Episode 150: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

It's a big day here at Mousterpiece Cinema HQ, as we're celebrating our third anniversary with our 150th episode! Yes, friends, it's really been three years since Josh started a podcast about Disney movies all on his own by ranting about Cars 2. Things have changed a ton, of course, since those halcyon days, and today, we've got a corker of a show for you. Josh and Gabe couldn't help but ring the bell for the 1996 animated adaptation of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which might be the most underrated film of the Disney Renaissance. And they're joined in their conversation by Grantland/Entertainment Weekly writer Mark Harris, who's also the author of the new film history book Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and The Second World War. Come for the discussion about Quasimodo's struggle for acceptance as being an encoded gay story, and stay for Josh's mini-interview with Mark during the Audible section of the show. This episode's a big one, so check it out!

Episode 149: George of the Jungle

This week on Mousterpiece Cinema, Josh and Gabe are going back to the jungle with one of the most iconic vine-swingers of all. He's daring, he's brave, and he's...probably about to hit some tree that's in his way. Yes, we're not talking about Tarzan this week, but his goofier counterpart, George of the Jungle. Specifically, we're talking about the agreeably silly live-action adaptation of this Jay Ward creation from Walt Disney Pictures, starring a young Brendan Fraser, a young Leslie Mann, a young Thomas Haden Church, and a...well, not-young John Cleese, among others. And to add to the fun, Josh and Gabe are joined by IGN TV Executive Editor Eric Goldman in a typically free-form discussion that covers the ins and outs of proper physical comedy, the consistency of various poop jokes, widescreen vs. pan-and-scan DVDs, and, of course, the Cheers spin-off Wings. Don't worry, it all ties into George of the Jungle, so check it out! But...oh, no, watch out for that tree!

Episode 148: Flubber

We've finally reached our conclusion of the not-so-esteemed franchise all about an absent-minded professor, his bouncy green creation, and all of the sports games he rigs so he can secretly take home a ton of cash from gambling. (OK, maybe that last part isn't entirely true.) Yes, on this week's Mousterpiece Cinema, Gabe and Josh--sans guest--tackle the 1997 remake of The Absent-Minded Professor known as Flubber. (If you're a new listener, don't worry: we've already discussed the 1960s movies about Professor Brainerd. Just closing things out!) And, as you might expect, Flubber isn't exactly the best of the series. Josh uses this film as a chance to discuss his opinion of the John Hughes oeuvre/alienate pretty much everyone in the living world, and Gabe uses it as a way to figure out the logic of getting married on a college campus during the middle of the week. In short, it's a good, old-fashioned episode of the podcast, so check it out now!

Episode 147: Maleficent

Listen well, all of you! OK, maybe that's a bit of a rude welcome, but it does fit with the film in question on today's new episode of Mousterpiece Cinema. For our first episode here at Movie Mezzanine, hosts Josh Spiegel and Gabe Bucsko traveled to a world of magic, fantasy, and extraordinary cheekbones by discussing the newest film from Walt Disney Pictures, Maleficent. Josh and Gabe invited two of The Dissolve's senior editors, Tasha Robinson and Genevieve Koski, onto the show to debate the merits of this reinvention of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale featuring Angelina Jolie as the self-proclaimed Mistress of All Evil. Were they impressed by the CGI backgrounds, the fantasy, and the romance? Or were they terrified by Jolie or the truest terror of all, Sharlto Copley and his Scottish accent? Don't wait any longer to find out--check out the show pronto!