It's Disness Time

There has been an ancient war raging for the past decade: The Chris Wars. Hunky, franchise, superhero Chrises have been struggling to claim Chris Supremacy in Hollywood and It's Disness Time to decide who wins once and for all! Evans, Hemsworth, Pine...who is the best Chris?! Steph, Cass and Carmen battle it out with Kim as an impartial judge. This is all in good fun, so tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream!

This week, in honour of Women's History Month, Steph and Marina take a listener request to discuss the Disney movies that pass or fail the Bechdel Test. Which movies include two female characters, with names, that talk about something other than a male character? Tune in to find out!

SURPRISE! A year after going on hiatus, Steph and Carmen return for a special conversation on Pixar's new ode to Toronto and Boy Band Culture "Turning Red". Hear us discuss the Chinese-Canadian depiction of Mei and her family, celebrate the women who lead the production, analyze generational trauma, and wonder why some critics are so up in arms that a film about a girl coming of age would DARE talk about periods!!   Listen on your favourite streaming service! Follow It's Disness Time on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok! 

One Hundred. That's how many episodes of It's Disness Time you've listened to. THANK YOU TO ALL OUR LISTENERS, WE LOVE YOU! For the 100th episode, past IDT hosts choose a topic from an episode that they were not part of and share their fresh takes! Did they choose Disney's Hottest Prince? Resurrections? Resting Witch Face? Tune in and find out! Find It's Disness Time wherever you stream, and on our social channels @itsdisnesstime ! 

Which shows are the Disney characters binge watching to get through those long, winter, quarantine days? We asked our awesome Instagram followers (@itsdisnesstime) to weigh in, and their tv binging suggestions forcharacters like Ursula, Mushu, and Rapunzel might surprise you!  Listen on your favourite streaming service! Follow It's Disness Time on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok! 

Why are so many Disney parents... dead? To answer this question, I explore the origins of the dead parent trope within the traditional fairytales and folklore stories that the Disney films are based on. I unpack "The Hero's Journey" to understand why this mythic narrative structure is still widely used in popular storytelling today. Finally, exposing the history and practice of the dead parent trope within children's literature and media allows me to answer a universal question that continues to evolve in our modern time: What makes a great parent? This is the second episode of my investigative mini-series "Down to Disness", where I delve deeper into the social climate surrounding specific themes from the Disney movies, and how these topics influence and shape our modern day culture.  Let me know what you think! It's Disness Time can be streamed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Stitcher, or wherever you stream podcasts. Host site: itsdisnesstime.podbean.com Follow IT'S DISNESS TIME on Instagram and TikTok (@itsdisnesstime) and Facebook (@disnesstime). 

Disness season is over! Steph and Kim review "Godmothered" on Disney Plus and discuss Disney's December announcements for the 52 films/tv shows that fans can expect to see roll-out over the next few years. Thanks for listening during this crazy year! See you in early 2021!

What makes a great animated female protagonist? Is Princess Ariel a good role model? What is the history of mermaids in popular culture, and how does Ariel compare? How does Ariel's sexy design contribute to the way audiences (particularly men) relate, lust or resent her character? Which communities around the world has Ariel inspired and why? These questions are explored in the first episode of my new investigative mini-series "Down to Disness", where I delve deeper into the social climate surrounding specific themes from the Disney movies, and how these topics influence and shape our modern day culture.  Let me know what you think! We are streamed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Stitcher, or wherever you stream podcasts. Host site: itsdisnesstime.podbean.com Follow IT'S DISNESS TIME on Instagram and TikTok (@itsdisnesstime) and Facebook (@disnesstime).   

When things get tough, lots of us turn to motivational quotes for inspiration, and many of these quotes often come from movies. But what makes these popular phrases so powerful that they become mantras for generations? This week we list the most iconic and universally loved Disney quotes and explain what makes them timeless! 

If the Disney Princesses sang a modern pop song, which would they sing? Would Merida sing Bruno Mars? Would Ariel do a great Rihanna cover? Which princess DOESN'T suit a Taylor Swift song? Tune in to find out what modern hit we assigned to each princess - our picks may surprise you! Snow White - 05:28 Cinderella - 08:25 Sleeping Beauty - 11:53 Ariel - 14:35 Belle - 18:26 Jasmine - 22:20 Pocahontas - 25:34   Mulan - 29:37 Tiana - 32:19 Rapunzel - 36:15 Merida - 39:11 Moana - 42:42 Anna - 45:12 Elsa -  52:38

This week, special guest stars Gene and Dan of "The Disney Underground Podcast" called in to talk about how their love for Disney is bringing together a community of dedicated Disney-addicts from across North America. Tune in to hear the guys share their expertise on the Disney Parks, the evolution of The Magical Lifestyle brand, and answer some of our typical Disness-like q's! 

Between 2010-2020, Disney took several of their most beloved animated films and remade them into live-action movies (for better or for worse).  We chose to rank 10 of the most popular Disney live-action movies from worst to best. The list includes: Alice in Wonderland (2010), Maleficent (2014), Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Dumbo (2019), Aladdin (2019), The Lion King (2019), Lady and the Tramp (2019), and Mulan (2020). 

What's it like to work at Disneyland Paris? Disness host Stephanie interviews author Claudia Hansen, a former employee of Disney's second international park, to learn what goes on behind-the-scenes, the differences between EuroDisney and the US parks, and to hear a fascinating encounter with Canadian sweetheart Celine Dion. 

What album has a racist song by Hilary Duff, multiple Raven-Symoné tracks, AND a surprise big band megahit by Daniel Bedingfield? The 2nd installment of the Disneymania franchise, of course! Listen to our review of Disneymania 2, 2005's most sickly-sweet, tweeny-bopper album! (03:57) "Welcome" Jump5  (05:43) "True to Your Heart" Raven (08:25) "It's a Small World" Baha Men (10:55) "He's a Tramp" The Beu Sisters (12:40) "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" Stevie Brock  (15:55) "The Siamese Cat Song" Hilary Duff & Haylie Duff  (20:28) "Circle of Life" Disney Channel Circle of Stars (24:30) "A Whole New World" LMNT  (27:50) "Once Upon a Dream" No Secrets (30:49) "Anytime You Need a Friend" The Beu Sisters (32:53) "The Second Star to the Right" Jesse McCartney  (35:14) "When You Wish Upon a Star" Ashley Gearing  (37:28)"A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" Daniel Bedingfield  (41:38) "Baroque Hoedown" They Might Be Giants (45:25) "I Wan'na Be Like You" Nikki Webster

In Part 2 of our Halloween 2020 special, we read out three spooky ghost stories and then suggest how Disney might recreate them as family-friendly films for kids. Be warned: this episode contains awesome but terrifying stories and moments of actual screaming that may spook or frighten some listeners - listener discretion is advised!  00:01 - Listener Warning 00:53 - Intro 04:00 - Story 1: The Green Ribbon 13:21 - Story 2: Robert the Doll  19:13 - WE SCREAM SO TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME 27:38 - Story 3: I'm Not Martin  

FACT: the parks are haunted. There are multiple urban legends of the spooky sightings and strange occurrences at Disney's parks, many based on actual historic events. These rumours have been passed from castmate to castmate, guest to guest, and now podcast hosts to listeners. Enjoy Part 1 of our Halloween 2020 episodes where we list the most chilling Disney Park ghost stories, and remember: listeners beware, you're in for a scare! 

The quack attack is back!! Which of the three Mighty Ducks movies ranks #1? This week we break down each movie in the franchise into five categories (plot, new characters, quotability, motivational moments, and family-fun film), give them a ranking out of 5 for each category, and then total up the points to determine the worst to the best. 

Ever wonder what Cruella de Vil's wedding would look like? What about a wedding that's located where Lilo and Stitch live? This week, we turned into wedding planners and brainstormed the ideal weddings for some of our favourite Disney characters, including decorations, dress, location, music, and food! 

It's time to review Disney's 2020 live action reboot of Mulan. Tune in as we put this Mulan remake on trial to find out if the film would impress the matchmaker OR bring dishonour on your whole family. Discussion includes comparisons to the 1998 classic, plot points (what went wrong and what could be better), characters, soundtrack, Chinese culture, fight choreography, and much more! 

The Black Lives Matter movement is gathering momentum every day, and we are still in a global pandemic, so we have chosen to end our season early to prioritize our learning and educate ourselves by listening closer, reading more, researching further, and doing better. Before we go on hiatus for the summer, we take a moment to discuss which Disney movie destinations we would visit if a) it were physically possible and b) we were not in a pandemic. Tune in for your typical Disney discussion, but also consider joining us by shifting your focus to learning about and understanding why this historic civil rights movement matters. Here is a recommendation list for podcasts that discuss the experiences of black communities and educate about systemic racism: 1619 by The New York Times Lynching In America Code Switch by NPR About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge Desert Island Discs with Bryan Stevenson All My Relations Intersectionality Matters! ‘Witness Black History' by BBC World Slay In Your Lane: The Podcast Pod Save the People Sip on This Justice in America What's Next by Slate