Lilo and Stitch - The Live Action Thing

Happy 626 Day! (Last week)

I hope you all listened to some Elvis music while demolishing a home!

Anyway, here are my thoughts on the new Lilo and Stitch. 

                                                *SPOILERS*

A Quick Word on the Original

I'm a Lilo and Stitch fan, as many people know. I took a Stitch stuffed animal on my mission, my car is covered in Stitch decor, and I can pick my nose with my tongue, a feat that was not easy to master. However, this does not exclude the animated Lilo and Stitch from the nit-picky criticisms I have for every other movie, TV show, video game and book on the planet. 

My biggest issue was Gantu, the giant whale man that we see Stitch defeat in the first 10 minutes of the film and then later has to deal with when he shows up to Earth. My issue is this: We spend a majority of the film setting up the conflict between Lilo and Nani's want to keep their family together and Stitch's want to avoid Jamba by using Lilo as a human shield. Where this conflicts is when Stitch's destructive nature proves that Nani cannot provide a stable home for Lilo and climaxes when Stitch destroys their home and Lilo is taken away by a social worker. 

And then...

Gantu shows up and we're treated to a ten minute Tom and Jerry routine of Gantu and Stitch fighting on a space ship until they crash into the ocean, after which we have to quickly reestablish the emotional tension we had earlier and resolve the main plot. 

I hate this. 

What does the New Adaptation Bring?

Frankly where the live action Lilo and Stitch shines is whenever it's NOT trying to be the original. Whenever the movie does a frame-for-frame recreation the way the live action Lion King did the film falls flat, since we've already seen it. However, anywhere that new material is brought in, including new characters, preexisting characters becoming more fleshed out (Looking at you Nani) and just new antics with Lilo and Stitch, the film shines. The most obvious fact with this film and most of Disney's other live action remakes is that we don't need these films, we already have all of them. The only reason to recreate them would be to add something new or change things that didn't work in the original. For example...

NO GANTU

The film has been leveled with two major critiques (The other I'll address later), one of which is that Gantu is completely absent from the film, and thank whatever executive was responsible for that. What we have instead is Jamba taking on the role of villain, with him not giving half a regurgitated piece of cake about weather or not Lilo and Nani get to remain as a family. This isn't to say that it makes Jamba more interesting, in fact most of the new scenes of Jamba and Pleekly feel like a 90's kids movie with how bad the acting is, but he's still head and shoulders over a villain we see maybe three times throughout the course of the film. This also does change the climax, where instead of Gantu kidnapping Lilo and Stitch it's Jamba, who goes full on villain and uses the fact that Stitch was using Lilo as a human shield as a way to break them apart. This keeps the emotion in the climax instead of stopping it, giving it a far mor cohesive feeling. 

Nani's Choice

If you haven't seen the movie yet but are an avid reader of the internet you may have seen references to Nani abandoning Lilo. In the live action film, Nani is given more backstory. We find out she was an avid surfer and had a full-ride scholarship to become a marine biologist before their parents were killed, but now she has given up on her own dreams to take care of Lilo. A solution is presented though when, the new character David's grandma, offers to take care of Lilo while Nani goes to college. The critique over this is "What about ohana?!" Here's the issue: Nani is also a child. Nani lost her parents and is asked to take care of a 6 year old girl. She was willing to sacrifice everything to do so but an opportunity presented itself for her to better herself, have Lilo taken care of, and make a better future for the both of them. The original Nani's sacrifice was honorable, but if the animated Nani had a way for Lilo to be taken care of and her to get her dreams to come true I fully believe she would take it, as she should. It is not right to ask a child to take on the responsibility of an adult when they are not ready. 

Plus, to the internet critics, the movie gave them a portal gun so they can visit whenever they want so what's the issue? 

-JOE

LDS Geeks Podcast #43: Disney Parks (2)

One of my favorite things about going to the Disney Parks is the character meet-and-greets. It touches part of the inner child that heals my soul (or something less cheesy perhaps). Regardless of the cheese factor, I hope you enjoy our discussion about some of our favorite characters.

--Spencer

Listen to Episode 43 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

Check out Spencer's recent content: click here

Check out Joe's recent content: click here

Show Notes:

00:15 - Introduction

01:03 - Ambient Worlds
        Check out Ambient Worlds on YouTube

        Check out Ambient World Films on YouTube

04:31 - Epic the Musical

        Check out the music on YouTube

10:10 - Disney Parks Meet-and-Greets

10:52 - Spencer: Dug

13:58 - Joe: Daisy Duck

18:08 - Spencer: Cruella De Vil

20:36 - Joe: Evil Qeeen

22:58 - Spencer: Stitch

29:07 - Joe: Fairy Godmother

LDS Geeks Podcast #39: Future of Marvel (2)

We have three more Marvel projects coming up in the next few months, so I had to talk to Joe so we could speculate what to expect.

--Spencer

LDS Geeks Podcast #34: Future of Marvel

If I need an insight to existing or upcoming Marvel content, one of my go-to people for questions is Joe. With so many Marvel projects coming down the line this year, I figured I needed to grab him for a podcast episode to discuss what's what with the first few. Enjoy!

--Spencer

What We Want From the Bluey Movie

It's been a very long time since a children's TV show announcing a feature length film has made adults excited to see it. But here we are, the Bluey movie has been announced, and everyone's favorite Blue Heeler is going to come to the big screen. So what do adult Bluey fans want from this monumental film? 

Bandit-The World's Dad

As funny as all the characters are, Bandit Heeler has become the poster boy for healthy masculinity and positive fathering. Bandit is always down to play whatever nonsense his kids come up with, eager to jump in to help Chili whenever she needs a hand, and is never too macho to show wear his heart on his sleeve. We definitely need more Bandit in our world, showing us all what a positive male role model looks like. 

Something New

Bluey has given us so many iconic moments, from the Grannies to everything that Muffin is. It would be easy for the movie to rehash old gags and inside jokes, but I think we all know the writers can do better. We want to see something that's brand new to the Bluey canon-a new gag, a new game, new characters, something new for us to fall in love with. I have absolutely no doubt that whatever the writers come up with will be absolute fire, I just hope they aren't restrained to rehash an old product. 

Same Animation

There's some weird tendency in animation that tries to tell us that digital 3D rendering is somehow better than 2D animation, as though the idea of older fashioned animation isn't worthy of the big screen. The animation in Bluey is simple but beautiful in its execution, giving us all the detail we need and the expression we want. If we have to see another weirdly 3D animated atrocity like what they did to Muppet Babies and Garfield I think we're going to skip. Keep Bluey looking like Bluey! 

Musical Number

This is probably the DisGeek inside me but I would give anything for this movie to be a musical. Big dance numbers with the characters, ear worms that I can sing while waiting in line at the pharmacy, and maybe a big emotional ballad a la Let It Go. I'd be disappointed if it was a jukebox musical Trolls style, I want something original, big and flashy. 

In fact, that's what I want for the whole movie. 

-JOE

Deadpool & Wolverine - What You're Missing

This is a funny film to review on Latter-Day Saint Geeks, considering it's not only rated R but REALLY rated R, but as the morally flexible heathen I am I was happy to go see Deadpool & Wolverine and can't wait to tell y'all what you may've missed. 

Spoilers. 

Quick Recap

So for those not following the Deadpool movies here's a summary: Deadpool is what happens when you give Bugs Bunny a whole ton of guns and tell him to go nuts. The irreverent Merc with a Mouth is a mutant, same as the X-Men, except he was given his powers through a shady experiment by bad guys who wanted to make an army of mutants they could control. He went through the procedure to cure his extremely aggressive cancer, which his newfound healing powers did, but it left him incredibly disfigured. 

First movie he spends his time trying to find the guy that did this to him so he could be with his girlfriend Vanessa since he thinks she wouldn't love him if he was ugly. Turns out there is no cure and that Vanessa loves him for who he is. 

Second movie Vanessa is killed as a result of his vigilante/mercenary work. In his grief Deadpool tries to find ways to negate his powers so he can finally die and be with her. He meets up with Cable, a time travelling soldier of fortune and they have their own shenanigans before Deadpool takes his time travel device and saves Vanessa. 

Still following? Okay let's get into movie three. 

Multiverse of Hilarious

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool has hung  up the suit and is a car salesman, trying to make an honest life after his time indiscriminately killing people caused his longtime girlfriend Vanessa to break up with him. Despite his depression he is grateful for the group of weirdos he's adopted along the way that make up his family. He's celebrating this when he gets abducted by the TVA, the same guys Loki was messing with in his show on Disney+. They want to put Deadpool into the MCU, which would give him a chance to be an Avenger and prove to Vanessa that he isn't just a serial killer with a sense of humor. However, the TVA manager he's working with, Paradox, tells him that he's being pulled out because his universe is degrading. Despite this being a process that can take thousands of years, Paradox has decided that he wants to prune the timeline in memory of the former TVA who patrolled the Sacred Timeline (Watch Loki for how this nonsense works). Deadpool is told that his adopted family can't come with him so he goes on his own quest to save his timeline. 

Come to find out, to my great annoyance, that the timeline is dying because its anchor being (Read "Most profitable character") is dead, which happens to be everyone's favorite sentient piece of toxic masculinity Wolverine. Deadpool hops multiverses looking for a new Wolverine to replace his, finds one that he likes, and then is dumped to the wasteland at the bottom of the multiverse where everything the TVA deems either too dangerous or too unimportant to be in the mainstream goes to die. 

Eventually the duo get out, save the world, and the girl is saved. 

Oh but wait, Spider-Fans, there's more!

Wasteland of Misfit Fox Movies

One of several running gags in the film is that Deadpool is leaving Fox and moving to Disney, along with the X-Men. We could go into the behind-the-scenes stuff on this but suffice it to say that before we had the MCU we had a whole ton of questionably connected superhero movies which internet nerds like me argue about the quality and significance of until the MGM lion chokes. When Deadpool and Wolverine reach the wasteland they get to meet a handful of former Marvel heroes in more celebrity cameos than a Muppet movie. The film then becomes a tribute to all the Marvel movies that helped pave the way for the MCU to exist at all, and a thank you for the fans who showed up to see their favorites get live-action adaptations. Even my black, jaded little heart squeed at the appearance of Wesley Snipes Blade and Tyler Mane's Sabretooth, but none warmed my heart than Channing Tatum's Gambit. 

The Gambit movie was in preproduction years ago, with hype around Tatum learning card tricks and taking accent lessons to play the Ragin' Cajuan before the movie was canned, much to my disappointment. Gambit is my favorite X-Man and after his portrayal in X-Men Origins: Wolverine I was excited for a GOOD live-action version of Gambit only to get.... Nothing. Tatum feeds my fanboy in Deadpool & Wolverine by giving us the GAMBIT WE NEED, even if just for a little bit. 

Oh and a handful of Avengers show up throughout but who cares. 

What Does This Mean for the MCU? 

Well... Honestly we don't know. At the end of the movie status quo is restored as Deadpool's universe is once again safe and still separate from the main MCU. This opens the potential for the X-Men and the Avengers to come together down the line if there's yet more multiverse shenanigans, but with the Kang the Conqueror currently being reworked it's unsure what Marvel/Disney is going to do with the mutants now. We're sadly just going to have to wait and see. 

-JOE

P.S. Notice that this post is shorter than my usual rants. You try writing about a Deadpool movie and keep it PG! 

LDS Geeks Podcast #22: Disney Parks (1)

Joe and I are both Disney lovers; that much as always been clear on the blog. Recently we decided to do a four-part series about the Disney Parks, particularly Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. Part one of the four is now available for listening.

--Spencer

Listen to Episode 22 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

Check out Spencer's recent content: click here

Check out Joe's recent content: click here

Show Notes:

00:20 - Introduction

01:45 - Joe's Recommendation: My Adventures with Superman (Season 2)
        "My Adventures With Superman: Hero For Everyone" by Joe
04:29 - Spencer's Recommendation: Bluey minisodes
        "Mini Bluey? Bluey Shorts... Bluey Minisodes! " by Kenton
06:08 - Favorite Disney Attractions
09:36 - Spencer: Star Tours
12:37 - Joe: Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
18:01 - Spencer: Indiana Jones
23:06 - Joe: Avatar: Flight of Passage
27:19 - Spencer: Jungle Cruise
30:07 - Joe: Haunted Mansion

Our Hogwarts Houses

What better way to get to know a geek than to relate to their Hogwarts House? I have some issues with how some fans relate to their houses, but that's a topic for another blog post. In the meantime, our team wanted to share our houses and how the traits of being a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin has been a blessing in our lives. Because there's good to be found in all four.

"They say they're isn't a witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin." The key trait to Slytherin is ambition, which means wanting to be greater than you are. And yes, that is the driving force behind many a villain, it is also the driving force behind my life. I want to be a better man, husband, writer, artist and Priesthood holder. My ambition drives me to practice. It drives me to look for new opportunities. It drives me to improve. And if that means that occasionally I have to bind a sliver of my soul into my dice so I can get better rolls... So be it. 

-Joe

Everyone knows that Ravenclaws house is the best and most popular. They are renowned for valuing intellect, wisdom, and creativity. this house attracts students who exhibit a sharp mind and a thirst for knowledge. The house emblem features an eagle, symbolizing the soaring heights of academic achievement, and its colors are blue and silver. Ravenclaws are often characterized by their love for learning and their pursuit of academic excellence. Sometimes I questioned how did I get sorted into this house because I am not the greatest student. But I do like learning new things that interest me. I am probably in this house because I am still in school in my early thirties.

--Michael

Hufflepuff house is known for loyalty, fairness, and diligence (among other traits). In some respects, we're the jack-of-all-trades house, but I like that loyalty and hard-work are considered Hufflepuff traits. Hard-working and diligent could be synonymous with tenacity and perseverance. As much as life has knocked me down, I always seem to get back up. Even when sometimes I'd rather lie down and give up for the day/week, I know deep down that's not who I am. Perhaps it would take less energy to give up for the day, but that's not who I am. Gotta keep trying. Gotta keep pushing forward. That's the Puff in me coming through.

--Spencer

I’ve taken the quizzes and come up as a Gryffindor. Lots of emotions run through my mind with that range from “how cliché” to “awesome! I’m one of the good guys!” I’ve looked through different takes on what it means to be a Gryffindor including the lyrics from the Sorting Hat song in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to what is now written about Gryffindor on the wizard of world website. Daring, chivalrous, brave, standing up for the little guy are all things mentioned in these places. I guess I don’t balk at the idea of giving a talk on sacrament meeting, but that hardly qualifies as being noble right? So, I’ll take you back to when I was young and had to be brave. I had to be brave to jump off the diving board at my grandparents house. I had to be brave to jump off the high dive at the city pool. I had to be brave when a cut on my hand became infected and my dad had to poke it with a disinfected needle to get it cleaned up. I had to be brave to donate blood for the first time in honor of a former bishop who died of leukemia. These were small instances in my life, but I know that I was strengthened to be brave in these moments. As for the other qualities, I think it might be fair to say that I am striving to be more Gryffindor-ish, which is the challenge of a lifetime.

--Russell