Pixar Popcorn

Last month, Pixar released 10 shorts that they call Pixar Popcorn. It's 10 short films, ranging from 1 to 5 minutes long. (Thank goodness the longest one is Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele just riffing on each other for 5 minutes!) Head on over to Disney Plus and spend 22 minutes munching on these popcorn snacks. 

And bite-sized shorts deserve bite-sized reviews: 10 shorts, 10 words per review, 10 kernel rating. 

"To Fitness and Beyond" 10 Word Review: Rex tries push-ups. Hamm attempts sit-ups. Need I say more?  Rating: 6/10

"Unparalleled Parking" 10 Word Review: Montage of cars parking. Reminds me of adolescence. Lizzie FTW.   Rating: 5/10

"Dory Finding" 10 Word Review: Best parts: Dory's glasses, Ellen's vocalizations, and all the bubbles. Rating: 7/10

"Soul of the City" 10 Word Review: This is Gorgeous. Orderly. Life-affirming. Familiar. Tranquil. Geared towards adults.   Rating: 9/10

"Fluffy Stuff with Ducky & Bunny: Love" 10 Word Review: A Ducky versus Bunny debate (d)evolves into a rap riff.   Rating: 10/10

"Chore Day - The Incredibles Way" 10 Word Review: Clones and laser eyes make chores easy. S'mores with Jack-Jack! Rating: 8/10

"A Day in the Life of the Dead" 10 Word Review: How skeletons live their (after)lives. Fun with dead body parts!  Rating: 6/10

"Fluffy Stuff with Ducky & Bunny: Three Heads" 10 Word Review: Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are "denomic" geniuses. More banter!    Rating: 10/10

"Dancing with the Cars" 10 Word Review: I enjoyed the title ... and the conga ending the short. Rating: 4/10

"Cookie Num Num" 10 Word Review: The Incredibles use powers to win a cookie. So fun! 🍪🦸💪  Rating: 10/10

One of the fun things to watch for in the Pixar Popcorn (besides Pixar's famous Easter Eggs) is the various interactions that Luxo Jr. has with popcorn kernels in the opening logo. Enjoy this Pixar snack!

Who is Scarlet Witch?

As has been well established, I'm the guy who, in the Before Times, would answer everyone's questions after we went out to see a superhero movie. I know superhero lore like some people know... well, useful information. That being said I was the only one squeeing years ago at the end of Captain America: Winter Soldier when they revealed the Scarlet Witch, looking all creepy in her cell, moving blocks with her mind. Of course to MCU fans she is known as Wanda Maximoff, and with WandaVision's big reveal last week I think it's best to talk about her, what she's been known to do, and why we need to be excited. 

Be warned: There be spoilers ahead. 

Yar. 

From The Pages of Marvel

Scarlet Witch first appeared in The X-Men #4 in 1964. Yes, that's right, X-Men. See the first and foremost thing you need to know about her is that in the comics she is a mutant, and the second thing is that her father is a very important mutant: Magneto. At first Scarlet Witch and her brother Quicksilver were with Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, until they became disillusioned with Pop's way of thinking and split. Not convinced of Xavier's philosophy of mutant/human harmony, they decided to step away from the conflict and joined a new team of heroes: the Avengers. 

Remember class, in the comics, the Avengers and the X-Men live in the same universe, even though it barely makes any sense, but that's for a different blog. 

On the Avengers Wanda met the love of her life, Vision, the robot with the ability to phase through walls. They married and through... plot and magic... they had two children who grew up to become superheroes themselves, Speed and Wiccan. 

Over the years Scarlet Witch's comic adventures mainly dealt with her fighting for what she believed was right, and trying to come to terms with her vast powers, which will talk about in a second. If you want a full breakdown of her comic appearances check out her Wiki page here, but let's get into her power set. 

All Purpose Plot Insulation

For the most part, Scarlet Witch's powers were whatever the plot needed her to do. This was first explained by her mutant power being the ability to manipulate probability fields, meaning if the chance for a bad guy's gun to jam was 4%, she could send a hex bolt at it and increase it to 99%. She could control what happened the longer she concentrated on it, so if she wanted the gun specifically to jam she would have to take a second to concentrate, but if she just wanted gun not be a problem and threw a bolt then the gun could jam, or turn into a fish, or melt, or something else random. Eventually they said that her powers gave her control of "chaos magic", meaning that her name wasn't just a cute super hero name but that she truly was a witch. 

For a long time Scarlet Witch was seen as a character whose powers were cool but weren't that useful. She didn't have the range of other magic users like Dr. Strange, and her powers weren't as straight forward as Wolverine's, so she was delegated to fixing little things that the other characters needed. 

Until...

House of M

In another ret-con that comics are infamous for doing, they reveal that Wanda's powers are capable of warping reality itself, and that there is no such thing as "chaos magic". With her true powers unlocked she becomes a major concern for the heroes of earth, until daddy Magneto and Quicksilver guide her into creating a world where mutants are the dominant species and all the heroes have their hearts desires made reality so they won't interfere. After that doesn't work out, to no surprise to anyone, Scarlet Witch unleashes one more reality warping hex before the mainstream universe is returned, declaring "No more mutants" and turning all but a handful of mutants into regular humans. 

Beast goes on a quest to find a way to restore the mutant population, only to be told by Dr. Strange that Scarlet Witch's latest hex has been tied into the fabric of reality itself and therefore can never be undone, making mutants an endangered species. Several issues, a bunch of weird plot lines involving time travel, a baby and and the Phoenix Force and that all gets reversed eventually bringing back the mutants. 

WandaVision's Big Reveal

So what does all this have to do with WandaVision? Well first Wanda seems to have followed a similar arc to her comic book counterpart, going from a telekinetic telepath (telekinetipath?) to a reality changing powerhouse. Episode 5 gave us some interesting concepts, first that she can't resurrect the dead (presumably Vision being a robot is technically not resurrection but just good IT) and second that she is manipulating reality. Pietro appearing at the end of the episode is a huge move because it's not the Pietro from Age of Ultron but the Pietro from the X-Men franchise, recently acquired by Disney. Rumors have been swirling that WandaVision will not only tie into Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness but also be the catalyst to introduce the X-Men into the MCU, creating the complete Marvel universe. The repercussions from this could reverberate throughout the MCU and film in general for decades to come if Marvel and Disney are able to pull off the transfer, and fans of the OG Marvel universe will be squeeing in delight as team-ups and battles with their favorite heroes are brought to life on screen. 

The Thing About Magic

The interesting and challenging thing about magic users in superhero universes isn't how powerful they are but how they choose to use their powers. Characters like Scarlet Witch, Constantine and Zatanna are usually relegated to background characters out of fear that their complicated abilities may take away from the stars. Whenever these characters are given their chance to shine though, the story changes from "Do we have enough power to stop the bad guy?" to "Do we have too much power to be allowed to exist?" Scarlet Witch brings the question "If you could change the universe to however you want it to be what would you do" to its next logical step of "Should you?". When Scarlet Witch is a good guy she holds back her powers, using what she needs to get the job done, but when she's a villain, or at least an antagonist, she's doing it out of the fear of losing someone she loves. It's hard to blame her for wanting to create a world where her and Vision have the perfect TV life, but is it worth the expense of a town of people? And to bring back Pietro, is it worth merging two universes to make it possible? 

-JOE

Nintendo Games That Don't Get Old

Everyone I know seems to be buying new gaming systems but here I am as a new college graduate. I would love to upgrade to a Nintendo Switch immediately. Instead, I’m preparing to start paying back student loans. As a result, I guess I’m going to stick with my Nintendo Wii and Nintendo 3DS. That being said, I have no issue playing nostalgic games from my childhood, teenage, and college years. So while all of you are out there playing your Nintendo Switch or PS5 or whatever XBox has right now, I’ll be over here playing some of these games that never get old.

Super Smash Brothers

I don’t care which edition of the game you’re playing, this is the mash-up game we never knew we needed. I love the original for its nostalgia and classic one-player mode. Melee has possibly the best adventure mode (plus Mewtwo). And Brawl had a solid story mode, which I was addicted to. This game is basically created for the replay value. Every combination of players, characters, and stage makes this game brand new.

Super Mario 64

The first time I played Super Mario 64 was probably at a friend’s house as a kid. However, as a one-player game, I don’t know how much I actually played it. I must have played it enough though, because as an adult it was one of my first purchases on Wii’s virtual console. The graphics may be outdated, but they’re nostalgic. And the replay value is high, because how often do you actually collect all the stars? There’s always more to do!

Mario Kart 64

The other Mario Kart games could go on here too, but the N64 version has a special place in my heart. Nothing crazy or complicated about it. You pick your players, you pick your mode, and you pick a stage. Just a race or battle. And there’s just something so visually appealing as the battle mode with the four colored towers (and nothing more satisfying than sniping out other players on the top of those towers).

Mario Party

I’m most familiar with Mario Party on the Nintendo 64, and the concept is solid. Get some friends together, play a “board game”, and play some mini games. Every game is an adventure and never will you get the same result from two different matches. So let’s keep on playing éuntil the system burns out.

Pokémon

The format of the mainstream Pokémon games hasn’t really changed. You have a starter Pokémon, Pokéballs, Gym leaders (or Island Trials in Sun/Moon), and the Elite Four. I haven’t played Sword/Shield yet, but once I have a Switch you can bet I’m buying Sword. Even if you pick the same starter every time, the game is always different. That means infinite replay value! Also, there are seemingly infinite numbers of fan made ways of playing the game (I tried my first couple Nuzzlockes in 2020 and I definitely failed).

Pokémon Snap

A few weeks ago Joe talked about the Nintendo 64 game, as we wait for the Switch version. Even with a limited number of Pokémon in it, the game is always an adventure. You know when the Zubat is coming, but you still have to time it just right. And even then, you can always try to best your score until you have the perfect shot. Honestly I’m not even sure the new Snap will be able to stand up to the nostalgia of the original game.

Pokémon Stadium

After the N64, these games were replaced by Colosseum and Gale of Darkness (which is a shame), but the first two Stadium games were tons of fun. Even if you didn’t have a Gameboy game to pair it with, you could have a fun Pokémon battle with a friend or the Gym Leaders using the free Pokémon. Or if you weren’t in the mood for a battle, there were always the mini-games. I couldn’t get enough of the Lickitung and Metapod games. Always good for a party. Dang… now I want to play this again.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

This is one of the hidden gems of the Pokémon franchise. You’re a human turned into a Pokémon. You and your Pokémon friends fight to figure out what’s going wrong in the Pokémon world. Instead of catching Pokémon, you grow your “Pokédex” by befriending other Pokémon. As a result, you can’t always control who you “catch”. So every game is different. Heck, even the same floor is different on two different attempts. 

So while I wait to have enough money to buy a Switch (and a house and whatever else adults have to buy) I’m going to keep enjoying my Nintendo 3DS… at least while my daughter naps.

WOMANCES!

Last week we celebrated brothers from another mother. This week, we celebrate sisters from another mister! Valentine's Day is about so much more than romantic love. Because let's face it, the platonic love between two women can sometimes be so much stronger than all that lovey dovey romance. Now put your hands up as we celebrate all the single ladies with a list of the top 10 favorite WOMANCES! (To see our list of our favorite BROMANCES, see this link.)

10. Leslie & Ann, Parks and Recreation
These two ladies have such different personality types, and somehow Ann isn't totally annoyed by Leslie's antics, and Leslie isn't turned off by Ann's blandness. Instead, they stand up for each other and level each other out. What a reason to celebrate Galentine's Day!

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9. Laverne & Shirley, Laverne & Shirley

One is a schlemiel and the other is a schlimazel. But together, they make the best Hasenpfeffer. Friends through thick and thin, Laverne and Shirley are doin' it their way!

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8. Lorelai & Sookie, Gilmore Girls

Sookie: "You think we'll still be friends when we're dead?" Lorelai: "I will if you will." 'Nuff said.

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7. Romy & Michele, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

Of all the so-called "chick flicks" out there, Romy and Michele is definitely the most fun. If I were to give a high school reunion award for BFFs for life, it would go to Romy White and Michele Weinberger (as long as they synchronized their dance moves)!

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6. Thelma & Louise, Thelma & Louise

Thelma and Louise invented the selfie, and they were literally friends until death.

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5. Jess & Cece, New Girl

They remained friends through every adorkable one-liner and relationship merry-go-round. Plus, Cece wears a hideous ribbon hat, just to make Jess happy, so those are some automatic BFF points!

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4. Lucy & Ethel, I Love Lucy

The original gal pals, Lucy and Ethel are the epitome of best friends! These girls help each other out of jam after jam, and they always have the other's back. There is no doubt that either one would hide a body for the other.

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3. Lily & Robin, How I Met Your Mother

"Robin Scherbatsky is many things: friend, confidant, occasional guest star in some confusing dreams that remind me a woman's sexuality is a moving target." — Lily Aldrin

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2. Rachel & Monica, Friends

Friends even before Rachel had rhinoplasty and Monica lost all that weight, these Friends are only rivaled by Chandler and Joey. Yes, we love Phoebe, but Rachel and Monica are the ones who'll be there for you (when the rain starts to pour).

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1. Dorothy & Blanche & Rose & Sophia, Golden Girls

These ladies are the classiest, bestest gal pals there could be! These girls are the golden example of friendship: they are supportive when needed, they are real and honest at all times, and they love each other deeply. But most importantly, they know how to share a good cheesecake.

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Happy Valentine's Day, whether you are single or not. Let's remember those unbreakable bonds between girlfriends (that's friends who are girls, thankyouverymuch). Indeed, to all our golden cronies on this Galentine's Day, thank you for being a friend! (To see a list of our favorite BROMANCES, see this link.)

BROMANCES!

Recently divorced, I'm joining legions of men and women who will be single on Valentine's Day. And I've learned how important my boys are! Instead of Valentine's Day being about romantic love, for me Valentine's Day this year is about platonic love. So to celebrate all our single buddies, here's a list of my top 10 favorite BROMANCES! (To see a list of our favorite WOMANCES, see this link.)

10. Nick & Schmidt, New Girl
Friends since before Schmidt was a hottie, Nick and Schmidt are the epitome of the bromance. They love each other, they hang out all the time, and they make the best wingman for each other.

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9. Norm & Cliff, Cheers

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. Norm and Cliff were best buddies, forever bonded by Norm's crazy bar tab and Cliff's neverending trove of useless knowledge.

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8. Buzz & Woody, Toy Story
Enemies at first, best friends by the end. These two are proof that polar opposites (heck, they're not even made of the same material!) can be best buddies. You've got a friend in me!

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7. Wayne & Garth, Wayne's World

Best buddies? Exsqueeze me? Baking powder? Okay, yeah, they're best buddies. Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth. Excellent.

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6. Cory & Shawn, Boy Meets World

Before boy met world, boy met Shawn. In kindergarten! For seven seasons, as these two faced every adolescent anxiety and pubescent problem, they always always always had each other.

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5. Peralta & Boyle, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Jake Peralta and Charles Boyle are simply inseparable in every way. Peralta and Santiago may have the romance, but Peralta and Boyle have the true love.

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4. Shawn & Gus, Psych
Psych was never really about a fake psychic detective or about any of the cases that were presented. The heart of Psych has always been the irresistible relationship between Shawn and Gus.

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3. Chandler & Joey, Friends

Forget Ross and Rachel. Forget Monica and Chandler. The real 'ship was Joey and Miss Chanandler Bong. A modern day Oscar and Felix, Chandler and Joey were a match made in bromance heaven.

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2. Troy & Abed, Community

Friends so close they once graced the cover of Friends Weekly, a pretend magazine of their own design. These bros were made to be together.

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1. J.D. & Turk, Scrubs

It's almost as if Scrubs was created with the sole purpose of showing how bromantic two guys can get. J.D. and Turk open up to each other emotionally, and physically display their affection in a way that had never been seen in entertainment before.

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Happy Valentine's Day, everybody, single or not. Today, we focus on the bromances. (To see a list of our favorite WOMANCES, see this link.) "It's guy love, between two guys." Sing us out, J.D. and Turk!

Sorting Disney Princesses into Hogwarts Houses (3/3)

Less than one month now until Raya and the Last Dragon gets released. While we wait for our new Princess, let's talk about some of our existing Disney Princesses. So far I’ve sorted about two thirds of them into Hogwarts houses (click here for part one and click here for part two). I’ve got five left, including our last honorary princess. So I won’t waste anymore time with further introduction and jump right in.

Aurora - Hufflepuff

Sleeping Beauty is a Puff like me. Even once finding out that her three weird aunt/fairies had been lying to her for sixteen years, she still demonstrated patience as she reserved herself to marrying an unknown prince. I also noted modesty as a defining trait, as she’d have rather lived in the forest as a peasant than marry someone her unknown parents had betrothed her to. Fortunately, it all worked out for her and Prince Phillip in the end anyway. In Disney World, you can meet her in Magic Kingdom.

Mulan - Slytherin

I debated between Gryffindor and Slytherin for Mulan. She definitely exhibited bravery and daring as she took her father’s place in the army. However, I felt like she was more defined by her ingenuity and cunning. These are very Slytherin traits. Also, she admitted that not all her intentions were necessarily selfless. As her ambition (another Slytherin trait) to prove herself led her, she definitely grew as a person. But I’d still consider her a Slytherin. She can be found at China in Epcot.

Jasmine - Gryffindor

I know I sorted Ariel into Gryffindor as well, but in many ways I think Jasmine would be the first Disney Princess to be a Gryffindor in the traditional sense. Throughout her adventures with Aladdin, she demonstrated bravery and daring at every turn. In addition, she was the first Disney Princess to directly fight against her villain. So with that in mind she’s a solid Gryffindor to me. You can meet Jasmine at Morocco in Epcot and in Adventureland at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.

Pocahontas - Ravenclaw

When I first re-watched Pocahontas for this post, I thought I was going to put her in Gryffindor because of how bravely she protected John Smith and stood up to her father. However, as I watched the movie again, what stuck out to me was how she sought wisdom first before making any decisions. Should I trust these newcomers? Should I forge my own path? Should I defy my father? This soul searching reminded me more of Ravenclaw wisdom. This princess can be found at Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World.

Vanellope - Slytherin

This mischievous little glitch was befriended by the Disney Princesses in Ralph Breaks the Internet, so she is our honorary Disney Princess this time. In the first movie, she was focused on her ambition (and excessively determined) to win a race. In the sequel, she was focused on a new ambition: Who was she outside the arcade? Her ambitiousness (and honestly her sneakiness) could only place her in Slytherin. You can find her with Ralph in Epcot at ImageWorks.

If you enjoyed these Hogwarts posts about the Disney Princesses, let me know which franchise I should sort next. Remember to also check out our previously sorted franchises: Team Arrow, Friends, Power Rangers 2017, Once Upon a Time, and the Avengers.

Five Franchises that Don't Get Enough Love

 Yes they have fans, but you don't hear that much from them. 

Yes they have merch but it's few and far between.

Yes there's fanart but it's not as popular on Deviantart. 

These franchises need far more love than they get, and they're going to get some here. 

5: Young Justice

The more grown up Teen Titans show was a victim of bad marketing. Meant to be a toy selling scheme for kids, the show's overarching storyline and more adult issues didn't hit well with kids, however older DC fans loved the show. Without the coveted toy market cornered, the show was cancelled on a cliffhanger only to be brought back on DC's not defunct streaming service. All three seasons now have a home on HBO Now, so hopefully it'll get more fans discovering this lost DC treasure. 

4: Gargoyles

I may be wrong about a stable streaming service giving a show new life, as it didn't work for Gargoyles. The show was a hit back in the 90's, but it's received little buzz since showing up on Disney Plus. The show is relatively dark compared to most of Disney's fair, but the story is engaging and the characters are far deeper than cartoon characters today. This is worth a rewatch and some more fan love from the geek community. 

3: Superman the Animated Series 

(A lot of DC on this list...)

After the much beloved Batman the Animated Series, Superman got his own show in the same universe. The cartoon breathed life back into the beloved Man of Steel, but sadly it's not talked about even close as much as Batman's is. Superman the Animated Series needs a good rewatch, though that will be hard to do since it's not currently available on any streaming service. 

2: Once Upon A Time

Okay so this one gets plenty of love from this blog, but overall....

Yes, this show was overdramatic. Yes it was complicated as it tied every fairy tale and Disney movie into one giant mass, but it was incredibly fun and the acting was on point. You can actually identify with the characters and their magical issues. Every episode, as absurd as it is, makes you want to say "....One more episode." Check it out again, let yourself into the world, and let it be either a guilty pleasure or an indulgence into pure dramatic fun. 

1: Daria

The voice of disillusioned teenagers, Daria was the show that gave us permission to question the world around us when we were told to just obey and go along. Daria was an MTV exclusive back in the day, so I get why not a lot of people have seen it, but now that it's on Amazon Prime, maybe this show can get the attention it deserves. If you don't have Prime, the box set is sold for a reasonable price and is worth every penny. Check it out and let the misenthropic teenage girl inside out for a few hours. She might thank you for it. 

-JOE