Isolation Media 101: Disney+ Edition
Since it seems like I’m stuck at home for the foreseeable future, I decided to move on to the next streaming service on my to-do list: Disney+. It’s the one I have that I’ve spent the least time on until now, and my watchlist is about 30 movies long so I wanted to tackle it next.
I didn’t find any shows I wanted to binge, but that could be because I’m a millennial without kids who already watched The Mandalorian. I have heard good things about a Kristen Bell show about getting old school musical casts together that sounds promising, but I was so overwhelmed by how many movies I wanted to get through that it didn’t end up making my list. There was one episode of a cooking show called Be Our Guest that was pretty cute and could be fun, but with it coming out one at a time, it doesn’t help us in binge mode.
So here are the movies I decided to spend a week with, and warning, there’s a lot of Muppets.
Wreck-It Ralph
People were always aghast that I hadn’t seen this movie so it was the first one on my list. I was so happily surprised by it! And then immediately bummed out the sequel wasn’t on here but was on Netflix. This was such a cute and unique movie that I also now regret waiting so long to see. It was charming, funny and extremely well done.
The Verdict: 4/5
Brave
Well, here’s another one I hate that I didn’t see back when it came out. For some reason, this didn’t strike a chord with me so I just tended to forget about it. I was engaged the whole time though - and couldn’t help but wonder why more people weren’t excited about it considering how much everyone loses it over how cool it is that Elsa isn’t looking for a man when Merida competed for herself instead of getting hitched.
The Verdict: 4/5
Monsters University
I have seen Monsters Inc. more times than I can count and considering how much I loved it because how cute Boo was, I was curious how it would hold up without her. Turns out, it’s still a pretty solid premise. The characters are still just as interesting, it’s still plenty funny and it’s fun to get a back story on the monsters we are supposed to love in the first film.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Muppet Treasure Island
My favorite Christmas movie of all time is Muppet Christmas Carol so I jumped at the opportunity to work my way through the Muppet catalog on Disney+. I cracked up so many times at this film. Tim Curry was a hilarious surprise, everything is the perfect brand of humor that these puppets are known for. My personal favorite: the first mate, Mr. Bimbo, who lives in Fozzie Bear’s finger. Yup. You read that right.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Kronk’s New Groove
I hate to break the news to anyone who, like me, loves The Emperor’s New Groove. The sequel is not good. I wanted it to be good. So badly. But this was a confusing mess of plot lines. It somehow - I think - involves Yzma being (mostly) human and basically a snake oil salesman, Kronk being anxious to get his father’s approval….and I think what is the equivalent of warring Girl Scout troops? I got nothing.
The Verdict: 1.5/5
The Muppet Movie
Alright, Muppet time is ramping up. We have a run of ‘em here, folks. I went back to the very first one and was utterly charmed by it. No, it’s definitely not perfect, and it doesn’t even make sense, but it feels like it adds so much lore to this universe that Hensen was able to build. We get to see friendships formed, initial meetings and the beginnings to a creation that would last decades.
The Verdict: 3/5
The Great Muppet Caper
So the plot was what let down the first one, but the sequel decided to fix that problem without missing a beat. Well, I guess it’s not so much a sequel as this is a world where Fozzie and Kermit are supposed to be twin brother reporters who don’t know Miss Piggy yet, but it’s great. There’s a heist, a mystery, hidden identities and of course, some Muppet hilarity.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
The Muppets
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the new Muppet show that was on ABC a few years ago so I was hesitant to get into these films. It’s ridiculous in the best of ways. They wink at the fact that a movie with puppets can be cheesy and fully roll with it, turning from potentially cringy to endearing. There is cameo after cameo and I’m worried I even missed a few since they went by so quickly and I had to blink sometimes.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Muppets Most Wanted
This movie is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. And yet, it’s hilarious. The plot is nonsensical, with the world’s most dangerous frog setting up Kermit to end up in a Siberian prison so he can take his place and start on a weird treasure hunt of an art heist. Yes, there is a world’s most dangerous frog. And somehow the Muppets don’t seem to notice when ‘Kermit’ is suddenly Russian… and that’s only the beginning.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Mary Poppins
Okay, yes, I haven’t seen Mary Poppins in full until March 2020. We have to get past that. I was worried it wouldn’t age well with me having zero nostalgia for it, but I still thought it was extremely charming. It was a delightful movie and the dated aspects of technology just added to it a bit. My only complaint was that it was a tad bit too long - and I guess I should see the sequel again now that I’ve actually seen the first.
The Verdict: 3/5
Never Been Kissed
Well, this is something that didn’t age well at all. I love romantic comedies, a lot. But this one just felt so questionable to me. There’s something so gross about a 25 year old pretending to be a high schooler who is simultaneously flirting with 17/18 year olds and her teacher….who definitely thinks she’s a teen. And then there’s a weird brother plot line that I can’t even get into. I’d rate this a zero if the acting wasn’t decent.
The Verdict: 1.5/5
The Sound of Music
Here’s another one I’m ashamed to admit I hadn’t seen. And I was so worried I’d be rolling my eyes at it. However, I think this may be an example of a classic movie that holds up better than almost any other out there. The music is legendary, of course, and Julie Andrews is easily one of the most charming people out there, but somehow, some way, I think this movie is still close to perfect, despite the long runtime.
The Verdict: 4/5
Newsies
This is one of my best friend’s favorite movies, so I’m surprised it took me this long to get to it. Once I got past the fact that it was baby Christian Bale, it was a really fun watch. It was engaging, the songs were great and it made me wish I had seen the live production when it came through town recently. It holds up since it’s based so much in history and is definitely worth a watch.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
Blank Check
Okay, I know things were different in the ‘90s but wow did this movie not age super well. Maybe it’s because I’m watching it for the first time at almost 30 years old, but this child spends WAY MORE than a million dollars based off what I’m seeing. And there’s confusing age-inappropriate relationship shenanigans, and every single person in this movie kind of seems to suck a bit - and there is hardly any redemption at all.
The Verdict: 2/5
Trying to decide which streaming service I should tackle next. Any recommendations?