Episode 128: Snow Dogs

Yes, friends, as you can see from the title of this episode, it's time for a good old-fashioned "Pull off the bandage" episode of Mousterpiece Cinema. Gabe and Josh, first-timers to the 2002 comedy Snow Dogs went in as open-minded as possible, but this dumb, goofy movie about an uptight dentist dealing with dogs in Alaska wore them down quickly. They're joined by Sound on Sight contributor Zach Lewis to discuss many important matters, such as the acting talents of Sisqo and James Coburn, a 1970s mystery co-written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, 1980s pop stars making cameo appearances in new movies, Terrence Howard's reference to War Machine in the first Iron Man, and the qualitative merits of Jingle All The Way. Also, Snow Dogs. We promise, we did talk about Snow Dogs in this episode. But we also went on a few tangents. Can you blame us?

Episode 127: The Great Muppet Caper

It's time, again, to play the music and light the lights. OK, fine, we're not actually talking about The Muppet Show on this week's Mousterpiece Cinema, but one of the Jim Henson-era Muppet movies is close enough, right? With only a couple of months away from the brand-new Muppets movie, set in Europe and focusing on a heist, Gabe and Josh take on The Great Muppet Caper, which is...set in Europe and focuses on a heist. Joining them is return guest Anthony Strand of ToughPigs.com, and the real challenge this week is getting to the bottom of a difficult question: why doesn't Josh love this movie like everyone else? It's a sad state of affairs, indeed, but Anthony and Gabe do their best to figure it out, just like the rest of you. Check it out to see if Josh embraces his inner Anglophile!

Episode 126: Sleeping Beauty

Did you know that a dream is a wish your heart makes? And we knew you, once upon such a very dream. OK, OK, we're not actually confusing the topic of this week's Mousterpiece Cinema, the 1959 Disney classic Sleeping Beauty, with the 1950 Disney classic, Cinderella, but can you blame us? The two movies, as well as the old favorite Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, maybe share a few too many similarities, all of which are unearthed and uncovered on the new show. Gabe and Josh are joined by longtime friend of the show Kate Kulzick of The Televerse and Sound on Sight's TV section to tackle this lush and artistic standby of Disney's animated canon. But is the romance of two pretty people enough to trump a surprisingly high number of plot holes and a lack of character? Or will there only be one brave soul to stand in defense of this movie in the face of at least one dragon-like opponent? You can only find out by listening to the new show, so don't wait another minute!

Episode 125: Toy Story

Happy new year, friends! We're kicking things off in 2014 right by going back to the old bedroom and playing with some of our toys. That sounded a little weird, right? Well, the non-weird thing said in a weird way may be the secret theme of the first new Mousterpiece Cinema of 2014, as Gabe and Josh journey back to the very first fully computer-animated feature film, Toy Story. For this episode, Alex Dowd of The AV Club joined Gabe and Josh as they put on their nostalgia goggles, just a bit, and praised the antics of Buzz Lightyear, Sheriff Woody, and the rest of Andy's lovable toys. BUT. It may turn out that one of these three gentlemen is a bit heartless, a bit cruel, and a bit unwilling to accept Buzz Lightyear as being a great guy. (Hint: it may be the same person who, in 2013, revealed that he doesn't like that dogs that much.) Because it's Toy Story, though, there's a happy ending. ...Again, that sounds weirder than it should. Anyway, take a listen to this episode and travel...wait for it...to infinity and beyond!