold-blooded murder of ...