Moana 2 (what to expect)
Scorecard, Red cap essay, Lilo is back, Yap pod
We hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We are thankful for each of you!
Happy Birthday to our friends!
Veronica 11/29 - Favorite Movie: Grease
Amber 11/29 - Favorite Movie: Moulin Rouge
Here’s what we have for you this week:
Concession Stand Scorecard: Moana 2
Red Cap Essay - Josh’s latest essay
Watchlist Worthy: A childhood favorite returns - as live action.
Pod Drop: Small Plots, Big Tangents: Back to Yappin
This week’s movie - “Moana 2”
Letterboxd Description:
The ocean is calling them back.
After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys alongside Maui and a new crew to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.
Best Watched With
Your family’s youngins and that long curly headed friend they call Maui.
End credit thoughts
Moana 2 follows the “How To Make A Sequel” formula to a tee. A similar story, call backs, and reused jokes make for an entirely okay second installment.
The animation hits the mark that is expected of Disney Studios and continues to build out Moana’s world. It utilizes a spectrum of vibrant hues to captivate and immerse us in ocean and Motunui living.
A big gripe with this movie is the deafening absence of Lin-Manuel Miranda's music. The first movie has some of the most iconic numbers in recent memory, and the music in this movie is so different it completely removed us from the story.
Once again Moana needs to save the world, but this time she takes a page out of a bank-heist movie and puts together a team to join the near-impossible mission. Dwayne Johnson (Maui) and Auliʻi Cravalho (Moana) are just as good as they are in the first film but the rest of the crew is mostly forgettable other than Heihei and Pua.
You can always count on Disney to deliver truly emotional scenes, and there were a couple of times we were in our feelings watching beautiful human connection animated on screen.
If you're a parent, you're going to be watching Moana 2 whether you try and avoid it or not, and there are definitely worse movies out there. Although it borrowed most of it's charm from the original, we found ourselves entertained and amused. But ultimately it does not do enough to justify the price of admission. Wait to stream this one at home.
Watch the trailer here
Lilo & Stitch(2025) Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp
Lilo & Stitch (2002) is one of my favorite Disney movies that has a great story and a killer soundtrack. It honestly might be how I was introduced to the King of Rock and Roll (Or it was 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)… which are wildly two different movies). Lilo & Stitch was one of the more rewatched movies in our childhood and never failed to put me in a feel-good mood.
That is why there was some healthy hesitation about a live action adaptation.
Do we need more remakes, more live action renditions of already made stories? I do not know the answer to this. But whatever we do get and whatever people do make, remakes and live actions included, I won't complain if they are done well. And I think Lilo & Stitch (2025) is in good hands.
They teamed the original writers up with Dean Fleischer Camp, the director of the beloved Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)—one of my favorite watches of 2021 that involves a character I have loved since that time our Photography 101 professor showed us the short on YouTube.
And that is why any doubts of mine have melted away.
I am adding Lilo & Stitch (2025) to my watchlist.
- JP :)
Letterboxd Description:
A fugitive alien helps to mend a lonely Hawaiian girl’s broken family.
Also Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp:
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On (2021)
Small Plots, Big Tangents: Back to Yappin’ #042
🎧 Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube
Eric and Josh are back to yappin’.
In this episode, Eric and Josh set out to discuss The Penguin limited series streaming on MAX and Dune: Prophecy, also streaming on MAX. Instead, they went on every side quest possible and discussed everything from Spooky Season recapping to Eric writing speeches to $37 smoothies to small plot movies.
The episode also touches on the joys and emotional weight of movies like 'Perfect Days' and 'A Real Pain,' alongside the influence of actors turned directors like Jesse Eisenberg. They end up discussing The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy. For like 5 minutes. Too Long; Didn’t Listen: Watch The Penguin right now. Dune: Prophecy, the is jury is out. New Dune: Prophecy episodes on Sundays. Tune in with us.
Tune in next week for | Y2K
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