Simply the Best: What Makes Schitt's Creek So Awesome

Now that the finale of Schitt's Creek has aired, we are no longer acting like disgruntled pelicans. Instead, we are looking at why we love this journey for us. So hide your diamonds and hide your exes, because here's our list (in no particular order) of what makes Schitt's Creek a chrysalis bursting with potential!

The Outfits
Alexis might walk through life in really nice shoes, but David and Moira win in a contest that is clearly black and white. And don't forget Moira's "girls", and the fact that Stevie's car is worth less than David's pants!

Johnny's heart
Schitt's Creek has a surprisingly large amount of heart, and it's best displayed in Johnny's evisceration of a rude couple from their past. "It's called Schitt's Creek. It's where we live." Man, he will always be David's first dad. The family then dances together at Mutt's barn. It's perfect. You should Tweet it on Facebook.

Ew, David

Alexis has such a way with words. But never more so than when she's talking to her brother, David. She's a little bit Alexis!

Moira's laugh
Catherine O'Hara is a comic genius, that goes without saying. But she continually defends that bedeviled title with bombilating gems like this laugh. (So what if she sounds like a feral cat.)

Patrick and David
This might be one of the sweetest, healthiest, more loving relationships ever depicted onscreen. From the moment they meet, to "Always Be My Baby". From Patrick's serenade to David's olive branch. From the proposal to the wedding (what was Moira wearing?!), Patrick and David are the epitome of what every couple should aspire to be. They are each other's Mariah Carey. "I met you, and everything changed. You make me feel right."

Bébé
Moira's accent is ... interesting: affected, indistinguishable, and unmistakable. And nowhere does she sound more glee-ridden and pettifogging than when she talks about infants.

The wine, and not the label
David's monologue about various types of wine is a perfect metaphor for his pansexuality. Agree with it or not, you have to admit that he explains his "wine preference" perfectly.

The Crows Have Eyes 3: The Crowening
Even though she played Lady Macbeth on a Crystal Skies cruise ship during Shakespeare at Sea Week, Moira is a washed up actress. But nowhere does she caw more than in The Crows Have Eyes 3: The Crowening. Indeed, she is a goddess on the prow of this "apocalyptic fantasy" sinking ship.

Ted•isms
Ted Mullens is adorable. He's nerdy and goofy, makes the worst puns, but looks great on his webcam. But it's always a treat when the veterinarian busts out one of his awkward Ted•isms. You'll never find Alexis's fiance letting his cats poop in a Galapagonian tortoise-shell foot bath...

Moira's vocabulary
Schitt's Creek has taught the world a host of new words, thanks to Moira's eclectic vocabulary. This Jazzagal is no bashful clam! Her highbrow might be impulsive, capricious, and melodramatic, but it is not wrong! Some favorites: jabberwocky, callipygian, prestidigitator, blousant, and inamorata.

David's face
It speaks for itself. Literally. "I'm obsessed with this."

Alexis's graduation
We will end with some heart because that's really why Schitt's Creek is so popular and successful. In the end it's about a family that grows together, learns what is truly important in life, and discovers how to let their hearts be seen. This is nicely displayed when Moira — and the Jazzagals — surprise Alexis at her graduation.

So goodbye to Schitt's Creek, one of the sweetest, funniest, freshest television shows out there. And if you want to tell me differently, then I'm ...

April 2020 General Conference Highlights

During the October 2019 General Conference, President Nelson promised that this conference would be "different from any previous conference".

Well he wasn't whistling Dixie.

This conference was its usual amazing spiritual buffet of talks and insight, which I couldn't do justice to. So if you want to hear the talks themselves, click here.  What I'm going to focus on is what made this conference so monumental in and of itself.

The Effects of COVID-19

The entire world watched conference the same way I do: in jammies with a large chunk of cake in hand. Gathering is currently illegal (or frowned upon) in most of the world right now, so nobody could attend conference in person aside from the speakers. This made for an eerie effect as we saw the speakers sit alone in a large room with six feet between them. There was always a feeling of camaraderie to see the thousands of members crammed into the Conference Center, but here we just had to imagine the crowds at home. In jammies.

Another interesting effect was the music provided by the Choir at Temple Square, which of course for aforementioned reasons could not be live. Instead they chose to use clips from previous conferences. It was interesting to look back at the different conferences and remember where one was at the time, including the clip from 2000 where yours truly was still in junior high and had taken the bus up with a friend to see Conference.


200 Year Anniversary of the First Vision

The main focus of the conference was celebrating the 200th anniversary of the First Vision. The Prophet was shown at the Sacred Grove and the Smith Cabin giving beautiful insights on the early church and First Vision. It felt like the focus we needed right now, since it was something to celebrate in a time where so much is being postponed or mourned.

A New Proclamation

To commemorate the event, a new proclamation was published by the First Presidency. You can check it out here. But spoiler alert: It's powerful and beautiful, to nobody's surprise.

A New Symbol



Since the beginning of the church there hasn't been a symbol like other churches. Usually we use the missionary name tag with the full name of the church on it, or the image of Moroni, but none were official. Now we have one: The churches full name in a cornerstone with the statue of Christ at Temple Square standing over it beneath an arch. Full of symbolism, fully unique and fully us, it's a powerful new symbol of our faith.

Temple Announcements

Eight new temples were announced throughout the world. These were:

• Bahía Blanca, Argentina

• Tallahassee, Florida

• Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Benin City, Nigeria

• Syracuse, Utah

• Dubai, United Arab Emirates

• Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

The temples won't be open for some time. But when they are, the fact that these are in places around the world that were previously thought may never get temples makes this one of the most exciting temple announcements yet.

A Global Fast

The Prophet called for another global fast on Friday, April 10, 2020 for relief from the COVID-19 pandemic. He has called for all members and non-members to participate in whatever way they can in order to petition the heavens for help. The word is already being spread.

When President Nelson first announced that this conference would be "different from any previous conference" we didn't really know what that meant. Imaginations ran wild as to what that meant, but the result was one that nobody could've thought of. Hope in the midst of a crisis, celebration in the midst of terror, this isn't the conference we expected but was the conference we desperately needed.

-JOE

The ABCs of Seinfeld

This month, Jerry Seinfeld turns 65. So we are flexing our Feats of Strength and compiling the ABCs of Seinfeld, the greatest show ever created about nothing! Yada yada yada...

A is for Anti-dentite
"Those people" came to this country just like everybody else, in search of a dream. Next thing you know, you're a RABID ANTI-DENTITE! Next thing you know you're saying they should have their own schools.

B is for Bubble Boy
Who invaded Spain in the 8th century? Because I sure as heck know it wasn't the Moops!

C is for Chinese Restaurant
This! This solidified the "show about nothing". This is a classic! This is the epitome of Seinfeld. This is a masterpiece.

D is for Delores
Well, her name isn't Bovary, Mulva, Loreola, Celeste, Hest, or Gipple.

E is for Eclair
So good, you can eat it right out of the trash!

F is for Festivus
Between the Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength, we can celebrate "A Festivus for the rest of us". It'll be a Festivus miracle under the aluminum pole!

G is for Giddyup!
Nothing is more Kramer than "Giddyup." Except bursting into a room uninvited.

H is for Helloooooo!
As said by a portly character, inspired by the belly button of one of Jerry's girlfriends.

I is for I was in the pool!
"I'm sorry, I thought this was the baby's room. *giggles* I'm really sorry!"

J is for Jerk Store
The jerk store called, and they're running out of you.

K is for Kramerica
Coffee table book about coffee tables. A restaurant where you make your own pizza pie. A restaurant that only serves peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. Oil bladder system. Ketchup & mustard in the same bottle. A roll-out tie dispenser. A periscope for your car so you can see the traffic. And of course the Calvin Klein cologne "The Beach".

L is for Low talker
"What's that? 'Scuse me?" ... "Yeah. Um, sure!"

M is for Master of my domain
King of the county. Lord of the manor. Queen of the castle. "I'm out!"

N is for Newman! *shakes fist*


O is for Oceanographer
"The sea was angry that day, my friends - like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli. I got about fifty feet out and suddenly, the great beast appeared before me. I tell you he was ten stories high if he was a foot. As if sensing my presence, he let out a great bellow. I said, 'Easy, big fella!' And then, as I watched him struggling, I realized that something was obstructing its breathing. From where I was standing, I could see directly into the eye of the great fish. Mammal. Whatever. Then, from out of nowhere, a huge tidal wave lifted me, tossed me like a cork, and I found myself right on top of him - face to face with the blowhole. I could barely see from the waves crashing down upon me, but I knew something was there. So I reached my hand in, felt around, and pulled out the obstruction. [Pulls out golf ball.] The crowd went wild. They were all over me. It was like Rocky 1. Diane came up to me, threw her arms around me, and kissed me. We both had tears streaming down our faces. I never saw anyone so beautiful. It was at that moment I decided to tell her I was not a marine biologist! She told me to 'Go to h***!' and I took the bus home."

P is for Puffy shirt
"But I don’t wanna be a pirate!"

Q is for Quone
quone \kwōn\ v. (medical term) – def. to quone something. Example: “A patient gets difficult, you quone him!” (related terms: quo)

R is for Re-gifter
"I don't trust this guy. I think he re-gifted, then he de-gifted." Says the anti-dentite.

S is for Soup Nazi


T is for They’re real, and they’re spectacular!
Is accidentally falling in a sauna the only way to find out?

U is for Uncle Leo
Do you think Cousin Jeffrey got tired of Uncle Leo talking about his crimes of passion? Maybe that's why Uncle Leo grabs people's arms while he's talking. Either that, or because so many people have left in the middle of him talking.

V is for Vandelay Industries
"And you want to be my latex salesman..."

W is for War, What Is It Good For?
One wonders if War and Peace would have been as highly acclaimed as it was, if it was published under its original name "War, What Is It Good For?" It was Tolstoy's mistress who insisted he called it War and Peace.

X is for Xanadu
"No wonder you’re putting in so many hours."
"I'll fix us a drink."

Y is for Yada yada yada
"But you yada yada-ed over the best part."
"No, I mentioned the lobster bisque."

Z is for Zero fat frozen yogurt
When Mayor Rudy Giuliani gets involved in your false advertising scheme, then you know it's time for serenity now.

Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution - Is It Worth It?

There's a simple equation to help figure out weather or not a film remake is good.

What did they add + What did they take away= film's value.

Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution on Netflix's value falls somewhere between the reemergence of 80's fashion and the Transformers series.

What did they add

Graphics. That's literally it. Despite it's name Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution is a remake of Pokemon: The First Movie. Of course they couldn't use that title since A: It was presumptive when it first came out despite it being true, and B: it would've been confusing because the subtitle would've had to be replaced with The Not Good One.

When I say remake I mean literally, they remade the movie. Pretty much shot-for-shot is redone in modern-ish graphics. The Pokemon themselves look about to the level of Pokemon Go, with some interesting texture work done on the fire-types flames. The human characters on the other hand all look like action figure versions of themselves, with a plastic unrealness to them that comes with trying to do a 1:1 adaptation into 3D from 2D. So basically the whole film looks like playing Pokemon Go with the AR turned on with the camera pointing at your toy collection.

What did they take away

Here's where things get more complicated.

When Pokemon: The First Movie first came out it was a big deal, like Endgame big deal. Pokemon was the biggest franchise in the world at the time, and the movie had every kid in the world on their toes begging their parents to see it. On top of that the movie tied directly into the then popular TV show, where Mewtwo was only hinted at in cool edgy clips that would later feature in the movie. We wanted to see Ash and Pikachu go up against Mewtwo on the big screen, and what we got was an incredibly fun adventure with better graphics than the show and all the fan service we could ever want.

The issue with this remake is that in polishing the graphics they accidentally polished all the magic off of the film. There's nothing new here that we wanted to see. I hate to say it but Detective Pikachu with it's incredibly stupid plot and bad human actors gave us more of what Pokemon: The First Movie had than this train wreck. We got to see Pokemon in a new light, with better graphics interacting in the real world.

The Verdict:

Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolved is an evolutionary dead end. In an age where it feels like everything is getting a remake or refresh (Looking at you Disney's The Lion King from 2019), the question needs to be weather or not the new interpretation adds to the original or is just trying to hop on a long passed gravy train. Mewtwo adds nothing to the source material, even actively missing the point altogether and thus almost hurting the original. Pokemon as a franchise can certainly afford a hit like this, since they are still one of the most popular franchises in the world (Incidentally if anyone has Pokemon Sword and wants to trade drop me a message) but I still expect better.

Graphics + Nostalgia polish off = Bad remake

--Joe

Power Rangers Binge List: Mighty Morphin

The nostalgia is strong for 90's kids and one of the popular franchises we grew up with was Power Rangers. Most people I talk to who watch the show still have love for the original Power Rangers, but WOW talk about filler. Other than a handful of story arcs, the first three seasons of Power Rangers nothing but filler.

Since you've probably got ample time at home right now and all of Power Rangers is in Netflix, here's a binge list of important episodes that you'll actually care about. No filler needed.

1. Day of the Dumpster (1 episode - about 20 min)
The one where they become Rangers. You know the story: Rita gets unleashed, so Zordon recruits the original five Power Rangers to take her on. They also get their zords here. If you're doing the binge, you can't leave this one out.

2. Green With Evil (5 episodes - about 1 hour 40 min)
After a few defeats, Rita makes her own Ranger: Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger. We all know him. He ends up being a Power Rangers legend. But first we have the original evil Ranger.

3. The Green Candle (2 episodes - about 40 min)
One of the few smart moves that Rita ever pulls. She uses her magic to take away Tommy's Green Ranger powers.

4. Birds of a Feather (1 episode - about 20 min)
This one is more optional, but it features Jason using Tommy's power coin for the first time. So that's kind of cool.

5. Return of an Old Friend (2 episodes - about 40 min)
One of the few times in early Power Rangers that we see parents. Rita captures them and uses them as leverage to get the power coins. So Zordon has to bring Tommy back with temporary powers.

6. The Mutiny (3 episodes - about 1 hour)
Season 2 premiere--not that season 1 had a proper finale. Lord Zedd boots Rita out and the Rangers have to step up their game by getting new powers and new zords.

7. Green No More (2 episodes - about 40 min)
After his powers slowly dissipated, this story finishes off that arc. Tommy loses his powers again, never to be seen again (jk, obviously).

8. White Light (2 episodes - about 40 min)
So after Tommy takes off for a while without his powers, this story bring him back in as the famous White Ranger to keep the Rangers from being outmatched by Lord Zedd.

9. The Ninja Encounter (3 episodes - about 60 min)

After some behind-the-scenes drama created some rifts between actors and production team, three Rangers had to be replaced. But first we had to introduce their replacements, who would be recurring characters until officially becoming Power Rangers. 

10. The Power Transfer (2 episodes - about 40 min)
Following a few episodes of no-so-subtle absences from Zack, Trini, and Jason, they take off for Europe and their powers get transferred to Adam, Aisha, and Rocky.

11. The Wedding (3 episodes - about 1 hour)
Ever since Lord Zedd claimed the palace, Rita was a bit AWOL, so this story brought her back in and teamed her up with her new husband to take down the Rangers.

12. Ninja Quest (4 episodes - about 1 hour 20 min)
After getting their powers taken away and their zords destroyed, the Rangers get new ninja powers from Ninjor.

13. A Different Shade of Pink (3 episodes - about 1 hour)
Kimberly gets an offer to be coached by a famous gymnastics coach, so Kat (who just finished up her introductory story arc) takes over as the Pink Ranger.

14. Rangers in Reverse (1 episode - about 20 min)
As a pseudo-finale for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, this episode features Master Vile turning the world back and the Rangers become kids again. This episode leads directly into the 10-episode mini-series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers (just watch all 10 episodes of that),

Depending on how long the so-called quarantine continues, don't be surprised if I come back with a binge list for the rest of the Zordon era of Power Rangers.

Saluting Homer’s new corporate overlords

Any fan of Pixar is well aware that when you go see a Pixar movie in the theater, you’re going to start by watching a Pixar short. Pixar shorts are usually masterpieces in and of themselves. (See our reviews for the SparkShorts films Loop, Float, and Purl.) But Onward doesn’t have a Pixar short. Instead, Onward is preceded by a short called Playdate with Destiny, starring Maggie Simpson! It’s the first theatrical sign of Disney’s acquisition of Fox, and specifically of The Simpsons, which can be streamed on Disney+.

Playdate with Destiny is a cute film, and follows a lot of the best tropes of Pixar shorts: it’s largely silent, features very few characters, tells a tight story, and has a whole lotta heart. This is Maggie’s story, through and through, which makes it easy to have zero dialogue. Maggie meets and falls in love with Hudson, and the two share a whirlwind romance of sharing champagne and strawberries (which are really a water fountain and sand). When Maggie thinks that she will never see Hudson again, she takes drastic measures to find him as he leaves on a train. The two are about to share a kiss, but they trade pacifiers instead. Cute.

The short is adorable. It’s crisp and clean, well animated, and looks terrific. (Personally, I love the rough hand drawn Simpsons of 1989. I used to watch the original Simpsons shorts in between skits on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. Bonus trivia: Tracey Ullman voices the pawn shop owner in Onward.) Maggie's story is engaging and compelling in all the best Simpsons ways. The humor is a little lacking, though there are some clever bits when Maggie uses her imagination, and getting drunk on baby formula reminds me of my caffeine addiction caused by that most sinful of addictive drinks, Diet Dr. Pepper. Ultimately, The Simpsons is a great addition to the Disney family, and Playdate with Destiny shows a fresh and promising future for the classic comedy powerhouse, The Simpsons.

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

I started watching Disney XD’s Earth’s Mightiest Heroes not long after Disney Plus showed up with a plethora of Marvel cartoons from the past few decades. My brother had recommended this Avengers cartoon, so I figured I’d give it a shot. It was a slow start as the founding members of the team were established, but overall I wasn’t disappointed. Fifty-two episodes introduced dozens of beloved Marvel characters and covered lots of comic-inspired story arcs. So here are some of my highlights (in no particular order).

Masters of Evil: Throughout the series, a team of villains forms, first through the Breakout and then additional members join later on. On top of that, we also got the Serpent Society. This is something missing from the MCU. Other than Hydra, we don’t really have any villain teams in the films. Makes it more of a challenge when the villains band together too.

Black Widow arc: By the time Black Widow was introduced in Iron Man 2, she was already a hero. We’ve heard of her dark history but never seen it. Maybe we’ll see flashbacks of it in her solo movie, but it was nice to see a darker side to Natasha (even if it was all a cover for Fury’s mission).

Kang the Conqueror: I honestly didn’t know anything about Kang before this series, but now I love him as a villain. His story is complex and it spanned the show’s two seasons (appearing on and off). I would love to see Kang show up in the MCU. With Thanos gone, Kang could have a nice overarching plot in the upcoming phases of the movies.

Ultron: Obviously I knew the character from Age of Ultron, but Earth’s Mightiest Heroes gives him a stronger story. His movie gave him a few days’ worth of action, whereas the cartoon gave him a few episodes’ worth of story and a reprise in season 2. It actually made me wonder if Ultron could be resurrected in the movies someday. Maybe he uploaded himself into cyberspace before Vision finished him off?

Battle of Asgard: Unless it somehow happens in the Loki Disney Plus universe, this plot isn’t going to happen in the MCU, so it was cool to see it in the cartoon. In the Season 1 finale, the Avengers ended up in Asgard and ended up saving it from Loki and friends. This kind of off-world battle is something we’ve yet to see from the MCU Avengers.

Fantastic Four and Wolverine: While Fox had the movie rights for the Fantastic Four, X-Men and other related franchises, Disney was still able to use their characters in cartoon form. The Fantastic Four appeared multiple times to team up with the Avengers. Wolverine appeared with the New Avengers and Beast was in one of Fury’s photographs. Since some of our original MCU Avengers have moved on, it’s near impossible we’ll see the X-Men or Fantastic Four team up with them. But this made it possible, even if it wasn’t on the big screen.

Heroes for Hire: Another set of heroes that’ll likely never team up with the Avengers on the big screen are the Netflix Marvel heroes. There are rumors that Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and the others will be rebooted on Disney Plus, but for now we have what we have. There have always been rumors of the Defenders crossing over into the movies, but it’ll probably never happen. So for the moment, I’ll take the "Heroes for Hire" episode and the New Avengers team that brought Iron Fist and Luke Cage into the mix.

Secret Invasion: My brother had told me about this story arc in the past, so I was intrigued from the start. Spread out over the space of half a season, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes sets up the Skrull Invasion. So far in the MCU we’ve only seen good guy Skrulls. However, we could easily see some nasty Skrulls come up in our future. Either way, this story arc was just as interesting as my brother made it sound.

Quake and Mockingbird: Like the Fox-owned properties and the Netlfix heroes, I knew these characters, this time from Agents of SHIELD. Though part of the MCU, Daisy Johnson and Bobbi Morse are unlikely to crossover into the movies. So just like the other previously mentioned heroes, this made it a special moment when two of my favorite heroines appeared.

New Avengers: When the Avengers are out of commission, Tony recruits some allies to protect the Earth. The Thing, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and War Machine banded together to pick up the slack. Because of already mentioned issues with Iron Fist and Luke Cage (and possible contract issues with Spider-Man) it’s unlikely we’ll ever get this exact line-up in the MCU, but maybe someday.

Overall, being a fan of the MCU, this series gave me a new love for some of these characters. It also showed me how much there is to look forward to in the MCU. They have such a wide array of characters to introduce and to get us to love. Heroes. Villains. There’s a lot to love and the MCU has only scratched the surface.

Lucy Pevensie: Don’t run from who you are

Coriakin: “Beware. You are all about to be Tested.” 

Nine years ago when Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released in theaters, I was a novice at all things Narnia. I had seen the movies, but that's it. At that same time, I was waiting to find out if I'd go back on my mission after coming home due to anxiety. I don't know about everyone in my situation, but it definitely tested me. It brought up all kinds of insecurities and self-worth stuff that I didn't know existed in my psyche.

When the crew of the Dawn Treader arrived on Coriakin's island, the magician foresaw the trials they'd face. Edmund’s had to do with pride and Caspian’s had to do with insecurities. And Lucy’s trial, like mine, was rooted in her self-worth.

From the first moments of the movie, Lucy compares herself to Susan at every turn. “Do you think I look anything like Susan?” “Have you found yourself a queen in those three years?” And then the mists of temptation show up in Coriakin’s house and she takes a page out of his spellbook.

“Make me she, whom I'd agree holds more beauty over me.”

During a rough night on the sea, Lucy uses the spell on the page and makes herself look like Susan. But not just in appearance. She ends up back in England and finds she’s wished Lucy away. She'd become Susan and they had never found Narnia. Fortunately it was just a dream, but Aslan used the moment to teach her.

Aslan: “You wished yourself away… You doubt your value. Don’t run from who you are.”

Every Sunday between my missions (and for years after), I couldn't stop from comparing myself to every 2-year RM in Elders Quorum. Every time a story started with "When I was on my mission..." I got resentful and sad. Years later, even having dealt with that heartache, I still play the comparison game everyday. This guy at the gym is stronger and fitter than me. This girl at work has better stats than me. This person in class is smarter than me. Somehow I believe that my life would be perfect if I were like them.

“You doubt your value.”

Story of my life right? But I wouldn’t be me if I were like this guy or that girl. As children of God, we have worth, no matter what we think. That’s why the Savior was willing to die for us all.

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

He wouldn’t have died for you if you were worthless. He wouldn’t have died for you if you weren’t important. But you are worth dying for… even if you don’t believe it yet.

Lucy got the message in the end. As I increase my faith and my understanding of the gospel, I trust that I’ll understand it in my heart someday too.

Gael: “When I grow up, I want to be just like you.”
Lucy: “When you grow up, you should be just like you.”

10 Best Disney Songs On Broadway (but not in the movies!)

A lot of questions pop up whenever Disney remakes a film. Questions like "Why did we need this? How are they going to portray the non-human characters? Hay is that Hermione?" but the question I keep having is "Why don't they use any of the music from the Broadway shows?!" An entire untapped world of Disney music is sitting around, needing to be heard by general audiences, and here are some of my favorites.

10: Watch What Happens (Newsies)

This is a perfect summary of women trying to break into the workplace at the turn of the century, as well as gives character to the female lead Katherine as she tries to tackle the big story of the Newsies protest. It's everything we think of when we think old time female reporter minus having to be saved by Superman.


9: Shadowlands (The Lion King)
Nala does not get her just due in The Lion King. She's an amazing lioness who left her family to find help, and while the Broadway show has many songs that were criminally left out, I think this one of Nala being blessed by the other lionesses is the best.



8: I Want the Good Times Back (The Little Mermaid)
Arguably one of the best villain songs of all time is Poor Unfortunate Souls by the iconic Ursula, but ever wonder where under the sea Ursula came from? Her entire backstory and relationship to Triton is explained in this jazzy song by the sea witch.



7: If I Can't Love Her (Beauty and the Beast)
Okay so Evermore wasn't bad from the live action film, but Beast gets an even more soulful song with this one on Broadway. With a reprisal later, this haunting melody makes us all remember why we loved the Beast.



6: Rhythm of the Tambourine (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
I will argue to the ends of the earth on behalf of Hunchback. I think it's the most underrated Disney film of all time and this soundtrack only takes it to the next level. Here is the quintessential moment where Frollo, Quasimodo and Phoebis all first see the mesmerizing Esmeralda. It's a fun song that you can't help but to shake your hips to.



5: Proud of Your Boy (Aladdin)
One of the best part of the Broadway musicals are the fleshing out of characters, even ones we didn't know we needed more of. Here we get an insight into Aladdin's heart, that not only is he a good person but he's just trying to do what's best despite his situation.



4: Practically Perfect (Mary Poppins)
This song doesn't add much to the story, but it does add a fantastic new song to the Mary Poppins universe by expounding on one of our favorite Mary Poppins phrases.



3: Home (Beauty and the Beast)
Belle gets to star here as she expresses her feelings about being trapped in Beast's castle and making the best out of her situation. Her reprise to this song comes when the Beast is dying and strengthens one of Disney's most beautiful moments.



2: Made of Stone (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
One of the major changes from the cartoon to the stage was that they dropped the irritating gargoyles and replaced them with statues of the Saints. Here the statues are trying to convince Quasimodo to not give up despite everything seeming hopeless.



1: He Lives In You (Lion King)
Lion King is at its heart the story of a child learning to cope with the loss of his father. He Lives In You and its reprise are Simba connecting to his father, no matter where he is, and never fails to bring a tear to the eye.

Moving Onward after the death of a loved one

Minor spoilers for Onward below.

About two-thirds of the way through Pixar’s new masterpiece, Onward (see our review here), Barley is sitting on a Cheeto boat and reveals to his brother that he has a memory of his late father that he’s not proud of. Barley takes off his beanie and gets vulnerable for a minute. He tells his brother how his father was really sick, and Barley was instructed to go say goodbye to his father before he died. But Barley saw a man who was hooked up to tubes and wires, he got scared, and he didn’t say goodbye. He couldn't. Barley explains that since that moment on, he has chosen to be brave for the rest of his life, to never be scared again.

This summer I lost one of my best friends, Mark Mazzarella, who was nicknamed “Cheese”. On July 8, Cheese received some bad news, I walked him to his car, and we had an emotional moment. But it was too difficult for me to say goodbye, so instead I just kind of put my hand on his shoulder and didn’t say anything. I couldn't get the words out. That night I called him to check on him. We talked for about a half hour. And then he took his own life while I was on the phone with him. 

What happened to Cheese was tragic and traumatizing. I’m in a better place than I was this summer, but I’m still not over the suicide or the fact that I didn’t really say goodbye to my best buddy. I don’t think I ever really will be. But I have been working on allowing that catastrophic experience to shape the rest of my life. Like Barley, I have vowed to be as fearless as I can. I have started to live my life boldly. I haven’t taken up D&D or magic or protesting the preservation of historical sites, but I have started reaching out to friends like I’ve never done before. I’ve started examining my testimony and listening to the ways that God speaks to me. I’ve vowed to be more authentic in my life. And this is all a direct result of the death of one of the closest friends I’ve ever had. 

Suicide is a terrible thing. If you’re feeling even the least bit suicidal, reach out to somebody -- anybody. Like they say in Dear Evan Hansen, “You can reach out your hand and someone will come running. You will be found.” But for those left behind after suicide, or the death of a loved one, or any kind of loss, it can seem like an impossible task to pick up and continue our quest for happiness. However, I have learned that there’s magic in the way a tragedy can bring about some positive change. Just like a manticore’s fire can make way for new growth, or the loss of a beloved Guinevere can create a new path for a seemingly impossible journey, so too the death of a dear friend can be the catalyst for personal growth. Death has the power to spur another person to be brave, to live outside their comfort zone, to become a better version of himself. Though we never forget the person that we loved and lost, we can let them become part of the fabric of our future as we work on self-improvement and we move Onward.

If you are having suicidal ideations or you don’t know where to turn, please call the suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255.