Episode 182- Kenobi Part 6

Our First LIVE show of the Disney Marvels Podcast!

For a while now I have been wondering how to move the show forward.  I've joined more social networks and write for this blog (not as much as I want to, but it's a work in progress).  Now that we are on YouTube I will be starting a live show on Saturday nights were I can interact with everyone and we all talk about our love for all things Disney.  This is another big step for DMP and I am excited to see where I go from here with it.  

I hope to see everyone there as we will have new topics each week and I hope to have a lot of fun talking about the latest Disney/Marvel/Lucasfilm (you get my point) news and happenings.  The first week we will talk about all the announcements for Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary that have come out so far.  Next week... we will see.  If you have any suggestions let me know (DisneyMarvels@gmail.com).  

I love this community we have and I love how it keeps growing over the years.  When I started this show I didn't expect it to have gone on this long and interreact
with so many amazing people.  I feel the live shows are just the next natural progression.  I look forward to talking with you live. 

The Wonderful World of Marvel

 When Marvel Studios announced that they would be creating their own "limited" series for Disney Plus, none of us really had any idea what this could be, or would be.  Now after experiencing the full run of WandaVision and half of Falcon and the Winter Soldier we have a better idea of what Marvel Studios is going to bring us. 

Even more amazing stories!

They are not only going to give us the level of story telling that we have come to expect with the theatrical releases, but they have more time to slowing the narrative down and tell us more.  In WandaVision we got to experience more of Wanda's past and her relationship to older American sitcoms, as well as the moment of her and her brother sitting there waiting for a bomb to go off.

In Falcon and the Winter Soldier we get to see how Buck is trying to work through his past and right some of the wrongs he unwillingly preformed.  Not to be out done with Sam's storyline of meeting his sister and her family and what she has had to go through for the 5 years that half the population (including Sam) disappeared thanks to Thanos.

The MCU is getting bigger right on our own screens thank to Disney Plus.  And with this format the writers get to show us more about why we love these characters so much.  They are not limited to the 3 hour or less restriction that a theatrical release holds them to.  There is still the need for the action (it is a comic book story after all) but there is more time to explore relationships and character arcs that we didn't have the ability to before.  Not because they didn't want to or know how to,  just look at the thousands of comics Marvel has published throughout a majority of the 20th and all of the 21st centuries.  The constraints of modern cinema does not allow for this in the current acceptable formats for this genre. 

Enter Disney Plus.

Sure Marvel has put out different television shows in the past, but that was under Marvel Television (see January 15, 2021's blog post).  But now it is all under the control of Marvel Studios, it is all connected.  WandaVision, Flacon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki are just the beginning.  In just one and a half series we already have been introduced to new characters and situations we already know that will effect and carry over into up coming movies that have yet to be released or even made.  Soon we will be introduced to characters that we might have read about in the comic books, but will make their live debut on Disney Plus and may even be worked into the movies as well.

We also get to see the effects of the movies on other parts of the world and more "real world" scenarios playout and give more justified time.

On a whole you can put me in the impressed group who sees what Marvel is doing now on Disney Plus, and I cannot wait to see what they will give us next.

 

Goodbye to The Disneyland Annual Pass

     Every night in my house it's the same question, "what are we going to do for dinner?".  With 5 people all having very different tastes and likes of food, it's not easy.   The list of semi-acceptable foods has gotten very short over the years, and you could say we are in a rut.  

    Limited supply and lack of choices makes for a dull and less exciting dinner experience in our household.  So my invested in some new cooking technology (yes there is such a thing.  Its amazing what you can get in an oven now-a-days) in hopes that we will be able to expand the horizons of the family.  will this work and can we get everyone to try new foods and expand the menu, who knows.  But it will be worth the the try, even if we just add one more dish.

    Even companies have to try new things, whether we like it or not it may be for the best (how's that for a transition). 

    Disney recently announced the end of the Annual Pass (AP) for it's Disneyland Park in California.  This has it's AP holds up in arms, and why not.  Something that they are very proud of and many have been a part of for several year is now gone. If this happened to me I would feel the same way, but taking the 100 foot view, I do understand why they are doing this... sort of.

    As Jim Hill puts it, "Disneyland is the world's most famous reginal theme park."  What he means by that is, most of the people who visit Disneyland are local Californians, and by local I mean with in the Las Angles reginal area.  They keep the turnstiles turning, and the lines long at the attractions.  So what's the downside you might ask?  The answer is, as much as the AP ticket is a guaranteed income, it is a limited income.  Most AP holders, when visiting, are not buying up additional merchandise from the stores, and may not be eating at the restaurants (and if they do it's at a discounted rate).  That is a big loss in revenue.  As must as Disney loves their AP holders, they need to keep the lights on as well.

    Now how does Disneyland fix this and increase revenue?  That is then million dollar question.  I do think they will (once they reopen) create a new Annual Pass for locals, but it will probably offer different perks and be structured very differently.  They also have to devise a wat to get people from further out to come and visit the park.  That become the real test of marketing.  Just like trying to get my family to try and eat new foods.  You can put the offers and promotions out there, but will people take to them and like it, only time will tell.

Disney Plus the Muppets!

     I notice recently its become harder to remember certain things (though if you ask my wife she'll tell you this isn't new).  I'm not sure if it because I am getting older, I have a lot going on in my life, some other underlying issue, or a combination of all the above.  What ever the case maybe, some things are not coming to my mind as fast as they use to be or at all; names, places, what I was suppose to pick up at the grocery store, the list can go on.

    As time goes on we all forget certain things, details, sounds, names, events, recipes.  That's ok, it happens even to the best of us.  It's also ok to get or give reminders to ourselves or other to help us over these moments.  Now-a-days we have the internet to be able to look everything and almost anything up.  

    "What day did Walt Disney World open up?" Friday October 1st, 1971 (I only needed to look up the day of the week).

    "Who sings Rainbow Connection?" Kermit the Frog.

    The internet has helped us remember or revisit a lot of things from the past we may have forgotten.  Something we all soon will be able to relive (or experience for the first time) is the original Muppet Show (1976-1981).  With the help of many lawyers locked in offices over a long period of time, Disney was able to clear the streaming rights to this Disney Legend Jim Henson original show. 

    On Friday February 19th (after watching the latest episode of WandaVision) you will be able to access all 5 seasons of The Muppet Show (Nothing has been said about the specials yet).  Seasons 1-3 were released on DVD several years ago, but the last two never were.  There was even a time that the Odyssey Network (a collaboration of Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, now it's just the Hallmark Channel) would run the Muppet Show.  But that ended around the year 2000.  This TV gem has not full been seen by many (too many) generations and as odd as it may seem, it's a big deal.

    Why is it such a big deal?

    It has yet to be determined if the shows will be edited in any for or fashion.  This is not something new for the Muppets unfortunately.  The VHS/DVD releases of many of their specials have had to been edited from this original form to omit certain scenes.  This was done for legal reasons.  The Henson company would acquire the necessary rights for songs or movie scenes to be used on broadcast television, but never worked out the rights to have these songs or scenes to be reproduced on VHS, DVD, Blue Ray, streaming services (VHS only came out that year and the rest didn't exist in 1976). 

    Disney was able to clear the rights for the first 3 seasons of the Muppet Show to be reproduced on DVD, but for some reason never cleared seasons 4 or 5.  Now it has seemed they were able to do so for all 5 seasons to use on Disney+.  This not only includes the use of songs, but the celebrity appearances as well (Excuse me Mr Hamill, could you please sign this paper saying it's ok for us to put another show on Disney+ with you in it).

    I wondered for a while what Disney had planned for the Muppets, and if they were going to keep them around at all.  To put that much effort into clearing all the issues and bringing all 5 season to Disney+ make me think Disney is keeping the Muppets around for a long time and have more things planned for them.

    I loved watching The Muppet Show on TV back in the 80s, and now I will sit with my family and enjoy it again.

The Mental Health of Scarlet Witch

     Recently I came upon some small containers of Super Glue, and I decided to try and fix some of my kids' broken toys.  Things like PVC figures that have lost limbs or heads, Disney Infinity figures with the same problem, and my daughter's prize possession her Kingdoms Heart key blade (she just bought it in October and her brothers broke it already). 

    For the most part, I feel I was successful in fixing their damaged items.  Even though they may break them again or other items, this makes me feel accomplished.  And with the numerous items I have repairs, only once did I glue my fingers to what I was fixing.

    Damaged good have different ways of being repaired, and sadly there are the few that can never be put back together again.  Much like people.  Some have dealt with pains in their life that it has "damaged" them (even if we cannot see it).  Are their ways to help repair these damages, many times yes but not always.

    I bring up this topic because of the new Disney+ show, WandaVision. I do not know what the overall story for this show will be (I am writing this the Thursday before the show debuts).  I am going on (and this is where I get my topic form) the notion that Wanda (aka:Scarlet Witch) has created an alternate realty and had trapped herself inside of it.  Even if this isn't the case, it has happened in the Marvel comics before (see: House of M) but go with me here either way.

    Why would Wanda create an alternate universe and trap herself inside?

Spoilers ahead:

    Lets take a moment and look at what we've witnessed this character go through since we first met her in Avengers: Age of Ultron.  She lost her parents during a bombing raid on Sokovia.  Her and Pietro (her brother/ Quicksilver) volunteered to join Hydra who preformed experiments on them with the help of the Mind Stone in Loki's scepter (see the MCU's first Avengers movie).  After joining the Avengers to save Sokovia, her brother (while saving Hawkeye) was murdered by Ultron.  She a soulmate and fell in love with an artificial lifeform/ android named Vision who was also created with the help of the Mind Stone.  When the Avenger's found out about Thanos and his plan for the Infinity Stones it was determined the stone had to be destroyed.  Of course the only one who could do this is Wanda.  Though the Avengers did try and separate Vision from the stone, Wanda had to face to destroy the stone while it was still attached to her beloved Vision.  BUT Thanos did reverse this action (see Avengers: Infinity War for the explanation of how) only to rip the Stone from Vision's head right in front of Wanda.

    I bring all of this up, not to get away from today's topic, but to bring you up to speed on where we are at with Wanda Maximoff (aka: Scarlet Witch).  With all the tragedy she has seen in her life, is there any reason she would want to escape?  The theory I have heard is because of all that she has gone through, using her powers, Wanda creates an alternate universe to escape into and bring back her beloved Vision where they could love happily ever after.  Of course this being a TV show (the first to be produced by Marvel Studios, not the now defunct Marvel Television) other things happen to create a new adventure.

    I really am looking forward to this show and will be watching the day it premieres.  

    On a more somber note; many people in the real word who have experienced tragedy in their life do sometimes withdraw into their own "world."  These people who deal with mental health issues in their life need to be remembered and talked about.  If my presumed storyline of WandaVision is true, I hope it helps open the door and start conversations about mental health and how we can help those who carry this cross in their lives.  But even if it does not have this story line, we should start the conversations and see how we can help those who struggle with mental health issues.

    Until next time, enjoy the MCU's WandaVision!

A Little Bit About Soul and the New Year

    It's that time of the year.  A time that only happens once every year.  A new year is upon us and it's a time that most people use to start fresh.  Many people try and start exercising and getting in shape, or a promise to be more involved in the community, or some other resolution.  It is often a time though that instead of looking back we use it as a time to look forward.

    With the world that we are living in currently, and all the craziness that is happening, we need some forward thinking.  Sometimes we need to look forward to remind ourselves to focus on the positing or good.  And at times, it is ok to escape from the world around us and get lost in our favorite movie, TV show, book, or something else (maybe a podcast). 

    This past weekend I watched Pixar's Soul.  One of the key messages of that movie is not to take the little things in life for granted, and not to let life pass you by.  Something else that was not as pronounced was being kind to others.  You may ask why this is important, and as the movie shows it, you never know what kind of impact you may have on their life.  A simple act of kindness could go unnoticed, or can have a profound effect on that person... maybe even on you as well.  

    With out giving too much away, Joe's (the main character voiced by Jamie Foxx) simple acts of kindness towards 22 (Tina Fey's character) has unintentional but positive long term ramifications on  22 and himself. Also seeing 22's reactions to things that we consider small little pointless or everyday events opened Joe's eyes to how there is more to life then what he was focused on.  

    Again, I don't want to give too much away incase you have not seen this movie yet.

    Take a moment, to forget about all the stresses in life and take in a few moments of enjoyment.  It will probably be good for you in the long run.  Don't worry about the stresses in life that you are putting off, they will still be there when you are done relaxing.  But maybe your mind will be a little more refreshed and they will not seem so bad when you get back t dealing with them.

    If you haven't seen Pixar's Soul yet, I would recommend it.  The story is very profound, the music is delightful (if you appreciate Jazz), and the animation is remarkable.  

    Some other movies to look forward to this year; Raya and the Last Dragon, Luca, and Encanto are all animated movies that Disney will be bringing us this year.  I hope some if not all of them bring us lots of enjoyment in this coming year.

My Monorail and Me

    Let see how this goes; I'm sitting on my couch watching Thursday night football with my one cat walking all over me.  I have been contemplating for the past few day on what to write about this week.  In addition I have been wondering when and what to do for next week's podcast.  That is partially where these two words collide.  I just did an episode with Isaac for over an hour and a half about last week's Disney's Investors Meeting and we didn't even cover half of what was reviled to us.  There is also the season finally of the Mandalorian (as of this writing hasn't been released yet).  Then there is all the Christmas stuff I can talk about, but I was thinking of saving that for next week.

    All of this is going on in addition to "normal" life.  My one son's school now went virtual and that means while I am teaching from home I also have to be ready to help him with his classes.  We also had our first snow storm in a while.  As if that wasn't enough it's playoff time in my fantasy football leagues (Matthew Berry, call me).  So what does that mean for you and this blog  post?

    Simple!  It's the Holidays and that's what I want to talk about, not just to you but everyone.  

    My house is a Christmas house.  We have out tree up, lights out, and so much more going on.  Besides what seems like limitless Disney ornaments we have many other decorations around the house.  I would say half of the outdoor decorations are Disney related.  Inside we have my wife's old (and still working) animatronic figures under one of the trees (we have 5 up around the house).  But the one thing I want to talk about is the "toy" motorized monorail set under our main tree.

    This has been one of my prize possessions for a long time.  I remember when I was you I would have loved to have something like this.  In 1998 I bought my first train, it was the red one (the only option in Walt Disney World at that time).  It was the first time I saw something like this offered from Disney, so I wanted to act because you never know how long it will be offered.  They also had a Spaceship Earth, Contemporary, and Cinderella's Castle sets to go with the Monorail.  I don't remember when or what order I got the rest of the sets, but it was something that I made sure to collect.  

    Sadly, I have not been able to get all the sets Disney has created over the years (they still sell the Monorail sets at the time of this writing).  But I have been able to get many of the sets including; the Contemporary, the Polynesian, Switching Station, Space Mountain, Spaceship Earth (the original set), Cinderella's Castle (of course), and many more.  I have also added 3 more trains to it.  Needless to say it has a large footprint under the tree.

    You may be wondering at this point, "How do the holiday's fit into this?", well I'll tell you.

    For the past 20 years I have placed this growing collection under the tree (yes my wife is ok with this and has encouraged it).  Our tree isn't complete until the Monorail goes underneath.  Granted this started before kids, now with kids it has changed things.  

    My oldest (our daughter) was always respectful of the set and just liked helping me set it up and watch it.  My boys love playing with the sets.  But boys being boys, do over play with the sets.  Much to my dismay, a lot of them have been damaged over time.  Does this make me upset?  Yes, especially when I have seen the going rate on some of these sets on eBay.  At the same time it makes me smile that they have these opportunities to play with something I would have thought was amazingly cool at their ages. 

    This is now part of our family tradition that for a little over a month we get to enjoy as a family.  It's a tradition that is connected to our love for Disney and the Christmas season.  The magic of the two blend perfectly in our house and it is something that (as long as they hold up) will continue for many year.

    Many other families put a model train under their tree, we do as well but it's a monorail... a Disney Monorail.  We our a Disney family and that is how we roll.

    What are your holiday traditions (Disney or otherwise)?

The Dyslexic Disney Fan's Blog

    Welcome to the Disney Marvels blog!  The blog about everything and anything that has to do with the Disney family of brands, and that is a lot of brands.

    I want to start out however and tell you a bit more about myself (yes I know this is the second post, but that is just how these things workout sometimes).  I am the host of the Disney Marvels Podcast, which I have been doing, as of the date of this post, for over 2 years.  Before that I hosted a show called Writer's World Radio.  It was another podcast and a YouTube show.  I started that one in part because I write books and short stories (feel free to look on Amazon).

    There is something else you should know about my writing as I join the blogging world.  Besides being a huge Disney fan, I am also dyslexic.  Why do I mention that you might ask? I tell you this for you to keep in mind as you read my post, please bear with me, you see spelling and grammar do not come to me with ease.  There are things that I have struggled with my whole life (see my books).  That is also one of the reasons I started with a podcast and not a blog over 5 years ago.  At the same time I do not let it stop me from doing what I love to do; writing and talking about Disney.  OK, maybe it has slowed me from doing what I like doing as it has taken me 5 years to start a blog.  It was also part of what I initial was thinking of naming this blog, The Dyslexic Disney Fan's Blog, but I though that would take away from the content and stuck with the Disney Marvels brand name instead.  The current name also works for good synergy.

    In hindsight researchers believe that Walt Disney himself struggled with dyslexia, though there wasn't a name or much research available while he was alive.  How far we have come.

    My disability is not an excuse though.  I do try and use spell and grammar checks in my writings, but if you do come upon anything please feel free to over look it, and you can tell me privately and I will try and fix it.

    Now that is out of the way, more about me and Disney.

    I don't remember the moment I fell in love with Disney or even my first trip to Walt Disney World.  The latter I was only 2 months old for.  It has just been a part of my life for as long as I remember being alive.  It is one of many things my parents did right as I was growing up.  We visited the parks often, we went to the movies, and watched The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights together.  To me these were always special moments.  Moments in my life that has shaped me to who I am today. 

    As I got older my friends and I would go to the movies and talk about the parks all the time.  My first jobs were working at the local Disney Store in the mall and then went to work at Walt Disney World for a time (stories for another time, also listen to the first Disney Marvels episode).  It also because of Disney that I meet my wife, and something that we share with our children.  I must admit that I get a smile on my face when I catch my youngest watching the classic Mickey shorts on Disney+.

    Admittedly, Disney is not my only fandom.  I do consider myself to be well rounded.  I also enjoy sports, britcoms, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Muppets, Marvel Comic, and many more things (I will spare you the full list).  In the recent years I have been intrigued, and happy that a few of my childhood loves have found their way to being part of the same family.  No I know if I want to find something Muppet related, Marvel related, and or Star Wars related I just have to turn to one place.  My happy place, Disney.

    So there you have it, in a nutshell, a little bit about me and Disney.  I look forward to sharing more about all of this and more as the blog continues to grow.  So again, bear with me and let have some fun.

    Additionally feel free to email me with any topics you would like me to write about.  Heck, I might even use it as a topic for the podcast as well.  Direct your emails to DisneyMarvels@gmail.com 

    Until next time, have a magical Day.

Why The Mandalorian

     The Mandalorian, so far, has been nothing short of an event.  To borrow a phrase from NBC, "Must see TV" could easily apply to this streaming show.  But why?

    My answer would probably come in the easily digested episode that we are given each week of the season.  Keeping in mind the first two seasons are only 8 episodes long, this is contrast to most network series that run for 12 to 24 episodes a season.  Why is that important?  We are spared watered down storylines or filler episodes that have very little to do with anything important (seasonal story arch and character development for examples).  Not to say that The Mandalorian hasn't had some lesser episodes, the beginning of season 2 had it's fair share, but we are still to see if any of that will play out (I still think it will at some point.  Just as a disclaimer I am writing this before Chapter 14 is available).

       Something else that the Mandalorian has going for it that other shows or even movies don't have is cutting edge technology.  The set that they use to fill in the background is cutting edge (currently).  Instead of using a greenscreen and filling in the images later, we have a giant room that is, for lack better terms, a giant computer screen.  This gives the director, cast, and crew all the same view and vision of where this scene is taking place.  They also know exactly what the audience will be seeing, besides some CGI that will be added in later.  This isn't also taking into account the use of practical effects (physical props, like the Child puppet).  Call me old fashion (many people do) but I feel that practical effects most the time hold up better then the best CGI effect of their time.  

    Speaking of the Child.  He is nothing short of the perfect casting of character to this show.  Again being a puppet versus a CGI added character give him more tangibility.  Also the ability to react in real time to the situation playing out around him, makes him more real.  If for no other reason, I'm sure there is a cluster of people who just tune in week after week to see what kind of mischief the Child will be getting into.

    All these things combined with the additional depth of the beloved Star Wars universe give this show a uniqueness that most shows currently on TV or streaming have. One other BIG thing is this is a show that most, if not all (depending on the kids) the family can watch.  You don't have to worry about language, will there be inappropriate adult orientated scenes, gore.  This is a show that parents and their kids can sit down together and enjoy.

    These are some, not all. the reasons that make the Mandalorian such an enjoyable and beloved show.  I didn't even get into the story telling and cinematic styles they use (but I have talked about them on the podcast before).  Those will be topics for another time. Until then though, check out the Mandalorian on Disney+ for yourself and let me know what you think.