PAW Patrol: The Movie -Mr.Bee’s Review

 

Hello and welcome,

I guess I should begin by letting you know that I have not watched a single episode of PAW Patrol, sure I had heard of it, but when it premiered I was way past the time of Preschool shows (at least regularly) but I did ironically have a friend my age that was a big fan so maybe there's something there for the Beyond 6 crowd. All that is to say that I went into this completely blind, so let’s begin


Background


In 2017 it was confirmed that the company that owns the PAW Patrol brand, Spin Master (your suspicions are correct that it is indeed a toy company), was considering whether to extend the PAW Patrol franchise into feature films. Animation tests were conducted to see how the characters would look on the big screen. Development of the film was confirmed on February 21, 2020, with Cal Brunker as the director (his credits include Escape from Planet Earth and The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature- not the greatest resume to say the least).


Plot


The PAW Patrol's arch-rival, Mayor Humdinger (Ron Pardo), who hates dogs, becomes mayor of Adventure City. A dachshund named Liberty (Marsai Martin) calls the team. So it is up to the leader, Ryder (Will Brisbin); Chase, a police dog (Iain Armitage); Marshall, a firefighter dog (Kingsley Marshall); Skye, an air dog (Lilly Bartlam); Rubble, a construction dog; Rocky, a recycling dog, and Zuma an aquatic rescue dog, to save the day.


Opinion


To start off, the animation looks pretty good with some very good texture. Although I have not watched a full episode of the show, what I have seen looks half rendered, which makes this movie a major step up. The story, as you would probably guess for a little kid's movie, is very predictable. However, to the movie’s credit, the execution is surprisingly decent and it walks the fine line on introducing newcomers to the characters while not making it feel tedious for the old fans (at least that is what I am assuming as I am a newcomer to the series). The characters are pretty likable and Mayor Humdinger is a pretty entertaining villain. However, Chase’s character arc, while not entirely bad, needed to be fleshed out more. Overall, it is a pretty passable film. I am completely in the wrong demographic for this movie, but if you have a child 5 or under they will probably enjoy this just fine.


I give this movie two and a half out of five stars. On a side note, is it just me or does Mayor Humdinger look like a young version of the Monopoly guy?



Goodnight and Bee Happy™




Mr. Bee 

Johansson V. Disney: With Bob Chapek driving, Disney is on route to Disaster

 Hello! This was originally written between the days of Monday and Wednesday of this week before Disney's earnings call during the Q&A   No one asked about  Scarlett Johansson directly but it was very much implied in a low of questions, Bob Chapek did not do anything to help he’s case with the tone he used I think he made the problem worse. 

my opinion still stands, enjoy!  

Mr.Bee

 

Hello and a welcome back to the Olympic athletes returning home who may be reading, and to everyone else reading, I guess you can read along.

 

It has been 7 years since this blog began (well, 7 years this coming Saturday). So every year I think long and hard about what to do for the anniversary. This year I was considering a third part to “Are the Movie Theaters Dead?” but the theaters are not dead, granted they are still on life support, but not dead (not even on hospice). I then considered doing 5 to 10 lessons the movie industry learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, but you may not know we are still in it! So no dice. Finally, I heard of a lawsuit against a literal Mickey Mouse operation. 

Full disclosure, I do not own any stock in Disney and I am also not on their payroll. So basically, until Disney buys me up (and I come with a high “price tag”), I can say anything I want.  

First off, I am a Paralegal Major (which is a lawyer’s assistant) so I’m not the most qualified to discuss a lawsuit, but I’m the best you've got at this moment (at least I hope I am). Going back before COVID (what feels like a century ago) Black Widow was going to be released theatrically on May 1, 2020, and then COVID happened and it was moved to November and then again to May 7, 2021, and finally to July, 9 but it was also day-and-date with movie theaters and Disney+  Premier Access.  Standard Hollywood practice for blockbusters is that the director and the stars of the film will get a percentage of box office receipts. Although the percentage is very small and most of the time it is a bonus and not the actual box office money, however, Scarlett Johansson had this type of deal. The allegations of the suit include the accusation that Disney was well aware of the deal with Johansson and just ignored it. Furthermore, Disney was aware that the Box Office was not fully back to normal. If the allegations are correct it is not good for “Mickey”.

Disney gave a response, now this is a PR Response and not a legal one that would hold up in court, but here it is: 

“There is no merit whatsoever to this filing...The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic...significantly enhanced Johansson's ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 million she has received to date." 

just a few thoughts: 

The lawsuit has nothing to do with the pandemic and this is the same company that laid off at least 32,000 employees.

Be a good little girl and we will give you a good recommendation. 

What you made before is meaningless and if I said that I would give you $20 and then gave you only $10, what would you want from me? 

 

Remember, Johansson did not wake up one day and say “I’m going to sue the Mouse '' so it comes down to a failure of the leadership of Bob Chapek and his Team. In February 2020, you may remember the almost downright shocking news that long-time Disney CEO, Bob Iger, was stepping down and handing over the reins to the head of parks, Bob Chapek, and Iger would become executive chairman and also continue as the chairman of the board, and this was all effective immediately. Fast forward to the Fall of that year, when Bob Chapek announced a reorganization that, in short, separated the creative and the distribution arms of the company. In charge of distribution Chapek appointed a friend, Kareem Daniel, who was a banker with no experience in media. Fast forward to today and we are hearing several reports that Iger and Chapek are no longer on speaking terms (Of course, Disney has denied this). Taking the creative side out of distribution is not a very good idea and the proof is in the pudding with the Johansson lawsuit in that it is the creative arm that knows how to work with the talent. Chapek does have a very good resume but noticeably absent are any relationships with talent, because remember, Hollywood is about who you know. Johansson may not be the only one who files a lawsuit, because Emma Stone, the star of Cruella, and Emily Blunt, the co-star of Jungle Cruise are also considering lawsuits. On a side note, Pixar is very angry about their movies getting sent straight to Disney+ at no extra cost but they will not be filing lawsuits because animation contracts are different. 

If I were Bob Iger, I would call a meeting of the board and ask for a vote of no confidence for Bob Chapek, because it is only a matter of time before his leadership affects the quality and content of all the new movies and this will lead to low revenue and tarnished reputation which will then, in turn, lead to a low stock price.

Thank you everyone for watching or reading any of my content for the past seven years. To you, I am forever grateful. And to the Disney board, if you need a new CEO, I am available.

Goodnight and Bee Happy™

Mr. Bee