LDS Geeks Podcast #46: Disney Songs (5)

It's still hot outside, but as the weather starts to cool down, some people will try to get into running (again). If you need some recommendations to get you moving, check out our discussion about Disney songs for your running playlist! And check out our ongoing Disney running playlist here.

--Spencer

Listen to Episode 46 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

Check out Spencer's recent blog posts: click here

Check out Russell's recent blog posts: click here

Show notes:

00:12 - Introductions
03:02 - Spencer's Recommendation: "The Demigod Diaries" by Rick Riordan
05:54 - Russell's Recommendation: Frozen Junior Stage Play
09:08 - Honorable Mentions:
            "How Far I'll Go" (Moana)
            "Go the Distance" (Hercules)
            "Let It Go" (Frozen)
10:29 - "Oo-De-Lally" (Robin Hood)
13:51 - "Beyond" (Moana 2)
            LDS Geeks Podcast #30: Animorphs Overview
                Show Notes: click here
                Spotify: click here
                Apple Podcasts: click here
19:32 - "On My Way" (Brother Bear)
23:28 - "One Jump Ahead" (Aladdin)
25:42 - The Power of Music + Exercise
30:55 - Conclusion

A Tribute to Sean Connery

 What can you really say about the legend that is Sean Connery? His life was a patchwork of charisma and success. The characters he played have been discussed, imitated, parodied and envied. So the only true way to show tribute to him to me would be to display his work. 

So here's a showcase of some of our favorite Sean Connery moments. 

What's your favorite Connery movie? 

Pokemon Nicknames: Disney (4)

Throughout this year I've been working on some Pokemon/Disney nicknames. Now it's time to finish off the Pokedex--minus the Galar Pokedex, since I've yet to play Sword. So without further ado, here is my last Disney/Pokemon mash-up.

Braixen as Marian

Froakie as Thaddeus

Pyroar (or Solgaleo) as Mufasa

Tyrantrum as Butch

Decidueye as Owl

Litten as Simba

Crabominable as Tamatoa

Rockruff as Bolt

Mudbray as Lampwick (or Pinocchio)

Disney-Themed Pokemon Nicknames:

• Gen I: Part 1
• Gen II: Part 2
• Gen III-V: Part 3
• Gen VI-VII: Part 4
• Additional: Part 5
• Additional (2): Part 6

Disney Dungeons and Dragons

A discussion that occurs often in my house is which Dungeons and Dragons class characters from other fictions would be if brought into D&D (Don’t judge me, I bet you have weird discussions too!) So here I present a Disney based Dungeons and Dragons party featuring all the major classes from 5th Edition and why I think each character fits with each class.

Enjoy!

Barbarian-Beast

A creature made of pure rage, the Beast is a perfect fit for the barbarian. When we see him defending Belle from the wolves he goes into what can only be classified as a rage as he drops the entire pack, only to fall in the end just like a barbarian would once their temporary hit points ran out. We also see that Beast isn’t much of a fighter until he goes into said rage when he’s fighting Gaston, who gets in several cheap shots before Beast sees Belle and unleashes his furry fury on the hunter.

Bard-Ariel

I will argue that Ariel is one of the most active princesses we have, especially in the pre-Elsa world. Her defining traits include her incredible singing voice and her curiosity about the world, both of which fit perfectly with the bard’s skill list. When her voice was taken and she had to somehow convince Eric to kiss her she doesn’t miss a beat, using her exceptional charisma stat to charm him into nearly kissing her. Ariel is the bard that can get into and out of any situation.

Cleric-Baymax

My first instinct was to go with Rapunzel since she has the power to heal with magic, but clerics are more than just the healer in the back that keeps the idiot fighter from dying. Clerics can hold their own in battle as well as aid the party with buffs and heals. Baymax can do it all between his vast medical knowledge and high-flying armor, willing to keep his team safe in battle and get them healed in between.

Druid-Pocahantas

In touch with her people and her land, Pocahantas makes the perfect druid. She strives to protect the balance between her people, the settlers and the land by brokering peace through understanding and knowledge. She even casts Comprehend Languages and Speak With Plants at various times throughout the movie, and has a hoard of adorable animal companions that help her in her journey. The only thing she’s missing is Wild Shape, though I vote that turning into pastel paint during “Colors of the Wind” counts.

Fighter-Mulan

There’s an instinct to put Mulan under the monk category because of her Asian heritage and the monk’s classical leaning towards Eastern tradition, but Mulan doesn’t get the specialized training and inner focus a monk gets, she’s trained as a soldier, and is therefore a fighter. Mulan is an excellent fighter though, able to hold her own in both armor and a dress, and uses her brain to take out stronger opponents as well as her martial skills. Mulan is the one who would be on the front line, chopping through enemies without the need for magic or help.

Monk-Rafiki

Rafiki on the other hand, is a person who is not only a martial artist but in touch with his own spirituality to the point of granting him insight into the world itself. He is the spiritual leader of Pride Rock, and can use his own inner wisdom to find the answers to issues that effect his land. Plus just watch him fight off the hyenas and tell me he’s not a martial artist.

Paladin-Hercules

Gifted with strength from his godly parenthood, Hercules has one mission: to rejoin the gods of Mount Olympus. He becomes the noble knight vanquishing evil with his trusty (if obnoxious) steed Pegasus. Riding into every fight with a righteous cause and a quest to complete, he becomes the perfect paladin. On a side note he’s also a great example of how to play a lawful good character without making them obnoxious, but that’s probably a subject for another post another day.

Ranger-Merida

Merida does not get her just due as a princess. She is a fierce red head with a fiery spirit to match. As a ranger she has her trusty bow and knowledge of the wilds on her side, plus an empathy with animals around her, including her own mother at one point. Merida could outshoot any other Disney character (Including Robin Hood-Fight me) and she’s never afraid to enter a battle. You need some ranged on your team? Recruit Merida.

Rogue-Robin Hood

He may not outshoot Merida, but he is an extremely competent archer and an even better rogue. Robin Hood stole gold right out of the royal carriage before King John could notice. He then orchestrated a plan where he stole dozens of bags of gold out of John’s room while he and Hiss were sleeping. Combined with his variety of disguises and agility and he’s the quintessential rogue-just don’t let his partner kiss your hand.

Sorcerer-Elsa

Born with magic, sometimes uncontrollable, usually by conditions before birth, Elsa almost comes straight out of the Player’s Handbook. Elsa has to learn to control her powers as she learns that the more she suppresses them the more trouble they’ll cause her. The diversity of her magic gives her the range to keep your enemies on their toes, making you grateful to have her in the party. Just don’t pet her familiar without asking or you’ll get burned.

Warlock-Genie

Okay here me out because this was the hardest to find in all of Disney. Dr. Facilier, the bad guy from The Frog Princess is probably the perfect fit, but he’s also a villain and we’re building an adventuring party. In Xanathar’s Guide to Everything we get the subclass Hexblade, which binds the Warlock’s power to a weapon from the Shadowfell, so for this one we replace the weapon with Genie’s lamp and voila, a warlock. This of course will probably fly out the window in the next year when genie pacts become a thing but whatever. Either way, are you going to say no to having a being with phenomenal cosmic powers on your team?

Wizard-Merlin

This on the other hand was a no-brainer. Along with magic most of Merlin’s powers comes from his study of science and culture, and his collection of books seals this deal. Merlin is a specialist in transfiguration, turning him and Wart into a variety of animals to teach the future king lessons on life. His ultimate accomplishment is him polymorphing himself into a germ to infect Madam Mim’s dragon form, thus winning him a magic duel. That’s the move that proved that he’s a wizard extraordinaire.

What other Disney characters would you want to class?

-Joe

Top Ten most annoying Disney sidekicks

We haven't discussed Disney in a bit, let's try something a little controversial.
Contrary to popular belief, I don't love all Disney characters, particularly the side characters. Sadly, it's almost a requirement for every Disney movie to have a few talking clocks or thinking snowmen just to sell more toys and add some comic relief. But for me sometimes these characters aren't just annoying, they take away from the quality of the movie. So here's my list of the top ten most annoying Disney sidekicks, and this time they WILL be in order.

10. Cogsworth and Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast

These guys weren't so annoying until I saw a first cut for Beauty and the Beast where none of the furniture could talk. After that every time I saw these two eat up screen time bickering I just got increasingly angry. The only reason they land so low on my list is that "Be Our Guest" is a good song. 

9. Tantor from Tarzan

A scaredy-cat elephant voiced by Newman. He serves no purpose in the plot and that voice just grates on my nerves. Baby Tantor isn't any better, just a higher pitched annoying elephant. I'm just glad this guy didn't get popular, though I would've loved to see the thing get eaten by a Dilophosaurus. 

8. Skippy and his friends from Robin Hood

Here's a great idea: Let's take an awesome high-action idea like Robin Hood done with animals and waste 15-20 minutes messing around with annoying baby critters. All their scene with Maid Marian adds to our plot is that Maid Marian likes Robin Hood, something we could've figured out from knowing that the film was about Robin Hood. 

7. Owl from Winnie the Pooh

I know that his long-winded stories are played for laughs, but every time Owl's on screen I want to hit fast forward. When you have so many fun and high-energy characters bouncing around on screen, slowing down the story for this wind bag makes me want to mount him on my wall. 

6. Pegasus from Hercules

I feel like this character could've been beautiful and elegant like Aladdin's Carpet, but instead we get this weird bro-horse. Pegasus is always laughing or making a face or getting its butt jammed into things, which is supposed to come off as fun but for me it just comes off as Hercules's frat buddy. Maximus from Tangled could be funny without looking hideous. Zeus would've been better off just making Hercules a nice Ford rather than an annoying flying horse. 

5. Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King

This is probably one of the more debatable choices on this list since so many people love these guys, but for me Timon and Pumbaa are just empty comic relief. Even their song that is so popular with the masses is the worst advice they could have given Simba. There's a story of a prince who was captured by criminals and denied earthly pleasures because of his princely heritage, and honestly these guys are the antithesis of that story. They take Simba away from his birthright and tell him to stop caring about anything that matters. That's a great message to teach kids. 

4. B.E.N. from Treasure Planet

Okay so not a lot of people have seen this movie, which is a shame because the animation, character designs and overall tone for me just seem to work perfectly together. However, the obnoxious robot we have to meet in the third act, B.E.N. is basically a delayed Jar Jar Binks. One of his character traits is that his memory board is missing so he constantly "Acts crazy" because he's malfunctioning, but even when they do find his hard drive or whatever he still acts like an imbecile. Just throw him off the boat and let the vacuum of space deal with him, please. 

3. All the mice in Cinderella

I know mice are part of the original Cinderella story, but Disney decided to take them one step further and give them songs and a major role in the film. Couple that with their high pitched voices and the fact that they devolve a large section of the movie into an episode of Tom and Jerry and you get some universally awful characters. What's sad is that we have a main character that is severely underdeveloped in this film, namely our nameless prince, who could have become a major piece in the story if the mice were dropped. The same thing happened with Snow White but the dwarfs are so entertaining they get a pass, but really, does anyone care about the plight of "Gus Gus"?

2. Dr. Jumba Jookiba from Lilo and Stitch

This guy is almost classified as a villain if the movie hadn't decided for us that he was too weak and replace him with that giant whale man. The problem with Jumba and his weird little buddy is that this film didn't need them to drive up tension. We already had a major obstacle to overcome in the form of Bubbles the social worker threatening to break up the family. Honestly we didn't even need to know that Stitch was a lab experiment and not just an alien. This film could've been like ET and just been about the development of relationship and the meaning of family, but Jumba just has to sit there with his forced conflict and get in the way of our favorite blue alien.

1. The gargoyles from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Disney made a bold move in trying to adapt this Victor Hugo novel into a fun movie for the whole family, and while so many parts to this film work, the gargoyle sidekicks to Quasimodo do not in any way shape or form. First, they don't make sense in the context of their own reality. We don't see any other evidence of magic or talking things that aren't supposed to be talking in the entire movie, and while the film hints that they are figments of Quasimodo's imagination, in the final battle it's extremely clear that they are helping defend Notre Dame and are real. Second, they have arguably the worst song in a Disney film. Here we have our hero already established to have shame and sadness around his hideous appearance and these three sing a song about how he can get the girl despite being ugly, while still reminding him of how ugly he is. Not only is this incredibly mean spirited, but Quasimodo doesn't even get the girl in the end anyway. So the gargoyles from Hunchback get the worst Disney sidekick award by me for not only annoying me but by putting the final nails into the coffin of the film they were in. I hope that gives them a sense of accomplishment as they remember that people would rather hug a stuffed Quasimodo than any one of them anytime soon. 

-JOE

Dynamic Duos

With a title like that I could go so many different directions. I could talk about. And initially, I was gonna take this to a certain set of movies. Instead, that'll be a later post. Today, I'm gonna talk about some of my favorite dynamic duos from TV shows and movies.

Before I go through my list, I had to make a difference between two similar ideas. That's Dynamic Duos and Bosom Buddies. There's a difference to me. There are some relationships on here that are both. But there's a difference between them. A Dynamic Duo have two (from duo) distinct (from dynamic) personalities. Where Bosom Buddies are BFFs who play off one another, Dynamic Duos use their separate ideas and concepts to battle for something else. Dynamic Duos can easily be Bosom Buddies, but these concepts aren't the same. Power Couples are also considered a different category. I highly anticipate blogging about both those other similar ideas later, and probably some crossover from post to post.

Without further garbling, here are my top 10 dynamic duos

10. Frodo & Sam (Lord of the Rings): I wasn't sure I was going to put them on this list. There's something about Frodo & Sam that classify them as Bosom Buddies. However, they have a cause that they collectively fight for, which makes them a Dynamic Duo. Frodo is charged with taking a powerful ring to Mordor. Sam is charged with keeping Frodo safe. What makes them Bosom Buddies is that they went through their own personal hell in order to get there. So they're Dynamic Duo trait comes from the time they leave the shire to the time they get back. They have to fight and survive a lot in order to accomplish their goal.

9. Shawn & Gus (Psych): Shawn is a dork. Gus is a nerd. They're definitely BFFs, but they also work well together to solve mysteries with Santa Barbara's finest (or not finest) detectives. Shawn does all these quirky, over the top performances to prove the guilt of murderers, and Gus is there to make sure Shawn doesn't go too far into it. Also, Shawn is like the world's worst wingman for Gus.

8. Robin Hood & Little John (Robin Hood): Go on...you know you want to sing it. "Robin Hood and Little John walkin' through the forest, laughin' back and forth at what the other'ne has to say." Or there's the other one..."We're men. We're men in tight, (high voice) TIGHT, tights." Whichever one you want to go with, Robin Hood and Little John are a powerful duo. They know what they're doing and work off one another's strengths quite well.

7. Cobb & Arthur (Inception): My wife still hasn't seen this movie and to be honest, it is one of my favorites. It is said when Christopher Nolan wrote this script, he created a character for a different part in filmmaking: Cobb was the director and Arthur was the producer. And after reading that, it made even more sense. You have to have a director to lead, but you need a producer backing up the director. Even though Cobb is interested in his freedom and Arthur is wanting the money (but also technically to not die as well as help his friend), they're aim of implanting an idea is consistent. They work as a team and definitely use one another's strengths as well as challenge one another in their job. I like their friendship, it's professional, yet personal.

6. Kirk & Spock (Star Trek): It would be illogical for me to not include this great duo. Kirk was the emotional leader with Spock keeping him grounded. Both in the original Star Trek series and through the movies, Kirk and Spock work/fight together in order to accomplish mutual goals.

5. Gilligan & the Skipper (Gilligan's Island): After a sucky 3-hour tour, all they wanted to do was get off an island. Instead, they kept getting stuck there. Whether a stupid mistake or someone else's greed, they were just stuck. Gilligan & the Skipper are almost the antithesis of a Dynamic Duo, but they still work together to get themselves off the island.

4. Carter & Henry (Eureka): Not the most popular show. And some people would argue that these two don't classify as a Dynamic Duo, but I say they do. Henry and Carter are best friends, but they're more than that. Carter is the dumbest person in a town full of geniuses. But what Carter lacks in intelligence, he more than makes up for in wisdom. Henry is not only one of the smartest, he is also one of the wisest. Without Carter and Henry, the town of Eureka would probably have been destroyed by a nuclear bomb.

3. Batman & Robin (Batman Franchise): Oh duh! Like I would omit THE Dynamic Duo. Yeah, there are 2 I rank higher than the "original". But I definitely gotta pay respect to good ol' Batman & Robin. Robin defines sidekick. He is the person that Batman needs to help him through most situations. Without Robin, Batman is a solitary dark knight, which fits the persona just fine. But with Robin, Batman becomes a team player who sees his weaknesses from being alone. Or you can disagree with me like Joe probably will.

2. Picard & Riker (Star Trek: The Next Generation): These two are actually a reversal of Kirk & Spock in a way. Riker is the emotional/lady chaser and Picard is the stiff "by-the-books" leader. But as a team, they've always got one another's backs. Picard trusts Riker to do the right thing, and vice-versa. Picard picked Riker to be the commander on the Enterprise. Riker chooses to stay despite being offered a ship multiple times throughout the show.

1. Leonard & Sheldon (BBT): Yes, Big Bang Theory is one of my all-time favorite TV shows. These two...like Gilligan & the Skipper make an anti-Dynamic Duo. But they are still a team. Their cause is science. Or maybe it's to get the audience to laugh. But honestly, Sheldon calls Leonard his best friend, mostly because a) it's a logical choice and b) Sheldon probably wouldn't survive without Leonard, even if he won't admit it. But what makes this one of my favorite Dynamic Duos is that they are exactly that: dynamic. Their personalities collide and Leonard just gives up because he knows it's not worth fighting someone who, as he put it, is "one lab accident away" from being a supervillain.

And remember: Alien abductions are involuntary.