Josh Spiegel

I’m not looking forward to the final vote because it’s like choosing between one of my children, but, welp, there’s only one choice here:

The Walt Disney Animation Studios Bracket - Challonge Explore this tournament hosted by mousterpiece

The final vote may post a little late tomorrow (since I am, coincidentally, heading to Disneyland).

For now, vote, share, and review the full bracket here: challonge.com/tfohhca1

The Little Mermaid should win this, IMO. The Lion King has many excellent aspects, but doesn’t cohere as successfully. And without Ariel, we don’t have Simba.

But that’s just me. What do you think?

Walt Disney Animation Studios Bracket - Top Two Vote In today’s vote, you decide which Disney Renaissance film moves to the finale against Beauty and the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast is moving onto the Top Two of the Walt Disney Animation Studios bracket!

Which Renaissance-era title will join it tomorrow? You decide today. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

It’s time for the second-season finale of Mousterpiece Melodies! @scottrenshaw.bsky.social and I wrap up the season with a discussion of the surprisingly many songs of Cars and Cars 2: www.podbean.com/eas/pb-xe73v...

Key Details of 13-Year-Old Trump Accuser’s Accounts Are Verified The newly corroborated details suggest the woman was truthful about numerous aspects of her life.

There is apparently credible evidence that the president of the United States is a pedophile. The comforting phrase “accused him without evidence” no longer fits this situation, and journalists must resort to the more perfunctory “hasn’t been formally charged.” www.thedailybeast.com/key-details-...

Culture Club/Getty Images wouldn’t lie. That’s Bront!

“Will parents be able to handle difficult conversations with their children about our movies?” From the conglomerate that killed Bambi’s mom and Mufasa.

The more I think about this, the more annoyed I am.

One: It’s a reductive, nasty, dismissive way to say you’re not interested in exploring creative avenues for less-traveled stories.

Two: You don’t get to make movies about grief and anxiety and say this shit with a straight face.

Ride or die for Fantasia

Always

I'll just leave this here. (Fantasia...blegh!)

youtu.be/yeR38fkOPQg

The big three Renaissance films and FANTASIA

It was going on one, two in the morning, and we were shooting what I felt was an important scene for me, when he makes an attempt to be quote-unquote straight, in a suit, and at the end of it he gets emotional and locks himself in the other room. And I felt like, I’m not getting what I want—I’m not happy with it. Mike was happy with it. He called me the next day and said, “I know you weren’t happy with the scene last night. Believe me, we wouldn’t have gone home if I had felt we weren’t getting it.” And then he sort of became my psychiatrist and said, “You find it difficult to be happy, don’t you? You find it difficult to enjoy things.” And I said, “Well, sometimes. Last night was about feeling too tired and not feeling I was reaching what I needed to reach for the scene.” He talked to me then about when he was making, I don’t know whether it was Virginia Woolf or The Graduate. He said, “I didn’t enjoy it for a second. I was worried about so many things.” And then he said, “You know, this is never going to happen again quite this way. You should try to allow yourself to enjoy this more. Take a minute a day, and then add a minute the next day, and another minute. Pretty soon, you’ll have hours of happiness.”

The Birdcage opened thirty years ago today, so in its honor, I want to share one of my favorite stories about Mike Nichols that didn't make it into my biography. This is from an interview I did with Nathan Lane.

Look, Beauty and the Beast is the most impressive traditional narrative film that Disney ever made, largely because Howard Ashman was the greatest lyricist to ever live, but Fantasia is what art can and should be: limitless imagination and a true melding of the classical and contemporary.

Look, Fantasia is a classic, but I think it’s a little uneven (the dancing hippos sequence always has me zoning out).

Meanwhile, Beauty and the Beast is perfect.

Undeniably the correct answer!

The Walt Disney Animation Studios Bracket - Challonge Explore this tournament hosted by mousterpiece

I lean towards Fantasia, which raised the bar beyond belief for feature animation.

But that’s me. Make sure you vote, share, and check out the full bracket here: challonge.com/tfohhca1

Tomorrow, my vote won’t be too difficult. Today, though…boy, this one is a toughie.

What do you all think?

Walt Disney Animation Studios Bracket - Top Two Vote In today’s vote, a Golden Age classic faces off against a Best Picture nominee.

The Final Four of the Walt Disney Animation Studios bracket is set!

Fantasia vs. Beauty and the Beast
The Little Mermaid vs. The Lion King

Today, you vote to decide if anything before the 80s survives to the final.

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Last thought: Pixar can try to hide aspects of films they fear will bother parents, but people will still see what’s there.

‘Cause, I dunno about you, but Inside Out 2 seems pretty clear about who Riley is even if the studio wants to ignore it.

Audiences would be so incredibly mad if they dared, and they absolutely know it. bsky.app/profile/andy...

Anyway, if you reflect on the last six years of Pixar, and think the issue is “Too autobiographical!”, and not “Disney trained audiences to watch our movies on streaming,” you need to try again.

Pixar making a shit-ton of sequels

I hate this so much!

“As time’s gone on, I realized my job is to make sure the films appeal to everybody.”

How do you reconcile this mentality with the reality that films such as Ratatouille and WALL-E are among your most beloved works?

Pretty cowardly!

Review: Elsbeth, “All's Hair” | Season 3, Episode 12 / Matlock, "The Greater Good" | Season 2, Episode 10 Maybe blondes don't have more fun?

At Episodic Medium, I reviewed the latest installments of Elsbeth and Matlock, which each continue to attempt to balance procedural and long-running elements with mixed results: www.episodicmedium.tv/review-elsbe...

there is only one choice here

Mulan is excellent, but Scar gives The Lion King the edge.