Practical Magic / Disney

Plus
 We’re back, and talking about Practical Magic
● 1998 horror romantic comedy? Trying to summarize the plot is hard
● Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as the main sisters, Stockard Channing
(why we’re all here) and Dianne Wiest as their aunts, with supporting roles like
a very young Evan Rachel Wood and character actress Margo Martindale
● I actually love this movie, warts and all, and I think it’s for 2 reasons: I like
magic, and the women in the family all really love and support each other, and
that’s due to what I think are great performances by the 4 main actresses
● What did Cody think?
● Critics and audiences weren’t fans. Has a 21% on RT and grossed 68M
against 75M budget.
● Most common criticism: can’t decide what genre it wants to be, and switches
between them very unevenly
 Why this movie
● Honestly could do a whole ep on this but to briefly touch on it, why do you think
I picked this movie to cover for the gay part?
● Semi-pervasive trope associating magic with queerness (like Willow in Buffy,
who exploded her sexuality as she discovered her magical abilities
● The idea that anything is possible if you want it bad enough is appealing to
kids who are fed the idea that they can’t have their happy ending
● In the words of Aggie Cromwell from Halloweentown, “all you have to do is
want something, and then let yourself have it!”
● Persecution of witches (often for seducing others, or convincing them to try
witchcraft) somewhat parallels anti-LGBT sentiments
● More than anything, magic frees you from the rules, and that scares people.
Women are empowered without men, but by being a part of a coven of strong
women.
● After Sally “comes out” she calls townswomen together, and they win
 Next Queek...
● The Crown, season 3 now on Netflix
● A Very English Scandal, critically acclaimed based-on-true-events miniseries
on Amazon Prime
 Disney+
● WDC streaming service debuted 11/12 (US/Can/Netherlands) with content
from Disney, Pixar, 20CF, Star Wars, Marvel Studios, NatGeo. Offers packages
w/ Hulu and ESPN+.
● Highly anticipated, obvi. Major competitor to Netflix. Already has 10M
subscribers. Netflix has ~158M.
● Lots to be excited about. Existing content like Disney Vault, new things like The
Mandalorian, MCU shows we’ve been over, etc.
 Disney+ Technical Issues
● Release dates are strange. 11/19 for Aus/NZ/PR, but most of Europe
(UK/FR/SP/IT/GE/IR) don’t get it until March. Basically just an invitation to
piracy.
● Some content (especially more recent) are currently tied up in preexisting
deals, like with Netflix (Last Jedi, Infinity War, Tarzan, Coco, Incredibles 2). Up
is with Starz. Mighty Ducks, Holes, Sky High are with HBO. Some are
unknown, like Maleficent, and the other live action remakes. Disney Channel
Proud Family, Cory in the House, Air Bud and sequels.
● Some episodes out of order (X-Men Animated Series, Duck Tales, Kim
Possible) or missing (Darkwing Duck, Little Mermaid, Tron: Uprising)
● No resume watching/previously watched features (resume just added)
● Some Simpsons issues. First 19 seasons episodes are widened out from the
original 4:3 ratio, so parts of the frame are cut off (as well as some visual
gags). They’ve stated that it will be available in the original ratio in 2020.
 Disney+ Cultural Issues
● Song of the South is still in the Vault for obvious reasons. But other
problematic titles like Dumbo, Peter Pan, Aristocats, Lady & the Tramp, have
content warnings for outdated cultural portrayals.
● Tobacco warnings in The Three Caballeros, Pinocchio, Hercules, etc.
● Michael Jackson episode left out from The Simpsons
● No “adult content,” hence Deadpool and the rest of the X-Men universe left
out.
 WHO IS MCCLUNKEY
● They re-re-edited the Han vs. Greedo scene.
● Background on the scene and its changes
● Now he says McClunkey. WHO?! Possible easter egg for The Mandalorian???
● Brief, spoiler-free thoughts on the Mandalorian premiere
 Next queek
● Anything?