Doc and Bob's Disney Adventures

  Release Date: April 28, 2017 Watch Date: May 25 - May 26, 2023 "Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, LA 92 immerses viewers in that tumultuous period through stunning and rarely seen archival footage. Produced by two-time Oscar winner Simon Chinn and Emmy winner Jonathan Chinn and directed by Oscar winners Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin, the film looks at the events of 1992 from a multitude of vantage points, bringing a fresh perspective to a pivotal moment that reverberates to this day."     This is a masterpiece. It really is.     The issue of race is one often covered in documentaries, but so soon after the summer of protests in 2020, this film seems even more poignant. And it makes those riots and protests seem like another link in a chain, as this documentary itself references an earlier event in 1965.     The trial of police officers who attacked Rodney Ki...

  Release Date: August 2020 Watch Date: May 24 - May 25, 2023 "They've shared the ocean for millennia, but scientists have only just begun to understand the complex relationship between sharks and dolphins. Sharks vs. Dolphins follows a team of experts as they travel to the epicenter of this savage struggle - Shark Bay, Australia - to unlock the secrets of shark and dolphin combat using new research and cutting-edge technology."     Shame on us, really, for expecting Sharks vs Dolphins: Blood Battle, to be anything but an over dramatized documentary made specifically for Shark Week, to pull in viewers in the hopes of maybe educating them. It was Bob's pick, and I'm not sure if he was genuinely interested in it, or if he just picked the most over the top sounding documentary on the list.     Either way he was sick of it by the end.     Honestly, and sadly for the poor scientists being involved in this documentary, no new information is really distribute...

  Release Date: November 27, 1996 Watch Date: May 4 - May 10, 2023 "The 1692 Salem witch trials are brought vividly to life in this compelling adaptation of Arthur Miller's play, directed by Nicholas Hytner, which stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. When a group of teenage girls is accused of witchcraft, they accuse various townspeople as having bewitched them. As hysteria mounts, blameless victims are torn from their homes, leading to a devastating climax."     Remember that thing where we occasionally read classics? We done did it again. And once again, there was a movie.      First of all, I didn't realize John Proctor was played by Daniel Day-Lewis until I saw the above movie poster, and I also spent the first part of watching referring to Wynona Ryder as Natalie Portman. So, safe to say, Bob is better at recognizing as actors than I am. But I don't think that takes away from my general enjoyment of movies.     This movie is incredib...

  Release Date: 2019 Watch Date: May 21 - May 22, 2023 "High in the Peruvian Andes lies the ancient city of Machu Picchu, a lost city of doorways and passages that hint at the ghosts of its past. Who were the mysterious people who built it and why? The answers lie below the surface, and mummy kings wait to share their stories. But will these revelations finally lay the ghosts of Machu Picchu to rest?"     The city of Machu Picchu is an engineering marvel, and one that we will never fully understand the purpose behind - but this documentary does a fairly good job of trying to provide plausible explanations for both it's creation, use, and eventual abandonment.     The Inca did not write in the traditional sense, using a form of knots tied in ropes as their main means of expressing information to one another, and while that is very cool, it doesn't give archaeologists a lot to work with when it comes to actually discovering the purposes behind certain rituals or l...

  Release Date: 2016 Watch Date: May 21, 2023 "On September 11, 2001, one hundred and eighty-four innocent people lost their lives at the Pentagon. It is a fact that is fading from our collective memory. Today, it's not uncommon to find people who don't know that the Pentagon was even a target - let alone the huge number of casualties. Though they helped define a generation, the individual acts of bravery and heroism that took place at the Pentagon are still relatively unknown. This documentary delivers the most complete and largely untold story of what happened behind the walls of one of America's most secretive buildings on September 11, 2001, the day that forever changed the world."      The blurb for this special isn't wrong, the fact that a plane hit the Pentagon is not an often talked about part of the events of 9/11. The attack on the World Trade Center, and the brave civilians who retook their hijack aircraft before it could make it's way to Washin...

  Release Date: April 18, 2015 Watch Date: May 18, 2023 "Since it's launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has captured thousands of stunning images of space, revolutionized our understanding of the universe and become a global icon. To mark it's 25th anniversary, National Geographic Channel tells the definitive story of NASA's most successful science project ever, in Hubble's Cosmic Journey, narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson."     Regardless of your feelings on Neil deGrasse Tyson, of which there are many highly varied ones, he has a nice voice. You can't really argue that. And when that nice voice is used to confidently explain anything about space, which it usually is, you can't help but want to listen. I think people even retain information better when Neil deGrasse Tyson says it. So it makes complete and perfect sense you would have him narrate a documentary about the Hubble Space Telescope, and it makes even more sense that the documentary woul...

  Release Date: 2015 Watch Date: May 17, 2023 "Big Red - one kangaroo's epic battle against the outback. The parched central deserts of the red heartland of Australia are home to the toughest kangaroo on the planet - the mighty Red. Above all, this is a story of survival against the odds and what it takes to endure drought, heatwave, and bushfire. Red struggles to prove his strength, not only against others of his kind, but against the very land itself."     I have never watched a documentary on kangaroos before, which seems surprising to me. I actually know surprisingly very little about kangaroos, or I did before this documentary - because it is actually surprisingly informative.     This documentary follows one male kangaroo, from birth, gives him a curious personality, and charters his story from legless peanut to the king of the mob, which is an amazing title for any animal. Bob doesn't think they followed the same kangaroo for five years, especially becaus...

Release Date: July 12, 2015 Watch Date: May 15, 2023 "National Geographic Channel joins top scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in conjunction with NASA on a historic mission to the edge of our solar system with the goal of capturing the first clear images and data ever recorded of Pluto."     You ever get the impression that a documentary isn't really sure what it's meant to be about? Because I get that impression with this documentary, and let me explain why:     It is, I think, meant to be about the New Horizons mission to take pictures of Pluto at extremely close range. It's meant to be about the launch, the science behind the satellite, and what we expect to find on Pluto, with a bit of history of Pluto thrown in.  But that's not really what we get. I think they also wanted it to maybe be about what they were going to find on Pluto, but since, strangely, they didn't wait to make the documentary about the discoveries we made abou...

  Release Date: April 17, 2016 Watching Date: May 14, 2023 "With many breeds and countless variations, canines are one of the most diverse species on Earth. From ears to tails, coats to paws, every part of their bodies is uniquely structured to serve a purpose. How Dogs Got Their Shapes shines a light on a variety of canine shapes to explain how each aspect plays a pivotal role in the evolution, history and behavior of distinct dog breeds."     Finally, a documentary that both entertains and informs, which is all I ever wanted.     I did actually, manage to learn quite a lot about dogs from this documentary. Sure, there was lots of stuff I already knew, mostly about labs because I learn about the breeds I'm adopting, but I didn't realize bull dogs were for bull baiting, or corgis were for herding. I didn't know that shar-peis almost went extinct because of a communist revolution in China, or that beagles have white tail tips so they're easier to spot when out ...

  Release Date: January 5, 2014 Watch Date: May 13, 2023 "Miracle Landing on the Hudson tells the dramatic true story of the frightening and ultimately triumphant emergency landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. Featuring intimate and emotive interviews as well as large-scale dramatic reconstructions, the film reveals details from passengers and crew, and shows that the crash itself was merely the beginning of their fight for survival."     New York has a lot of tragedies. We've got the collapse of Wall Street, 9/11 and now a plane crash on the Hudson. Those are the main three I can think of. When Bob reads this, he'll tell me there was a lot more. He'll list them out. That's what I've got. Pizza Rat dying, maybe?     Everyone lives. Okay? And that's such a good thing. But everyone lives not because of any smart safety procedures. Not because of anyone person. Everyone lives because of a lot of panicked decisions by a group of people that actually...

  Release Date: July 20, 2014 Watch Date: May 12, 2023 "Journey deep into the snow-bound mountains of central Japan and meet Hiro, a spunky young snow monkey whose charming personality sparks an unlikely friendship. Join Hiro and his extended family on a year-long adventure as they brave fierce storms, experience the birth of new life, and face the tragedy of death. It's an intimate, immersive tale of family, friendship, and strife in the heart of the Japanese Alps."     I don't know what I was expecting from this documentary but Liam Neeson narrating while a bunch of adorable monkey babies lounge in a hot spring was definitely not it. I mean, it turns out I needed that in my life and how I've gone so long without it I'll never know, but I definitely wasn't expecting it.     Bob said, about halfway through our viewing, this is just like Bambi with monkeys, and I think that's a fairly accurate description. You're not being given a lot of facts, or e...

  Release Date: September 13, 2014 Watch Date: May 10, 2023 "Raw. Unscripted. Genuine. This Drugs, Inc. one-hour special not only walks in the shoes of dealers but looks through their eyes. Drug crews in New York, Atlanta and Portland take us on a roller-coaster journey through their daily lives. From firing a shot at a rival gang, to debt collecting, to avoiding cops by diving into an open elevator shaft, this special offers an entirely new viewing experience."     I learned a lot about gangs yesterday. Not from this documentary, but from Bob, who I often forget did not grow up on 'the right side of the tracks' as they so very annoyingly say. Now, my husband was not in a gang, he's a nerd - not that gang members can't be nerds, but he just is too much of one to even consider the position - and he moved to Kansas before prime gang membership years. But, much of his family, on both sides, were in various gangs. Well, two gangs. It sounds like. You probably woul...

Release Date: November 1, 2013 Watch Date: May 9, 2023 "A team of explorers led by marine ecologist Dr. Enric Sala sets out to explore the sea and land of the remote Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific. These mysterious islands, settled by mutineers, could provide a portal back in time to a marine ecosystem teeming with life and the top reef predator - sharks."     I'm going to be honest, Bob and I were pretty sure this was the same description from our last shark movie. I mean, Dr. Sala makes an appearance again, it's about once again determining the health of coral reef systems on `remote islands. We were pretty positive they'd just released the exact same documentary twice, just under different names. And I'm not saying they did, but it comes pretty close.     The one thing Bob can say he learned, probably the one thing we both 'learned' but definitely the primary thing he retained, is that unlike in other ecosystems, coral reefs are healthiest wh...

  Release Date: March 4, 2012 Watch Date: May 8, 2023 "In 2000, one 'Co-op' showed an inordinate interest in the cache of moon rocks kept at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, repeatedly visiting the lab to examine them. Then the moon rocks mysteriously disappeared. Moon Rock Heist follows the trail of international intrigue surrounding the recovery of the rocks and reveals how law enforcement finally tracked down the thieves."     This story would have been more at home on the History Channel than on National Geographic. It's played for laughs, it's meant to be salacious, it feels shallow and cheap.     The fact that a large sample of rocks from the moon were stolen, that they were contaminated and had their scientific value greatly depreciated, that a man's life work was simply thrown into the trash and the scientific value of what he was working on is lost to time are mentioned as mere afterthoughts. Because Thad says he had sex on the samples ...

Release Date: November 25, 2012 Watch Date: May 7, 2023 "Follow Cesar Millan's rise from impoverished illegal immigrant to celebrity dog trainer to international superstar. Join Cesar as he embarks on his live world speaking tour, films his new television series in Spain and leads thousands of dogs and owners on a Pack Walk in Washington, D.C."     Once upon a time a scientist decided that wolf packs operated with a lead Alpha male, and ever since then humanity has been suffering. The scientist would later retract this theory, but it was too late - society had accepted this as fact. We have men that call themselves Alphas, and other's Betas. We try to be the Alphas when it comes to our pets, which isn't a thing. At all.     Cesar Millan isn't a bad guy, but he is a guy who profits off of this faulty logic. Maybe he has helped dogs, maybe he is a good dog trainer but he's obnoxious. His constant referral to the people around him as a pack, as himself as a l...

  Release Date: November 22, 2012 Watch Date: May 6, 2023 "Shape shifting, color shaking, dancing, singing, dazzling transformers - the fabled birds of paradise were virtually unknown until two modern-day explorers spent the better part of a decade sleeping in tents and dangling from the rain forest canopy to document all 39 species of these flamboyant birds."     I don't know if you have lived if you haven't watched your husband try to mimic a bird of paradise's mating ritual. I don't think most people can help themselves but to try and copy these amazing, albeit extremely horny, birds. My husband does it with...not an unexpected level of enthusiasm, and it almost makes me want to watch more documentaries about these animals just for the live performance I receive.     This is probably the best National Geographic special that we've watched thus far, and that's mostly because it's meant to be about the effort it takes two men to get the footage of...

  Release Date: September 21, 2004 Watch Date: May 4 - May 5, 2023 "The story of the making of the Star Wars Trilogy is as epic and dramatic as the films themselves. Go behind the scenes and experience the journey from the earliest versions of the script to the blockbuster debuts of the films that forever changed the face of cinema. In the most comprehensive documentary ever created on the making of the movies, explore the creation of Star Wars, including the trials George Lucas and his team underwent to create a saga few thought could ever be made."     This is not a National Geographic documentary.     But see, it was May the Fourth, and it turns out - well it doesn't turn out, I knew this already, but I kind of hoped Bob would forget - that Bob loves Star Wars. Loves it. Not a feeling I can relate to, but whatever, we each have our things. That does mean he began insisting on May 3rd that we watch a Star Wars movie on the 4th. So we compromised. Star Wars doc...

  Release Date: August 28, 2011 Watch Date: May 3, 2023 "National Geographic Channel presents George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview, a documentary offering exclusive first-person insight from the former president on what he was thinking and feeling and what drove the real-time, life-or-death decisions he faced in response to the most lethal terrorist attacks ever on U.S. soil."     You can have, should have, and many do have, any opinion you want on George W. Bush's presidency. You can think he was a buffoon that did nothing but make mistakes, you can think he was people's pawn, you can think he orchestrated multiple terrorists attacks - or at least ignored knowledge of them - in order to start wars in the Middle East, or you can think he was one of the greatest presidents to ever walk the White House halls. I encourage you to have your own opinions on world leader's and to express them, because freedom of speech gives you that right and without having opinions on ou...

  Release Date: October 5, 2010 Watch Date: May 3, 2023 "A team of scientists led by National Geographic explorer Dr. Enric Sala journeys to five remote islands near Tahiti in the remote South Pacific to explore pristine coral reefs and the shark populations that inhabit them. With hopes of creating a marine protected area, they face a host of challenges: powerful waves, jagged reefs, and being stranded on a remote desert isle."     Our first National Geographic shark special, there will be many as the marathon goes on, but I think you always remember your first.     Or I would, if there was anything truly remarkable to remember.     In the spirit of Stonehenge Decoded what this is, really, is a documentary about people doing science, which is interesting, but there are no new facts. A thriving coral reef system means thriving prey, means thriving predators. The more sharks, the better the ecosystem. And coral reefs do better where humans aren't around...

  Release Date: May 2008 Watch Date: May 1 - May 2, 2023 "The remarkable discovery of a new prehistoric site - hidden from view for centuries under farm fields in Ireland - sheds new light on Stonehenge and one of the largest prehistoric religious complexes in the world. Stonehenge Decoded: Secrets Revealed details the discovery and excavation of the new site, and illuminates the world-famous mysteries of Stonehenge itself."     This is a forty-four minute documentary, so the fact that it took us two full evenings to watch it is pretty surprising, and almost disappointing? But don't worry. Because I have a good excuse. We got a kitten on the thirtieth. On the first we temporarily fostered her brother for an evening, due to a miscommunication, and on the second I had a cold and Bob's brother kept bothering him for help with something - and if you know Bob he'll drop anything for his brothers - so there were multiple thirty minute long pauses what felt like every se...

The month we've all been waiting for is finally here!     May-Be Learn Some Sh*t 2023      Bob and I are life long learners, and so, we're sort of addicted to documentaries. Now, usually they're about World War II because they say find something you're passionate about and learn all about it, and if there's one thing we can both agree on it's that WWII is not exactly a fun topic, but it is an interesting one.     The other true thing about us is that we both grew up watching National Geographic documentaries - and now wouldn't you know it, look what company Disney has conveniently acquired?     Now, we needed a way to watch National Geographic specials without really compromising the integrity or the spirit of the marathon because these specials and occasionally feature length documentaries, are not really movies. So what do you do? You make a whole month dedicated to watching them, you find a way to shoehorn it into a silly name an...

  Release Date: March 11, 2022 Watch Date: April 29 - April 30, 2023 "Disney and Pixar's 'Turning Red' introduces Mei Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang), a confident dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother's dutiful daughter and t he chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming (voiced by Sandra Oh), is never far from her daughter - an unfortunate reality for the teenager. And as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren't enough, whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she suddenly turns into a giant red panda!"     The biggest complaint that I heard about this film, when it first came out, was that you could only enjoy if you were part of a highly specific group of people. Canadian. A girl. Someone who was a teenager or pre-teen in the early 2000's. I fall into most of these categories. So I'm pretty much the ideal target for this film.     All that said, I still can see...