Ep. 10: The Accessible World Of Disney

Alex and Lee celebrate Disney accessibility with a focus on live-action films. They review the recent adaptation of “The Little Mermaid”, rank the live-action remakes, and share some favorite nostalgic classics.

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Lee Pugsley
It's June! And we are back with episode 10 of The Dark Room, where two blind cinephiles illuminate the sighted. I'm Lee Pugsley.

Alex Howard
I'm Alex Howard.

Lee Pugsley
And we are your two legally blind hosts of this podcast for film lovers of all abilities. Today, we wanted to highlight one of the studios that we feel like has done an exceptional job with audio description. And we feel like it's important to highlight the good things that are being done in terms of audio description, as well as sharing our frustrations. But today, we wanted to focus on something positive. And Alex, tell us about the studio that we're highlighting.

Alex Howard
Yeah. So this is our Part One of a five part Disney episode. We're not going to be doing all five parts in a row. They'll be scattered throughout. But we're doing one part on live action, one part on Disney Animation, one part on Pixar, one part on Marvel, and one part on Star Wars. So today we are talking specifically about live action Disney movies, because we just had The Little Mermaid come out.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, so we just wanted to share our thoughts briefly on The Little Mermaid, and then we'll talk about our favorite Disney live action remakes, go into some other live action Disney films that we would put in our favorites categories. But let's get going first with the latest remake, which is Disney's The Little Mermaid. Alex, why don't you share some of your thoughts on your experience with the movie?

Alex Howard
So I think the movie overall was really, really good. I think there were a few little nitpick things that I didn't like. I think Scuttle being in the water in the beginning was a little weird. We will be going into light spoilers because by the time this comes out, the movie will be out for a month. But we're not going to give anything major away. But yeah, so Scuttle being in the water, in the beginning, was a little off-putting for me, which is a very small thing. And I think it took me a little bit to get into the new Sebastian. Like, the first rendition of Under the Sea, I was a little... It was still a little weird. But I think once we got later in the movie, it was great. I loved, Halle Bailey was awesome. She's going to be huge, hopefully if everything keeps going right for her. She's amazing. Her voice is crazy. And I think The Little Mermaid, the new one, did Act Two and showing the relationship between Ariel and Eric better than the animated one. I really like the whole thing where they're in the little town, and I really liked the Kiss the Girl song, how they changed it a little bit to make it more modern. I really liked what they did with that. But I think my only complaint really, that's not a nitpick is, I didn't really like Eric's song. But other than that, I really enjoyed it and I know -- hot take, I really liked Scuttlebutt, I know that's a very controversial part of it. But what did you think, Lee?

Lee Pugsley
To give some context, The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney animated movie of all time. So I was very worried about this movie, and I went into it not expecting to like it. That being said, I came out having a lot of fun and enjoying it quite a bit. I don't think it's a perfect film by any means. It's kind of a mixed bag. To kind of play off of some of the things that you were mentioning Alex, I think that the first 10 to 15 minutes of the movie comes across a little bit bland. And the energy and pacing is just a little slow and the characters seem a little flat. But once we start getting into it, once we see Ariel and meet her and Flounder, the movie picks up a little bit and slowly gets better from there. By the time it got to Part of That World, I was fully invested. And a huge part of that is due to the compelling performance from Halle Bailey. Like you said, Alex, she's going to be a star. I think this movie was a great vehicle for people to know who she is. And she's so talented, she played the character of Ariel so well, giving us the essence of what we love about the animated version of Ariel but also doing something to make it her own. And even making Ariel's character a little more grounded and mature, which I appreciated. Moving forward, the rest of the underwater sequences were good. They left a little to be desired, but not enough that I hold it against anything. Once we get on to land, though, the added content between Ariel and Eric and building their relationship on a friendship, seeing the ways that they connect with each other and understanding the reasons why they would connect with each other, was really delightful. And that was my favorite part of the movie. Like you said, the scenes in the village, Kiss the Girl, all of that was fantastic. And then, the last part of the movie, the last like, five to 10 minutes, it just didn't seem as magical as in the animated movie when Ariel gets transformed into a human, and she's running towards Erik. And I wanted to see a little bit more of that magic. And one of the major things about the last part of the movie that I really missed was her blue dress. When she comes out of the water in the animated film, there's like this sparkly blue dress, and it's beautiful. And I don't know why they got rid of that. And then last thing I'll say about the ending is, I wanted them to sing a reprise of Part of Your World where the merpeople and the humans sing together, kind of like they do in the animated film. I'm willing to accept the ending the way it was, but it definitely left a little bit to be desired. And then in terms of the new songs, the most annoying song to me was Scuttlebutt actually, I just found it so jarring and out of context with the style of the other musical numbers. And I'm like, why is this song here? Please let it end. It was so cringy to me. And in contrast to you, I really did like Eric's song. I don't think it was completely necessary from an objective point of view. But it's so musical theater and so theatrical, that it worked well for me.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I also, I think the end climax with Ursula getting, you know, huge like, just like she does in the animated one, I mean, from an eyesight perspective, was very, very dark. I really couldn't see her at all, the Ursula character when she got big. And I think part of it might have been because I did see it in 3D. And I had the tint on my 3D glasses, which even made the beginning part in the underwater when it was darker hard to watch. But other than that, I mean, Melissa McCarthy was awesome as well. I know, we haven't even mentioned her yet. But she was perfect Ursula, I thought.

Lee Pugsley
Melissa McCarthy was fantastic. She really paid homage to Pat Carroll who did the voice of Ursula in the original animated film. But she also very much found ways to make it her own and add her own comedic flair into the role. I also think that Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric did a very good job as well. And I was really glad that they develop the character of Eric more than they do in the animated film. And then to touch on one thing that you were saying about the visual component of the movie, there were quite a few scenes, especially underwater that were pretty dark. And I definitely missed a lot in those scenes. And then with the Ursula getting big and all of that, it was very hard for me to see much of that too. I do think that the audio description did a good job of describing different things. How did you feel about that?

Alex Howard
Yeah, I thought it was good. Do I remember correctly, I feel like they went into detail about the different breeds of sea life that we were seeing.

Lee Pugsley
They did go into detail about the different breeds of sea life. And another thing I appreciated is at first, when you see Ariel sisters, they were describing the different types of tails that they had with the colors and the patterns and everything. And I really appreciated the level of detail that the audio description brought to making the viewing experience more complete for us.

Alex Howard
I know you're a theater guy, how did you feel about the description during Under the Sea? Because I know that's a big musical piece in the movie.

Lee Pugsley
I thought they did a great job of describing the sea life and the movement of the sea life in Under the Sea. You know, they'll describe you know, "these fish dance around Ariel" or "these turtles move in a line". And it was descriptive enough that I was able to fill in the gaps and look for those visual cues from what I was being told I needed to look for.

Alex Howard
Yeah, one other thing I will say. I know I'm circling back to what you're saying about the, you would like a reprise of Part of Your World. I really did like the little reprise they did, I think about three quarters of the way through the movie, when Ariel is on land and she's singing about-- She starts singing Part of Your World again, but it's a little bit different lyrics. And I think Lin Manuel Miranda wrote that part too, as well as Scuttlebutt. But I really like the little reprise of Part of Tour World that they did have.

Lee Pugsley
I liked it as well. I wouldn't say that it was completely necessary. But once again, nothing that I'm going to use as a strike against it at all.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I liked that the songs they did add were mostly for Halle Bailey. Because she is so talented. Even though she got her voice taken away, I liked that they gave her a few songs to sing. For us like, it's what she's thinking, even though no one else can hear her singing.

Lee Pugsley
Yes, I really liked that aspect of the film. And I thought that-- I thought that the director Rob Marshall did a really good job of depicting the thoughts in her head in a way that we as the audience could understand what was actually going on.

Alex Howard
Yeah, no, I completely agree. I think this is one of the, for me, one of the better Disney remakes. Probably top two or three for me. But where does this rank for you among other Disney remakes?

Lee Pugsley
Excellent question. So let's talk about it. I will give you my top five Disney remakes. And I'll start with number five. And then we can just kind of bounce the ball back and forth. So number five, for me is Pete's Dragon. This is a film directed by David Lowery who I always find to be an engaging director. I think that he always does unique things and thinks a little outside of the box of what most directors do. The other thing I liked about Pete's Dragon from the original version was that it was quite a bit different. But the idea of a boy befriending a dragon, that through line was still there. I thought that the visuals in that movie were nice, and there was a certain charm and heartwarming aspect of that film. So that falls into my number five spot for live action Disney remakes. And before I go any further, I just want to say that no live action Disney remake has been perfect. And I don't see them as being completely necessary. But they definitely have given me some level of enjoyment to see how different parts of stories can be reinterpreted. On that note, what's your number five, Disney remake, Alex?

Alex Howard
To start off, I think, as a rule, I mean, none of these movies are better than the original. I think it's going to be very difficult for them to make any of them better than the original. But I think my favorite ones are the ones that kind of add more to the story. Rather than take things away. I think, you know, some of the ones that didn't work were ones like Mulan, and for me Jungle Book and things like that, that were either too different or too much the same thing for the animated one. So I don't know that I have them in any order. I haven't seen Pete's Dragon or as many as you have. The straight to Disney Plus one, I haven't watched yet. But for me number five: I know it's controversial. It might be the Lion King, just because I loved the Lion King so much growing up. And I think-- I know the animals have, it's hard to emote with the animated or realistic looking lions. But I think it's just so beautiful to watch. And I think, you know, that nostalgia really plays into it a little bit for me.

Lee Pugsley
I respect where you're coming from. However, that movie to me would be on the bottom three of worst Disney live action remakes. I think it was just for me. The photo realism I commend, I think that the Lion King on a technical level is an achievement, and there's some beauty and majesty to what they were able to do. I fully applaud that. And the voice performances were fine. I think that Seth Rogen and who played the..... Who were Timon and Pumbaa?

Alex Howard
Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner.

Lee Pugsley
Billy Eichner, yeah. I think that both of them were the saving grace of that movie. But it still came across as just very bland and I wasn't able to connect with the characters as much. And the thing that drove me the most nuts about it was, they sing Can You Feel the Love Tonight? when it's bright daylight. And I'm like, Come on, guys. That's an easy fix.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I also think, I mean, tied for my number five would also be, it's the 19 (what was it, 1994?) 101 Dalmatians?

Lee Pugsley
Oh, 1996 101 Dalmations.

Alex Howard
It's probably not nearly as good now. I haven't watched it since I was a kid. But as a kid, I really liked that movie. It was kind of like combining 101 Dalmations and Home Alone, almost.

Lee Pugsley
That's such a good way to put it, because I thought the second half of the movie really becomes like Home Alone. And the first half of the movie is kind of more true to the animated film. I think that's a very underrated Disney remake because people forget about it. Since it came out so much before the era of Disney remakes that we have now. I think what really sells that movie for me as well is Glenn Close as Cruella Deville. I mean, she's a force to be reckoned with. And she's such an accomplished actress.

Alex Howard
Yeah, no, I completely agree. She's really, really good in that role. And just so everyone knows, I mean, I've only seen eight. And two of them, we're not counting, we're not counting Maleficent in this list, and we're not counting Cruella in this list, because technically, I mean, they aren't really a remake of Sleeping Beauty. And it's not really a remake of 101 Dalmations, so.

Lee Pugsley
One of the other things I want to comment on too, with 101 Dalmatians, is they were able to pull that movie off without the animals talking, and it still worked.

Alex Howard
Oh, I agree. I think they should try and stick with that. I think. I mean, we'll talk about Cinderella and I guess Mulan didn't make my list. But we'll talk about that as we as we go into Cinderella. But what's your number four?

Lee Pugsley
Number four on my list is Aladdin. I wasn't expecting much from this movie. I was very turned off by the trailer. But I had a surprising amount of fun when I went into the theater. I thought that Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott, were great for Aladdin and Jasmine, I think that they both connected well with one another. And they added a certain level of charm to those characters. But what really sold the movie for me was Will Smith. I mean, let's be honest, he can never recapture the brilliance of Robin Williams' animated performance as a genie. And I'm glad he didn't try to do that. He did his own thing with it. And it worked remarkably well.

Alex Howard
I agree. That's actually my, Aladdin's probably my number four as well. I think going into it, the Genie was the thing I was most hesitant about. And then coming out of it, it was the best part of the movie, the biggest, pleasant surprise of the movie.

Lee Pugsley
My main criticisms for the movie, and I'm curious to see what you think, is sometimes the world of Agrabah looked a little smaller than how grand I think it could actually be. It just felt very self contained. And I'm like, Come on, show us more. And then the other criticism I had was, Jafar didn't seem very menacing to me. He seemed like the kind of guy that I could hang out with and grab beers with and be like, Yo, be my homeboy.

Alex Howard
Yeah, wasn't there a thing where people were having crushes on the guy who played Jafar?

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, that was definitely a real thing.

Alex Howard
So yeah, I mean, that was both of our number four. I think, yeah, Aladdin was definitely one of the stronger ones that they've done, because they did do things differently. But they also, you know, paid homage to the original at the same time. But what was your number three?

Lee Pugsley
Number three is The Little Mermaid and we don't need to touch on that too much. It was a tough call, though, between Aladdin and The Little Mermaid for which movie was the better live action remake. I think what it comes down to for me is that The Little Mermaid just seemed a bit more tightly directed than Aladdin. And that's why it has the slight edge. Also, it stuck to the bones of the source material really well, gave us some of those iconic moments that we were hoping for from the animated film, and just was slightly more satisfying than Aladdin. Even though I might argue that Aladdin might have a few more elements of fun than The Little Mermaid. I think the Little Mermaid overall, is slightly stronger in the story.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I can see that. Yeah, I think my number three is Beauty and the Beast. People criticize Emma Watson singing, but I thought she was a really good Belle, acting wise.

Lee Pugsley
I validate that opinion, wholeheartedly. But I felt quite the opposite. I felt like Beauty and the Beast, while it had some very good production design, it just seemed bland to me, with the exception of Luke Evans as Gaston which was the saving grace for that movie. I also was a big fan of Dan Stevens as the Beast. I think that he did a pretty good job and they have this song For Evermore that he sings after he lets Belle go, that I really appreciated. What I didn't appreciate, though, is Emma Watson as Belle. I like Emma Watson in general as an actress, but for the role of Belle, she just didn't do it for me. It was probably a combination of her singing and her voice being auto tuned. As well as, I wanted more of a sense of adventure, of spontaneity and free spirited Belle than what I got. I feel like she was a little more subdued and muted, and I realized that may have been a directorial choice or an acting choice. And once again, that takes away nothing from her talent. Just for this role, I wanted something different than what I got.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I can respect that. And I think, I mean, I'm not a musical theater guy. So I didn't have a big problem with her singing, but I can see why why you did. So Lee, what is your number two?

Lee Pugsley
My number two, and I know that we're gonna have differing opinions on this one too, which is a great because that's what makes this podcast fun is that we don't always agree on everything. And that's totally cool. But my number two is The Jungle Book. I thought that Jon Favreau did a really good job of expanding the material from the animated film. And he actually gave the animals a level of expression in their faces and their eyes so that we felt like we had a connection with them. Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, and I'm not thinking of the other names right now. But all of them I thought did a stellar job. And I thought that the world looked colorful. The score was great, they used a lot of the songs from the animated film. And they paid homage to it enough that we felt like we were getting the spirit of the animated Jungle Book, while also giving us new perspectives and new things to refresh the story. Now, I'm curious to hear your thoughts, because I know that you weren't as big of a fan of this movie.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I don't know. It didn't really, I feel like for me, it was too different from the original. Like, I know the monkey, what was--

Lee Pugsley
King Louie?

Alex Howard
Thank you. King Louis was like, a huge monkey in this one. I know that's kind of a nitpick. But it seemed like it was a big plot point. I don't know. I didn't feel the magic in this one as much as in the animated one growing up. I don't know it. I felt like-- I think the strength of Little Mermaid were the parts where they differed from the original. And I think with Jungle Book for me, the parts that differed was most of the movie and it was the weaker parts.

Lee Pugsley
That's fair. I can understand where you're coming from. And, but yeah, what's your number two?

Alex Howard
My number two is Cinderella. And like I said, all of these are, I mean, it could be a toss up between my number two and number one, and really all of them. But I I just watched Cinderella before recording this with you. And I thought it was surprisingly good. Like, I'm not a big Cinderella guy. You know. I mean, I've watched the animated movie growing up a few times. But it wasn't one of my go-tos. And I felt like the live action made me a lot more interested in the story than I thought I would be. I was a lot more invested in it than I thought. And I wanted to ask you, I know we talked on the phone about this a little bit, but I thought it was interesting that Cinderella was able to not have any songs in it and not have any talking animals in it. Just like another Disney remake, Mulan. Although Mulan did not work, whereas Cinderella worked very well. And I think it's interesting that, you know, the mice don't talk, none of that. Bibbidy-Bobbidi-Boo is not in it. Yet it's still a really good solid Disney remake.

Lee Pugsley
That's a great point. And spoiler alert, Cinderella is actually my number one favorite Disney Live Action Remake. I think it is one of the only films, if not the only remake that surpasses the original animated film. Could be a hot take for some people. But I think the reason that the animals not talking in Cinderella works, where it didn't in Mulan, is because Mulan did something so vastly different with the story that they didn't really follow the beats of the animated film, as much as Cinderella follows the beats of the source material. With Mulan, they focus more on the lore of Mulan. And I think one of the things that was really lost in translation was Mulan using her wit and her skill and her inner strength to become confident in the fact that she could go toward, disguised as a man, that she could hold her own, and that we see her growth and we see her arc. Whereas in the new Mulan, she starts off as just like, kind of like the super hero, or this like, she has these like superpowers with the Chi and everything that she's always had. It's almost kind of like Rey in Star Wars, or..... It could also be considered a superhero movie in some ways. Going back to Cinderella, though, Cinderella had all of the beats of the animated film, including the animals, but it also expanded on the material, giving more depth and dimension to the relationship between Cinderella and the Prince and even giving the prince more to do. And I think that Lily James and Richard Madden did a very good job of creating chemistry with one another. And you do get a little bit more from Cate Blanchett's Step Mother in the live action remake. But once again, Cinderella works because they kept the beats of their original animated film and stayed faithful to it and used that as the vehicle to expand. Where Mulan, they got rid of Mushu, they got rid of the music, they got rid of so many things about it. And they weren't anchored in the animated film to expand.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I think Mulan is the only one on my list that I've seen that didn't make it. And I think it's because Mushu was my favorite part of the animated one. And he wasn't in the live action at all, which really kind of, you know, threw off the whole tone. It wasn't really, there weren't really any jokes. It wasn't it was a very serious movie.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, it's kind of like let's do Mulan, but take all of the fun and energy out of it, which I feel like is what they did. And then I know that you had mentioned this previously, we had talked about the climax is at a construction site. And I was like, What are we doing here?

Alex Howard
Yeah. Yeah, no, I agree, Cinderella. Yeah, when I first watched it, I was like, why does this click for me so well? But it does. It works very, very well. Even, you know, as a 30 year old guy, I wouldn't think I'd be very interested in the Cinderella movie. But I was very engaged in it. It was, it was very good. And I think, I mean, for me, to touch on other ones that don't have music. I think Cruella would have been my number five, if we were counting that as a remake. I really, really enjoyed Cruella a lot. But I know it's not really the 101 Dalmatians story, although hopefully we'll get a sequel and they'll go into that kind of thing. But you said Cinderella was your number one?

Lee Pugsley
Yeah. And in addition to everything that I've said, from a filmmaking point of view, whether or not it was Cinderella or any other film, I think that the production design in Cinderella is beautiful. The costumes are gorgeous. The score by Patrick Doyle is really wonderful. I think it's a very well paced movie, and it has movement, it lifts off the page. And Kenneth Branagh did a great job of elevating that material. And it feels magical in a lot of ways. And I would argue that this might be one of Kenneth Branagh's best movies, if not his best movie. That can be a hot take for some people as well. But I hold to it. So if you don't have any more thoughts on Cinderella, what is your number one?

Alex Howard
Well, I'm realizing now I guess my number one is Little Mermaid. It's funny. Like, there were a lot of parts of Little Mermaid, like I thought, like I said, Act Two of Little Mermaid was stronger than Act Two of the animated one. But in a lot of cases, I haven't seen the animated movies for these since childhood. So you know, I'm like, as I'm watching it, I'm remembering. Oh, that's right. That did happen in the original. So I mean, I'm not as passionate about the Disney remakes as I mean, probably even you or a lot of other people. But it's funny, because, you know, I'm like, Oh, this one's coming down the pipeline. You know, like, I know, Snow White's coming next year. But as we get a couple of weeks out, then I'll get really excited for it. And then I'll go and, you know, that'll be my time where I'm stoked for it. But I'm not..... Like there are aspects of Disney I love, but I think this isn't one that I'm super passionate about. Yes, I'm realizing Little Mermaid is my number one, I think. Yeah, I just, I really liked Act Two a lot. None of these movies are like my favorite movies ever. But I do think there are some that you can say weren't necessary and I mean, all of these honestly, no movie has ever been necessary. But like there are certain ones that are, have more of a place in..... I get a lot of people think Disney's just mining for money. But you know, it's like, it's for the new generation. Like I think The Little Mermaid with the black Ariel has a big cultural significance for a lot of children growing up right now.

Lee Pugsley
100%. And one of the things that I'll say that is probably nice for you, is I don't feel like you're as attached to the original animated films, as I am or other hardcore Disney fans.

Alex Howard
Exactly. That's what I was trying to say.

Lee Pugsley
So what it gives you though, is when you go into these movies, you're able to kind of just take them more at face value than you know someone like me is able to, where I'm just picking apart every little detail. Why did they make that choice? Why did they deliver that line that way? Why did they visually represent it this way? And it's really hard for me to shut off my critical brain when I'm watching a Disney Live Action Remake. Whereas for you, you're able to probably get a level of enjoyment from it that I don't get, because I'm just analyzing it the whole time.

Alex Howard
Yeah. But yeah, and I think another reason we are doing this episode is, obviously all the movies we're talking about, if they are on Disney Plus, they have audio description. We want to reward Disney for literally audio describing their whole library, pretty much. Almost everything on there is described. So every movie that we have talked about, and for the rest of the episode, these nostalgic movies that we're gonna be talking about, even though they're, some of them are pretty deep cuts, I think, all of them are on-- if they are on Disney Plus, they have audio description.

Lee Pugsley
One of the things that we both really appreciate about Disney and any other studio that's willing to do this as well is when they go back and they audio describe their back catalogue of movies that initially never had audio description. I mean on Disney Plus, they even go back and, you know, audio describe Mickey Mouse shorts, they audio described their trailers. They really do a fantastic job of making things accessible for their viewers.

Alex Howard
One of the big things for me is, the trailers are awesome. Like if you go on Disney Plus right now, they have the Haunted Mansion movie that's coming out, trailer described. Indiana Jones, you know, Secret Invasion the new Marvel show, they do a really good job of making things as accessible as possible. I think Disney and Apple are some of the leading, most accessible companies right now. So we are going to move into our nostalgia phase of the episode. So these are Disney live action movies that we loved growing up, and we have a good amount of nostalgia for. So we are going to play a little game real quick. We are gonna do, try and get each other to guess the movie just based on one word. So do you want me to go first, Lee?

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, give me one of your nostalgia movies. And are these ranked in any particular order?

Alex Howard
No, these aren't ranked. I just I really like all of these movies. Okay, nice. So my first one is scientist.

Lee Pugsley
Initially, I would say Flubber.

Alex Howard
That's one of mine later on the list for, sure. Yeah. Flubber, I know objectively, it's not that great of a movie, but I really liked it growing up. It was fun. But what the one I'm talking about, can you think of another one? There were two sequels.

Lee Pugsley
I want to say Night at the Museum.

Alex Howard
Uh, no, I don't think that was Disney. It was Fox actually.

Lee Pugsley
Oh, okay. I'm failing here. Maybe give me one more clue.

Alex Howard
Baseball.

Lee Pugsley
Baseball

Alex Howard
It is a deep cut.

Lee Pugsley
Baseball, scientist, baseball, scientist. I'm drowning here. I failed.

Alex Howard
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

Lee Pugsley
Ohhhhh!

Alex Howard
I love that movie so much. Probably more than it should.

Lee Pugsley
No, that's a great movie. And the sequel was great too.

Alex Howard
Se, I didn't see the sequel 'till 2020. Which, it was fun. But you know, the original-- Oh, you know what, Honey, I Shrunk Ourselves I did watch as a kid. But I didn't watch Honey, I Blew Up the Kid until 2020.

Lee Pugsley
Ah, I see, I see. Yeah. Okay, so I will give you one. Also Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is one of my favorite nostalgia movies as well. Word is segregation.

Alex Howard
Oh, man for a Disney movie? I have no idea. Wow. That's a very strong word for a Disney movie.

Lee Pugsley
Okay, I'll give you another clue. Coach.

Alex Howard
Oh, is it Remember the Titans?

Lee Pugsley
Absolutely. I love that movie.

Alex Howard
Y'know, it's funny. I've never seen that movie.

Lee Pugsley
You are missing out and you need to get on that. Like right now.

Alex Howard
I know. Ryan Gosling is like my favorite actor. And I know it's like his first movie.

Lee Pugsley
And Denzel Washington too is great in that movie.

Alex Howard
Yeah, that's it. See, there's a little part of the live action thing I'm missing. I have never seen that and I've never seen the Mighty Ducks movies either. So my next one, the clue is basketball.

Lee Pugsley
Ooh, basketball. Glory Road?

Alex Howard
Oh, man. No, what about dog?

Lee Pugsley
Air Bud!

Alex Howard
Air Bud. Dude, I love this movie so much. It's so crazy. This is another one of those, Boy Meets Creature, and bonds with creature, then has to like creature go. Ah, I loved that plotline growing up.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, Air Bud is great. So much fun and the dog is so cute too.

Alex Howard
Yeah. And then they really ran that into the ground with all the sequels, but you know, it's fine.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, that shit really needed to quit while they were ahead. Okay, next one for me is, olympics

Alex Howard
Is it...? Is Cool Runnings a Disney movie?

Lee Pugsley
Bam.

Alex Howard
Wow. See, I haven't seen that one either!

Lee Pugsley
I was gonna say Jamaica first, but that would be too obvious.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I've never seen Cool Runnings either. That's crazy.

Lee Pugsley
Cool Runnings is really fun. It's based on a true story. Obviously, they took liberties, but it has such fun humor and is very inspirational, as most of these like Disney movies we're talking about now are.

Alex Howard
Is it, did it win any Oscars, or was it nominated?

Lee Pugsley
It was not nominated. It's not that type of movie. It's just a really like fun movie with an interesting story.

Alex Howard
Okay. So then another dog movie. Lost.

Lee Pugsley
The only things that I think of are like A Dog's Journey or A Dog's Purpose, or A Dog's Way Home, none of those were Disney. So I know it's not that. Oh! Homeward Bound.

Alex Howard
Homeward Bound. So I actually -- hot take -- I grew up with Lost in New York. Is that the sequel?

Lost in San Francisco

Lost in San Francisco. Thank you. Yeah, I grew up with Lost in San Francisco. I didn't see the original till 2020 also. But just the whole, you know, it's the same thing. I love talking dogs and you know, back then they didn't make the mouths move. So it was a little bit better.

Lee Pugsley
Homeward Bound is on my nostalgia list as well. And I do have to say that movie holds up pretty well. And I didn't watch Lost in San Francisco 'till probably like 2014 or 2015. Just because I thought it was going to be pretty lame, but that's actually a pretty credible sequel.

Alex Howard
Yeah, that one's really fun. I mean, obviously, to me, that's my original one. But I just think the dynamic between the dogs and the cat are really great.

Lee Pugsley
Have you seen the first movie before?

Alex Howard
I have? Yeah.

Lee Pugsley
Okay, that, did you like that one, too?

Alex Howard
I did. Except it didn't hit me as hard. You know, at the end, he falls in the pit. And it's like, oh my God, is he gonna live? And I'm like, Well, I grew up with the sequel. So I know... I know he's gonna be fine. It didn't affect me, I think, as much as a lot of people when they first saw it.

Lee Pugsley
I totally get that. And based on the order that you watched them in, obviously, that would track. Okay, next clue for you. Twins.

Alex Howard
Oh, I have this movie on my list. The Parent Trap.

Lee Pugsley
Bam. The Parent Trap.

Alex Howard
The one with Lindsay Lohan, right?

Lee Pugsley
You know, it's funny because I think that both movies are great companion pieces. There's the 1961 version with Hayley Mills, who was like the Disney golden child of the 50s and 60s era. And then the Lindsay Lohan one is an excellent remake. Both of them have a very special place in my heart. And I can't choose between either one of them. So just The Parent Trap, both versions make my cut.

Alex Howard
I've only seen the remake with Lindsay Lohan. But I do really, really enjoy it. And I think, I think I've watched it not too long ago either. It holds up still, I mean, once again, you have that, there are parts of it that are a little Home Alone where they're, you know, setting the traps and stuff, but it still works.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, and she's great in that movie too.

Alex Howard
Oh, yeah. She was a-- I mean, was in Freaky Friday and you know, she was great for a while. Mean Girls, obviously Mean Girls, but when I hear Lindsay Lohan, I think of Parent Trap first.

Lee Pugsley
I do as well. Okay, hit me with another one.

Alex Howard
Shovel.

Lee Pugsley
Holes.

Alex Howard
Holes. Yep.

Lee Pugsley
Dude, love that movie so much.

Alex Howard
That is nostalgia central. And I don't think, it's weird because that's one that not many people talk about now, which is little understandable. But I mean, I could see them doing even a remake of that at some point down the line, because the book was a really big deal when I was growing up as well.

Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I haven't read the book but I've always wanted to read the book.

Alex Howard
Yeah, the book's good. I also read the sequel Small Steps, but it's about, I think Armpit is the one that that's about.

Lee Pugsley
Oh, okay,

Alex Howard
But yeah, like, I love Holes. I love that Rick Fox is in it too at the end, because I was a big Lakers fan growing up. So yeah, that movie's awesome.

Lee Pugsley
Love it. Okay, next one. Author.

Alex Howard
It's not, it's not The Pagemaster, right? That wasn't Disney was it?

Lee Pugsley
That was not Disney. I believe that was..... I want to say it was Fox but don't quote me on that.

Alex Howard
That'd be interesting to see if they have it on Disney Plus now. Can you give me another one?

Lee Pugsley
Yes. Right.

Alex Howard
Is it the one with Hillary Swank? Where she's the teacher?

Lee Pugsley
No. Is that Freedom Writers?

Alex Howard
It's Freedom Writers.

Lee Pugsley
I like that movie. Okay, let me think of another one. Children's book.

Alex Howard
I have no idea.

Lee Pugsley
Children's book.

Alex Howard
Oh my gosh, why can't I...? [long pause] Wow, I have really no clue. What is it?

Lee Pugsley
Okay. It's Saving Mr. Banks.

Alex Howard
Oh, okay. No wonder. Yeah, I haven't seen that. But I should. I should know that one. Because it's the writer of Mary Poppins. Right?

Lee Pugsley
And it's about him acquiring the rights to the film, Walt Disney acquired the rights to the film.

Alex Howard
That one came out what, 2012, something like that?

Lee Pugsley
Honestly, it was 2014.

Alex Howard
Okay.

Lee Pugsley
It might be 2013.

Alex Howard
Okay,

Lee Pugsley
But somewhere around... Yeah, somewhere around 2013 or 2014.

Alex Howard
Okay, so these other, these next two for me are like top tier favorite all time Disney live action. Booty.

Lee Pugsley
National Tre--. No, Pirates of the Caribbean.

Alex Howard
Pirates of the Caribbean. The first one, I mean, that one got nominated for Oscars. I don't know that you can... It's really hard to top that for Disney live action, you know, with the Disney logo at least, you know what I mean?

Lee Pugsley
I mean, Jack Sparrow is such a good character too. One of the most iconic Disney characters for live action movies. It's unbeatable. Okay, next one for me. Fashion.

Alex Howard
Oh, man. See, I.....

Lee Pugsley
You'll know this, you'll know this.

Alex Howard
Is it The Princess Diaries?

Lee Pugsley
Next clue, villain.

Alex Howard
Oh, Cruella.

Lee Pugsley
Yes. That is one of my all time favorite Disney live action movies.

Alex Howard
I would agree. I really liked that one as well. That probably would have been number one for me if we were, you know, somewhere around there. In that ranking, it would have made it if we were counting that one. Emma Stone did a really good job with that. Um, okay. Declaration.

Lee Pugsley
National Treasure.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I-- As ridiculous of a premise as that movie has, I love it way too much. It's just so much fun.

Lee Pugsley
And Nicolas Cage is great in that movie. Okay, next one for me. Ice.

Alex Howard
Oh, man, here's a throwback. It's not like Snow Dogs, is it?

Lee Pugsley
It's not, I'll give you one more clue. Sports.

Alex Howard
Is it Mighty Ducks?

Lee Pugsley
It is Mighty Ducks. My next clue was gonna be hockey.

Alex Howard
Okay.

Lee Pugsley
I know you said you haven't seen it. But that's one of my favorite childhood movies. Emilio Estevez is great in it. The first one and the second one are good. The third one leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Alex Howard
Okay, okay. Yeah, I need to see those as well. So my last one, I think. Loincloth.

Lee Pugsley
Loincloth. Oh, George of the Jungle?

Alex Howard
George of the Jungle

Lee Pugsley
Oh, I love that movie, too.

Alex Howard
Oh, man. I yeah, it's just they really, um..... Revisiting it a few years ago, I was like, man, they really, weirdly objectified Brendan Fraser in that movie, like--

Lee Pugsley
They really did.

Alex Howard
Shines his pecs like, oh man, he's wet a lot of the movie. It's really funny.

Lee Pugsley
My favorite part of that movie is where he's like, Jabba, Jabba, Jabba, Jabba, Jabba, Jabba, Jabba, Jabba, Jabba.

Alex Howard
Is that talking to the elephant?

Lee Pugsley
I think so.

Alex Howard
Yeah. No, that's a great one too. Yeah, all of these are, they just bring back that emotion, you know, of like being a kid and it's awesome.

Lee Pugsley
Okay, last one for me then. Car.

Alex Howard
I want to say The Kid but it's not, is it?

Lee Pugsley
It is not The Kid. Let me give you another one. Alive.

Alex Howard
Oh, is it Herbie?

Lee Pugsley
It is, it's The Love Bug, but it's the 1960s Love Bug, not the Herbie Reloaded with Lindsay Lohan. But I grew up, so I guess I'll just do a quick shout out to the 1950s and 1960s live action Disney movies which go under the radar nowadays. There's so many good movies in there. I don't have time to get into all of them, but some of the movies that really stuck out to me as a kid were Pollyanna, The Three Lives of Thomasina, That Darn Cat, The Absent Minded Professor, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Swiss Family Robertson, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. And there's so many more. But for all of you that want to learn more about film history of Disney, check out the 50s and 60s live action films. They're wonderful.

Alex Howard
I haven't seen any of those. How sad is that?

Lee Pugsley
I understand why you haven't seen those. So maybe you should make a goal to watch like a few of them this year.

Alex Howard
Yeah. I mean, it's funny. My sweet spot for live action is like, I think, I think Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was like 89. So like 89 to 2005 is my like, sweet spot. But yeah, I do need to go back and especially 20,000 Leagues is a classic, you know, Mary Poppins, all that kind of stuff. But yeah, I mean, once again, we love Disney. But we love how accessible Disney is. So we wanted to reward them for being so accessible, making so much audio description, going through their back catalogue. There's so many movies from other studios that we would love to watch with AD for the first time, like we talked about on our sin list, but they don't have it. So if every studio did this on their streaming service, we would have access to so many movies. So thank you to Disney. This was Part One. We don't know when Part Two will be but you know, probably whenever the next-- Whenever it's relevant again, you know, with a big Disney release.

Lee Pugsley
Exactly. So stay tuned for that. But in the meantime, we'll be bringing you some more fun content. And if you have any questions or comments, or you want to share your favorite Disney live action remakes, you want to send us your ranking list, or you want to send us some of your favorite Disney nostalgia pics, please go ahead and do so. You can email us at DarkRoomFilmCast@gmail.com. Once again, that's DarkRoomFilmCast@gmail.com. And Alex, this has been super fun. I love talking about Disney.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I think this was a great episode too, because I mean, not only did we get to touch on accessibility, but we got to nerd out about movies, which is what we like to do. And please follow us on Instagram also, you can message us there as well. @DarkRoomFilmCast.

Lee Pugsley
And happy 100 years anniversary to you, Disney. Let's keep the magic alive.

Alex Howard
Yeah, and shout out to Matt Lauterbach and All Senses Go for doing the transcriptions.

Lee Pugsley
Absolutely. Thank you for making your accessibility even more accessible. All right, we'll see you guys next time.

Alex Howard
All right, take care.

Lee Pugsley
Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

The Dark Room

Ep. 10: The Accessible World Of Disney - Part 1: Live Action

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