Title: Bedknobs And Broomsticks Release Year: 1971 Directed By: Robert Stevenson Written By: Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, Songs by Richard and Robert Sherman, from the book by Mary Norton Recommended by: RIP Angela Lansbury. Truly a One Of A Kind Icon Star Rating: 3.5
Review
There are some stars who shine so brightly for so long that the idea of them going out is impossible to conceive.
So it was with Dame Angela Lansbury who passed this week. An absolute icon of theater, television and film, she was simply incredible. And, I’d never watched this movie, so it seemed a fitting tribute.
Bedknobs And Broomsticks is absolutely totally OK. Lansbury is wonderful in it. “The Age of Not Believing” does that thing that the best Sherman Brothers songs do, which is make you nod along with it pleasantly in the moment, and then think about twenty minutes later and start crying. (See also “Feed The Birds” and “Hushabye Mountain.”)
But mainly, it’s a wonderful showcase for Lansbury. Her version of English Middle Class warmth is so suited to this material. (An single woman in World War II England decides to become a witch to help the war effort, has a family of evacuated London children dropped on her doorstep) She’s luminous and funny and wonderful in this role.
She will be deeply missed.
Note
Blank Check is still doing Kubrick but I’ve been a little down lately…so I didn’t want to watch A Clockwork Orange. Sorry if you were looking forward to me once again saying, “Ugh, I get why this is amazing, but I DON’T LIKE IT” again.
We’re throwing back all over the place this week here at The Fangirl’s Dilemma! Game Of Thrones winners, and a Star Wars release so momentous, it was worth bringing back a review.
The Princess And The Scoundrel is a newly released Star Wars novel by Beth Revis, it tells the story of Han and Leia’s quick engagement and wedding after the events of Return Of The Jedi and then their kind of chaotic honeymoon aboard The Halcyon, (AKA the ship you are on in The Star Wars hotel in Disney World!)
There’s banter and kissing and reckoning with legacy and Han gets obsessed with a pastry, while Leia just CAN’T PUT HER PHONE AWAY AND BE ON VACATION! Han asks Luke to use the force to break up his bachelor party, which Luke refuses to do. Lando produces wine glasses as if from the air. Han has a panic attack diving into icy water because of PTSD from being frozen in carbonite.
It’s just all really really fun and right up my alley and I cried a lot while reading it. But I’ve been waiting most of my life to think about Han and Leia getting to live happily ever after. (They didn’t, but at least, happy for now!) The Princess And The Scoundrel did not disappoint.
Title: Oz The Great And Powerful Release Year: 2013 Directed By: Sam Raimi Written By: Mitchell Kapner & David Lindsey-Abaire, from the novel Oz by L. Frank Baum (loosely) Recommended By: Blank Check With Griffin And David Star Rating: 4
Review
I was 100% ready to go into this movie and absolutely despise it. I’d heard it’s CGI was overwhelmingly difficult to get past, that James Franco was very bad in it and that it was overly long. Of those three complaints I agree with one of them. This movie is too long. And the CGI is bad, but I think the movie’s heart and simplicity overcome it.
Set in Kansas and The Land of Oz some 20 or so years before Dorothy showed up, Oz The Great And Powerful sets up the conflict between Oz’s witches, the ascendancy of a carnival sham artist as The Wizard of Oz and a great battle to stabilize a fantasy world.
It’s a lot, but the main performances are very fun, the script is funny and earnest and I really enjoyed watching it. I kind of wish I had seen it nine years ago so I could have revisited it a bunch and become one of those weird people who made an overlooked movie their whole personality. (Probably not, but it’s possible) Anyway, I liked this, a whole lot.
Note
Here ends Blank Check’s Raimi series. (For me, they still have Doctor Strange: And The Multiverse Of Madness) and they’re doing Bob Fosse next. (I already did some of Fosse with Cabaret a few months ago, and I’ve seen both Sweet Charity and All That Jazz but I’ll be hitting Lenny and Star 80 with them in a month or so.) So, without that in the mix, I’m filling in the blanks on the Mission Impossible series for myself. So that’s what the next few weeks will be. It really helped me get this project off the ground that they did two directors who I hadn’t seen most of their work right in a row.
My friends went home, I lost my fanny pack, and it was really quite hot out.
“No It’s Right There!”
I knew I was going to need some recovery time from the travel and rope drop to close nature of Dapper Day with a big group. Plus, my parents were coming up to go to Universal Studios so it made sense to be not in a park, so that I wouldn’t leave when they came.
Of course it wasn’t a totally relaxing day. Because, as I noted last time, I’d left my fanny pack at Hollywood Studios the night before. I’d filled out a lost and found ticket and gotten an email saying it hadn’t been found yet, so I figured I’d take a trip on the Skyliner and talk to an actual person about what my next step should be.
I luckily still had a cross body, and my phone, which is also my wallet were in my pocket at the time. But, my external battery, sunglasses and sunscreen were all in there, not to mention the bag itself, which I like a lot.
SO, I arrived at the front Guest Services booth at Hollywood Studios, and explained my situation. The Manager I spoke to, exclaimed that SHE HERSELF found my bag, and she had no idea why it was reported not found. Unfortunately it had already been sent to the main Lost And Found at Disney Springs.
So I hopped on a bus, went to springs, went to guest services and was sent to the lost and found. (Which, incidentally, also has a bag check. Which is good to know for if you’re checking out, or in and want to leave right from your dinner or whatever!) I had my ticket and they couldn’t find it, but the cast member was happy to see me, because he said, “I saw this! It’s logged all wrong!” *Sigh* Luckily, I peaked right behind him, and saw it sitting on a table!
“It’s right there! That one!” I said. We were all very excited, me most of all, and it was about 11 AM. I decided to wander around Spring a little, maybe even try some Gideon’s cookies. The Line for Gideon’s was already crazy and it was a million degrees out, (OK, closer to 90.) and so I decided to enact my plan of just chilling out all day.
So I hopped a bus to the Riviera, and went to Bar Riva. I ordered a baked brie and an Aperol Spritz. But they were out of Aperol! QUEL HOREUR! So I got the Rose that the bartender recommended instead, got on the Skyliner and got to my room, to change for by day at the pool.
The Brie was good, definitely well aged, and baked in really flakey pastry with rasberrie preseves. (I’m usually a fan of apricot or fig for baked brie.) And the rose was super dry and refreshing. I kept drinking Rose, albeit from the bottle I’d brought myself and settled into a hammock to drink my wine and read Harvey Fierstein’s memoir, I Was Better Last Night. (Tough reading, emotionally, but very funny and well worth the read if you’re at all interested in the history of theater in New York).
When I would get too hot, I would hop to the courtyard pool, dive in and then go back to the hammock. I got a little hungry and went for a walk to check out The Spyglass Grill, which is well loved by my favorite Disney Blog, The DIsney Tourist Blog. I grabbed the Plantain Chips with two salsas, regular and mango. And then I headed over to the bar and got a Hoist The Colors (a very strong rum drink that I’m super fond of.) And then settled in to a gazebo to eat the chips, and drink the drink and keep reading.
Holy crap, these chips. They’re incredible. I get that this is not the kind of restaurant that most people would seek out, since Caribbean Beach is a little off the beaten path and this is in a weird corner of the resort, but I think it’s worth it.
My afternoon was more just drinking and lounging and swimming and then my mom texted that they were on their way. I’d made a reservation at Sebastian’s (also in my resort) so I took a bath, got dressed and met them up front. We decided to grab a drink at Riviera before we checked in, and discussed our plans for the next day.
Then dinner. Holy CRAP this dinner. Sebastian’s is a hidden gem, y’all. You’re served a family style meal, of chicken, beef and sea food, with Caribbean style sides, and finished with a coconut bread pudding.
It was incredible, the service was incredible and we got a day of reservation. It was all pretty great. After that, we swung on the Skyliner and took a quick walk around Pop Century, before making plans for the next morning. (I would Uber to their hotel and then shuttle to Universal!
(I’m sorry I don’t have pictures on this post. I was in relaxation mode, and really not on my phone much.)
Coming Soon
We head to The Wizarding World, my mother and I try in vain to explain our philosophy about theme park touring to my father, and I get some really good sushi!
I made some new friends via a new-ish friend, I ate good French good and bad Chinese food, I’d discovered that the heat might get the best of me.
“This Is A Fine Looking Group of Recruits”
Early rope drops are my favorite thing. It’s just really cool to get to the turnstiles when the sun is barely up, when there’s a group that feels like a crowd but you know is going to disperse so that in the end, you get on all the rides quickly. I of course headed right for Rise Of The Resistance, and while there was a short wait, something like 20 minutes, it was definitely worth that. I made a friend on line, and I wish I remembered her name, but she was lovely.
I’m not going to spoil Rise Of The Resistance. (Save a picture or 2). The surprises really make the whole ride. But it’s really really amazing. Fun and thrilling and all ages appropriate and full of exciting “how’d they do that?” Imagineering magic tricks. Really, really exceptional.
After Rise, my new friend and I hopped over to Millenium Falcon, where we both piloted, and then she was going to meet her friends and I went to ride Slinky Dog. After Slinky, I went to Tower of Terror, and then back to Galaxy Edge to try the Breakfast Ronto Wrap, and get some pictures taken, before I texted Maya and asked what their plans were.
They were just hanging out on Hollywood BLVD, shouting, “OH YOU LOOK GREAT!” at passing Dapper Folks, and as such, we had a really nice time for about a half an hour, before taking a bunch of pictures at Grauman’s Chinese theater.
Then we all broke for lunch, some people going to The Brown Derby and some to Prime Time Cafe. I was starting to wilt, and was still pretty full from my Ronto Wrap, so I went back to my room, hung in the AC and ate my leftovers from Cali Grill. Sara texted me when they finished up, I hopped right on the Skyliner and met them, for more “promenading,” to use Maya’s word, and then a decision to get out of the heat and see Frozen Ever After, before doing the big group Dapper Day meetup. (I got a milkshake with Bailey’s in there somewhere.)
Though the meetup was fun, this has never been an activity I’ve been wild about. These big photo calls at Dapper Day and at Comic Cons usually just make me feel overly sensitive and shy and I think the pandemic isolation has only amplified this tendency in me. But, most of the people I talked to were nice.
Then it was time to say goodbye to everyone. Several of my new crew were flying home that night and again, it was CRAZY HOT. So we parted ways. I hopped back on line for Rise Of The Resistance, then did Mickey And Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Star Tours. After getting off Star Tours a MASSIVE thunderstorm hit. I ran quickly and popped into Baseline Taphouse, grabbed a beer and waited out the rain with a bunch of other people who happened to be from Jersey! HEY!
By the time the rain abated, it was just about time for me to check in for my early dinner at The Brown Derby, so I took some pictures in front of Grauman’s Chinese. Then I ate dinner.
The ambience and drinks at The Brown Derby are better than the food, but the food is pretty good. I got shrimp cocktail and Coq Au Vin, plus a Gin Martini and a glass of The Silverado Zinfandel. (To go to a Disney Park and not have at least ONE serving of Silverado feels disloyal to me.)
Then it was back to Galaxy’s edge for more pictures and then the Cantina. I’d enjoyed my previous visit here, but this time, in full swing, crowded and loud and busy, it’s wildly fun. I talked to a father and son that had just wrapped their Galactic Starcruiser, and who endorsed it heartily.
Next I wound my way to one last Rise of The Resistance ride. I was once again with a fun group, but I of course left my fanny pack on the ride as I was getting off, and didn’t realize it until I was already at the front of guest services. We’ll get into that more in when I talk about the next day.
So I was back in my room and asleep by 10
Up Next On Trip Report
I take a day off from the parks, navigate the Walt Disney World Lost And Found system, and my parents come to Orlando.
I spent 9 days in Walt Disney World a few weeks back.
It was AMAZING.
I was EXHAUSTED and REFRESHED all at once. And, I am very very behind on movie watching.
But I like these trip reports as a sort of journal of my time in the parks and at the resort. So I do these for me, and as a roundabout way of giving advice and recomendations
Arrival Day 4/29
When I go to Orlando I like to take the earliest morning flight I can, thus giving myself an unstressfull afternoon and evening. This leads of course to stress the night before and morning of, but hey, if I’m going to be stressed, get it out of the way early!
So, I was on an 8 AM flight which landed around 10:30. I used the Mears Connect Service that is currently replacing The Magical Express. It functions the exact same way, except you have to get your own bag and it now costs $35.00. (Less service for more money, welcome to the new normal)
I always do my best to snap a shot rolling into the resort’s borders.
Honestly, it was fine. For $10 more I could have done an Uber, but I was curious about the buses. I was staying the The Carribean Beach Resort, we were the second stop after Yacht & Beach, so I was changing into a sundress and swimsuit, my bag’s checked by 1.
I think I was sufficiently vacationy, right?
I opted for some fish tacos and iced tea from Centertown Market for my lunch, and then headed to Banana Cabanna and got some kind of frozen drink, before parking my butt in a lounge chair by the pool and read my romance novel (Written In In The Stars by Alexandra Bellefleure. A WLW Pride And Prejudice retelling about astrology and risk assessment. GOOD!)
I do not remember what this was called but it was pink and very sweet.
I got bored by that pretty quickly. So I walked around. And then did some more walking around. Then, it was 3:15 and I still hadn’t gotten a notification that my room was ready, which felt weird, since check in was 3, AND I had a 5:50 dinner reservation, so I needed to shower and change.
All of this walking around also involved a full lap on the Skyliner. I mean obviously.
Turns out my room was ready and I could have been in there for an hour. Regardless, I LOVED this room. I was in The Jamaica section, on the first floor in a corner room. It was convenient and well lit and very comfortable.
So I changed. I got very lucky the night before and got a reservation at The California Grill. I’ve been trying to go back there for almost five years now, so I was excited.
Since I was down for Dapper Day, I dressed up even though I wasn’t going to be near any Dapper People. (They were mostly over at Disney Springs) But I’d packed the dress. I hopped on a bus to Magic Kingdom, then walked to the Contemporary.
We call this “The Betty Draper Dress” for obvious reasons
I still had about 20 minutes before Check In, so I went to The Outer Rim bar, and got to see a SpaceX launch (Fuck Elon!)
Then I got to The California Grill. If you are unfamiliar with this, it is a large restaurant on the top floor of The Contemporary Resort. It has floor to ceiling windows with unparallelled views of Walt Disney World and has two decks which have views of the fireworks at The Magic Kingdom every night. It’s a premiere dining experience and it’s not easy to get a table.
Right now, they’re serving a Prix Fix dinner with three courses drawn from the 50 years of opperattion. This costs $89 and for an extra $39 you get a sommelier pairing (which I obviously did.)
The California Grill does not disappoint. My three courses, a Duck A L’orange Flatbread, Filet Of Beef With Potatoes and Cauliflower, and A Dark Chocolate Almond Torte.
Incredible Food!
It was a LOT of food and I only ate about half of it (I brought most of the pizza and torte back to my room, actually). But the real stars for me here were the wine pairings. Really worth that extra $30.
With my choices I got a L’Ecole 41 Syrah from the Columbia Valley, which was sweet and light enough that it didn’t overwhelm the pizza (which had a LOT going on), a Nickel & Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa, which…frankly, a high end traditional Napa Cab is the PERFECT thing for a steak. There’s just nothing better. Dessert was with a Rose Regale, a sweet sparkling red which I LOVE but only drink in Walt Disney World because it is both expensive and kind of tough to find.
There were still a few hours before the fireworks when I vacated my table, so I hopped on the monorail and went to the Polynesian, I put my name in at Trader Sam’s but I wasn’t confident I’d make it, so I grabbed a Krakatoa Punch on the terrace and walked over to The Grand Floridian and got a seat at The Enchanted Rose and got a French 75, before hopping on The Monorail and getting back to The Contemporary and back up to California Grill for the fireworks. More champagne, and a spot on the deck aquired I watched Enchantment.
The French 75 is gin, lemon juice, sugar and Champagne. It is so refreshing and delicious and gets you WAY drunker than it tastes.
Uhhh, I have some issues with this show. (Later in the week they are resolved). It feels too short, FAR too current to be the Spectacular celebrating 50 years in the park, and the new song is no where near as moving as “Happily Ever After.” Not into it.
Not crazy about the show, but I’m pretty proud of this picture
After this, I settled in at the bar, rather than join the mad dash to the elevators, and ordered a whiskey (or 2) and despite having plenty of time to get back to The Magic Kingdom to get the bus, recognized I was WAY too drunk to do that, so I grabbed an UBER, got it together just enough to pop out my contacts and put on pajamas before passing out on top of the covers.
Coming Soon!
Dapper Days, new friends, WAY less booze, A Galaxy Far, Far away, lazy days at the pool, the Wizarding World, I can’t do theme parks with my dad anymore, and oppressive Floridian heat and humidity! It’s going to be fun!
All right! All right! All right! We’re in for the real thing now! Thank you all for putting up with me getting me sea legs under me by talking about boring errand running with my mom to get to the main part of the trip, I got to go back home!
Monday, March 22: Arrival Day! Pool Bars! Disneybound!
Waking up sort of early to get a little bit of work done despite being on vacation was probably the best decision I made all week, because it did make my reentry to the real world a week after this a good deal more smooth. But I digress, by 10:30 AM, we were on the road, and by 1, we’d gotten our bags checked at both The Walt Disney World Dolphin (Mom and Dad) and The Disney Beach Club (Me!) though none of our rooms were ready. We also grabbed some quick sandwiches at Hurricane Hannah’s. (I do not recommend this, although it served our purposes)
I had seafood salad sliders and a froze, Mom had an Italian Sandwich on Ciabatta and a Bannana Cabana, and Dad had a Turkey Sub and a Budwiser. Really, I’ve had worse and less thought out first meals on a Disney trip and in less fun atmospheres, because Hurricane Hannah’s is the pool bar and the absolutely lovely Barefoot Bay pool complex at The Yacht and Beach Club. Which, rules you guys, it is the best.
After lunch, we took a walk around the Crescent Lake region. Popping into the gift shop at The Boardwalk Hotel before heading back to the The Dolphin to get my parents settled. This lead to my favorite brand of conversation from the whole trip.
“How are we getting there?”
We had a dinner reservation at The Grand Floridian, so Dad got a little panicky. (If you don’t know Walt Disney World has a largely fantastic public transportation system that is free to everyone who’s on the property. But it doesn’t run hotel to hotel, you have to transfer.) I suggested we take a bus to The Magic Kingdom and then the monorail to the Floridian. This settled him down quite a bit.
I headed back to The Beach Club, and settled in the “member’s lounge” and did some more work. (I wish I was kidding. I’ve become one of those people now) before getting the text that my room was finally ready. I settled in, took a shower, got dressed and then Mom called asking if they should head over to meet me for the bus.
I said sure, and then turned on the TV and learned that OMG Must Watch Disney and the delightful Stacy have been replaced by probably actually entertaining Cartoon Shorts. Again, I say probably because I was too busy being outraged that my friend Stacy didn’t welcome me and yell at me about “HOW COOL IS SPLASH MOUNTAIN?” and I was quite put out.
Anyway, we had a late dinner reservation, but I wanted to check out the Enchanted Rose lounge at The Grand Floridian, having not visited since my beloved Mizner’s was converted to the trendy Beauty and The Beast style bar.
Enchanted Rose is gorgeous. And the drinks are good and the bartenders are, like all Disney Bartenders, top notch chatters. While I will always mourn when a wonderful simple hotel bar goes away, I can’t deny that at least this replacement is super worthy. I also wore a Belle Disneybound and Mom and I did a little photo shoot of me in the dress with the bar. (This room was completely empty, which is why I took my mask off. If there had been even one other group of people there I never would have. There was a level of irresponsibility even going on this trip, I certainly followed every single rule while doing so).
We also made some friends while we were having drinks who were also heading over to Narcoosee, where we were eating, so we all walked over to the restaurant together. We got a great table right by the windows, and I was thrilled when Mom gasped in happiness when The Electrical Water Pageant went by. She was probably the one most preemptively bummed out by the lack of things like parades and fireworks, (I later realized how odd and hollow the experience felt without them) so she was happy.
Narcoosee is meant to be a classic Florida restaurant, so you know what that means! MORE FISH! (I ate so much fish this week it was delightful) We started with a cheese plate which I very much enjoyed. We also ordered a bottle of Silverado Zinfandel. I suggested the Silverado as it’s the Disney Family’s Winery. It was good. I rarely choose ZInfandel, but for fish, it makes sense.
I had The Surf and Turf with Shrimp, Mom had the Porkchop and Dad got Lobster I think? I should have taken pictures. We had the first of a series of truly excellent and attentive servers. Seriously in nearly 30 years of going to Disney World and a decade of these regular adult trips, I had the best service experiences this time. Pretty much every Cast Member was enthusiastic, chatty and exceedingly helpful. The Cast have always been such a huge part of what makes Disney World special and at the moment they are working around masks, face shields and distancing requirements, a shoestring staff and a guest population that’s deeply on edge, and they’re still sunshine in a bottle.
After dinner, one of my all time Dis-nerd dreams came true. I timed this trip around my mom’s birthday, which also happens to be my parent’s wedding anniversary. (They got married on Mom’s 24th Birthday, a move she now describes as, “so romantic at the time, but kind of a pain in the ass as we grew up.”) I enlisted my siblings to give them a specialty cake for the occasion.
I have spent an inordinate amount of time on the Disboard Cake Chatter Thread and as such had a good idea of how to get exactly what I wanted and was very, very excited to see and taste the cake.
After dinner Dad excitedly asked what our transportation options were, and I said, “Oh, it’s midnight, unless you’re at Disney Springs, the option is Uber.” So we Ubered to the Dolphin, made our plans for the morning, and said goodnight.
I walked back to The Beach Club, Crescent Lake was eerily quiet, but it was lovely.
Tomorrow! I finally get to Batuu, long afternoons in the sun prove a bad call, and I fall in love with a gondola! Stay tun
There’s a lot going on here, but I’m gonna start with this, Bill Burr is excellent in this episode and I continue to be blown away by the level of the incredible supporting cast on this show. They jump over the extremely high bars they set for themselves.
While our appreciation of Burr did lead to some friction in the group text this week, (Jess continued to type, “GO SOX!” at every possible instance. She is from Rhode Island and must be forgiven, and I responded by saying, “I love Bill Burr, but I SPIT ON THE SOX!”) Anyway, let’s get to the episode, which was very cool.
Cara Dune (Obligatory Fuck Gina Carano!), Fennec, Boba and Mando go to a prison planet to recruit Mayfeld (Burr) to their opperation to track down Moff Gideon and free poor little Grogu from his nefarious clutches. Mayfeld is a delightful breath of sarcastic human fresh air in our steely group of outsides and I really can’t express deeply enough how much I really like the work Burr is doing here. They head to Morak (we as a group watch with Subtitles so I knew they said “Morak” not “Morag” which is where the Power Stone was hidden in the MCU in Guardians of The Galaxy but I made the joke anyway.) and discover that an Imperial remnant is mining an explosive substance there to mount an attack, much like Operation Cinder (from Star Wars: Battlefront) where they burned up a whole planet and killed a bunch of Storm Troopers to boot.
Mayfeld is uh, not thrilled about this, but manages to keep his cool while Mando goes to a transmitter to get the info he needs on Grogu. He also takes off his helmet for a good 15 minutes! He looks terribly uncomfortable but I am always happy to see Pedro Pascal’s beautiful face and the fact that he’s willing to bend the code for his magic baby son is huge character growth. While discussing the facility and Operation Cinder with the man who it turns out was Mayfeld’s superior, (in a tour de force scene from Burr) he turns his blaster on the facility which the gang then blows up.
After they escape, Cara and Mando agree to report Mayfeld dead so he doesn’t have to go to prison. I hope the next time we see him, he’s found his way home to Space Boston. Mando does his version of the Taken call and tells Moff Gideon that as long as he’s holding Grogu there is no safe place for him in the Galaxy, he will be found.
We also learned that Storm Troopers have to fill our TPS reports and this makes the most sense. Of course Innitech and The Empire are the same level of bureaucratic evil.
Anyway, if you could come in on Saturday, that would be GREEAAATTT!
As always, SPOILERS. You’ve had all weekend to watch the episode.
First things first. Baby Yoda remains a true treasure, who must always be defended. Mando, meanwhile, is just casually bringing him to Fight Club, like it’s no big thing.
Be a better parent Mando!
Yes, we start out with our intrepid warrior goes to a fight between a pair of those pig men who guard Jabba The Hutt, and talks with a gangster played by John Leguizamo. (Right off the bat The Mandalorian is killing it with the guest spots again) He understands said gangster might have information that could lead him to more Mandolorians which might then in turn lead to getting Little Baby Yoda back to the Jedi. Of course the gangster is just after the armor, but in truly badass fashion, Mando strings the guy up, finds out there’s a Mandalorian working on Tatooine. He goes, is greeted by Amy Sedaris (As glad to see her as she was to see LBY) and heads right out from Mos Eisley to Space Deadwood, I mean Mos Pelgo.
Once there, he enters the Cantina where the friendly bartender, played by W. Earl Brown , who played Barman Dan Dorrity on Deadwood, because this is an episode of Deadwood without the swearing. (Or alas, The Swearengen) As Mando questions him about seeing other Mandalorians and Baby Yoda makes cooing noises and the bartender asks if he means, “The Marshal” who then enters and is Boba Fett!
No, he’s not Boba Fett, he’s Marshal Seth Bullock, uh, I mean Cobb Vanth, played by Timothy Olyphant with an extremely attractive beard, who through a series of convoluted events came into possession of Boba’s armor (or “armpit” as my phone happily corrected it to.) He agrees to give the armor back to Mando if he helps free the town from a sand worm, err, a Krayt Dragon. (DUUUUNNNNNEEEEEE). They team up with some Tuskens to do so, and after takin’ a vote in The Gem saloon, erm, I mean the Cantina, they beat the dragon in the most astounding action sequence I’ve ever seen on television.
Vanth and Mando part noting they hope to meet again, and like The Judge on The Good Place, I very much hope they do because more Olyphant on my TV is a good thing, all the time.
The episode ends with Mando speeding away and on a hill, watching, a mysterious cloaked figure who is as it turns out Temeura Morrison! Morrison played Jango Fett and the Clones in the prequel trilogy, which means this is most certainly Boba Fett. It may also be Rex, or one of the other surviving clones. (God, I hope it’s Rex.) The smart money, though, given that it’s Tatooine and the appearance of his armor, that it’s Boba.
The most exciting thing for me this season, besides just so much good Star Wars content and Timothy Olyphant, is the Disney+ group watch feature, which allowed me and The Nerds to stream simultaneously and chat throughout our watch. Highlights from this week include being blown away by the visuals, thirsting after Timothy Olyphant and general Boba and or Rex related flailing.
I’m so glad to have The Mandalorian back. I love Star Wars so much, and I’ve missed it dearly.
Isn’t it nice when the stars align and an important movie is also a good one?
The Princess And The Frog earns the first distinction, “important,” by being the last hand drawn animated feature from Walt Disney Animation and for it’s black, working class leading lady. Tiana is a waitress for New Orleans, who after being raised by a bus driver and seamstress, has worked her whole life to open her own restaurant.
She crosses paths with Prince Naveen who is transformed by the wicked Dr. Faccillier into a frog and then because they didn’t follow the rules explicitly (Tiana is not a princess) she turns into a frog rather than him turning back into a man.
It’s, more than a little convoluted when you write it out, but presented visually, Tiana and Naveen’s journey through 1920’s Louisiana is a delightful rom-com, opposites attract romp, punctuated by super fun character designs, and some catchy tunes by Randy Newman.
I really love this movie, and every time I watch it I’m only more enamored. There’s some stuff that I think could have used another pass. (There’s no real connection between Tiana and Dr. Facillier, for example, this feels like an odd error.) And as I get older and more interested in social justice narratives in popular culture, I am in awe of the decisions made with this film. Tiana is in complete control of her destiny from minute one, but this doesn’t prevent conflict or growth. There’s a variety of black faces and bodies on display, the music, that slow New Orleans style jazz is so much fun.
I’m generally on board with The Princess And The Frog getting more attention whenever possible, and am thus super excited for the upcoming retheme of Splash Mountain to a Princess And The Frog ride. I think it’s a brilliant decision that also means we’re going to get Louis Audio Animatronic, which I think fits into Imagineering’s sweet spot perfectly. Also, replacing an attraction based around something super racist, with something based around a strong and exciting Black female protagonist sends the right message.
Next time we continue down the path of magical princesses ,and see the light with Tangled.
The Fangirl's Dilemma 