Disney Play - A Disney Streaming Service Wish List

It's been no secret that the Disney Company is planning on launching their own television streaming service and recent details have emerged that the service will probably be called Disney Play and will be available sometime in 2019. The new venture is being hailed as a "Netflix-killer" in that it's going to be the first streaming network to really go after taking a chunk of Netflix's market share.

Of course the biggest hit Netflix will immediately take is that most of the Disney programming on Netflix will be gone at the end of this year and assuredly pop up again on Disney Play once it's off the ground. Disney Play also has announced their plans to provide top-notch, buzz-worthy original programs and films to their service. There has already been a live-action Star Wars series announced, as well as a new Marvel show and a series based on Monsters Inc. The slate of original films they have announced includes a live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp.

While I'm sure the majority of Disney Play's marketing will push the big name movies and original programming, there's also the matter of Disney's vast library of film and television that will hopefully have a home on the service as well. As a huge Disney buff, I'm really hoping that the luxury of not having to worry about ratings and the low cost of using stuff from their own library, will lead Disney to provide some obscure, vintage and off-beat materials from their vault. Sure, I'm excited about seeing the latest hit movies in my living room, but I also want to watch a 1959 television special with Walt Disney promoting the Matterhorn at Disneyland. I realize I'm not the exact market they are going for, but it would be great if Disney Buff's had some extra stuff to look forward to.

This is just a personal wish list; but here's 10 things I'd like to be able to have access to once Disney Play is streaming across the internet!

GOLDEN PALACE - With the surprising cult-like success The Golden Girls has found now 30 years after it's debut, it's no wonder we haven't seen more of the show's spin-off continuation. The Golden Palace aired on CBS the fall directly after The Golden Girls closed up shop on NBC. Dorthy had married and moved away, so of course the remaining three ladies went in together and bought a hotel and worked there. They also hired Don Cheadle and Cheech too!  Obviously the show wasn't quite as good as the original series, but I always thought it was pretty darn good too. It was certainly better than saying goodbye all-together to Blanche, Rose and Sophia. It was just as funny as any other show in it's eighth season, alas CBS gave it the boot after one just one year.  Golden Palace has never been released on home video in any format and reruns on television have been scarce. It seems like the classic series in on TV all day long and that people would want to see 22 new-ish episodes. I think this would be a great addition to Disney Play and something they could actually use in promoting the service.

COMPLETE SEASONS OF WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY - The Wonderful World of Disney was the Disney company's signature show which ran for several decades in one form or another under numerous titles. The show was an anthology series made up of original episodes and often theatrical films shown in multiple parts.  While a few vintage episodes of the series have been made available in recent years, the series as a whole has never been offered because honestly, why would anyone want to watch a movie cut up into episodes and shown in black and white!? Well, I don't know how much it costs to make shows available to stream/download but it seems like the format of having a huge back catalog of programming would make an opportune time to finally release a few seasons in their entirety. Now some of this would be only to the appeal of a die-hard Disney fan but for completest sake it would be really cool to be able to watch an entire season of Wonderful World of Disney with all of Walt's intros and the promo's for the next week's episode. Also casual viewers could just drop in on any episode they choose - if they were looking for some classic Mickey Mouse cartoons or a nature documentary, for example.  According to IMDb there are over 30 seasons of the classic Disney anthology series. Obviously we don't need all 30, but a few early seasons would be nice for starters.

THE LITTLE MERMAID SERIES - From 1992 to 1994, CBS ran three seasons of the first animated series to be based off a smash hit Disney animated film. While The Little Mermaid series did not have the same beautiful animation as the feature film, it did sport the entire original voice cast as well as some pretty good storytelling.  The show has been rebroadcast over several of Disney's various cable channels and was fairly recently available on the now defunct Disney Junior app. My daughter and I started watching it but didn't get too far in before it disappeared. We'd love to finish it up sometime soon.

THEME PARK SPECIALS - OLD & NEW - It used to be fairly customary to broadcast a television special each time Disneyland or Walt Disney World hit another five year anniversary. There were also specials when new attractions opened and some park celebrations for various holidays. I'm not the only one who would love for a chance to see some of this vintage theme park footage as well as some new specials to commemorate new developments and anniversaries at the Disney vacation properties. I'm sure there would be quite an audience for a special all about the new Star Wars Galaxy's Edge opening on both coasts!

THE MOUSE FACTORY - Classic Disney animated shorts staring Mickey Mouse and the gang have to have a place on a Disney streaming service! May I suggest the 1971-1973 syndicated package known as The Mouse Factory? This is a far-out request as the show is very dated, but that's what makes it so good! Each episode consists of a few vintage shorts with a common theme served up by a host, filmed in live-action segments. Don Knotts, Dom DeLuise and even Kurt Russell were just some of the hosts that dropped by The Mouse Factory. This is just good pure fun that we don't see anymore!

MICKEY MOUSE CLUB (ALL 3 VERSIONS) - I don't need all of it (because there is a lot of it!) But I would love to have access to a number of episodes from all three incarnations of the Mickey Mouse Club. There's the classic black and white episodes from the 50's with Cubby and Annette. I want to see the 1977-1979 disco episodes I saw as a child. And I'm a fan of the 90's version, which eventually stared Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake (even though they came after I stopped watching.)

FELICITY - First of all, I love Keri Russell. I first saw her on the Mickey Mouse Club and had a celebrity crush on her ever since. I watched the first season of Felicity when it came on but then bailed in season two, not because she cut her hair but because of whichever guy she chose in the season opener. I don't remember who it was. Anyway, I've always wanted to go back and rewatch season one and then continue through with the other three seasons. Let's make this happen, Disney!!!

EMPTY NEST and NURSES - Empty Nest was a Golden Girls spin-off about the doctor that lived across the street from the girls. Nurses was an Empty Nest spin-off about nurses on another floor of the Empty Nest doctor's hospital. I was never really a big fan of either, but I'm surprised with all the Golden Girls success now that Empty Nest hasn't shown up anywhere in reruns. I'd give them both another look if I had access to them.

THE TORKELSONS/ALMOST HOME - The Torkelsons was a Disney branded sitcom on NBC about a single mother raising a bunch of kids in the south. It was later retooled as Almost Home which added a young Britney Murphy to the cast. Almost Home was ok, but I loved The Torkelsons! If I ever found a way to watch this series again I would jump right in!

Getting this show back would be the most exciting thing to happen to my adult life

THE MUPPETS - The word is that The Muppets will indeed have a home on the new Disney streaming service and that is very exciting. There is some talk of them continuing the very short lived 2015 ABC series which would be amazing or if they do something else similar that would be amazing too. Either way, I would certainly love to have all 18 episodes of the ABC series available to watch again commercial free (they are on the ABC app with advertising). I would also love to see a back catalogue of other Muppets material including specials and the last two seasons of the classic Muppet Show which have still never been released on DVD.

I guess we'll have to wait a year or so to see if any of my wish list has been fulfilled!

10 Favorite Films From 2014

It just wouldn't be a blog without some sort of year-end review of the best movies in 2014. Since I don't see anywhere near a sampling of all the movies to come out in a year, I always do a list of the 10 best movies that I saw for the first time in the past year. This year's list is exclusively made up of titles released in the last year or so. I only saw 132 movies this past year, in contrast to the previous years 200+ counts, and I relied on alot of old favorites throughout the year. Plus, as I've mentioned last year - having a baby in the house cuts down significantly on movie watching time!

Saving Mr.Banks (2013; dir. John Lee Hancock)

Of course a movie featuring Walt Disney as a character is going to make this list of best films of the year. Tom Hanks brings my idol to life opposite Emma Thompson as PL Travers, the author of Mary Poppins. It was neat to see a number of people who I've spent my life reading about portrayed in dramatic fashion by an all-star cast. The film is actually more about PL Travers than Walt Disney, but it's still a charming tear-jerker of film.

Non-Stop (2014; dir. Jaume Collet-Serra)

A super tight thriller with Liam Neeson as an air marshal being framed for a terrorist attack that is about to happen on the plane he is on. There's so many quick little shots in this superb movie that throw you off the trail of who's behind the crime that it becomes an exhilarating ride from most of the film's run time. They also employ quite a few neat techniques to make texting an interesting thing to watch in a movie. This is Liam Neeson's best action film since the fantastic first Taken picture.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014; dir. James Gunn)

This is a popcorn blockbuster done to absolute perfection. Everyone in the cast is fantastic, the action is top-notch, the story easy to follow, and even the somewhat familiar space opera settings seem fresh this time around. What stood out the most for me with this movie, was the relentless sense of humor running throughout the entire flick. Even straight-up comedies have trouble keeping the entire movie funny, and this Marvel blockbuster was just painfully funny all the way through. I loved it! Easily the funniest of the Marvel films, and also the most accessible to those who haven't followed the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014; dirs. Anthony & Joe Russo)
One of the coolest events of the past movie year was how much this Captain America sequel tied in with Marvel's Agents of SHIELD TV show. Although I would have liked to have seen more characters from the small screen crossover to the big screen, it was still a hoot to have this big budget action/thriller wrapped up with one of my favorite television shows. The action sequences here are top notch and the storyline relevant to today's headlines. This was a real tense, action-packed film that also had a great sense of humor throughout.

 

Don Jon (2013; dir. Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

A funny and delightfully vulgar romantic comedy with a great cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Glenne Headly and Brie Larson.

 

 

The Lego Movie (2014; dirs. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller)

As you've probably heard by now, there is no reason a movie based on building block toys should be so darn good. Yet, pretty much everyone agrees that The Lego Movie was one of the most fantastic movies of the past year. The movies manages to take us to a place we've never been, and give us a really good story mixed with hilarious humor from beginning to end. Unlike other toy based movies, it's only later when you are walking through the isles of Wal-Mart do you realize how much product they were selling us.

 Dallas Buyers Club (2013; dir. Jean-Marc Vallee)

Simply put, this is one of the only Oscar-contender kind of flicks I watched this past year and it was really good. Matthew McConaughey is fantastic as real life Ron Woodroof, a guy who contracts AIDS and helps other AIDS patients get the medicine they need. Jennifer Garner is also in this, she's always very good and Jared Leto is superb in this as well. I had no idea who Leto was before watching this, but he won the Oscar for best supporting actor - so you know he's good. McConaughey was also awarded an Oscar for her performance here.

Muppets Most Wanted (2014; dir. James Bobin)

The Muppet's 8th big screen outing was my favorite movie of the past year! It's not at the top of my list just because it's a Muppets movie, it's because 24 years after the death of Jim Henson - they finally nailed a Muppets production in the exact style of the old Muppet movies and shows. Gone are the literary adaptions or reunion attempts of the past four movies and instead is a zany, music filled crime caper that's big on laughs and little on plot development. There's at least a dozen superstar cameos, a soundtrack filled with goofy toe-tapping tunes, and the zany and irreverent sense of humor that made the Muppets a household name back in the 70's. Muppets Most Wanted is easily the best Muppets production since the passing of Jim Henson in 1990, and even though their last film, The Muppets (2011),  has it's loyal fans...as a life long Muppets aficionado I declare this film ten times better!

They Came Together (2014; dir David Wain)

True parody is dead. Over the last 10 years of so, parody has been watered down to just pointing something out or making a pop culture reference and leaving it at that. Then along comes They Came Together, which not only pokes fun of every contrivance of the modern romantic comedy, it also offers up zany puns, visual gags and hilarious set pieces to boot. Hands down the funniest movie of the year, this under-the-radar comedy is destined to find it's fans one day.

Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever (2014; dir. Tim Hill)

I saved this one for last because I know it's inclusion pretty much negates my entire list but hear me out...This was a funny movie! Now, honestly the 10th spot on my list should have gone to We're The Millers or Enough Said or even High Noon but I wanted to include Grumpy Cat because when was the last time a TV movie (on Lifetime no less) tried to be silly and zany AND actually pull it off?! The Christmas TV movie has become a genre which is here to stay. There are literally dozens of new Xmas made for TV movies each year now. Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever attempts to skewer those flicks with this silly caper about a mall robbery and a young girl who befriends Grumpy Cat and tries to save the day. I had zero interest in Grumpy Cat before this movie, but my kids and I laughed out loud several times at the feline festivities. (Also, it was directed by the same guy who did Muppets From Space!) This will definitely be required holiday viewing next Christmas time in our household!

What were some of your favorite film discoveries of 2014?

My Role in the Elmo Scandal

The other night around 11:20 I started getting messages through Facebook that people thought they had seen me on the news in Baltimore. It turns out, while doing a story on the Kevin Clash allegations, WJZ 13 used file footage of an event at Port Discovery children's museum including a shot of myself working with Elmo & Clash. We don't get Channel 13 where I live, but I just found the story online so I thought I'd share. Look for the very large fat guy in a purple shirt talking to an audience with Elmo. That was back in 1999, and perhaps about 100 pounds heavier...

Classic Commercial Sunday - On My Way

Muppet Monday - Ideal Toy Commercial (1966)

Muppet Monday - All Depends On You (1977)

By the way, this 2 1/2 minutes of video is more entertaining than all of the last 20 years of television combined!

My Week In Movies - Piranhas Are Better Than Sharks

Shark Night 3D (2011) Folks, this is one horrible movie. It's not scary. It's not funny. It's not campy. It's not gory. It's not very interesting. It's about a group of college kids who go on a trip to a beach house and then they all get eaten by sharks. The sharks look only slightly more realistic than the special effects in a made-for-TV movie on SyFy. The plot involves one of the absolute dumbest motivations for a bad guy ever! The 3D is just about as unnecessary as it can get. Not once do the filmmakers use the 3D gimmick to their advantage. I thought this was going to be silly over-the-top fun like Piranha 3D, but I was wrong. The only thing this film has going for it is the beautiful Sara Paxton in the lead role and former American Idol star Katherine McPhee as one of her friends. Even the fact that the entire cast is in bathing suits for the majority of the running time can't excuse the existence of this poor film.

Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011) With is third film, Morgan Spurlock seems to have hit the same wall the Michael Moore has - he thinks his films need a gimmick. While Moore constantly tries to cram an in-your-face stunt into every one of his movies, Spurlock too feels the need to duplicate the pattern of his first movie (Super Size Me) and put himself into the middle of the subject he's investigating. In this instance, the subject is product placement in films. That's an interesting topic that hasn't been exposed in a documentary yet, however Spurlock takes it a step further and spends most of the film trying to find real sponsors to finance his film through advertising. It's a gimmick that works some of the time, but chunks of the film with him meeting with various potential clients seemed forced. The expose is at it's best when it uncovers the truth behind advertising in movies.

The Muppet Movie (1979) There are just so many reasons why this is one of the greatest movies ever made. First of all, it's a perfect example of how to take a television property and translate it to the big screen. The Muppet Movie has all the elements of comedy, music and heart of The Muppet Show - just blown up on a bigger scale in set in the real world instead of a theatre. The Muppet's first big screen outing is also the most perfect example of the right way to do cameo appearances. Just about every speaking role by a human in this picture is played by someone famous. Bob Hope, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Lee Marvin, Mel Brooks and even Orson Wells all pop up throughout the colorful adventure. The music in the film is all top notch including the now-standard Rainbow Connection and one of my all-time favorite songs, Movin' Right Along. Compared to today's family films with loud pratfalls and even louder flatulence, Kermit the Frog and Company's silver screen debut is an old fashioned, good hearted time at the movies.

Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The 13th (2000) I'm not quite sure what the deal with this film is. It's seems to have a pretty decent sized budget and it's competently directed but it was just dumped on to TV and video when it was released. Perhaps it was upstaged by the higher profile Scary Movie. Anywho, this is a pretty good parody film which riffs on mostly Scream but also I Know What You Did Last Summer and then about 50 other movies. When Dawson and his friends at school start getting mysterious notes, they are all written on "From The Desk of the Killer" stationary. Now, that's funny right there. I don't care who you are! Unlike the more recent parody films that have been released, this one actually makes fun of all the movies it touches upon. There's actually a pretty funny Grease scene in here. You would think with a staring lineup of Coolio AND Shirley Jones this would have been a big hit - Oh, Hollywood! Netflix Streaming

Going In Style (1979) This older comedy came highly recommended from another blogger so I thought I'd give it a try. It's about three elderly gentlemen who are bored with their lives so they decide to spice things up and rob a bank. Their disguise is pairs of Groucho glasses, which seems to be about the only funny thing in this movie. Dreadfully slow and kind of depressing - I didn't enjoy this at all. George Burns is such a pleasure to watch doing anything...but this caper film just wasn't up my alley. Netflix Streaming

Classic Commercial Sunday - #77

Classic Commercial Sunday - #74

The Launch of edTunes: The Gambler

Believe it or not, I put alot of thought into this blog. I've been wanting to start a new department spotlighting music but I was having trouble deciding what song I should kick off with. Finally I came to the conclusion that it really didn't matter, just get the darn thing started so today we present our newest feature: edTunes. (See, it's kind of like iTunes, but I replaced the letter I with my name.) This new feature will spotlight music from a couple of different angles. We will have music from favorite artists of mine, songs that I want to spotlight or that I just might have in my head and we'll take a look at some odd and rare clips. Sometimes it will be the video that we're looking at, other times it will just really be the song we want to pay attention to. Either way, most of the clips will be from YouTube so there will always be something to look at. Maybe I'll figure out how to put iTunes links on here so you can load up your iPod with great songs like mine!

First up, is one of my all-time favorite songs The Gambler, by rotisserie chicken guru The Gamber himself - Kenny Rogers. I loves me some Kenny Rogers. I've had the fortune to see him perform live twice and it's always a treat. The man knows how to entertain a crowd without breaking a sweat! The performance we're going to take a look at today is from a 1979 fourth season episode of The Muppet Show.

My Week In Movies - Tossed Salad For Everyone!

Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985) This is one of those movies that when I tell people how good it is they automatically write it off because they think Sesame Street and they think counting and letters and it's all just for little kids. When in reality, this is a very funny - very fun - movie for the whole family that doesn't play down to children and can be totally enjoyable for adults as well. This was the first big screen outing for the Sesame Street gang and it's a perfect example of how to bring a small screen show to a feature film format. Big Bird moves away from his New York home on Sesame Street to live with an adoptive bird family in Ocean View, Il. Big Bird quickly learns that he's made a mistake and sneaks away in the middle of the night to walk home to Sesame Street. He figures it will take him about three hours, since it took two to fly there. When news of Big Bird's departure hits home, the Sesame Street gang splits up and sets out to find Big before mean Ms. Finch from the adoption agency does.

Unlike the second Sesame Street movie, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, Follow That Bird gives almost equal screen time to all the major characters. Oscar, Cookie Monster, Grover, The Count and Bert and Ernie all have big parts in this movie.

The Muppet-filled movie has two of my all time favorite jokes in a movie, one involving a tossed salad at Oscar's favorite restaurant, the Don't Drop Inn. As with all great Muppet movies there are plenty of cameos by human celebrities including Chevy Chase reprising his Weekend Update role which is pretty much worth the price of admission alone. I've seen this movie 200 times, it was nice watching it with children for once. My kids loved it, and our Friday night viewing sparked a weekend of listening to the soundtrack album in the car as well as a repeat screening on Sunday. I love when even a 5 and 7 year old can let their guard down and watch something silly and fun instead of super heroes and giant lizards. If you don't have a kids, but have a fondness for Muppets and/or your ol' pals from Sesame Street - get yourself a copy of this movie, pull down the shades and get ready for an incredibly entertaining 90 minutes. If you have kids and they haven't seen this yet, do everyone a favor and watch it. Good times!

Of course, this epic is Rated G and contains nothing offensive or off-color. Over-sensitive parents of over-sensitive kids should know that there are some bad guys who are played for laughs but they do say things like "shut up" and "idiot" and they lock Big Bird in a cage. But the young viewing audience is always kept in mind, and this is a solid G.

Classic Commercial Sunday - C Is For Commercial Break

The Muppets: Pöpcørn

Here's another great new video from Muppet Studios!!!

House of Straw

My wife and I recently spent an extended weekend in the Bahamas on beautiful Grand Bahama Island. Mrs. South was a bridesmaid in a beautiful beach wedding, we also took a tour on a glass bottom boat and enjoyed some fine local cuisine. One of the highlights of our trip was spending the day at Port Lucaya Marketplace which is a neat little shopping complex made up of little shops, eateries, and bars. One of the other attractions at the Marketplace is known as the Straw Market.

If you've been to the more famous Straw Market in nearby Nassau you haven't experienced quite the same thing as the markets in Grand Bahama. In Nassau the markets are filled with rip-offs of designer handbags and other name brand goods. In Grand Bahama the markets are way more low key. There are over 100 little booths where islanders sell handmade goods and other simple souvenirs like t-shirts and hats. One of the most popular items that you'll find for sale at almost every vendor are straw bags. They come in all shapes and sizes and each is handmade. You can find a bag decorated with almost anything you can think of. It was pretty cool to find tons of bags with the (unauthorized) likeness of several cartoon pals. Of course, I took some pics:

This vendor had a large assortment. We saw alot of Mickeys and Doras...this was the only place we saw Muppets and even Bratz.

This was one of the better looking Disney bags I found.

I was hoping to find a Flintstones bag and spotted this Wilma tucked away in the back of one booth. I took a picture and then turned around and found a Fred bag which instead of taking a picture of, I forked over ten bucks and bought it. I guess I could have taken a picture of it still, since it's sitting in my bedroom now, but for now just enjoy the Wilma.

Give A Day. Get A Disney Day.

12 Muppets Singing

In my opinion, the best Christmas album of all time has got to be John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together from 1979. The album was accompanied by a television special the same year. The TV show has never been released on VHS or DVD. Here's a clip from the rare program featuring John Denver and The Muppets singing The Twelve Days Of Christmas. Even if you're not a Muppets fan, you've heard this song dozens of times on the radio. This TV performance features the Muppets assigned to different lines of the song than the version that appeared on the original LP. No need to worry...Miss Piggy still does Five Golden Rings:

Classic Commercial Sunday - Coffee Break

They used to do these commercials all the time where they would go to some fancy restaurant and switch out the fancy coffee with some grocery store brand and then everybody would be impressed that they didn't know the difference. Look at the beginning of this ad, it says that everyone involved received a free meal...suggesting that things might have gone different if these were actual paying customers drinking down instant coffee...


Here's a coffee ad from the days when commercials were like little movies:


and from Jim Henson:

10 Great Movie Cameos

If a few text messages back and forth constitutes a conversation then...The other day I was having a conversation with a good friend about one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, cameo appearance in a movie ever! We both agreed that it's got to be Big Bird in The Muppet Movie (1979). Now, The Muppet Movie is a landmark film in cameos anyway. The movie is packed with brief appearances by some of the biggest legends in showbiz: Orson Wells, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Richard Pryor to name a few. But who would have ever guessed that a Muppet could make a cameo in a Muppet movie? While driving along on their way to Hollywood, Kermit and Fozzie see a strange figure in the road up ahead. It turns out to be Big Bird traveling in the opposite direction. It turns out he's on his way to New York City to break into public television. Comedy gold! That kind of humor is sort of common place today, but that was oddly self-referential for 1979.

So, as the title of this post suggests, this got me thinking about some other great cameos in movies and it was an excuse for me to make a list.

Chevy Chase in Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird (1985)
My other all-time favorite cameo comes from another Muppet filled motion picture and it's one of my all-time favorite movie stars. Chevy Chase was the number one box-office star when he appeared in this big screen venture for the timeless children's show. Chevy plays a news reporter on television who first breaks the story that Big Bird has run away from Sesame Street...or Sesaim Street as he pronounces it. In just a few brief moments on screen he is hilarious. After a remote spot from on the scene reporter Kermit the Frog, Chevy returns to do the weather: "And now for the weather. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....A wonderful day in the neighborhood. Won't you be...my neighbor." It still makes me laugh!

Ethel Merman in Airplane! (1980) At a mental hospital: "It's Lieutenant Hurwitz. Severe shell-shock. Thinks he's Ethel Merman." "You'll be swell, you'll be great. Gonna have the whole world on a plate. Startin' here, startin' now. Honey, everything's comin' up roses..."


Pee-Wee Herman in Back to the Beach (1987) Back to the Beach is the 20 year later follow up to the popular Beach Party movies of the 60's. It stars Frankie and Annette as grown-ups with kids of their own. It is a fantastic motion picture you must see! It has a bunch of great cameos in it, most notably Don Addams, Bob Denver and Alan Hale Jr. all playing off their TV personalities. But the best cameo has got to be Pee-Wee Herman, who appears out of nowhere, for no reason at all, sings Surfin' Bird, and then flies off into the sky on a rocket powered surfboard. Brilliance!

Tim Conway and Don Knotts in Cannonball Run II (1984) Here's the setup: This being a Cannonball movie, everyone is driving a car or one sort or another. Tony Danza is driving a stunt limo which makes it look like an orangutan is actually driving the car. The orangutan is even dressed up in a little valet outfit...classy stuff! So, they're speeding and they get pulled over by two motorcycle cops. The police are none other than The Apple Dumpling Gang themselves, Conway and Knotts. The two try to give the monkey a ticket and then all comedy-heck breaks loose!

Bill Murray in Space Jam (1996) There's two great things about this cameo. First, he's just Bill Murray. He doesn't play a character or even play himself really...he's just there. He just shows up and he's there, and he's funny. Second, he shows up twice. Just as out of the blue as his first appearance, he walks back into the movie for no good reason near the end to help Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordon defeat the bad guys. Bill Murray is so good at what he does that you over look the major loopholes in the story.

Leonard Maltin in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) This sequel is not quite as good as it's original, but it's worthy of being a sequel to such a fine film. The gremlins show up in New York City where they take over a mega-skyscraper. Among the many operations in the building is a television studio where film critic Leonard Maltin is doing a show. He's reviewing the classic 1984 film Gremlins, and he's not giving it a favorable review. In turn, Gremlins show up and give Maltin an unfavorable review...by eating him! (Gremlins 2 is also home to two "lost cameos." Hulk Hogan and Bubba Smith appeared in the theatrical cut of the film, but their scene is replaced in video and television versions.)

"Weird Al" Yankovic in Halloween 2 (2009) I haven't seen this or any of Rob Zombie's other movies...nor do I think I ever will. But how great is it that they put my close personal friend Al in a gory horror movie. It's gotta be great! When this finally makes it's way down to cable TV I'll TiVo it and then fast forward (while hiding behind my hands over my face) to Al's part and hope I don't see anything else that will traumatize me for life.

David Letterman in Cabin Boy (1994) We've never gotten a David Letterman movie so his brief appearance in this film will probably serve as our only big screen adventure with Dave. In this otherwise forgettable film, David Letterman shows up as (according to ImbB) Old Salt in Fishing Village. He has a scene where he harasses Chris Elliott for a few minutes and it is easily the highlight of the film. There is no other reason to watch this movie than to see Dave be funny...very funny. Better yet, you don't have to watch the movie...you can easily find the clip on YouTube.

Kenny Rogers and Britney Spears in Longshot (2000) Horrible...HORRIBLE movie which only exists to squeeze as many cameos into one movie as humanly possible. The majority of the Z-list celebs that show up in this stinker, you'll have no idea who they are. But you do get a great pairing when Britney Spears shows up as a flight attendant for 3o seconds. Just long enough for her to make her way into the cockpit of the plane and trade a joke with Captain Kenny Rogers.

Any favorites of yours that we missed....please leave a comment!

I Like My Smurfs in Mountains and on Glasses

I was so thrilled when I saw that Burger King was going to have Star Trek glasses as their promotion tied to the new film. It's not that I'm excited to get my hands on a Star Trek glass (although I did pick one up with my Angry Whopper the other day) but I was delighted to see one of the fast food chains bring back the glasses promotion. Back in the good ol' days, I found nothing more exciting than when McDonald's or one of the other guys would offer drinking glasses for a buck or two when you bought a sandwich or a meal or whatever they wanted you to buy. Growing up, our kitchen cupboard was filled with many of these cartoon character glasses. But the surprising thing is that these glasses have stuck around. I have glasses from fast food restaurants that have been in daily use for over 20 years! When I got married my wife thought the cartoon glasses would all go on a display on a shelf somewhere in the basement or something like that...but I had to put my foot down. Everything tastes better from a cartoon character fast food glass, so the Smurfs, Muppets, Flintstones and other childhood friends all moved into the same kitchen cupboard as her boring glasses that match the plates.


When I thought about doing a post on this topic, I figured I would take pictures of some of the glasses in my collection. But I found some great pictures from various sources on the internets to illustrate my article so we'll use those for this discussion...


To me, these are the pinnacle of fast food glass promotions: Smurf glasses from Hardee's circa 1982. There are a few reasons these glasses are so near and dear to my heart. First of all, 1982 was the height of the Smurf craze and I was a huge Smurf fan. I could simply not wait to get my hands on one of these bad boys. But, here's what made the passion for these glasses all the more intense. There was not a single Hardee's anywhere near where we lived. But, there was on right down the street from my grandmother's house. In fact, a trip to Gram and Poppy's house was usually accompanied by a visit to Hardee's. Luckily, my grandparents only lived about 25 minutes away and we visited often. Then, to make the deal sweeter...the collection was made up of 8 glasses! Usually promotions of this kind featured four different designs/characters, but eight just seemed like a ton! We managed to snag most of them at the time. Over the years all eight of the glasses have made appearances in my cupboards. A few years ago when I started going to flea markets and antique malls I discovered that these (and other glasses) are pretty common finds so I've replaced and added some to my collection. I still have the original 27 year old Brainy Smurf glass at work in our kitchen today. We also have Grouchy and Smurfette still serving us drinks. (Sadly, just this past week Papa Smurf was knocked off the table and shattered into a million pieces. So did my heart!) The great Smurf Glasses promotion of 1982 was such a hit for Hardee's...

...that in 1983 they came out with the Party Collection. Again, my 9 year old jaw dropped to the ground when I heard they were coming out with more Smurf glasses. This time around the glasses were more colorful and alive. I've had my hands on all six of these babies as well, although right now only Smurfette and Baker Smurf still party on! Well played Hardee's, well played! They also struck gold in my heart the following year with another of the all-time greatest fast food promotions: the Gremlins Book and Records. After that, Hardee's seemed to fade off the pop culture promotions landscape. Although, we'll give an honorable mention to their late 80's California Raisins figures.

My love of restaurant glasses actually starts here with McDonald's The Great Muppet Caper glasses from 1981. Before anyone knew what a Smurf was, the Muppets were just about my favorite thing in the world. A Muppet movie was an event and this promotion made more anxious to see the movie than I already was! The four glasses in this collection capture four great scenes from this fantastic movie. The picture here is actually a tray liner from McDonald's used to promote the promotion. We had the first three glasses but never snagged the Miss Piggy glass which was a shame because I always remember when we saw the movie in the theatre how hard my mom laughed at the scene where Piggy rides the motorcycle through the stained glass window. A few years ago at a flea market I found someone who had a whole case of the Piggy glasses - brand new. Now, the Miss Piggy glass and the Happiness Hotel glass (another flea market find) reside amongst our glasses.

Mickey D's struck gold again in 1983 with their Camp Snoopy Glasses. Camp Snoopy is the kiddie land section in a handful of theme parks across the country. When these glasses came out in `83, Knott's Berry Farm in California was the first park to welcome Snoopy and the gang as their mascot. These glasses don't mention the theme park as they were sold all over the country. The nice thing about McDonald's glasses promotions as stated in this tray liner is that each restaurant offered only one glass a week. So, it was actually easy to keep up with your collection and buy all 5. I've still got the Charlie Brown glass, Snoopy in the sleeping bag broke a few years ago and I've never had the other three. But Wait! I hear an antique mall calling my name!

This was the last truly great fast food restaurant glass promotion and it popped up (or all places) at Hardee's in 1990. The Flintstones glasses were super exciting. Even though I've watched the Flintstones all my life, I really became a huge fan and collector later in life. There's actually four glasses in this 30th Anniversary set but this was the only good picture I could find. Each of the glasses features a scene from a classic episode and a little write up on the other side of the glass with the plot and year of the episode. The episodes where Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm and Dino were all introduced are included as well as the classic opening theme song. I lost two of these glasses to "party fouls" but the Dino glass still rocks on at our family meals!

The Flintstones glasses were the last full sized drinking glasses. The `90's were filled with disappointing variations on the glasses idea. McDonald's offered glass mugs to promote The Flintstones movie in 1994 and Batman Forever in 1995, but neither of them had anything to do with the movie nor did they hold much liquid. (Although I did buy all the Flintstones ones because I'm a completest). Ronald also rolled out two sets of glasses celebrating Walt Disney World. While I appreciated the effort, the glasses are not full-sized drinking glasses and the second set of glasses were square making them hard to drink out of. Burger King put out two sets of Disney themed glasses, one set for Pocahontas and another promoting various Disney VHS titles. However, these aren't made of glass - they are plastic and I can't tell you how much I hate drinking out of a plastic cup!

As with the movie they promote, the new Burger King Star Trek glasses are a great throwback to the way things used to be and for all intents and purposes: the way things should be!

Dom Deluise Was Awesome

I'm not sure when the news broke wide, but I heard in on the radio yesterday afternoon driving home from out of town for a few days...comic legend Dom Deluise has passed away. Anybody who knows me knows that Dom Deluise was an actor who was near and dear to my heart. He was in scores of movies that I watched as a kid and stared in some of my all-time favorite movies including my very favorite movie of all time: The Cannonball Run (1981). Dom made alot of appearances over the years with his good buddy Burt Reynolds, but the two of them were never better than in the star-studded cross country race that was The Cannonball Run. They teamed up for another Cannonball race in The Cannonball Run II (1984) and they appeared together in the sequel to another one of my favorite movies in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980).

Deluise was also often found in Mel Brooks' films. These were some of my earliest exposures to comedy and are also still some of the funniest films ever made. His earlier collaborations with Brooks gave us Blazing Saddles (1974) where he has a bit part all the way at the end of the movie but it's still one of the most memorable scenes in the film; Silent Movie (1976) which is a hilarious and often over looked gem from Brooks' earlier years; and the classic History of the World Part 1 (1981) where Dom plays Emperor Nero. All, good stuff! Dom even turns up in some of Mel Brooks' later works: Spaceballs (1987) which, sorry, I'm not a fan off...and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).

Dom also had a habit of turning up in cameo roles in lots of movies that I loved. He was the first of a slew of cameos in the brilliant The Muppet Movie (1979). He turns up once....once, in a fantastic Michael Keaton movie called Johnny Dangerously (1984) which I've seen a million times. And he even shows up in the comic biblical epic Wholly Moses! (1980) which I used to watch all the time as a kid, but watching it now is actually kind of painful.

One of Dom Deluise's most famous roles was in Fatso (1980). I've actually never seen that movie but in my opinion, his tour-de-force performance was in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) where he played Melvin P. Thorpe - he sang, he danced, he turned in one heck of a performance and poured his heart and soul into that role. He steals the show!

Career wise, his star started to dim with the one-two punch of Haunted Honeymoon (1986) a dreadful black-and-white comedy where he played "Aunt Kate" opposite real life couple Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner (a low-point in all their careers) and Going Bananas (1987) where Dom teamed up with Jimmy "J.J." Walker and some dude in a cheap monkey costume. Yes, it's as bad as it sounds!

Deluise also kept busy with voice work in cartoons. He was known for his vocal appearances in almost all of Don Bluth's animated films: The Secret of NIMH (1982), An American Tail (1986), All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989) and all of their various sequels, direct to video movies and Saturday morning cartoons. He even did voice work for Disney in the wonderful Oliver & Company (1988).

Even though he hadn't appeared on screen much in the last decade or so, It was always a treat when I found Dom Deluise on TV for one reason or another. He's always been in my movies and TV shows and it will be sad knowing he won't pop up and surprise me again.

Here's a short film that I've seen many times that kind of showcases Dom Deluise's style and sense of humor....