Mousterpiece Cinema

Hey, folks! It's time for a brand-new, recurring DVD feature on Mousterpiece Cinema, as Josh and Gabe begin their long, slow wade through the world of the Walt Disney Treasures box set DVDs. This week, they start with the Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two set, covering Mickey's shorts from 1939 onward. (Had it not been for Josh's poor memory, they wouldn't be going backwards with poor Mickey in living color.) They're joined on the show by This Was TV contributor Anthony Strand, as the trio discuss Mickey's shift from being a character to being an icon, Pluto's prominence in the shorts, and how sacrilegious it is to show Mickey Mouse playing a Mortal Kombat-style video game about Dopey the Dwarf. Check it out!

What would you do if one day, you woke up, and saw a peach as big as your house in the front yard? Would you go inside of that peach? Would you make friends with whatever was inside? Would you travel to New York while fighting robotic sharks and skeletal pirates? Of course you would! Well, that is, if you were the lead character of James and the Giant Peach, the Walt Disney live-action/stop-motion-animated hybrid film based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name, the topic of this week's all-new Mousterpiece Cinema. In this new show, Josh and Gabe are joined by Andreas Stoehr of the Pussy Goes Grr film blog to discuss this follow-up to The Nightmare Before Christmas, also produced by Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick. Did they find it soporific? Slight? Splendid? Other words that begin with "s"? Listen to find out!

We've been away for a month, but Mousterpiece Cinema is back and ready to go! Gabe and Josh are raring to go, and start off a slew of all-new episodes by tackling one of the greatest of all animated movies--let alone Disney movies: 1940's Pinocchio. This week, they're joined by Alexander Huls, contributor to The Atlantic, Film School Rejects, The New York Times Magazine, and more, to discuss the little wooden marionette who dreamed of being a real boy and son to his father, Geppetto. More specifically, the trio discuss exactly how traumatic this movie was to them as children, and as adults, as well as the film's music, animation, and style. Plus, at the end, a digression into the world of The Fast and The Furious series, because...well, why not?

Welcome back, friends, to the second part of this special two-part show. As you saw from the first part of the podcast, Mousterpiece Cinema co-host and friend Michael Ryan passed away just over a week ago, so Josh and Gabe have been spending a bit of time reminiscing about their cohort. In the second part, Josh and Gabe highlight some memorable moments from having worked with Mike, both in another clip package, and in an extended discussion segment. Plus, you'll get to hear voicemails from some past guests and fellow listeners, as well as a conversation at the end of the show about the future of the podcast going forward. You don't want to miss it.   NOTE: As you'll hear, this episode eschews the typical Mousterpiece Cinema theme music, instead using snatches of familiar, fitting pieces of Disney music, all of which are owned by Disney, and are not meant to be used here for profit.

Friends, by now you may have heard, but if not, Josh and Gabe recently got some tragic news from Montreal: their Mousterpiece Cinema co-host Michael Ryan passed away just over a week ago. As such, today doesn't bring a typical episode of the podcast. Instead, Josh and Gabe have a two-part memorial show in honor of Mike, with this being Part One. For the centerpiece segment, Josh and Gabe are joined by past guest and co-host of The Televerse, Kate Kulzick, to reminisce about Mike on a general level, discussing what he meant to them and how Mike first got involved with the show. This first of two parts also includes a clip package bursting with the best of our duck-loving friend. Make sure to listen to the whole show, and stick around for part two.   NOTE: As you'll hear, this episode eschews the typical Mousterpiece Cinema theme music, instead using snatches of familiar, fitting pieces of Disney music, all of which are owned by Disney, and are not meant to be used here for profit.

Arr, mateys! D'you fancy a walk on the plank? Or...oh, let's drop the charade, shall we? We're at the end of the pirate world, finally, as Josh, Mike, and Gabe review the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean film, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. You remember On Stranger Tides, right? It came out two years ago! It had Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, and Ian McShane! Plus Penelope Cruz looking like...well, Penelope Cruz! Josh and Gabe had to have their memories jogged, but...well, we bet you know what Mike thought of this movie. But our three hosts also spent a good deal of time discussing the current state of affairs in Disney hand-drawn animation, because how could they not? These are choppy waters in this week's show, but don't hesitate to check it out!

No, friends, you haven't slept past the weekend, and your calendars aren't wrong. It's time for a brand-new Mousterpiece Cinema, during the week! Aren't you lucky? (Don't get used to this kind of multiple-episode manna from heaven.) And even better, this is a totally different episode, with a Mousterpiece Cinema first! Mike and Josh wanted to review the Disney documentary Walt and El Grupo, but there's one problem: it's not accessible in any way in Canada, so Mike hasn't seen it. As such, all he could do was interview the film's director, Ted Thomas, son of the late Frank Thomas. But he stuck around to hear Josh's thoughts on the film and its place in Disney's documentary universe. Was Josh a fan? Could Mike allay his concerns? And is Ted Thomas a duck person or a mouse person? Find out by listening to this all-new, extra-special bonus podcast!

Friends, we'd like to welcome you to a new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, but we have to be honest. Nothing we say can prepare you for the terror and foul horror of what lies within this podcast. Oh, sure, you've got Josh, Mike, and special guest Scott Meslow of The Week and The Atlantic here to discuss the 2010 live-action version of Alice in Wonderland, but we're thinking of one thing specifically: the...shudder...Futterwacken. We had to discuss it--how could we avoid it? There's a lot we had to discuss this week, including how Alice in Wonderland is just like Batman and Robin, and why that's a good thing...to one of us. The movie may be terrible, but this episode is something special. Check it out!

Yarr, mateys! We caught you with yer pants down, didn't we? Yes, just because your pirate crew took an unexpected vacation last week doesn't mean we're not back this week with cannons at the ready! Today, Josh, Mike, and Gabe head back to the high seas, but not with the Pirates of the Caribbean! No, this week, we join Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and more of the Muppets with the 1996 film Muppet Treasure Island! And prepare to be shocked--your fearsome Captain is the most positive one of all! How could Mike and Gabe not love the goofiness onboard the Hispaniola? How could the silly humor and Tim Curry's over-the-top performance as Long John Silver not be enough for them? Find out on the new show!

Time to drink up, me hearties, because your beloved (hopefully beloved) crew members of the damned ship Mousterpiece are at it again. This week, they return to the fabled Caribbean to discuss the third film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. For this episode, Josh, Mike, and Gabe were joined by special guest Corey Atad of Movie Mezzanine, to have a hearty, spirited debate about this 2007 blockbuster. Is it a bloated, overly bombastic action movie that's tiresome, or is its bloat and bombast exactly why it's so great? Your crew and their guest were definitely divided on the film's quality, the romance, and even Chow-Yun Fat! Drop anchor and check out the new show! (And fair warning, me buckoes: there's a bit of salty language in this episode, so be warned!)

You're...off to see the wizard! The powerful wizard of Oz! We hear he is a bit of a jerk, if ever a jerk there was! If ever, oh, ever a sleaze there was, the wizard of Oz is one because...because, because, because, because, because...because of the slimy old things he does! You're off to see the wizard! The powerful wizard of Oz! Yes, Josh and Mike are facing off against Disney's big new movie Oz the Great and Powerful. Did they find it lacking a heart, a brain, or courage? Were they sold by James Franco's turn as Oz himself? (Take a guess from the parody lyrics. You might have an idea.) You'll have to check out the new show to find out!   NOTE: There is one bad word uttered during this episode--Josh takes the blame, but he also gives a bit of warning, so if you've got kids around, just fast-forward a couple of seconds after he mentions "blue" language. (The phrase he utters, sans profanity, is "Give me a break," for the curious.)

This week's episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, about the 1951 animated version of Alice in Wonderland, will be a normal, humdrum sh--well, how do you like that? It's a white rabbbit! And he's talking! Let's follow him down that rabbit hole, along with Josh, Mike, and Gabe! And look what wonderful things there are down here! A discussion of music in Disney films! A comparison of this version of Alice in Wonderland to the many others, including a TV-movie with Ringo Starr as the Mock Turtle, and Telly Savalas as the Cheshire Cat! Oh, and some singing flowers, playing-card guards, and a pothead caterpillar. But those are so boring. Check out the new show today!

Is the regret at what could have been enough to discolor what remains? Bit heavy, we know, but hold on, because we're still talking about a brand-new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema! This week, Josh, Mike, and Gabe are joined by Myles McNutt of the AV Club to discuss the 2000 animated feature The Emperor's New Groove, as well as the controversial documentary of its making, The Sweatbox. The light, fast-paced buddy comedy with David Spade and John Goodman was once a Prince and the Pauper-style, ambitious film with Spade and Owen Wilson, as crazy as that may sound. Josh, Mike, Gabe, and Myles debate the film, its placement in Disney's canon, and exactly what kind of voice Lou Diamond Phillips (yes, really) has for animation this week, so make sure to check it out!

As a great man once said, all good things must come to an end. And today, that also applies to bad things, specifically the topic of discussion on a brand-new b-b-b-b-bonus episode of Mousterpiece Cinema: the Herbie, the Love Bug franchise. Josh and Mike have discussed the six movies and the 1997 TV-movie. But finally, because the show's Facebook page hit 200 Likes a couple months ago, they go to the VW-shaped well one more time, to look at the failed 1982 TV series Herbie, the Love Bug. Wait, you...you're not familiar with the five hourlong episodes starring Dean Jones where he fell in love with a divorced mother of three, and also had a driving school, and also had Herbie to be his best friend/needy lover? Let the exhausted Josh and giddy Mike clue you in on this all-new supplemental podcast!

Drink up, me hearties, because on this week's all-new Mousterpiece Cinema, you're going to need it. Last month, your feared captain, Josh, along with his first mate Mike and bosun Gabe, took a look at the 2003 adventure Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. That only means one thing: time to head to Davy Jones' locker in more ways than one. This week, your trio of hosts review the first sequel in the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. You'll hear some crazy ideas and pirate voices this week, but brace yourself: this week, Josh isn't the most negative person on the podcast! Don't believe me? Grab a flagon of rum, your nearest wench, and dive into the depths with new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema!

What child doesn't have the distinct memory of sitting down with their family at the holidays to watch that old perennial favorite about Dorothy Gale traveling with an animal friend to the magical land of Oz? And what child doesn't remember how that film began, with Dorothy sent to a mental institution to get electroshock therapy? Wait, what? Yes, that's really the set-up to a film about Dorothy and Oz, but not the Judy Garland film. No, this week on Mousterpiece Cinema, your intrepid trio of hosts are talking about the 1985 film Return to Oz, starring a young Fairuza Balk. They're joined by The AV Club's Zack Handlen to revel in the glorious weirdness of Dorothy interacting with a person made of branches and a pumpkin, a talking chicken, a mechanical man, and a witch who exchanges her head at will. And, believe it or not, Gabe out-crazies Mike for the first time on the podcast! You'll have to wait a bit, but it's true! So check out the new show to find out what magic lurks in Oz!

Well, you're really in the doghouse this week, folks. Get ready for a howling good time as Josh and Mike cover not one, but two films on the new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema! You can probably spot the trend in this description, but in case you can't, your hosts are reviewing the live-action version of 101 Dalmatians and its 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians! Don't turn your tail and run, because this is bound to be a very special episode, in which Josh and Mike debate bad rap music, Hugh Laurie's career, Glenn Close, the value of animation, and whether or not a movie can get away with copying a scene from a better film. It gets pretty rough this week, but don't be scared--the movies might've been real dogs, but this episode isn't!

Ole! You better be ready for some south-of-the-border discussion this week, because Josh, Mike, and Gabe are bringing it! (The discussion, that is.) In the new Mousterpiece Cinema, the trio tackle the 1942 film that preceded The Three Caballeros, Saludos Amigos! And once again, they're joined by Jeff Heimbuch of Communicore Weekly and MiceChat.com to delve into this truly short feature film. They discuss race, identity, and what The Birds would look like with Jose Carioca and Donald Duck as the attackers, among many other salient, insightful, and silly topics. Check out the new show!

In this week's all-new Mousterpiece Cinema, Josh, Gabe, and Mike not only return to the land of the little, but they do some surprising box-office fact-hunting. All in the name of two little mice from the Rescue Aid Society, too! Yes, it's time to discuss the 1990 sequel to The Rescuers, better known as The Rescuers Down Under. Does this forgotten film deserve a second chance? And why did it do so poorly at the box office back at the beginning of the Disney Renaissance? Your hosts delve into these issues and find some time to rant about Disney's questionable decision to remove the Little Mermaid 3D re-release from their schedule in this brand new show. Check it out, mate! And have a g'day! (It was just too silly to pass up, sorry.)

Yarr, mateys! If ye dare, climb aboard the damned ship Mousterpiece as your captain Josh, first mate Mike, and bosun Gabe raid the shores of Tortuga on a new episode of this here podcast, reviewing the 2003 blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The motley Mousterpiece crew tackle the most fearsome, feared pirate of all: Cap'n Jack Sparrow! (Some of ye buckos may know him as Johnny Depp.) Yer beloved captain and 'is fellow buccaneers debate, in this week's show, which of the Pirates films be the greatest, and how much they dread revisiting some of the sequels. They dread it even more than Davy Jones' locker, but no challenge be too great for this trio of pirates! Make sure to download this new episode to hear all the fun, and decide which of yer pirate podcasters' voices be most believable! (Or least!)