Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #70

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#70

Toy Story 5

Released: June 19, 2026

Runtime: 102 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: ultra-realistic computer graphics with a tactile, 2D pastel chalk and watercolor style

Studio: Pixar/Disney

Toy Story 5 is the most recent of the films on this list. While Hoppers and Minions and Monsters might make a future list of Top 100 Animated Movies, Toy Story 5 had to make this one. I am a big fan of the Toy Story franchise, and the latest film works in many different ways. Having Jessie being the main focus of the story was a good choice.

Voice cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack,  Conan O’Brien, Scarlett Spears, Greta Lee, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris,  Craig Robinson, Matty Matheson,  Annie Potts, Keanu Reeves, Bonnie Hunt, Kristen Schaal, Tony Hale, Wallace Shawn, Lori Alan, Jay Hernandez, Blake Clark, John Ratzenberger, Melissa Villaseñor, Jeff Bergman and Anna Vocino . 

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #71

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#71

Up

Released: May 29, 2009

Runtime: 96 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: a stylized, caricature-driven form of 3D computer animation characterized by geometric character shapes, simplified proportions, and a rich use of color theory

Studio: Pixar/Disney

This is another movie that is lower on my list than it would be on a bunch of other lists. I think the first 10 minutes are some of the best moments of all time, but the rest of the film is only good.

Voice cast: Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, Jerome Ranft,  John Ratzenberger, and David Kaye.

Rick and Morty Season Five

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I watched the fifth season of Rick and Morty on HBO Max this morning, moving my way through the series.

The last two episodes of the season, “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall” and “Rickmurai Jack,” really flipped the show on its head with a break-up of Rick and Morty, and the revenge of Evil Morty, aka the President of the Citadel.

I have to say, one of the things I love about Rick and Morty is how they use continuity and return to dangling plot lines from previous episodes, even previous seasons. When in episode “Rickdependence Spray” they sent the Giant Incest Baby into space, I knew it was coming back around sooner or later.

It makes sense that they need to shake up the status quo on Rick and Morty as they have gone for five seasons. You have to keep it fresh and much of this season did a decent job of that. There were several episodes that seemed to me to be very complex, maybe even overly complex. The whole “decoy families” in the episode “Mortyplicity” and the whole “Amortycan Grickfitti” episode felt too much.

Lots of obvious parodies of the season including Planetina (Captain Planet), the GoTron ferrets (Power Rangers/Voltron), and Changeformers (Transformers).

The rivalry between Rick and President Curtis is revisited in a weird episode where Rick tries to get the President to pardon him by turning himself into a turkey. They also mentioned that this is not the first thing that Rick pulled this trick. It was weird because during the course of the episode, Morty accidentally opens up the giant robot hidden in the Statue of Liberty. That was a story bit that really was never fully touched on.

I did like Mr. Nimbus, who seemed to be a parody of Prince Namor, the Sub Mariner. This was the first episode, which had a weird storyline with Morty going into a dimension in search of wine and how that affected the creatures of that dimension.

Overall, I liked this season more than I liked season four. I have seen some hints that Space Beth is going to be used in a storyline which is interesting. Maybe she can do something with Giant Incest Baby, which would be her grandson.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #72

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#72

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Released: July 29, 1989

Runtime: 103 minutes

Rating: G

Animation Style: traditional, hand-drawn 2D cell animation featuring fluid aerial movement, a warm European-inspired aesthetic, and detailed watercolor-style backgrounds

Studio: Studio Ghibli

Voice Cast: [English Dub] Kirstin Dunst, Phil Hartman, Tress MacNeille, Janeane Garofalo, Matthew Lawrence, Debbie Reynolds, Edie McClurg, Jeff Bennett, John Hostetter, and Kath Soucie.

The Muppet Show S2 E4, E5, E6, E7, E8

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Guest: Rich Little

Guest: Judy Collins

Guest: Nancy Walker

Guest: Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy

Guest: Steve Martin

Some fun episodes from the second season highlighted the Muppet Show rewatch today.

Starting with the Rich Little episode. Honestly, his imitations of the Muppets were fairly weak. I have heard many better over the years. I did enjoy the final number where Rich Little sang as famous celebrities songs from musicals including “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Did You Ever?,” and “I Remember It Well.”

That first episode also started Gonzo’s affection for chickens, as he was auditioning them for a dancing act. Of course, these were live chickens.

Judy Collins came next and she sang a whole bunch of songs. I guess when you have someone with her voice, you try and use it as much as possible. The performance of “Send in the Clowns” is one of the most iconic guest songs of the show. I enjoyed her version of “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” too. It was neat seeing her do a piano duet with Rowlf with “Do-Re-Mi.”

We get the backstage storyline with Scooter’s uncle J. P. Grosse, who is ready to tear down the theater to put in a parking lot.

The Nancy Walker episode saw Kermit at home sick and Fozzie trying to run the show. Things do not go well for our favorite furry funnyman. My favorite bit was the accidental mixing of Veterinarian’s Hospital and At the Dance. They worked very well together.

Edgar Bergen brought his ventriloquism act to the Muppet Show, which fit in beautifully. Charlie McCarthy was very smart mouthed when it came to the Muppets. It was a lot of fun.

My favorite number on that episode was the “Time in a Bottle” song where the old scientist was making a formula to turn him younger.

Then, the best episode of this chunk was with Steve Martin. They took the typical Muppet formula and flipped it around as Kermit cancels the show for the night because they accidentally scheduled it on a night when they were supposed to be having auditions. Kermit sent the audience home and they spent the time auditioning new acts.

Steve Martin stuck around to “entertain the boys” and did a bunch of fun things from his act, including balloon animals, banjo playing, doing “Ramblin’ Guy.”

Some of the new acts we saw audition included Statler & Waldorf singing/dancing to “Varsity Rag,” a little girl named Carrie Louise and friend (who was a frog, and she would sing while the frog added the word ‘ribbit’ to the songs), Baskerville the Hound and his comedy act that reminded us all of Fozzie Bear and Marvin Suggs and his All Food Glee Club.

The show had removed the laugh track since the audience was gone and we would hear just a few guffaws from, apparently, the Muppeteers.

I loved how they took the format and tried something totally different and it really was a fresh episode.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #79

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The Boroughs

“Time To Go”

The penultimate episode of the Netflix show The Boroughs was amazing. I was into everything that was going on from the beginning to the end.

All of the arcs going on are just so exciting. Sam’s struggles inside The Manor, Wally’s attempts to save Mother, Renee and the group’s attempt to break Sam out, Claire’s realization that her father was right… all of these are working so well and blends together into a great final scene.

We even get a deeper motivation for Blaine, who we learn is more about saving his wife Anneliese from her pain (who had polio and withered limbs as a youth) than just his own selfishness.

Mary McDonnell played The Dutchess is a new great character who can also hear The Mother. It was revealed that Sam’s weird images of his wife were coming from Mother. It helped turn Sam’s thoughts about Mother around. She’s not a monster…

I love when the whole group is back together and on their way out of The Manor, only to have Sam say they can not kill Mother, they have to save her. I also loved the scenes between Claire and Paz.

Again, knowing this show will not be renewed, I sure hope there is a satisfying way for the story to end and it does not leave off on a cliffhanger. I was not sure about this show when I started it last month, but The Boroughs has been fabulous.

Daily Countdown: Animated Movies #73

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#73

Encanto

Released: November 2021

Runtime: 102 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: vibrant computer-generated (CG) 3D animation style

Studio: Disney

We don’t talk about Bruno… no, no, no.. We don’t talk about Brunoooooo

Truth is, the first time I saw Encanto, I thought it was kind of boring. It took a second rewatch for me to enjoy it more. I was in a better frame of mind the second time and on, finding the strengths of the Lin-Manuel Miranda songs and the fun, engaging story. I don’t know why that first viewing did not do it for me, but it goes to show that thoughts do change on movies over time.

Voice cast:  Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitán, Diane Guerrero, Maluma, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, and Wilmer Valderrama.

Rick and Morty Season Four

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The fourth season of Rick and Morty on HBO Max was my binge this afternoon.

I am going to be honest here. I think there were some real high highs in this season of ten episodes, but also a few episode that I found to be lower than normal.

While there are several episodes that I did not love, there were still some really funny moments within these episodes. There were no truly horrible episodes in the season. I would just say that some of the shows were just not as strong of overall stories as they could have been.

The episodes that I did not like much were “One Crew Over the Crewcoo’s Morty,” “The Old Man and the Seat,” “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty,” and “Rattlestar Ricklactica.”

My favorite parts of the season for me were the following: the return to the Beth’s clone story from last season. I loved the episode of “The Vat of Acid Episode” which may have been the darkest of the entire series. The Rick clones across the multiverse were fun in the season premiere. The remarkably meta and fourth wall breaking episode “Never Ricking Morty” was awesome, even with the guest star role for Jesus Christ. Rick fights Zeus. They had a Covid-19 joke as well that was very funny.

It did seem like the second half of season four was considerably better for me than the beginning of this season.

Guest stars for the season included Sherri Shepherd, Sam Neill, Kathleen Turner, Taika Waititi, Jeffrey Wright, Pamela Adlon, Elon Musk, Justin Theroux, Claudia Black, Matthew Broderick, Liam Cunningham,Keegan-Michael Key, Eddie Pepitone, Paul Giamatti, Christopher Meloni, Susan Sarandon, David Herman, Chelsea Peretti, Harland Williams, Grey DeLisle, Natasha Leggero, Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus and Nat Faxon.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe s1 E1

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“Spoiler: Gary Dies”

I don’t know what I watched.

I loved The Big Bang Theory. I know that the show had its detractors, but I always enjoyed the characters and found it funny.

Then, I watched Stuart Fails to Save the Universe on HBO Max.

I am not sure how I feel.

Taking side character Stuart from the comic book shop and matching him with Bert in a sequel to a long running sitcom that is actually some kind of sci-fi adventure instead.

I did not laugh much at the show (it was nice to see long-bearded Raj), but it just felt like it had something. I do not know, that kept my mind connected.

I did not love this episode, but I think there was enough here to watch another episode or two for sure. If it does not get better, I may have to ditch the series as a whole. I guess this is a wait and see show.

Silo S3 E4

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“Whatever You Do, Don’t Go Home”

Gasp.

I literally sat up in my chair and stared in a shocked silence as Juliette pushed aside the curtain and saw Bernard lying in bed, badly burned…but ALIVE!

Did not see that coming at all.

What a great cliffhanger for the tag at the end of episode 4. After we spent the episode with Juliette escaping from people trying to kill her (that scene in the doctor’s office where the nurse ended up helping her was intense), to drop this bomb at the end was just so unexpected.

Big things happening in the flashbacks section too as Daniel and Helen were approached and an offer was made to them to get them to drop what they were doing with the investigation into the Iraq mission. This was just after Daniel tried to get a friend Sam to dig into it more. He initially refused, but could not let it go and, apparently, found something major… that we don’t learn about this week.

Back in the silo, we learn that Orla Kent was not a victim of the rat gases, but was, instead, murdered and had her body dropped in the mine. Sheriff Billings seemed to be on this case. I am not sure what side he is coming down upon, but I have a feeling he could eventually become an ally.

The reappearance of Bernard injected this storyline with a burst of energy. I was kind of glad Bernard (played the the awesome Tim Robbins) was dead, because he deserved it, but with him back, I have no idea where things go from here. Who knows that Bernard is not dead and was not incinerated as we were told earlier in the season.

So many questions…

SDCC 2026- Saturday

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It is Saturday at the 2026 San Diego Comic Con, which, of course, brings us the massive Marvel Studios panel in Hall H this evening. When Marvel comes to Hall H, there is always a show. What do we hear tonight? X-Men casting? Avengers: Doomsday clips? Rumors have been circulating that both Denzel Washington and Sadie Sink have been seen in San Diego, are they coming to the panel? Is there a surprise project? What is the MCU future? All of this might be too big to expect in a one hour program. Still, I do expect something big.

I will add to this post throughout the day as info creeps out of SDCC.

Dr. Doom Costume on Display!

Apple TV +

Matchbox-The Movie trailer

Dark Matter season two

Neuromancer

Skybound Comics Trailer

Marvel Studio Panel

Dr. Doom mask and cape given to crowd.

Avengers: Endgame Encore trailer was shown to the live crowd. Released September 25

Ryan Gosling will be Ghost Rider in movie

Movie released in 2028, directed by Shawn Levy

Avengers: Doomsday cast on stage

Hayley Atwell confirmed for Doomsday

DEADPOOL!!!

Avengers: Doomsday poster revealed/given to the crowd

Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther III announced

To be released December 15, 2028

NEW BLACK PANTHER ANNOUNCED– T’Challa’s son

David Jonsson

Daily Countdown: Animated Series #74

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#74

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

Released: October 10, 2016

Runtime: 78 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: vibrant, retro-modern tribute that mimics the 1960s live-action television show

Studio: Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment

I was a huge fan of the 1966 Batman show. I would watch it in syndication/reruns when I was young and it helped with my comic fandom. So when I found out that Adam West and Burt Ward were returning to their roles as Batman and Robin for an animated film, I was very excited, and it turned out better than I could have expected. Adam West passed away in June of the next year.

Voice cast: Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar, Jeff Bergman, William Salyers, Wally Wingert, Jim Ward, Steven Weber, Thomas Lennon, Lynne Marie Stewart, and Sirena Irwin.