Jabber Pack
Two lovers discuss and debate questions about movies, mental health and more. We may not always find the answers, but we sure will have fun trying. We are big fans of all things wolves, dogs and Disney, so you'll probably hear a lot of that entering the fray.
Jabber Pack
Episode 05 - Zootopia 2
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Welcome to Jabber Pack! The podcast of 2 lovers discussing a wide variety of things and play video games in the background. In today’s episode, we were playing Lego Lord of the Rings. Have you ever played Lego games? I avoided them for years and am sad I did; they are good, silly fun!
Howl is everyone doing?
We finally got around to watching Zootopia 2! You know, because it’s on streaming now. We decided to do a “gut reaction" to the film, recording this around 30 minutes after we watched it.
We also wanted to announce that, Alex (David Moeller) narrated an audiobook that released the day this was recorded! It is a sci-fi/thriller called, “The Conspiracy Within”. Here is a link to it on Audible.
https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Conspiracy-Within-Audiobook/B0GS72WLWS
Thank you for checking this out! We hope to see you bark again soon!
Our site: https://jabberpack.com
How is everybody doing, and welcome to Jabber Pack. I am Alex. And I am Rogue. And today we are fresh off the press of having watched Zootopia 2. No, not in theaters. We had to wait till it comes out to streaming like commoner hooligans that we are. So.
SPEAKER_00No, we're just cheap. Let's be honest, we're just cheap.
SPEAKER_04But Disney's too expensive. They get their money from us either way, so.
SPEAKER_00True.
SPEAKER_04Um. But there's some irony again. I think I mentioned it in the past, that we basically live across the street from a movie theater, yet we rarely go to the movies. Not that we wouldn't if we could, but that is neither here nor there. Here is us talking about Zootopia 2. I mean, I can't say we just watched it. It's been what, 30 minutes?
SPEAKER_00Uh, something like that.
SPEAKER_04Okay, so close enough. So lots of time has gone by for us to sit and ruminate and think about this lovely movie. And so we thought we'd dive in and say what we think.
SPEAKER_00I'll let you go first.
SPEAKER_04Okay, very good. Well, for those who haven't seen um any zootopias, I guess spoilers ahead for sure. Um, we're not really gonna recap the first movie. Bunny becomes a cop, saves the day. Boom.
SPEAKER_00Um no, you gotta be more specific. Bunny becomes a cop, teams up with a fox criminal, saves the day.
SPEAKER_04There you go.
SPEAKER_00You you gotta you gotta include the fox in there.
SPEAKER_04Alleged criminal.
SPEAKER_00He was a con artist.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I guess he made that very clear. Oh, and he was uh he was guilty of felony tax evasion, too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they make that very clear. How the heck he became a cop when he was guilty of felony tax evasion and didn't like reconcile that I will never understand it, but that's a topic for a different day.
SPEAKER_04Well, it's a different world in these movies, especially in the second one, and they make it very clear that they notice and prosecute some crimes and completely ignore others, so um we won't that we won't delve too much into that.
SPEAKER_00That's a whole whole lot of headache to get into.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. But um the second one's interesting, of course, because um pseudo-premis, uh somehow, even though they're both cops, they s uh Judy and Nick uh get uh they become fugitives uh by uh looking guilty of something that they are not. Uh and hijinks ensue. Um specifically, uh, even though racism was supposedly erased in the first movie, everyone hates reptiles in this movie.
SPEAKER_00Speciesm, right.
SPEAKER_04Whatever. Um But, you know, supposedly it was erased in the uh in the first movie, but uh now it's back again with uh reptiles because of an incident in the past where a reptile killed someone, and boy, that's terrible, so let us ban all reptiles. Now I will say there's a little bit of hypocrisy in that, in that, uh not hypocrisy, that's the wrong word, but with um like one type of creature did something in the past, and now they've all got a lifetime ban. I mean, dang, that's harsh. I mean, it comes to light a little bit of why that is to a small extent, but uh, you know, in the first movie, everybody was getting mad at predators for the longest time, and but they were still allowed to live in the city even though they were attacking people. Story for another day. Um but so when we review movies, kind of our we do these gut opinion reviews. Uh, we have a little bit of a list we go through. Basically, the main premise is um we're talking about the best aspects and the worst aspects. Now, worst is probably a bit of a mean word, because some movies, you know, don't have things that are terrible about them, but they might have things that could potentially be improved, or maybe they have things in them that they should have taken out. So that's kind of our focus. Um you'll have to bear with us because the names of some of these characters, we've got a list in front of us, but um might take us a second to remember who's who now and again.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and let's just be honest, some of the names are just weird.
SPEAKER_04Well, upon researching the names from the movie, apparently half of them are puns based on the cameo celebrities who played them, so that's nice.
SPEAKER_00At least I can admire the creativity there.
SPEAKER_04Oh, no. I mean, I am uh my humor is 99% cheese, so I can appreciate a good pun. Uh more than anyone, I think, but you know. On we move. So now we g the first thing we usually talk about is the best character in the sense of being the most well-written character. Um not necessarily like, oh, this is the greatest character of all time, or my favorite character, but this character just Um has the most depth and intrigue about them. So I don't know if you have anybody in mind, having just watched the film. Because our opinions could change in an hour, for all I know. Because sometimes you forget certain parts of a movie, and then you're like, oh wait, there was this, and so never mind. So this is just live at five after seeing the movie.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, for for me, if out of a hat after just watching the movie a little bit ago, for for the best character, I honestly it for me, as basic as it sounds, I would say Nick and Judy. Go figure. I mean two main characters, but the amount of growth they uh go through in the movie, as well as giving a little more depth to each character than they had in the first movie, I think they did really well in Zootopia 2.
SPEAKER_04Well, sure, because even though Judy has this nice little speech she gives at the end of the movie of, okay, you know, uh the world isn't perfect, we have to keep trying, Q Shakira song. Uh you know, it did have a little bit of a happy ever after fluff feeling to it. Uh, so I agree that it was cool to see that even characters who uh work well together or worked well together, the first one, and get along good, respect the heck out of each other, still have massive issues, especially in regards to their communication. And I I, you know, again, as boring and generic as it is, I would agree with you because the movie basically you spend more time with them than anybody else, obviously, they're the main characters, so it might be a cheap shot, but I think I'm gonna have to agree agree with you on that one. Just because you know, showing a character's weakness is a double-edged sword. You can either make your character look really wussy, make your characters look really dumb, or you if you do it right, you make your characters grow and your audience can appreciate 'em more because of it. But people have mixed opinions on where you draw that line.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but for me it's I I guess my biggest thing, which is why I really appreciate how they did it, is with Nick and Judy throughout the movie they kinda to me, they become more relatable because of how they showed their character weaknesses. They became more relatable as characters as individuals. So I that I really appreciate, especially with it being a kid's movie.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It just it well It's a kid's movie, but they definitely hit some of the nails, specifically for adults.
SPEAKER_04Well, it's it's what I would call a kid's asterisk movie. It's a movie that kid that's marketed mainly for kids, that uh is the rating is safe for kids, but they throw enough writing in there that adults will exclusively appreciate that they can enjoy it just as much. Or, you know, best case scenario, you're a kid, you watch the movie and enjoy it, and then you grow up, and there's more you appreciate about it as time goes on. And I know as an adult watching shows like Animaniacs, uh, there's a lot they got away with that's incredible that I appreciate much more now as an adult.
SPEAKER_00So we're talking eight late 80s and 90s. TV and movies get away with a lot more in the 80s and 90s than they could today.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's fair.
SPEAKER_00Mind you, there are some movies today that are trying to challenge that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, like I'm I'm gonna guess Zootopia 2 is rated PG. I don't remember. I mean, I don't care, but it is rated PG.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I would have thought so. It's rated a PG, but it shouldn't be. I mean it's not that bad when it comes to but ratings are stupid.
SPEAKER_04So well, yeah, there there's PG and then there's 1980s PG. Uh you know, PG meant a lot more in the 80s than it than it does now. I mean, I think even Inside Out is PG.
SPEAKER_00I think most movies are rated PG unless they're like little kid movies. No offense to I'm not trying to bash on little kid movies, but let's be honest, people, uh, th things aren't that bad.
SPEAKER_04Well, it's it's like they've doled down what PG means uh because they're too worried if they m rate a movie G and there's anything in there at all that's offensive, then people are gonna I mean I guess they just get mad at the uh who is it, the MSRP?
SPEAKER_00What the heck is the uh whoever rates movies, we'll just put it that way. Whoever rates the movies.
SPEAKER_04So, you know, nobody wants to get sued because hooray, it's America. What can you do? Um, but none of that's important. But do you have a guilty favorite character who's maybe not the best written character, but for some reason you liked, I guess, you know, or characters that stand out.
SPEAKER_00I like Gary.
SPEAKER_04The snake.
SPEAKER_00I like Gary Desnake.
SPEAKER_04Gary Desnake.
SPEAKER_00Gary Desnake.
SPEAKER_04Though I will point out that um if he's French, the that would be pronounced Desnake. Just saying. E in French makes the o sound.
SPEAKER_00I don't think he's French.
SPEAKER_04I know, but it's a it's a it's a French last name.
SPEAKER_00I'm pretty sure he's not French. His ancestors might have been French, but I'm pretty sure he's not French. I mean okay, spoilers, for anybody who hasn't seen the movie, one, you really shouldn't. It's on Disney Plus, it's it's worth watching. But Gary's just s so wholesome.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So wholesome and cute. And I don't I'm not the big biggest fan of snakes, but you can't help but fall in love with Gary the Snake. He's just so cute. Just lovable.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, go to the Disney store and buy a plush now. Even though Disney stores are getting harder to find.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm not going to Disney, just go to a Disney store to buy a plush, I'll find it on Amazon.
SPEAKER_04You know, another multi-billion dollar character.
SPEAKER_01We're not we're not here to discuss that. But looking back the movie.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I mean, I have a couple characters that uh were stand out to me. Uh I guess uh you know, like you said, the wholesomeness of Gary really uh spoke to me. Just because uh while he's the one who kind of starts all of these things happening, um, which means he's technically breaks a law, I guess, because does he? I'm trying to think. Well, I don't know Zootopia law.
SPEAKER_00Well, I don't think he broke any laws because snakes aren't banned from Zootopia. You just can't find 'em in Zootopia. They're hiding out.
SPEAKER_04Well, yeah, but I mean he he stole a thing. So there's that.
SPEAKER_00Oh true. So theft.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but I mean, w what I appreciate about him is his um quiet optimism, I guess, is the best way I can describe it. He's a character who uh never gives up in spirit. Uh, and that helps save the day later, and it's um it it kind of shows that even you have somebody like Judy Hops in the first film, and I I like that you said the word relatable in regards to uh, you know, Judy and Nick becoming more relatable, because I don't relate to certain aspects of Judy in the first film, specifically her um her over-the-top not giving up attitude. Because there's, like I said, Gary has this quiet aspect of not giving up, but Judy, it's over the top. She's, you know, you wake up with that alarm at nothing in the morning and you uh do push-ups, even though it never shows her doing push-ups, but you know, she's very um jump out of the bed at 5 a.m., dressed, ready to go, like she just had a gallon of coffee. Yeah, and jumping headfirst into any situation.
SPEAKER_00Uh so she's reckless.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And in it works in her favor in the end, in the first movie, but it kind of bites her in the butt in this movie a few times. And I appreciate that they pointed that out because it is a good message they said in the first movie that okay, well, I mean, try everything asterisk. Don't break the law.
SPEAKER_01Um giant asterisk there.
SPEAKER_04But you know, don't be afraid to try something just because the odds might be against you, or because um That's why we're doing a podcast. Yeah, exactly. So I appreciate that. But um I just don't have her uh I'm not gonna be jumping out of bed at 5 a.m.
SPEAKER_00like I just got zapped with a taser and had a gallon of coffee, like literally poured down my throat. No, thank you.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so because of that, I sympathize with Gary a lot because he he even calls out Judy once because yeah, her attitude is okay, we have to overprepare, we have to make sure we know exactly what we're doing, and this is where we're going, and this is and he's like, you know, calm down, chick, we got this.
SPEAKER_00He's a very go kind of go-with the flow bit of personality there compared to her always having to have a plan scheduled. Everything has to be in order to work, type of personality.
SPEAKER_04At the same time, she makes reckless, uh, off-the-cuff decisions that endanger herself, the public, her partner. Um, one thing I noticed in uh, and I don't know if they did this on purpose, maybe I'm reading into it too much, but in a lot of the trailers for Zootopia, they selectively showed clips of Nick and Judy referring to each other as partners, while also, I mean, they never wear a uniform through most of the movie. Um, so I think they were kind of maybe intimating that, oh, they're not referring to professional partners, they mean personal partners. Which, you know, that's there too, especially by the end of the movie. You get it. They they're uh they're crushing on each other and all that good stuff, but um kids' movie.
SPEAKER_00They have to keep it at the at the certain level to not intimate too much at something, but also hint it it's Disney.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but I feel like they leaned into it a little bit when they did the trailers.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, no kidding.
SPEAKER_04Because uh I think a lot of fans were shipping those too, because I mean They were shipping them from the end of the first one. Well, yeah, I know, because I mean they even s Nick even says, You know you love me, and Judy says, Yeah, I do, and so you you get it. They uh create some workplace conflict they never quite address, but whatever. That's that's fine. Um I just say that.
SPEAKER_01They're animals, but we shouldn't be reading too much into this. Oh, sure.
SPEAKER_04But I'm just saying there's a lot of um employers who have um oh what are they called? Anti-fratinization? Yeah, hard word to say.
SPEAKER_00Policies where it's like Yeah, but typically that only applies to superiors and subordinates, not to colleagues. So that's how they can get away with it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that was a point of contention in the mutual job we had, but that's that's not there, and that's not a part of the discussion. Um but uh so I appreciate back to Gary that he uh that he has that optimism of okay, it's gonna be okay, we're gonna we're gonna do this. He also has the strength to back that optimism up. It's not totally blind optimism. You know, it's it's a quiet confidence that feels like it's been built through the years and it's very soft, it's very sincere. I want to give him a hug.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Um uh and then, you know, guilty pleasure characters I probably liked. Um uh Kronk as the uh mayor of the city.
SPEAKER_00Oh, it's Brian Windancer.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Voice by Patrick Warburton, who I'm sorry, no matter what he does, he's always Kronk to me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you can't not hear Kronk when you hear him. And the fact that they made him a burly muscular horse doesn't help. The only difference between the horse and Kronk is the horse has flowing blood, hair, and hooves.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's the only difference. Everything else, it's it's just Kronk with an animal body. Let's be honest.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, they they definitely pull the lovable idiot uh stereotype with him.
SPEAKER_00Very much so.
SPEAKER_04Now, um, through the movie, you know, you you question where exactly he sits on, you know, good guy, bad guy line. And so that's interesting, but very entertaining. Um, but this can flip the pancake over to the are there characters who you um didn't like, either by design, because like most villains you're supposed to not like by design, um, but are there characters who you don't intrinsically like because of either how they're written, how they're played?
SPEAKER_00Nibbles. For those unfamiliar, Nibbles is the beaver, who plays a very, in my opinion, is a very annoying sidekick-esque character.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I mean over the top annoying sidekick-esque.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, they uh which I do apologize for this, but I didn't know she was a girl for half the movie.
SPEAKER_00Nibbles is a girl.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I no. Nibbles is very much like, mmm. I don't like it. I don't like the character. No offense to the person who plays the character. I do not like the character. How they were portrayed is just uh over the top.
SPEAKER_04Well, and then when it comes to the plot, I feel like Nibbles was highly um highly motivated from the writing standpoint of driving the plot. Uh, in the sense, and that sounds like a good thing, but uh I kind of see it as a duct taping pieces of the movie together. Like, oh well, because in the movie this character has a podcast. Wonder what that's like. And uh uh And so through watching uh pieces of the podcast, it kind of shanghais and glues a couple pieces of the plot together and gives Judy motivation to look into certain things, um, and then she's kind of their uh Shoehorn into the reptile underground, and I get they were going for they wanted somebody with a boisterous, over-the-top, in-your-face personality, and that that can work. Um, but I feel like Judy had enough of that chaos energy herself, the way she, you know, goes into situations. So having a character who is over the top in that regard, uh, I didn't think was necessary. I feel like they could have steered the characters where they needed to go, maybe a little more organically, without being like, oh, here's a thing I saw online. Oh, and that's gonna have me think about this, that's gonna help me drive my plot and my motivations, um, as opposed to just saying, oh, I'm a police bunny, and I'm gonna notice, I mean, something else, and it's it's not bad that she noticed from a clues in a podcast, but it's just like seemed a little a little weak, I guess, to have her drive.
SPEAKER_00And they they could have and uh again, I can't say enough spoilers. They could have left it after they left the swamp. They could have left the character of Nibbles there and been done.
SPEAKER_04They also had a chance to leave her dead.
SPEAKER_00Technically she that happened after the swamp, so I know. They could have left her after the swamp, and it wouldn't have made much of a difference to the plot, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_04True.
SPEAKER_00Um I I guess the only redeeming stuff is oh, she saved Nick because of the because of circumstances. Yeah. So yay for that, but there were other things that could have happened. There were other things that could have happened there.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, like so again, this is all spoilers, so I don't I'm tired of saying it. Just it's implied at this point. So yeah, so uh, you know, like I said, Judy and Nick are on the run from the law, uh, because uh they're falsely accused of uh being a part of attack on the chief, which was really an accident, but not important. Um but long story short, at some point Nick ends up in jail, and apparently so does Nibbles, and she helps break him out, cool, but she also Um prods at him enough to get him to kind of open up about okay, why is he not just talking about his feelings and stuff, and uh, you know, why is he guard against everything with sarcasm to the point that it starts to push people or rabbit, I guess, away that uh he actually doesn't want to push away. Okay, people asterisk, whatever. Um but it was a little weird because then inevitably later, Judy and Nick, after uh near-death experience, you know, finally have that good heart-to-heart, good talk with each other, and so it sort of felt like it was unnecessary for Nick to open up to a stranger and then open up to Judy. I get in real life that probably is how it happens a lot, and it's very helpful. If you want to, if you're having trouble telling somebody how you feel, especially if it's about aspects of your relationship that you're worried might shake things up and weaken your relationship or um put it in some sort of uh danger of ending if you bring up certain things. It is helpful to talk to a third party who's not involved, like a friend or a therapist, and say, okay, here's what I want to say, here's what I'm noticing, here's what they're doing, and here's kind of where I'm coming from. It can help you comport your thoughts. But for a movie, characters can be magic and have a speech in their pockets, which is um some uh a problem I have with Mirabelle, but that's another movie.
SPEAKER_00Um we'll discuss that one later.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Um, but you know, there's some character but characters and movies just have these perfectly written speeches out of the gate, which is great because you don't want to waste the audience's time, and unless the point of the movie is trying to learn to speak, like the king's speech, um, then you don't really need to see necessarily them go through all these motions to prepare to have that lovely um conversation showing the growth they've had. Um so one more, you know, questionable scene with Nibbles. Again, not a hateful character. I don't think, oh, they're the absolute worst, but I yeah, they probably could have done without them in the movie. I say, um, that's E M, not H-I-M. I know it's a girl. Um and it would have been just fine.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, I get wanting to have that, like you were saying, uh, that character to quote unquote bridge the gap for emotionally for Nick and Judy, but Nibbles I don't think was the way to do it. I mean, I guess it pseudo worked. He's gotten I mean the movie is really good, but they could have done it a different way.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, well, and you look at uh going back to Gary the Snake, who who was a very warm and sincere character in his motivations and in his interactions with uh Oh, he is a snake.
SPEAKER_00He's warm-blooded, is he not?
SPEAKER_04No.
SPEAKER_00Oh no, technically these snakes are more blood, but yeah.
SPEAKER_04It's a point of contention in the movie. Um but so I feel like a character who was more sincere would have it would have felt more natural to have them be kind of the catalyst for our two main leads to uh open up to each other. But I mean, at the end of the day, near death experience opened above, and that's great, that's cool. Uh which I do wonder so alright, so I I said near-death experience, so our our twist villain, get to him in a minute, um, poisons Judy and Nibbles. And Gary, thankfully, has uh anti-venom, because of course the villain's trying to frame snakes. Uh but m they sort of equated the anti-venom he had to an epi pen, and if that's the case, those are a single-dose device.
SPEAKER_00So I would question how you question how uh Gary saved nibbles when he used it on duty first?
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Magic.
SPEAKER_04Which, if they're equating it to an epi pen, PSA, do not stab an epi pen into somebody's heart.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Don't stab an epi pen into somebody's heart and don't stick somebody with the same used needle.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00No, okay, that's another thing. It's like, okay, if it if it's even if it had more than one dose of anti-venom in it. You literally just stabbed two different animals in the hearts with the same injector.
SPEAKER_04Oh, no. No. No, yikes.
SPEAKER_00There's so many things wrong with that.
SPEAKER_04Yikes and a haircut, two bits.
SPEAKER_00There's so many things. Yeah, I I agree with you. It's like, no, no, a million times no. Just no.
SPEAKER_04Uh especially like if their blood types were different, then that can cause a blood clot. Ugh. I mean, that's the least of the concerns, but still.
SPEAKER_00Okay. That is the first thing that came to your mind when you thought about two different species of animals getting stabbed in the heart with the same vector pen that may or may not have had enough antivom for both of them.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Okay, now emergency PSA. Epi pens do technically have more medicine in there than they administer. So if you're on an island and you've used an epi pen and you absolutely have to use it again, you can disassemble it and force it to inject more in there. Don't try that at home if there's another option. But just saying, if you're in an emergency situation and you have to get more epinephrine out of there, it is hypertechnically possible, just not advised. But I'm not a medical professional. Don't take anything I say as everything we say with a grain of salt. Yes, please. The only professional thing I am is a professional weirdo.
SPEAKER_00So I'm with you there.
SPEAKER_04Alright. Now, so I feel like the natural shift at this point, I've kind of talked a little bit about the villainy in the movie. So it's probably worth talking about a little bit. So, I mean, we've we've kind of um pepperonied a little bit of what the plot of this movie is, but um to give a quick actual recap, start to finish, um you have, you know, the whole reptiles are kind of underground after this incident a long time ago, where Over 100 years. Over a hundred years is a long time ago.
SPEAKER_00Um I'm just giving time frame context.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Get happy. Um so because of that, snakes are kind of bleh, um, reptiles bleh, thrown under the rug a little bit. Uh and the big science that makes Zootopia work is these big uh walls that keep the environments in the respective sections working together. And they were all supposedly invented by um a dude with the last name Lynxley, who is a Lynx go figure. And um Milton Linksley, to be exact. Oh, Milton was the okay I thought it was Milton.
SPEAKER_00No. Sorry. Milton's the dad.
SPEAKER_04Who knows? Who cares? Somebody does. Um on both fronts. But so Zootopia is celebrating a hundred-year anniversary, and they're gonna debut the or you know, show off this uh journal where the this Lynxley dude wrote all of his ideas and um stuff down to make these magic walls work. Uh and uh at this set event, uh Judy and Nick are there because they suspect a snake is gonna steal it. Uh, and they were right. Um, but the snake has good motivations because it turns out, dun dun, dun, the the lynx people are really evil. Um, and they the guy way back when didn't invent this, he stole the invention from a snake, and the person who was killed by a snake was really killed by the lynx dude. Uh, as you later learn. And then there's a rebellious guy in the Lynx family who's supposedly helping them for a while, and but he's the twist villain of the movie, and he was really using them to use their knowledge and stuff to to f find uh evidence that would prove that it was really this snake in the past that invented this stuff, um, and not uh the Lynx dude in the past.
SPEAKER_00Um He only wanted to find the evidence so he could destroy it, so that way he could basically gain approval from his father and siblings to show that he actually belonged in the Lynxley family and that he was a Lynxley because they don't feel he belongs.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So so when they're at the point of uh they're at a crucial junction, that's when he turns on them and stabs Judy with a snake poison pen, stabs uh Nibbles with a snake poison pen, and tries to snab Snab?
SPEAKER_01Stab?
SPEAKER_04Stab Nick. I'm just combining the words. It's what we do in English. We just squash words together. We get it from the French. They do it a lot more than we do.
SPEAKER_00Um Yes, but is there like is their language not older than ours? We'll okay. Ignore that. Ignore that. We're not going into that.
SPEAKER_04We just from the French. Well, we we I'm saying we stole it.
SPEAKER_00Anyway. Off topic.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, in their adventures, uh Nick, Judy team up with Snake and um secret bad guy Lynx, who's supposedly against his family, but really just trying to get the approval of his family, and then Nibbles gets shoved in there at some point as well. But, you know, uh, everything ends up okay. They they get the uh misused EpiPen or uh anti-venom pen. Uh, and they're able to stop villain, find evidence, save the day, everyone is happy. Um, so after that brief overview, there's several layers of villains in the movie, I guess. Because you have your uh, you know, in the very, very beginning you think, okay, maybe the snakes are the villains, but that doesn't last long. You quickly learn that this Lynx family is very power-hungry, and um part of what they're trying to do is expand the Tundra region, which would further squash where a lot of the reptiles have uh um conglomerated?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So you quickly learn the lynxes are evil. Um, but then you know the your your second villain is the uh twist lynx that you think is on the good guy's side, but then he's on the bad guy's side. Then you kind of have Mayor Kronkhorse, um, who is working. It's very clear that the Lynx family helped get him into power, and uh, you know, so he's basically under their thumb and doing what they say, but by the end he turns a new leaf and fights for the good guys, and all is forgiven, I suppose.
SPEAKER_00We'll we'll we'll touch base on that in a minute. I've got some thoughts on a couple of things there.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Um, so uh so we both sort of touched that Nibbles isn't wasn't our favorite character. Um so a lot of these villains were designed to hate, so it's easy to also say some of them are unliked characters. I can't say I um, you know, I I didn't love any of the villains, but I I didn't hate them from a standpoint of like they're tough to watch kind of villains, I suppose.
SPEAKER_00I hated them because they were evil, but I did like the characters themselves.
SPEAKER_04Right. It's not like, oh, this villain was either so poorly written or too over-the-top evil to make them watchable. They're they're they do their job. They villain, they get the villain done.
SPEAKER_00Um I mean I mean the only the the only one I'd have I I would say I have any issue with is the is Palbert the good guy turned bad guy or bad guy in disguise type villain.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_00Cause by the end of the movie they I'm sorry, they did him a little dirty there by making him completely psychotic.
SPEAKER_04Right, they pulled a Hans from Frozen, which is where the uh the plot demanded a twist villain, so they they Well, that Hans from Frozen's another story in itself, but Yeah, I I I don't even know if I compare him to Hans, because with Hans uh they turn him villain, but they don't turn him psychotic villain.
SPEAKER_00Cause I I'm sorry, I used the reference during the movie, and for those who have seen it, congratulations, you'll get the reference. They didn't need a pull of shining like they did. They turned him way too psychotic, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And I feel like they could have they could have made him a more intriguing villain character, even if he didn't go from good to bad to good, which, you know, could have been nice to see to be somebody who um, you know, shows their true colors, um, but then, you know, maybe their actions turn 18, but Disney, you know, is uh under a fire for making some crap villains, so maybe they wanted to make one that was a little more uh nose to the grindstone. But the his motivation, I think, is what makes him is the only interesting thing about him because uh a lot of people have experience of coming from toxic relationships, whether it's romantic or in their family or in their workplace, where no matter how hard you try, you're never going to fit in or feel good enough for a certain group. Uh I come from my extended relatives, not my nuclear family, but you know, my family's the black sheep of my extended relatives. And so being in that situation, I sympathize that it's very difficult to feel like nothing you do is going to be good enough in the eyes of a certain group you want to be a part of. But wanting to be a part of it ends up being the most toxic thing of all, and the biggest thing you can do to grow out of that is to realize, oh, I don't need to be part of this group. Because if nothing I ever do is going to be good enough for them, then why am I seeking their approval in the first place?
SPEAKER_00Well, it I do appreciate that Disney tried to play on the possible redeeming arc there. And then it it was like they tried to play it for a whole two seconds, and then Sha said, nope, we're forgetting that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, like you said, they go full shining psycho at the end.
SPEAKER_00Which I I have a I my biggest thing is that with that is I've got questions. How did he get untied? Because they tied him up before they went into the building. How did he get untied? And how far behind were what were they? Pigs? Borges? Yeah. I think they were Borges. Two of the police officers two other police officers. How'd they catch up to him so fast? When he's a lynx, he's gonna run faster than they do. But they were behind him in the building within seconds to knock him out with what was it, a frying pan or something?
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Where'd they get the frying pan in it? I think they just catch him sooner.
SPEAKER_04They got it from Flynn Ryder.
SPEAKER_00Okay, where was Flynn hiding? In the abandon in one of the abandoned buildings under the random snow cavern, that also makes no sense. Well, they put the maze on top of the snow cavern.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Judy burrowed into the snow. Right outside the maze. How did she not hit the ice that's covering this hidden reptile refuge?
SPEAKER_03Plot convenience.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so um when they uh when they when when the evil lynxes originally were building Zootopia, they basically buried the living area of uh where the reptiles were.
SPEAKER_00They covered the area the reptiles lived in snow and built their mansion on top of it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Along with a giant hedge maze.
SPEAKER_03Neat.
SPEAKER_00Psychotic.
SPEAKER_04But Well, no, I don't think the hedge maze was directly on top of it because they they had to go through the maze and travel for a bit before they got to where they needed to go. But it wasn't far off, so they they had to go yes, you're right.
SPEAKER_00They had to go through the maze and travel a little bit before they got to the lighthouse that was at the back end of the city. So they were at the furthest point from the city. The city expanded towards the mansion, directly under the maze.
SPEAKER_03Neat.
SPEAKER_00So so how it's still there when they uh managed that. Though I don't even know how the hedge maze existed, but that that's a different matter. You can't grow things in just a layer of snow.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's true. I mean, you have your coniferous uh trees and stuff, but the hedges didn't appear to be It was just the hedge maze. Which, by the way, it took me almost 30 years of life to understand that conifer trees are named because they're shaped like a cone.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_04It took me way too long in life to understand that.
SPEAKER_00Alright then.
SPEAKER_04Um
SPEAKER_00That's that's the social band.
SPEAKER_04So I I feel like Uh Like you said, they they kind of did him dirty by just making him go all out crazy. When I feel like they they could have they could have shown an extra level of character growth, even if he still ends up a villain at the end of the day, having some sort of reflection of, wow, I did all these things. Uh and all I have to do is mess up just a little bit, no matter how good I've been, no matter how good of a deed I do, and I'm gonna just lose my reputation with my family again. Uh and having observed firsthand the motivations of Gary, the motivations of Judy and Nick, and seeing how they interact and what healthy relations well, I mean, I say healthy relationships, most of the movie is about them, you know, uh having communication issues.
SPEAKER_00Life is built on a healthy relationship sometimes, but you know, you work on it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but he having seen all that growth, I mean, it does speak to the power of uh familial influence? Yeah. And of trying to be good enough for somebody who just fundamentally will never see you in that way. Uh, you know, I understand his motivations, which, from that point of view, I uh I understand his villainous actions more than his family, who are just serial box villains of just, well, we're evil just cuz, you know. I mean, they they don't even hide it. They're they're constantly being like, okay, we're gonna like uh um like play the part of rich villainy well. Yeah, they like when they catch Nick at one point he's like, I mean, they don't word it quite like this, but not far off of like, well, you know, you're not dead yet just because we you want to make sure you see the headline of us killing your partner. You know, like they're just so blatant about it. It's um in some ways refreshing, but also forgettable, which uh, like I said, makes Pobert a more somewhat more interesting villain, but they didn't quite do what I really would have liked, which even if he stayed a villain, if he would have at least had some kind of reflection of dang, I did all this basically for nothing. So that could have been interesting, because a lot of people accuse Disney of having um some soft softened some villains too much. Um, you know, because having a sympathetic villain, I appreciate, but if you overdo it, then it just makes them a misunderstood good guy, not an actual villain.
SPEAKER_00And so um Yeah, but I guess it's just that fine line between a misunderstood good guy and just over-the-top psycho.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So I feel like they they they could have done him a little better. Um like I don't hate that he was the twist villain, because I understand, like I said, I understand his motivations. Um being in having been in situations where um no matter what I do, it's not good enough for somebody. And that's very toxic, very damaging. But uh, it could have been nice to see some sort of acknowledgement of that instead of just having him go completely off the rails at the end. But whatever. Villains gonna villain. I've seen worse villains, I've seen better, but uh I did roll my eyes a little bit just because you know Disney loves the twist villain, and that is one thing I think they've done too much. Uh but I having chosen that character to be the twist villain, I don't hate the most because of, like I said, I understand where he's coming from.
SPEAKER_00It would have been worse if they had made if they for some reason made Gary the twist villain.
SPEAKER_04Oh yeah. He's like, wow, all of our stereotypes are correct. Great. Uh yeah, no, I don't think Disney would have done that. Um I don't know.
SPEAKER_00They've done some crazy stupid things. So I want to put it past.
SPEAKER_04Well, and then they they they hinted for a split second that Nibbles might have been a twist villain. And then that that's when they did the psych. No, it's uh Paubert. Uh but, you know, I at least if Nibbles was a twist villain, I would have had no sympathy for them, their downfall. Whereas with Pobert, I at least feel like um they they ended up just as bad because they didn't really learn anything, and if they did learn anything, well, either way they're in jail now, so you know.
SPEAKER_00I feel bad that he I I do kind of feel bad that he's literally stuck in a pr in a jail cell with his dad and siblings, though.
SPEAKER_04Right. Having completely failed in his villainous mission, now he's stuck long term with the people who already didn't think highly of him and now probably think worse of him. So it's like, you know.
SPEAKER_00But well, no, no, no, no. I really think they need I think Zootopia needs to rethink their whole prison system thing.
SPEAKER_04Huh. Uh what? Because they have one button that released all the prisoners at once?
SPEAKER_00Well, no, it's not even that. Because I I can I can see in case of an emergency if the building's on fire, okay, and you have quick access to release everybody to give them safety, whatever. That's one thing. But to one, have all of your villains and bad guys and evildoers locked up in one place which I get it st typically I guess they're reflecting on like the states have their own prisons and such, but whatever. But to only have a chain link fence stopping the prisoners from getting out completely and some of those prisoners being elephants and rhinos, they're gonna break through that chain link fence in a heartbeat. So either you're keeping all of your prisoners in their cells 24-7, which let's be honest, that's like borderline that's like insane. Because you're just locking up animals and putting them in cages at that.
SPEAKER_03What is this? A zoo.
SPEAKER_00At least in a zoo they have room to run around.
SPEAKER_03In uh accredited zoos, at least.
SPEAKER_00Oh, fair enough. But to lock them all up and basically keep them in there 24-7 in these cells and only have the chain link fence keeping them from escaping, and why are they parking their cars right by a door that leads to the cells?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, not a well-designed prison.
SPEAKER_00Not to mention how are there two hundred people in there?
SPEAKER_03Magic.
SPEAKER_00Because Judy makes a comment that they really that Nick released 200 bad guys when he broke out of jail. How are there 200 bad guys in that small prison area? It wasn't that big. Do you have like five people per cell?
SPEAKER_04Well, some animals are small. Maybe there was like eighty mice in one cell, and they're all bad. You never know.
SPEAKER_00And if they were, that would have had really, really, really tiny bars. And all the prison cells looked like they were the same, so that would have been impossible to keep them contained anyway.
SPEAKER_04Well, maybe they were in a little kennel inside the cell then. I'm not gonna fill in their movie plot holes.
SPEAKER_00You make I mean Well no, I mean uh of all the of all the things to not like think on, uh it's like making it so easy for all these animals to escape prison because one animal got or technically two animals got out of their cells. It just is yeah.
SPEAKER_04Well, you know, sometimes you never know how bad vulnerabilities are in a system until somebody, you know, slips through all the Swiss cheeseholes and shows it.
SPEAKER_00They're just trying to help progress the plot for the next movie.
SPEAKER_04Well, my worry is, and I hope they don't do this, is they pull a Lilo and Stitch where they make it a series about them catching all the villains. You know, just like Lilo and Stitch made a series out of them catching all of the experiences.
SPEAKER_00They can only get away with making a series out of catching all the experiments because there were six hundred and twenty-five of them.
SPEAKER_04Uh well weren't there well there were technically more than that, because uh you know, I know eat they they made a couple more. But that's not important. That's another movie.
SPEAKER_00Slash series, slash Well the original series was only yeah, the but the original series was only based on the six hundred and twenty-five pre predecessors to Stitch.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00The other movies we're not counting because that's a whole different They only did that for marketing reasons.
SPEAKER_04Alright, indeed.
SPEAKER_00But anyway, moving on.
SPEAKER_04So I guess the final question is uh how does this movie compare to the first one?
SPEAKER_00Personally, I think it's a little bit better than the first one. I think the plot was more uh a little more in-depth. I I honestly think the story was a little more in depth. They did have better development of the characters. So personally, I do think it's a little better.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and I agree. I also think it's a little unfair to when you have a a story that continues through multiple movies, sometimes it's unfair to say, oh, which one's better? Because then it's like, oh, are you only gonna watch one? Well, no, I'm I'll still watch both of them because I liked both of them, but I I did feel like they dug in a little deeper on the second one. And I also appreciated that it felt bigger geographically, because in the first movie you see Judy travel to Zootopia's center, uh, you know, center of the city, which is the metropolis part of the city, outside of all of well, I say outside, it's inside of all of these, uh, this ring of environmentally controlled habitats. But this is the first time you actually get to spend more than a few minutes, because the only one you saw was like uh in the first one was the rainforest district you saw briefly for one scene.
SPEAKER_00But in this one Well no, you saw the rainforest district and you saw uh the ice district too.
SPEAKER_04I believe it's called Thundertown.
SPEAKER_00Thundertown, thank you. But no, you saw Thundertown too, or as well, because that's where they had that's where they followed the limo to.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's true.
SPEAKER_00So you saw Thundertown and you saw the Rainforest District, but those are the only ones you saw, aside from the main city.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, where uh and e even at that, the the parts of the towns they were in were still very close to the city center, so they weren't far off from the urban environment, where here you actually got to see some more, dare I call them, sweeping landscapes, um, and interesting environments, and I appreciated that. Uh because, you know, they they they tout about, oh, here's these amazing places we have in the city, but you know, you really got to see some of them uh in more depth in this movie, so that was good. But that didn't detract from the first one. It's not like oh the first the second one's so good, the first one's mediocre. Now it's they're both really good movies, but I do think that uh I did like the second one a little bit better. Just because it didn't r I mean there's some repeats to an extent, like, okay, in the first movie everybody was specious against uh uh predators for a while, in this movie everyone's specious against uh reptiles from the beginning, which it's weird having everything happened in the first movie, how even characters like Judy and Nick don't necessarily bat an eye for very long to that being just a well-established fact. Which is kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_00Well, I mean, what do you I agree it's a little crazy, but at the same time, because of how they how they did it and led up to it, it was clear that nobody'd seen reptiles in a hundred years in decades. Because again, the incident that that drove reptiles away was a hundred years ago.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So nobody in the in the current lifespan or typical lifespan of a Zootopia resident would remember seeing reptiles. So it it's not to me it wasn't too off the cuff for them to not really think twice about it, because it's it's one of those if it's not something that was around when you were growing up, you wouldn't acknowledge it anyway.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I I can't say it's too shocking that they don't think about there not being reptiles in Zootopia. It's but it's also not too dissimilar from Judy wasn't living in Zootopia when she was first introduced. She was living outside of Zootopia. So the idea that there are animals outside of these borders is something that is established e as a possibility even in the first movie.
SPEAKER_04Well, yeah, and it it it's it's a cultural narrative talking about what are we accepting as just well-known facts and of who belongs and who doesn't belong and why, and most of the time it's based on, you know, misunderstandings, uh, history written by uh biased individuals and things like that that uh can paint an unfortunate picture. So my point in saying all of this wasn't was to say that even though there's a little bit of repeat in there, it didn't feel like a complete repeat. It felt like it it took off right from where the other one ended and grew. Whereas some sequels they take like ten steps back and spend half the movie re-establishing uh where they had gotten to in the first film. An example of that is National Treasure 1 and 2. Because by the time National Treasure 2 ends, uh sorry, National Treasure ends, you have your main characters who, spoiler alert, um, who have found that uh found the treasure are now no longer on the wrong side of the uh law perspectively, they never really were, but um, you know, the FBI is no longer after them because now they understand everything that was going on, and they got a kickback from the treasure, so everybody's kind of in this happily ever after, the Nicolas Cage and Girl get together, um, and hooray. But then the second movie starts, and the f they spend the first half of the movie backpedaling and rebuilding all of that. Like, oh, I guess Nicolas Cage and Girl now broke up. Um, you know, uh Riley was an unsuccessful author and he lost his fancy car he got from it. So it seems like now everybody's at point zero, and they have to rebuild the relationship between Nicolas Cage and Girl, sorry, don't know the actress's name, um, when it's like, you know, so hooray, halfway through the movie, the team's back together, and now they can finally go on their adventure to find the next treasure. When it's like, why did you have to spend half the movie rebuilding that when you could have made a stronger, more interesting movie if you would have just kept the momentum from the first one and built on it, um, which I feel like is what they did in this movie, and I highly appreciate that. They didn't like all of a sudden have Judy and Nick hate each other. They liked each other, they thought they were a good team, but they realized, because of some unspoken motivations and things, that it was actually making their teamwork chaotic at best. And so uh so I appreciate it. And that's kind of why I I like the second one a little better, because they continued building on what was established. They didn't re-tread, redo um the relationships. So it's good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_04It's really good.
SPEAKER_00I I will be interested to see if because if for anybody who's watched past the credits, of course, Zootopia does have a post-credit scene. Do you think it likes doing that for some reason with some other movies?
SPEAKER_04It's their standard now.
SPEAKER_00I think it's this movie standard for everything now. It's just having this post-credit scenes. But with theirs, it does semi-allude to the possibility of down the road a third Zootopia movie. I don't know how I feel about that fully.
SPEAKER_04Well, it doesn't matter how we feel. It matters how the financial figures look. Because that's the ultimate motivator.
SPEAKER_00Okay, true. And right now it's looking like uh the possibility of a third is fairly high.
SPEAKER_03It might be a little rough.
SPEAKER_00But uh, it will be interesting to see what kind of if they do a third movie where they take the plot.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I would sorry, go ahead.
SPEAKER_04Oh, no, I just I would worry that they would do what I said about that they're gonna take all of this character growth and to try and put in some character growth. They uh they're gonna have to backpedal or change a character or add a character that nobody asked for. Um worst would be to r totally replace the character, um, which is really common in TV shows. When they go between seasons, they'll just write a character off between seasons, and you're like, wait, what happened? Um so I I hope that the professional relationships would last long enough, and they pull a Digimon, which uh is because Digimon, like anything else, was created uh to sell things. And so the team behind them is like, here's these toys we want to sell in stores, uh, make a show about it. And at least for the first season, uh they did an excellent job of it. They're like, oh, so you know, because I didn't even know about the toys and stuff, and I was a kid at the time, so I'm supposed to know about the toys and stuff. I always wanted a digivice.
SPEAKER_00Um uh I think I had a digivice, actually.
SPEAKER_04But uh but no, I appreciated it as a show first, liking the characters and what happened to them. So uh it my hope is that the writers uh and the people putting the movie together, their heart would be in it good enough without too much studio interference to allow them to create something. But it's also a little bit worrisome because you're like, okay, you know, I like what they've done so far, I don't want them to ruin it. Or at least not if not ruin it, just end it on the you know, a dull.
SPEAKER_00We don't want to see it repeat, we don't want to see a uh Zootopia version of uh Toy Story. Where you know, first one was good, second one was a little bit better, and then on the third they plump it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And then kind of just plateau, but probably more because of the nostalgia uh and the brand power, money keeps coming in. Because you can still buy Toy Story lunchboxes and stuff, so somehow it keeps making money.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, for our flocks on that, the we covered the Toy Story topic last week.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. For more on that, see previous podcast.
SPEAKER_00Indeed. Warning two parts, but enjoy.
SPEAKER_04Indeed.
SPEAKER_00Um, I I I would be interested to see where if they do go the route of making a third Zootopia movie, what kind of route they would take with it. I I could see them having if they do it right, Judy and Nick's relationship going that next step like it was implied. Um, I I could see them trying to do that. That would be it shaky ground at best, but possible if done right.
SPEAKER_04Well, yeah, like I said, I would appreciate them not backpedaling and redoing things just to pad the runtime. It'd be it'd be better maybe if they, you know, had a stronger established relationship, um, and it was something else causing conflict um externally.
SPEAKER_00from that and you know their why'd it be her parents trying to sang her trying to set her up with a a male bunny from their from Bunny Borough and Oh please no well I mean it was very much alluded to that that's what either what was it the mother or grandmother grandmother the grandmother wanted was for her to go back to Bunny Borough and settle down. But uh I definitely agree that that would be a very no just no be very afraid if that happens.
SPEAKER_04Indeed.
SPEAKER_00But I also wouldn't put it past Disney to do something like that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Well and if you like the characters good enough you can follow them along you know waiting in a doctor's office for all that matters um if it's written right so you know the the plot uh I'll whatever the plot being of the next movie because let's face it they're gonna make another one yeah they made enough money so of course they're gonna make another one um it'll be interesting to see if they do incorporate birds like it's implied. Yeah which I think is just a direct uh nod to a lot of people who are like hey where's the birds I mean even the first one a lot of people are like hey where's the reptiles where's the birds so they've shoehorned in the reptiles into this one so somehow they're gonna shoehorn birds into the next one so we'll see I mean it it could be like maybe birds live somewhere else because they have no interest in Zootopia. Maybe it's not this exclusion thing like the reptiles were because I'd find it really hard to swallow um that happening twice of okay we have two different separate groups through two different tragic um backstories and conspiracies have been excluded from our city either by choice or by force um you know I think that'd be hard to swallow. It was it was uh it worked okay um doing it the way they did in the first two of because I mean predators were part of the city in the first one and reptiles were not there and then they found a way to say okay here's why the reptiles were kind of excluded but if finding another contrived reason for birds I think might be a bit of a stretch so I would hope maybe it's okay maybe we're trying to bring in birds and maybe they're reluctant and you some hijings ensue but it's also you know potentially worrisome depending on what they decide to do. But I won't judge it based on the plot because you know as long as the characters stay true to who we've come to know and love then I will uh hope for the best.
SPEAKER_00Indeed we'll just have to see what happens with time.
SPEAKER_04Indeed. And speaking of time I do believe um that's about time for us to wrap this up and I don't know if you have any final overarching thoughts uh about Zootopia 2.
SPEAKER_00I think we've covered everything and then some.
SPEAKER_04Yeah and I'm gonna r think of all the best things I could have possibly thought to say of uh five minutes after we're done with this or maybe tomorrow but for now I feel like I said my piece I'm happy with it um and I wouldn't highly recommend the movie.
SPEAKER_00I definitely would recommend it. It's a really good it's a really good watch. I mean it's okay now I gotta look I gotta see the runtime okay so it's it's about a two hour movie but honestly if it two hours on a Friday night or on the weekends definitely worth watching. Yeah definitely worth taking the time out to watch.
SPEAKER_04Well I'm glad we took the time to watch it today and uh uh hope you've enjoyed us kind of trawling through it with our gut reaction not really as uh you know contemplative as some of our other uh movie takes that we you know we're jotting down notes for a few days about what we wanted to say this is literally just right off the cuff yeah sometimes the best thoughts are right off the cuff so fair enough but I enjoyed the movie and I hope any of you who have seen the movie enjoyed it as well and if you haven't I hope you do and you do enjoy it and even if you don't well um hopefully at least that's okay yeah because what a boring world it would be if we were all the same and had the same opinions. Indeed but until next time I hope you join us bark next week.
SPEAKER_00I am going to segue before you give the full outro to that to for a l Oh relax it's nothing bad. I just wanted to cut in with a little notice that as of today March 12th yes that means it's dating this podcast March 12th 2026 a book that our wonderful Alex slash David Mueller narrated is finally out on Audible. Woo it is called The Conspiracy Within by Sean Mackey and I will tell you yes I may it may seem that I am biased because you know partner narrating the book but it is a fantastic book it is absolutely wonderful it is very well written very well narrated but for anybody who would care to give it a read give it a listen the audio version is out on Audible as well as um any other place associated with that I believe it's on Apple Books I maybe I don't remember all the places it got distributed but I know it is on Audible you can purchase it even if you don't have an audible description um the book is also available for order through for um physical copies you can order it through Amazon or Barnes and Noble also available at Walmart and it is also available on Kindle. Yeah which is where I read it many many many times well you've narrated you kinda have to I've I've read it on Kindle at the hardback so definitely definitely worth checking out for all those who enjoy a good story yeah it was quite the experience to uh to to to read a book um or record myself reading a book like this this is the first um bizarrely enough it's it's what got me into narrating audiobooks but somehow wasn't the first one published so that's a little weird but um so it's good to timing issues. For anybody who understands the difference between reading a short romance novel and a a good long mystery thriller type novel the sci fi thriller mystery classify it. But for those who know the different genres know it can take a while to read through a mystery novel versus a romance novel.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Uh so it's it's been a very long learning journey and um I I feel you know uh proud of having completed it but at the same time you know uh exhausted from it because it's definitely not a one-shot go there's probably some pros out there that are can more or less uh do something in one take but I don't think professionals can do it in one take they have I I mean there there are professionals who literally make videos of them recording who have to do three or four takes for some lines because they are either saying what the heck did I just read or they're laughing too hard at it. Yeah uh and any prospective authors out there um if your book takes place in the real world choose city names that everybody knows how to pronounce or at least you have an idea of how to pronounce it the amount of cities because because I'm I'm here in the Midwest and uh this book takes place in the future but mostly East Coast uh the amount of cities I I had to do corrections for because I pronounced them wrong even having looked some of them up so I thought I knew how to pronounce them right apparently not so you know that's a thing. So yeah if you're gonna write a book be nice to your audio narrators and maybe give them a cheat sheet or you know send them a uh a uh a an audio file yeah because I guess fantasy books are no better because they'll have fantasy books are made up you can't you can't do anything with those that's a whole different topic of discussion we won't go there but anyway if you feel inclined and you'd like a s uh uh a future sci-fi um suspense mystery novel then definitely check out the conspiracy within by Sean Mackey either reading the book through Kindle physical copy or if you're so inclined to uh listen to the audiobook uh it was a lot of fun a lot of frustration but a lot of fun um and yeah that would be super so I believe now with that um all is said and done here wrapped up for another week we appreciate you guys listening and we hope to see you bark next Friday and take good care yourselves we'll see you then have a good one