Latest / Nashville Movie Dispatch / Vick's Flicks, Ep. 194: The Filmography of LAIKA Studios

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Vick's Flicks, Ep. 194: The Filmography of LAIKA Studios · Nashville Movie Dispatch

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Reviews, news, deep dives into filmographies, and really, whatever the
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: hell we want to talk about from the movie world.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: This is the VixFlix Podcast on Nashville Movie Dispatch. Welcome
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: in for another episode of the Vix Flix podcast right
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: here on Nashville Movie Dispatch. I'll be your host for
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  Speaker 1: the show, the EIC at SoBros Network, Big Natural Stoney Keeley.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: You can follow me on social media at Stoney Keeley
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: or at StoneyKeeley615, wherever you take in your podcasts. And
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: of course, I'm joined by the man whose namesake this
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  Speaker 1: show bears. He is a board member of the Music
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  Speaker 1: City Film Critics Association and He is a member of
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  Speaker 1: the Southeastern Film Critics Association, and he's our resident film
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  Speaker 1: critic here at Nashville Movie Dispatch. Mr. Big Shot himself,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Brandon Vick. Brandon, how you doing today, my man?
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: It's October and it's fall. It's finally fall, y'all.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: It's finally fall, y'all.
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  Speaker 2: It is.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Man, I know we always we fall into this trap
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: because we're two old men.
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  Speaker 2: We love to talk about weather, but this is important
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  Speaker 2: because it's been hot as hell here in Tennessee.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: We haven't really had a fall, but October, that first
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: or second week, it started to really open up and
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: embrace the fall weather. And now we are in the
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: thick of it. I've done the pumpkin patch. I've gone
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: to the Smoky Mountains.
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  Speaker 1: It's a beautiful time of year for that. I also
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  Speaker 1: think this particular show has me feeling somewhat nostalgic for
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  Speaker 1: the season as well because- as we go through this
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  Speaker 1: episode on like a studios, um, I, we're going to
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  Speaker 1: talk about two of my favorite films to watch this
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  Speaker 1: time of year as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I watched one of them. I.
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  Speaker 2: I watch every year and I actually just watched one
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  Speaker 2: of the like beginning of October. So, uh, yeah, I
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: think like a plays very much into spooky season is, uh.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Is Coraline a spooky season movie for you or is
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: it just a regular old fall movie?
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  Speaker 2: Um, It's spooky season. I watch Paranorman more than Coraline.
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  Speaker 2: But if Coraline is in it, it's not fall. I
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  Speaker 2: consider it spooky season.
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  Speaker 1: Paranorman is like, that's outright Halloween spooky season. There's no
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  Speaker 1: doubt about it. But Coraline, to me, I watch it
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  Speaker 1: sometimes and I'm like, this is... spooky season vibes, but
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: it's like spooky season adjacent. It's not necessarily, I'm still
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: putting it in October.
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  Speaker 2: I get what you're saying, but I, I don't think
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  Speaker 2: I watch it in any other season though. Yeah. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Fair enough. It's just, it's just curious. I, I think, uh,
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  Speaker 1: both of those are in my regular Halloween rotation.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I try to watch Coraline and Paranorman both every, every October.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: People know this, but Paranorman and Monster House are the
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  Speaker 2: two I must watch animated movies. Yeah. But Coraline, and
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: I own it, and I watched it because of this podcast,
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: and it's even better than I remember. Yeah. I really
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: did enjoy it, and that was like his very first film.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: But it's so good, and it's also very creepy. Yeah.
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: It really kind of sets the bar on what they're
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: kind of going for, especially in those first three films. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I could definitely see it being a part of especially
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: October's rewatch.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: So the reason we kind of thought this would be
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: an interesting podcast topic for this month is that we
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: do have a new like a film hitting theaters this weekend.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: October 23rd, 2026 is the official release date for Travis
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  Speaker 1: Knight's latest film, Wildwood.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: What do you think about the trailers for Wildwood? What
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: do you think about this one?
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  Speaker 2: It looks phenomenal. Yeah. I didn't realize how pumped I
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  Speaker 2: was for it, but the more that they show and the,
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: and kind of the hype behind it, I think it's
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  Speaker 2: part of the AFI festival. Like it really starting to
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: really feel like a big deal. And I hope it can...
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  Speaker 2: I hope the box office is good to it. But
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  Speaker 2: I think this is the first one in almost 10 years?
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  Speaker 1: It has been since 2019. So it's been seven years.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, all right. And this is the... Now, it's almost
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  Speaker 2: two hours and 20 minutes. It's the longest stop-motion animated
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  Speaker 2: film ever.
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  Speaker 1: That's crazy.
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  Speaker 2: But it looks awesome. It looks like a real bona
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  Speaker 2: fide epic movie. I'm super pumped for it.
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  Speaker 1: You look at this cast too. I mean, Jacob Tremblay,
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  Speaker 1: Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, even on down,
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  Speaker 1: like Jake Johnson's in this, Charlie Day is in this.
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  Speaker 1: This is, man, this kind of feels like, I'm excited
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  Speaker 1: for this one. I don't go see every animated movie
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  Speaker 1: that comes out and it's not a like, oh, I'm
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  Speaker 1: too cool, but like, When I go to the theaters,
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  Speaker 1: it's because something like Digger is calling to me. But
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  Speaker 1: this kind of feels like one... Man, I can't remember
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: the last Laika film that I actually saw in theaters.
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  Speaker 1: And honestly, it might have been Coraline.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, you skipped all the... Well, yeah, because you told
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: me you'd never.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: Seen Kubo or Missing Link. I had never seen Missing
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: Link or Kubo and the Two Strings prior to doing
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: this podcast. I vaguely remember The Box Trolls, but I
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: wanted to rewatch that because I don't honestly know for
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: sure that I've seen it. I might just remember it.
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  Speaker 2: Can I tell you, I'm the same way my wife
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: told me I have and that we watched it together,
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: but I really don't remember it. But that also kind
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: of says what it needs to about The Box Trolls.
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  Speaker 1: Fair enough.
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  Speaker 2: Coming off of Coraline.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know what? Maybe my hot take will have
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: to wait then because I remember... I remember the film fondly.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: I just don't remember if I've seen it. How is
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: that for a statement? My, uh, my take on Leica though,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: and we can kind of get into kind of the
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: defining properties, which I don't know if people know this
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: about Leica, by the way, but this is actually, um,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: owned by Phil Knight, who is the Nike co-founder and
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: his son, Travis Knight acts as the studio's president and
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: CEO and He also has a few directing credits. Directing
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: credit on Kubo and the Two Strings. Directing credit on
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: Wildwood as well. Producer credit on, I'm pretty sure, all
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  Speaker 1: of their films except for Coraline, actually.
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  Speaker 2: But also director of Bumblebee. Oh, dang.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you're right.
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  Speaker 2: And Masters of the Universe.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: How about that? Oh, he did do Masters of the Universe.
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  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I didn't like Masters of the Universe as
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: much as everybody else did.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: I thought it was enjoyable for what it is, but
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: I'm going to tell you, Bumblebee rocks.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: I loved Bumblebee.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: Bumblebee rocks.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: Bumblebee absolutely rips.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: I saw a thing where Paramount, Warner Brothers, Skydance, whoever
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: they are, are trying to do an eighth Transformers movie.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: Jeez.
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  Speaker 2: Michael Bay. That's right. Michael Bay is in talks to
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: direct again.
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  Speaker 1: He's still kicking, huh?
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  Speaker 2: And produced by Steven Spielberg. Wow.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: Don't worry.
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  Speaker 2: Shia LaBeouf isn't invited back either.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, okay. All right.
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  Speaker 2: So, so yeah, but Travis Knight has, he's done some
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: good stuff, but I had no idea. First of all,
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: this Phil Knight thing was news to me. I had
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  Speaker 2: no idea, but I love, well, we'll get into it,
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  Speaker 2: but Kubo and the Two Strings is sensational.
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  Speaker 1: I think it would be awesome if my dad could
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  Speaker 1: fund a movie studio for us and we could, we
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  Speaker 1: could tell stories like this.
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  Speaker 2: But also the, The artistry in the stop motion stuff
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  Speaker 2: is amazing to me.
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  Speaker 1: My hot take, which now I'm rethinking because I don't
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  Speaker 1: remember for sure that I saw the box trolls.
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  Speaker 2: That's fine. Let's exclude them.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: Is that if you're going to go off of completion percentage,
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: to borrow a term from football, how many of the
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: passes does the quarterback throw that actually lands in the
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  Speaker 1: arms of the receivers? I feel like Laika is the
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  Speaker 1: animation studio that has the highest completion percentage. Maybe they're
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: not the team that wins the Super Bowl at the
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: end of the season. I don't know that they have
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: an up. I don't know that they have a how
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  Speaker 1: to train your dragon. I feel that way about Coraline
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  Speaker 1: and Paranorman, but I'm also kind of like, how much
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: of that is the season? How much of that is
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: nostalgia and not necessarily taking the films for face value,
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  Speaker 1: what they are? But I feel like when you go
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: through the entirety of their catalog, I don't know that
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: I can confidently say they've had a terrible miss, in
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: my opinion.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: I think the only pushback would probably be volume. If
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: you compare that to DreamWorks or Illumination or Pixar... Yeah.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: I think... What is this? Wildwood is the sixth film?
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Four, five, six. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: So... Now you could say quality.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: Well, that's what I get to completion percentage because you
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: have to account, you know, like Tom Brady's thrown 5,000 passes,
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: but like Marcus Mariota, thrown 200. Right, right.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: I will say, I think of the five that we have,
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: that is out, that we have seen.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's tough. Like when I think of Pixar,
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: I'm like, okay, even if you kind of knock off some,
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: you still got your toy stories you still got your
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: up you still got your finding nemo you still got
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: your cars you still got monsters in wally that's a
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: that's a lot inside out yeah right um and even
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: dreamworks knock out some but madagascar and how to train
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: your dragon and shrek and I think Laika, Laika is
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: different because one of the stop motion, but also the
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: time it takes, which also is not in their favor.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: It takes years. Not that other animation projects don't, but
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: I will say, and we'll get into this, but I
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: would say for me that has rewatched them all, the
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: box trolls and missing link aren't total hits.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: I loved, I loved missing link.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: So if I remove those, now we're only down to three.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: Three of which I'm like, okay, well, the first three
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: Toy Stories are... You could clump that as masterpiece and
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: I'm good. And I don't have to think of another
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: Pixar movie. Yeah. But... I'm interested... Okay. I'm interested in
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: the missing link part two. So, all right.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: Well, I just... To go back to the completion percentage
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: is like... I get what you're saying. If you count...
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: So you got five films. If you count even... let's
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: take the box trolls out or missing link is not
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: a hit. That's still like four out of five is
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: still technically 80%. Right.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: I see.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: But then if you take all of the Pixar and
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: all the dream work stuff and you, and you do
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: factor in like cars too, and Madagascar too, and all that, right.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Their completion percentage is probably more like 70%. Okay.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: So that's where I'm like, I think pound for pound.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: Like those numbers are a little bit, Unfair because of
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: just what each studio is pumping out.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: But I do get your point. Even though I do
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: think I could stack at least quite a few Pixar
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: stuff with Laika and say, I think overall Pixar is
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: probably still king, even though that's been questioned in the
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: past however many years. Yeah. I would agree.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: I think it's just, I only say that to illustrate that,
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: because it is, like, you do get to the conversation.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: And it's not an old studio either, right? Yeah, 2009,
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: first movie.
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: I mean, this is not an old studio either.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: It's not to say that they're the best animation studio.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: I just think that they, it's kind of like A24
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: has kind of become a brand of its own.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: Where if just people see the A24 logo, they're like, ooh,
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: this is cool.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: I think Laika makes it count when they do release something,
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: and they should probably be seen in that kind of light,
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: in my opinion.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: Yes. There is a distinction when Laika does a film,
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: more than what we're used to. Pixar's movies used to
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: be an event, but that's not the case anymore.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: Laika is still there just because of the craftsmanship and
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: the type of stories they tell and in the means
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: they do it, which stop motion is very much a
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: part of that. Yeah. But yeah, I'm with you on that.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: The way I described it to our buddy Brett, who
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: was here earlier, is I feel like Laika is the
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: cinephiles animation studio.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: Because I don't think people think about them But if
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: you look through their body of work, I'm like, man,
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I feel pretty good about this.
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: But they don't serve to, like, just kids. That's not
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: what their goal in mind is, right? Yeah, sure. It
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: is adult stories that I think kids can enjoy. But listen,
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: for somebody that has a kid that's going to turn
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: four in February, I'm not showing him Laika stuff first. Yeah.
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: That's beyond. And that's.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: I can't imagine showing a young child Coraline.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Like I would love to show a paranormal, but
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: I'm like, Oh, he's going to be, it's going to
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: be too creepy. Sure.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Sure.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: But that's also a compliment to Laika because there is
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: an end of there. It's very distinct in what it's
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: trying to do. And I think as we talk Kubo
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: and the two strings changes the course of what Laika
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: is going to do. And I think has led to Wildwood.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, let's dive right in. Do you want to
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: start with Coraline? Do you want to go in linear order?
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, let's just go down.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: February 6th of 2009, Coraline recently celebrated a 15-year anniversary.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: I think it made some good money because they released it.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it had a run in the theaters. It showed
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: up at the year-end box office report where it's like,
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: you're scrolling through and like somewhere in the fifties, you're like,
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: Oh shit, that's Coraline. What is, what's about, what's that about?
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: What is it about this film that you think, because
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: even with the promotional material for Wildwood at the top
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: of the poster, it still says from the, from the
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: makers of Coraline, what do you think it is about
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: this film that one resonated with so many people and
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: two has stood the test of time to the point
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: that that name still means something to When they're marketing
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: a film in 2026.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: One, I think it's just, it was unique for the time.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: I don't think a lot of people were introduced to
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: that type of animation in that kind of story, but
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: that also was spooky. And it wasn't necessarily for the
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: youngest of kids.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: Right. Who, how many people do you think thought that
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: this was Tim Burton in 2009?
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: Oh, I mean, I feel like the Nightmare Before Christmas
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: shit was probably all over the place.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I do think, man, it did feel kind of...
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: I don't know how you can create something, and this
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: is why I think it's such a special movie still.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: I don't know how you can create something that feels
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: both old and new at the same time.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: It was also a big time when 3D was.
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: The thing.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah. And I just remember seeing Coraline thinking... this is
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: cutting edge. This is innovative. This is an innovative art
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: medium to tell this story. But at the same time,
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: there was something about the film that just kind of
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: felt like relatable.
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: There's a classic, there's.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: A classic element to it that I don't know. I
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: saw it for the first time. I remember thinking like,
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: this is genius. And I was like 23 years old
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: when that came out. So like, not a kid going
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: to see it, but also not a mature adult either.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: But it strikes up the emotions that it kind of
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: plays to all, but it's not just kiddie stuff.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, sure.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: That's not what they're going for, right? And so I
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: think that's it. I think it kind of took people
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: by surprise. I think it ended up, like I said,
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: it's during the 3D craze where everything seemed to be 3D,
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: even though animation, I think, had a, Had a nice
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: advantage on that technology. But I think it was just
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: something different. And it was something that I think of
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: a certain age, you weren't used to seeing. I almost
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: relate it to when Into the Spider-Verse comes out.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's a great comparison.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: You just haven't seen it. And even that, it's still
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: about Spider-Man. Coraline is Coraline. That's not like, you've gotten
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, but
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: you haven't really gotten much else. But to me, when
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: someone presents something different, you can't help but kind of
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: be in awe of it. It's also a great story.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: It is a great story, based on the book by
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: Neil Gaiman?
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: Gaiman?
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: He's been canceled, but you know.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: Has he been canceled? I missed that. I've got, I
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: picked up a couple of his books. So I need
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: to burn it.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: That's why the good omens ended up having to wrap
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: up early. All right.
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: Very well.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: I will have to hand up. That's my bad guys. I,
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: I was not aware. Um, do we, let's go three
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: years later, 2012. They follow up Coraline with paranormal, which
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: I know you consider a classic. I consider a classic
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: as well. Um, try to sum up what Paranorman means
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: to you.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: Paranorman is a must during this time of year. Animation, superb. Yeah.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: I love the idea of it. It's got, it's spooky stuff,
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: but it also says a lot just about Childhood and
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: being different. And as much as Coraline was cool, I
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: feel like Paranorman has more personal themes to it than
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: Coraline does. I feel like they did kind of elevate
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: those themes. themes and made it a little more sophisticated
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: in ways of like, whether you're young or old, I
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: think you can relate to that connection and with loss
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: and trying to, and for peace that you've lost in,
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: for those that you've lost in your life. There'd also
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: be a cool little ghost story too, right? There is.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: The way I would distinguish the two is that the
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: story in Coraline kind of feels cold and isolating and
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: lonely at times. And I don't think you get that
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: as much in Paranorman. I think it's a much warmer story.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: And Coraline kind of plays as this kind of like,
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: it's this ugly, otherworldly type. and Paranorman kind of really
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: digs into the ghost aspect, but also just of being
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: a kid and having this gift on top of, like
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: I said, some of the more mature themes that Coraline
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: doesn't really get into. But you would expect that. You
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: would want the studio to kind of advance emotionally, which
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: is why I feel like The Box Trolls is a
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: step back.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: Do you put, Paranorman on your Mount Rushmore of spooky
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: season movies. Let's clarify the more family safe movie. Not
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: like Halloween and Scream and House of a Thousand Corpses.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: Paranorman and Monster House are always just that feel good.
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: I got to watch in October.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: Paranorman, Monster House. I might put Coraline on there too.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: I don't blame people for doing that.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: I think it's in there with Nightmare Before Christmas.
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I watch those more than Nightmare Before Christmas.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: Well, my wife loves Nightmare Before Christmas.
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: My family does too.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: That's usually what we watch on Halloween.
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: Oh, okay. Got it. No, my family, my wife's side
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: loves it, but I don't. That's not a have to.
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: That and Little Shop of Horrors and Rocky Horror Picture
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: Show are that side. I'm more of like, Friday the
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: 13th and stuff like that. But Paranorman and Monster House
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: are a must.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: I apologize. I'm trying to keep my cat from chewing
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: on our charging cord.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: I see her.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about the box trolls then. I'm going
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: to have to leave that up to you because I
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: don't remember. September 26, 2014. You think you saw it?
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: I think I saw it.
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: You don't know if you saw it.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: But I don't know for sure that I saw it.
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: Well, my wife told me we saw it, but I
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: didn't remember seeing it, so.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: I re-watched it. What does that say about the film?
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: Well, I do think it's a step back for Laika.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: It's more of an absurd and silly. It doesn't really
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: hit the... Same kind of levels that Coraline and Paranorman did.
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: And honestly, I thought Box Trolls was after Coraline and
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: before Paranorman. So Box Trolls really is, I think, would
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: be considered a disappointment after Coraline and Paranorman.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: I'm curious what the Rotten Tomatoes score is.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: Dakota Fanning voiced Coraline, right?
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: Elle Fanning voices the girl in the Box Trolls.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: How about that?
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: So both sisters are in with Laika.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: Tomato meter at 78% for the box trolls.
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: I just found it.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: Popcorn meters at 63%.
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: You know what? I could kind of maybe get with 63%.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: It's my least favorite. It's not awful by any means,
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: but it is my least favorite because I feel like
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: it's kind of retreading on some stuff that they've kind
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: of relied on. but it's not that interesting of a
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: story as far as a kid that was raised by
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: box trolls. It's just not as interesting as really any
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: of the stories, but especially what came before it with
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: Coraline and Paranorman. So it's fine, but to me, it
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: was a step back. But maybe that makes the next
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: one that much sweeter.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: Well, In 2016, we get Kubo and the Two Strings,
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: which I watched for the first time for this podcast.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: And I got to say, I think it's one of
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: my favorite animated movies that I've ever watched.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: Mine too. It still rips from watching it. I loved
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: it then. I love it now. Great cast. Great story.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: I think the thing that instantly stuck out to me
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: was this was like a moving away from anything that
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: is remotely creepy or spooky and it's first real action adventure.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: And yeah, totally works. Travis Knight directed it. Um, it's
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: my favorite, like a film up to this point. I
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: have not seen Wildwood, but I, I just, I love
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: the animation, but I love the atmosphere. I love the story.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: I love the details within this, in this world, um,
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: creating this world. But I like that they kind of
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: got away from where like, you're only going to watch
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: this on, on spooky. Like they got away from that
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: and kind of, and have since moved in that direction
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: with Missing Link and obviously Wildwood, which looks like kind
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: of the biggest epic yet. I, man, I think Kubo
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: and the Two Strings is their best movie that I've seen. Yeah.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: Again, we're withholding judgment. Maybe, maybe I'm surprised that the
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: box trolls.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Well, I think you're safe to say.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: Ends up being my favorite, but. I think it's their
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: best film, but I could absolutely see the nostalgia of
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: Coraline and Paranorman. I'm probably going to watch those two more. Well, sure.
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: I watched Paranorman the most out of any of them, but, but,
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: but there's a seasonal thing to, there's a, there's a
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: seasonal nostalgia aspect to it that I think we would
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: both agree. Like, yes, I have seen Paranorman more than
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: any other, like a film that I know for sure.
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: But all I had to do was rewatch Kubo and
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: know that as far as just overall achievement, it's Kubo.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: Man, I'm kind of surprised. I'm just looking at the
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: box office gross. And Coraline made $ 185 million at the
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: box office on a $ 60 million budget.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: Hmm.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: Wow, Missing Link had a $ 100 million budget and it
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: made $ 26 million.
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what led to the seven year.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: That's kind of crazy. But Missing Link has an 88%
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: Rotten Tomatoes score. Yeah.
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: Missing Link is fun enough. I think so much relies
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: on Hugh Jackman and Zach Galifianakis. I don't really know
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: if the story is as interesting as it should be
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: as far as him just trying to find his way home.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: But the banter between those two characters is fun. And
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: I think Zach Galifianakis is perfect in his role. And
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: so is Hugh Jackman. I think Zoe Saldana's in it too, right?
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: She's the other big name. But it just doesn't... It's
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: not quite as exciting or as funny as you think
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: it would be And then it's kind of like, okay,
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: is Kubo just in this perfect thing where, like, you
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: got Paranorm in that school after Coraline. Then the box trolls.
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: All right. Now here we go. We're going to get
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: into action adventure. And I just feel like Kubo was
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: done so well that any other adventure that comes after
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: it just doesn't play as well. And it's not as
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: strong because of just how good Kubo is.
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: Let me tell you, you're going to laugh at me.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: Maybe you're going to laugh at me. You might get this.
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: I watched Missing Link, and I thought, it's kind of
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: standard fare of finding yourself.
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: It is.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: I agree that Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, the chemistry between
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: the two is a key component of it. But as
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: we sit here in the studio tonight, we're recording this
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: with a fall ambience video playing on YouTube of the
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: mountains and the lake. I watched Missing Link and just thought,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: I'd love to live in that little town. And I just...
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: It was one of those... Maybe this is my caveman
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: brain taking over. But I sat there and watched the
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: film and I just thought, this is so pretty. I
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: love it. And that's as simple as it was for me.
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: Listen, there are things in every single one of these
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: Laika films that I think you can draw from... You
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: can draw stuff like that from. And the animation is beautiful.
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: That's another thing about the box trolls. The animation is...
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: it's good, but it looks kind of ugly. Yeah. It
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: doesn't quite, um, it's not as quite as vibrant as,
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: as the other films too, which, which hurts it because
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: I guess they're kind of matching the animation within the
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: world that it's trying to, um, portray, but, but missing
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: link is beautiful to look at the colors and everything's great.
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: I mean, the whole kind of world adventure and discovery is,
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: I mean, you know, who wouldn't be kind of, uh,
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: swept up in it, but, It does kind of fall
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: into familiar territory. It doesn't quite get, like I said,
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: there's nothing that exciting or interesting that pushes it beyond like, well,
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: you know what? That was all right. That was okay.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: You know, like, and, and again, when we do shows
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: like this and within a couple of weeks, you watch them. Yeah.
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: The differences are also, they're just so noticeable, but given
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: the years in between the, can kind of help. Like, oh, well,
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: you know what? That was pretty good. But then you watch.
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: You watch Box Trolls Kubo and Missing Link. Watch those
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: within a week. You know who's superior. There's no question.
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: I'm trying to look at... They have nominations. Is every
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: film nominated for Best Animated Feature?
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: Oh, I didn't know if Missing Link was.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: Missing Link was nominated. Yeah, I'm looking at that one now.
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: Okay. I know Coraline Kubo was.
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: Paranorman? Missing Link lost out to Toy Story 4.
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: Also in that field was Klaus, which I... Oh, I
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: love it. I love that one.
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: I love it.
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: I never saw I Lost My Body, and I never
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: saw How to Train Your Dragon in the Hidden World.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: But those were the other nominees. Toy Story 4 wins it.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: Kubo and the Two Strings is the one I'm interested
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: to ask you about because... I don't know about this one.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: Wait a second. No, I'm sorry. I didn't go back
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: far enough. The Boss Baby Lost to Coco, huh?
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: That should not surprise you that much.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: Zootopia is the film that beat Kubo in the two strings.
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: And I don't love that.
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: I love Zootopia, but I would have signed right up
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: for Kubo all the way through.
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, let me see when the, so 16, so two
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: years before would have been The Box Trolls. Let me
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: see if that was in the film.
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: If that was nominated, then I feel like the others
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: probably were.
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: Best Animated Feature, The Box Trolls was nominated. Okay. Along
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: with How to Train Your Dragon 2, Song of the Sea,
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I know that show.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: And the winner that year, Big Hero 6.
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: All right. Well, it deserved to beat most of those anyway.
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: I might have liked How to Train Your Dragon 2
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: a little more, but that's fine.
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: But we're definitely not putting the box trolls.
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: I would know. The box trolls didn't deserve to win.
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: Kubo is the one that really deserved to win.
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: So let's see here. Best animated feature. Paranorman and Frankenweenie
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: were the same year?
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: I did not know that.
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: Wreck-It Ralph was nominated that year. The Pirates Band of
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: Misfits was nominated that year. And the winner, you want
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: to take a stab at that one, the winner from
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: the 2012 batch of Oscars.
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: 2012? Yeah. Oh, it's got to be a Pixar movie. Right?
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: It's brave.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: That one? Yeah. My wife loves that movie.
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: Do you put Brave over Paranorman?
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, no.
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: Not me.
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: I don't.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think I would either. And then, ah,
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: my goodness.
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Coraline was up against them.
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: What a field.
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Coraline.
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: I mean, you have The Secret of Kells. I don't
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: know what that is. The Princess and the Frog.
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: The Secret of Kells is a big hit.
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: And then also in that field, Fantastic Mr.
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: Fox. Oh, and that one, right?
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: No, it did not win because that was the year
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: of Up.
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: Well, Up got a Best Picture nomination.
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's... Oh, as much as I love Coraline,
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: I might put it third among those films.
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Up wins.
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: I think I.
• 33:34
  Speaker 2: What you're saying is Wildwood should definitely be nominated.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: It's kind of crazy, though.
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: But does Toy Story 5 win?
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: Like, it's kind of crazy, though, because... That's a good
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: track record.
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: Is this....
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: Like bad luck for Leica or is it just Pixar
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: is going to put something out every year?
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: Yes. But, but back before when probably brave was went
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: like when brave one, it's not a guarantee anymore that
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: Pixar is going to win. Matter of fact, there's times
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: where Pixar wasn't, has not been nominated at all. Yeah. Right.
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: And if people, I don't know if people realize this,
• 34:07
  Speaker 2: Pixar didn't win the first animated Oscar. No. I went
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: to DreamWorks. I was Shrek.
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was Shrek. So, I'm so mad about Kubo.
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: They're not quite the powerhouse they used to be, but
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: if you look at this year, Toy Story 5, right?
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: That's a billion-dollar movie. Yeah. And it doesn't typically lose
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: that often, if ever, which it was too old for
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: Toy Story to be nominated. And I think Toy Story
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: 2 was even before. 2001 was the first time they
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: had an animated Oscar. But Toy Story 3 won, Toy
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: Story 4 won, and Toy Story 5 could very well win.
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: Let's see.
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: I'm trying to look for U.S. releases, animated features of
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: the year. And I don't know. Oh, The Cat in
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: the Hat is still to come. Coyote vs.
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: Acme.
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: Could that be an awards player? I know you liked
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: that one. Forgotten Island, Goat, Hoppers, Minions and Monsters.
• 35:09
  Speaker 2: I don't. The Academy, Hoppers is great, but if Pixar
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: has one, the Toy Story 5 will do it. I
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: could see a Toy Story 5, and I could see
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: a Wildwood, and I could see.
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: And Super Mario Galaxy.
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know.
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: Do you think it's... Is it going to come down
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: Toy Story 5 versus Wildwood?
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: I kind of hope so. And listen, Toy Story 5
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: is one of the best films I've seen this year, but...
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: And I record this not seeing a thing about Wildwood,
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: but I will tell you, Wildwood has a real shot.
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: It feels special. Yeah. And the fact that it is
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: from Laika.
• 35:55
  Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: It could be the real deal, man.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: I got to go see it, man. I'm stoked about
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: this film. I'm stoked about this film.
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: Two hours and 20 minutes doesn't scare me with a
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: movie like this.
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: No, no.
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: Well, that's it.
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: That's the filmography of Laika Studios.
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: I'm glad we did this. I really am glad. First
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: of all, to revisit those, the ones that maybe I saw,
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: maybe I didn't. I don't know. But go watch Box Trolls.
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: I might do that tonight. I might do that tonight.
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: They're all pretty short except Wildwood, so they're all fairly
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: hour and 40 minutes. I don't think the studio gets
• 36:36
  Speaker 2: the proper respect it deserves. And I kind of wish,
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: I feel like it came out strong with Coraline and
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: it's had some real hits. Don't get me wrong, but
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: I'm really hoping Wildwood puts, puts them back on the
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: map and kind of tells the history of what the
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: art that they have created and that they're telling.
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: It's kind of crazy. It's kind of crazy to see
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: Missing Link at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and see that
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: it only made 26 million because we know ultimately money
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: talks and for it to bomb like that, you, you
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: kind of see like, I don't know this response seven
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: years later and Wildwood, this story kind of feels like, well,
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: you know what, we're back. And I, and I hope
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: that's the case, but it, it, it kind of makes
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: it seem like missing link was not well received, but
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: it was, it was just people didn't go see it.
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: And when you told me about it, like doing this show,
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: I was, we were sitting here and like talking through
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: all their films and I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But missing,
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: what is missing link? And you're like, oh, it's the
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: Zach Galifianakis Bigfoot thing. And I'm like, oh yeah, I
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: do remember that.
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: I don't remember anybody talking about it at the time.
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: So like people just didn't go see it.
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: So. And the thing is, you have to keep in mind,
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: Wildwood has a short, Yeah. So I'm not saying that
• 38:12
  Speaker 2: it's competing against the audience, but it does open up
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: against Clayface. But I don't know if that messes up
• 38:20
  Speaker 2: what Laika and Wildwood is trying to do to a
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: DC Studios Batman villain that's not one of the main ones, right?
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, fair enough.
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: But November 6th, Cat in the Hat comes out. That
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: is animated, and that is family-oriented. It's got about two
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: weeks to do business. And then after that, but even
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: if it doesn't make as much, but he gets the
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: critical acclaim and it gets an Oscar nomination and let's
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: just say an Oscar win, I think Laika has a
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: lot to be proud of. I think there's a reason
• 38:56
  Speaker 2: why Laika is still putting out stuff. I just hope
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: it's not another seven years because I really like what
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: they've done overall. And I really hope that Wildwood, like
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: I would love for Wildwood to be my favorite because
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: it looks so different and it does look dark, but
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: it also very looks very much looks like it's exciting
• 39:18
  Speaker 2: adventure and this whole world. And so I'm, I'm, I'm
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: looking forward to it. I really am. I didn't realize
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: how excited I was about it, but the closer we've
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: gotten the previews that have come out, the posters they've released,
• 39:33
  Speaker 2: I'm like, you know what? This actually should be a
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: big deal.
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I'm not going to ask you to do a
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: Mount Rushmore when there's only five films of theirs that
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: have been released. But in case you haven't said it,
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: What is your favorite Laika film?
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: It's Kubo. Yeah. So I did rank these on Letterboxd.
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: Oh, okay.
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: I did. And I have the Box Trolls and Last. Again,
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: like two and a half. There's nothing awful. Missing Link
• 40:08
  Speaker 2: right above them. And then I have Coraline. But I
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: have Coraline, and I will say this, it's a lot
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: closer to Paranorman than I would have thought. Yeah. But
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: Paranorman still remains number two, and then Kubo is number one.
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: It's crazy because I think if you asked me, if
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: you asked me, like, what are the best Laika films,
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: I think I would go, I think I would go Kubo, Coraline, Paranorman.
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: But I think if you ask me, like, what are
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: my favorites? Like, what do I watch the most? It's
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: going to be Coraline, Paranorman, and then Kubo.
• 40:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: So it's kind of framed differently. But I think, like,
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: point blank, I don't think I have an issue with
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: your ranking of those at all.
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: Well, now, like we talked about, Paranorman is the most
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: watched of any of them. And I probably wouldn't really, like,
• 41:06
  Speaker 2: I've revisited them all except Paranorman. I mean, take away
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: this podcast, Missing Link and Box Trolls, I don't really
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: ever visit it. But Coraline I have more than a
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: few times, Paranorman the most, and Kubo I've seen a
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: few times. But yeah, as far as just overall achievement,
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: Kubo for me.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: There you go. Any parting shots?
• 41:33
  Speaker 2: Let's all go see Wildwood, shall we?
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: Let's go see Wildwood, yeah. That's going to do it
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: for another episode of the VIXFLIX podcast. Thank you guys
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: for tuning in. As a reminder, you can rate, review,
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: subscribe to Nashville Movie Dispatch wherever you take in your podcast.
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: And check out all of our written work at NashvilleMovieDispatch.substack.com.
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: For Brandon, I'm Stoney. And until next time, you stay classy, moviegoers.