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Film reviews that are real, introspective and fun!
Hi, everyone. I'm Shakyra Mabone.
Jack:And I'm Jack Williams.
Shakyra:And welcome to Reeling It In, the podcast where we take a moment to reel in the best and worst film moment while keeping our commentary a % real.
Jack:And today, we are talking about the Minecraft movie and kids movies in general because who doesn't love a good kids movie?
Shakyra:I know I do.
Jack:Yeah. Exactly. Today, we have Robin on with us. Robin, how you doing?
Robin:Thank you for having me. I'm super excited for this conversation. You for coming Me too.
Jack:I can't wait to get into it. So let's grab our popcorn and reel it in. Minecraft movie came out last weekend or two weekends ago?
Shakyra:This guy could not stop saying Chicken Jackie.
Jack:Chicken Jackie. I'm like, bruh. Obviously, a very much anticipated movie. A lot of people were talking about it. A lot of memes coming from it.
Jack:Most notably, I don't even know what to call it, the trend of destroying your theater when Jack Black's Chicken I'm
Shakyra:like, what is that? Why?
Jack:It's just like, let's get excited. Let's get excited.
Shakyra:Oh, that's good. Like, boy. Okay, I guess.
Jack:For the Minecraft movie, I'm curious, Robin, you said you had an experience in the theater.
Robin:Yeah, so I was lucky enough to experience it during opening weekend, so it was like a Sunday. And I had no idea how insane it would be. And I think it was probably the most crowded theater I've ever been And every single seat was full and the room was really hot because like there were
Shakyra:so many
Robin:people and I kind of expected because like there were so many memes like Jack Black saying like chicken jockey or like whatever and like but everybody clapped like the entire room like vibrated like it was like this energy I've never felt before like not even in a stadium or anything.
Jack:Did they throw popcorn?
Robin:They did throw popcorn but only in the chicken jockey moment.
Jack:Oh, okay. Did you
Shakyra:throw popcorn?
Robin:I did not.
Jack:Oh. You
Shakyra:did not? It's okay. You.
Jack:My theater, I saw it the second weekend and there wasn't, it was like late. Was, I think it was during the week too, so it wasn't really like a big thing. There was a big group of guys in front of me though. I think they thought it was gonna be a lot cooler, it was gonna be a lot more of a moment than it ended up being because he said the line and then everybody jumped up and started yelling. But no one really else did.
Jack:Oh. It was just kind of them and I think they realized that no one else was. Just kind of like sat back down
Shakyra:watched her know you guys, like an embarrassed bitch. Yeah.
Jack:I mean like one guy was on another guy's shoulder. It was like a whole but we were just like, Okay.
Shakyra:Oh, there's not that type of vibe in here.
Jack:It was kind of funny. Aw, man. Yeah. But it's great to have that stuff. I like when a theater has a good I love when a movie has a good theatrical experience.
Shakyra:Yeah, like interactive sort of.
Jack:Yeah, or like the energy is high. I know one of the big ones, I think that was actually like really popular, it's like Endgame. Was like a big one, everyone would cheer on that one. And then another one, weirdly, was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Oh, yeah.
Jack:Don't know what it was, but everyone ate that up. I loved it. Loved the Minecraft movie.
Shakyra:Ate that up.
Jack:Which I didn't expect myself to love the Minecraft movie as much as I did. I genuinely thought it was funny. Yeah.
Shakyra:I could hold you up. Even after seeing the trailer, I was like, I don't think I'm gonna watch it. I don't know. Because I feel like it was just kind of like, I guess, too geeky. Too geeky.
Shakyra:Too geeky, which is okay. I mean, if you guys like it, it's just not really my cup of tea, honestly. But
Jack:I mean, I just thought
Shakyra:It's a good plot. I mean,
Jack:maybe was classic classic kind of adventure plot, getting into the Minecraft world.
Shakyra:Killing sheep and stuff.
Jack:Yeah, but I like that. I mean, Jack Black, I think, always funny. He's kind of established himself. You kind of know what to expect from him at this point. He's got a brand.
Shakyra:He's like our uncle.
Jack:Yeah, he's a crazy, cool uncle. It's a great way of putting it. But Robin, I'm curious, aside from the yelling and the popcorn throwing, you said you saw it twice.
Robin:Yeah, I did. The first time was a lot more exciting because it was just the energy in the room. But then when I watched it the second time I mean I noticed a lot more it was just kind of emotionless like considering and like I really liked Jack Black's and Jason Momoa's chemistry I thought that was really cool it was really funny but I mean other than that, I think the second watch kind of opened my eyes a little. I was like, this isn't the great movie I thought it was. I don't know.
Jack:What did you notice the second time that was
Robin:The plot was kind of pointless, I guess. I mean, I'm all for a plotless movie, but other than that, it just felt kind of heartless, I guess.
Jack:Sure. And I guess that is kind of what we're talking about today, because I do want to get into this notion. I think a lot of people like to talk about whenever there's a new kid's movie coming out, I feel like I always see someone on the internet or anywhere else just kind of being like, this is trash. They don't make them like they used to. This is just like studio garbage.
Jack:I'm curious what you guys make of that. Do we think that studios really don't make them like they used to? Or people just kind of grown up? Are people just kind of growing out of sort of their childhood and they're expecting to have the kind of the same joy when watching these movies when you're an adult now, maybe you're not having that because you're an adult?
Shakyra:Yeah, that's exactly what it is, in my opinion. I just feel like people just grasp on to the nostalgia part of it too much. And it's just like, well, you can't expect like the same kind of like, I guess, spark in it because well, I'm not trying to sound like morbid or anything like that, but like that spark in you is gone. Mhmm. I mean, unless you really do find your inner child.
Shakyra:And I think that's what like a lot of people is like trying to look for. They're trying to like find their inner child again. Mhmm. So they go So they do that by rewatching that little cute kids movie that they used to watch as growing up and things like that. I'm so sorry.
Shakyra:This is so psychological. It's like, no, it's really true, in my opinion.
Jack:Yeah. And I think it seems like somewhat of a new phenomenon. Maybe it's not a new phenomenon, the way I see it, it's like we're the vocal people you're hearing about this are it's typically people, I feel like, from our generation, who grew up with Really? I feel
Shakyra:like it's like the millennials.
Jack:Oh yeah, millennials too. But you you grow up with cars or Shrek or And Shrek is a great one, which I think we might have talked about on the show before. We got the new one coming And it's like and, know, and you had people like, oh, this looks terrible. And I've I've been vocal about this on the show before, but I I don't think it looks that much different from the original.
Shakyra:But Which I don't understand how. Like
Jack:I don't know. I pulled up two I pulled up the the old Shrek and the new Shrek, and I I put them next to each other. And I was like, what? What are we what's different? It's Shrek.
Shakyra:Oh, yeah. It's Shrek. But I think it's because we're just used to the old animation style, if that makes sense.
Jack:And of course, they're gonna upgrade a little bit more. Yeah. Animation sort of develops.
Shakyra:But I don't know. It looks so off. But anyways.
Jack:I'm Jenny Bailey. I saw
Robin:the trailer and there were some references to memes and stuff, and, like, maybe that's what kind of put off people. Yeah.
Shakyra:And we also saw some of that too.
Jack:The TikTok.
Shakyra:Yeah. Yeah.
Jack:Where he's, like, scrolling through and And there was the idea that, like, Shrek has always kind of been on top of it like that.
Shakyra:Mhmm. Pop culture references.
Jack:And, you know, it's
Shakyra:like hot.
Jack:I think the the question was, like, is this a little too on the nose? You know? Because it it was always kinda clever, you know? Mhmm. It was, like, references.
Jack:People think that's maybe a little too, like, when you just, like, have TikTok in it. Yeah. Trying to appeal to the brain rot audience.
Shakyra:And the brain rot. Trying to be hip.
Jack:I'm curious if you kind of found it dull the second time, do you feel that the Minecraft movie kind of fell into this sort of category of of new kids movies that we're talking about? I don't know. Did you get a sense of, like, the studio was just kind of throwing out mush?
Robin:Honestly, like, for sure. We saw this the same thing with the Mario movie, you know, where it's kind of like they use Mario and Minecraft, something that was super sentimental to a lot of kids like this generation and kind of use that as the nostalgia point to make people buy tickets and stuff. But if someone that never experienced Minecraft before, like watch the Minecraft movie, I do not think they would find it as enjoyable as we did. I mean, grew up playing Minecraft, so like I liked all the references and the YouTubers and stuff. But I think other than that, I mean we saw a couple months ago, maybe a year ago, Pixar said their next five year plan was just not making any new ideas and new stores and just kind of making trilogies and stuff and Moana two and stuff.
Robin:So I think kids movies in general just kind of downgraded.
Jack:Oh, yeah. Downgraded. Yeah. It's interesting. Because the way I see it, and this might be a controversial opinion, I don't know.
Jack:I see it as I subscribe to the idea that kids movies are for kids. Right? Kyra just rolled her eyes. I subscribe to this thought that, you know, kids movies are for kids. Doesn't mean as an adult you can't get anything from kids movies, but I feel like we've kind of moved towards this expectation or a lot of people have moved towards this expectation of like kids movies need to have something for me.
Jack:I need to be able to enjoy this movie too. When I kind of just feel like kids movies should be they should be for kids. They should be teaching lessons geared towards Right.
Shakyra:For kids. Right.
Jack:It should be about creativity, like the Minecraft movie was. It should be about how to how to be smart in friendships, how to love properly. And it's like, of course, we're gonna find that dull just because it's trivial to us. Right.
Shakyra:Now that just well, okay. Well, first I was opposed to that only because I just personally feel like, again, going back to, like, you know, finding your inner child argument. Mhmm. I just personally feel like as an adult, like, let's say because I'm an older sister of four siblings. Three of them is, like, from the ages of eight to six years old.
Shakyra:So, like, I, you know, take my little siblings out to the movie theater a lot. Mhmm. I'm not gonna sit there and watch overstimulating movies. I'm so sorry. So sorry.
Shakyra:But I'm just not gonna watch it because it's just like, okay, well, I need something. Like, I need a couple of references that I can get as well, you know, like. Sure. And that's what I like about the Shrek movie, specifically the first one because it was like a lot of, like, funny adult jokes in it. But at the same time, I feel like that can be, like, problematic itself because, you know, you can overdo it and it's just like damn parents are gonna be like, okay, wait a minute.
Shakyra:Is this for me or is this is this for the kids or anything like that, you know? But now that you said that, it's just like, yeah, because lessons and things like that, like, we've grown. We should already know, like, don't lie to your friends or don't go with a stranger. Don't know. But yeah.
Jack:Yeah. I think if we miss some kind of entertainment, I don't think that makes it a bad kid's movie or a bad in general. And it's like we were entertained by things like Toy Story, How to Train Your Dragon, because we were kids and that stuff is fun. I think we are still able to enjoy that because, like you said, there's an inner child in everyone. So it's like I could go back and watch Toy Story and still be like, this rocks because, you know, I enjoyed it at a time and it reminds me of a time where, you know,
Shakyra:I enjoyed Children movies I can watch still is Shrek. I'm sorry. I'm a star heart Shrek fan.
Jack:Yeah. No. I mean, Shrek's a classic.
Shakyra:Love Shrek and Fantastic Mr. Fox, honestly.
Jack:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Shakyra:That's the only, like, children movie I can watch because I did kinda grew up a little and it's like going back. I don't know. For me now, it really doesn't hit the same. But yeah. So
Jack:Yeah. No. And I I agree. There are I think there are some movies like that for me where you go back and you're like, this is kinda terrible. Why did
Shakyra:I miss? Yeah. But anyways, yeah, I don't know. It's just I don't know. I feel like it's in the middle I'm in the middle of it.
Shakyra:Like, yes, it still should be for kids, but at the same time, don't make it too over stimulating, you know? Because I just feel like older crowds, like not even like kid kids, like preteens and things like that can still enjoy it too. I don't know. Maybe I was just like a mature preteen and that was just like a way ahead of my time. But,
Jack:yeah. Robin, I'm curious what you think, what you make of this.
Robin:I mean like looking at older kids movies like Wall E or like Up, I feel like those are you know super catered towards kids but also it had this story and had complex emotions and it's like I'm not blaming you know people or like the culture or even kids like saying that like oh they like brain rock culture and like they need to cater towards brain rock culture it's like I feel like the movie industry kind of stopped caring for kids because you say like kids movies are for kids but also like what does that mean you know like a movie doesn't necessarily have to be like I don't know, simple, I guess, for kids.
Shakyra:I don't
Jack:know how
Shakyra:to think. I'm sorry. Because, like, have you guys seen Soul? Yes. Think.
Shakyra:That was a great movie. Like, I feel like both kids and adults can enjoy it. Kids because, you know, it's the animation is really cute and it's have its quirky moments. But, like, the message overall, like you said, it's it's just like it's super complex, but, like, only, like, the adults can get it. I mean, again, if you're, like, super mature and smart as a child, then if you get the message, that's really great.
Shakyra:But, like
Jack:Mhmm.
Shakyra:It's just those films that like speak out to me. So Right.
Jack:Well, I mean, Soul is like I I also enjoyed Soul when that came out. And like, that's what I mean when I say like, I I don't think you I don't think you shouldn't enjoy kids movies when they Right. I think I think if you can, oh, more power to you. I I love a lot of kids' movies, a lot of the new stuff that has come out. Mean, clearly I like the Minecraft movie, so But I think when you kind of get into this thought of like, I didn't enjoy this, therefore it's a bad movie.
Shakyra:I just feel like that's a little too far.
Jack:Yeah, and it's like, well, okay, well, let's think about it. You just watched a kid's movie that was geared towards kids with kids care, you Like, really so terrible. Yeah, like, no one, yeah. And it's like, maybe you shouldn't be faulting the writers or the directors for a movie that wasn't really meant for you, that wasn't geared towards your audience. And it's like, oh, that movie was campy.
Jack:Yeah, kids like camp. Kids find that hilarious, you know? I think this was a great example. My dad texted me a few days ago, because I have two younger siblings, one's eight, one's 10. My dad had texted me a few days ago and he was like, I just saw the Minecraft movie, it was terrible.
Jack:I was like, okay. And I was like, well, what did the kids think? And he was like, they loved it.
Shakyra:Oh, they loved it? And I
Jack:was like, yeah. Well, there you go. Mean, that's I think that kind of that that kind of proves it, you know? And I can imagine myself because I was trying to think, I was trying to put myself back into my shoes. Like, if I was like 10 or if I was 12 and the Minecraft movie came out, I would have loved that movie.
Jack:I have really liked that movie. I would have thought, you know. I think it's for the same reason, like when we think of like, another example, like Sharkboy and Lava Girl. Like, but imagine being your age right now when that came out.
Shakyra:Right.
Jack:And you'd probably be watching that like, this looks This
Shakyra:looks terrible, yeah.
Jack:Why does it look Spy Kids.
Shakyra:Spy Kids is a classic.
Jack:Exactly, yeah. It's like, we like Spy Kids because we were kids when it came out. I think I don't know. Because I and then I also think back to, like, when I was a kid and I would show my my mom a movie that I thought was sick. Thought it was epic.
Jack:And she would just be like, this is
Shakyra:She really said that to you?
Jack:Well, mean, you know, depends
Shakyra:on who In her head, yeah. I'm like, she wouldn't say that.
Jack:No, mean, yeah, we go back, but maybe not at the time.
Shakyra:But yeah, now that you said that, like, I think Sharp Boy and Lava Girl was one of the movies I revisited and I was like, oh, man. The quality is so bad. Like, is super appealing to me when I was a child, but like now
Jack:Mhmm. And it's like, imagine like first getting into that as an adult and how much you'd be like, what? And I think we just need to keep giving kids that kind of stuff, the campy stuff, the stuff that maybe we don't consider good by traditional metrics or by any other metrics, but is good for them because it teaches them stuff. It gives them something to kind of hold on to as they as they move move through life
Shakyra:and as they grow And it gives them like more imagination and creativity, like I mentioned earlier So
Jack:I mean, was like the central theme of the Minecraft movie was just like be creative. Yeah,
Shakyra:that makes sense. Just kind of like being yeah.
Jack:So I think in that sense, that's where I'm at with kids movies.
Shakyra:Yeah.
Jack:One thing our podcast coordinator Taylor brought up before the episode, which I think is a good thing that we should touch on, is the rise of brain rot as a concept and how the movie industry engages with that. And I've talked about Brain Rot on one of our other podcasts here, House Lights, which you guys should all, the audience should go check out. But what we talked about, we talked about Brain Rot, kind of how it is now, just the type of humor. It's kind of this kind of quick, like, quickly changing type of humor, usually very overstimulating. And it kind of thrives in the short form content, TikTok, Instagram.
Jack:And I do think there are movies that kind of are doing that. But the question is, do kids enjoy and this is the question Taylor brought up, was do kids enjoy Brain Rod? Or are we just giving them that? And that's kind of just like what they have to deal with now, or that's what they kind of have to enjoy.
Shakyra:Right. Yeah. Because like a good example is SpongeBob. I don't know. First of all, a lot of people my age never watch SpongeBob because that reason.
Shakyra:Mhmm. Their parents are like, no, I'm not letting my kids, you know, watch that because it's really no nonsense and it's brain rot. But now, it's like 10 times worse. Like, I don't watch it. I don't think my little siblings or cousins, I don't even think they're watching it, honestly.
Shakyra:But I do see clips on social media and I was just like, man, the heck is this?
Robin:Very like Cocomelon esque.
Shakyra:Our parents hate that.
Jack:Yeah. And I have, like I said, I have two siblings and see the brain rot, right? And they're into it, because you're a kid, you're going be into that kind of stuff. But I guess if we want to go back, I think there is some validity in the statement that movies are changing. Because if the humor is changing, movies are going to switch to that.
Jack:I do think there are examples here and there of kids movies where they're very clearly giving into that style of humor. I don't know if I saw that in the Minecraft movie. For me, personally, I thought it was very charming. But yeah, I'm curious, Robin, to hear your thoughts on brain rot and modern film and modern kids films.
Robin:I mean, I feel like brain rot is such a big issue that we're going to see in the next couple of years even more because I don't really any younger relatives and stuff but my friend was talking about how she went to California over winter break and her kid her cousins her little cousins are watching like YouTube shorts of like Andrew Tate and like Coco Melon and when they're like nine years old and it's just like I don't know it just sucks because the movie industry has really no other choice but to cater to that, to keep kids interested in
Jack:what they're watching. Are we seeing maybe the movie industry having to compete with something they never had to compete with before, which is social media. Yeah. Mean, maybe like, just if we go back to when we were kids, maybe, I I don't know, we could talk about Shrek or Cars or whatever. They didn't really have anything to compete with.
Jack:They didn't have, maybe other than children's books, There was no other like dominant media to compete with.
Shakyra:Yeah. And most of the time, like, I don't know, when I was growing up, like video games, I was like Mhmm. Basically like reflecting like the movies and things like that. Like, they would make video games based off the movies or sit around the movies. So, yeah, I don't think they it was like any other, like, type of medium or anything like that.
Jack:Yeah. Humor was I feel like that was the humor. Like, the movies were the like, people got their humor, you know?
Shakyra:Exactly. If
Jack:wanted to laugh, you would watch a movie. Now you can scroll through TikTok. And this younger generation can also do that. We talk about iPad kids. That's where they're getting their humor from because they're not watching movies all the time.
Jack:They're scrolling through TikTok all the time. So yeah, I guess it would only make sense that kids' movies would have to kind of adapt to that. Mhmm.
Shakyra:Yeah. Like, even a series on Netflix, like, I'll never forget this. My cousins was over and they was, like, watching this one Netflix series. I don't I don't know what it was. I didn't really care to bother.
Shakyra:But I was just sitting down and just listening. I was like, what is this? And they were just like, oh, this is the show, whatever. I really like it. And I was like, okay, well, I guess.
Shakyra:And I was like, how did you find this? And it was like, oh, I was just like scrolling on YouTube and got that. Mhmm. It was just like kinda weird. I sound like an elder, but
Jack:Back in my day.
Shakyra:Back in my day.
Jack:Back in my day. Would we would have cars and
Shakyra:Like YouTube came out in 02/2005. I was born in 02/2003. I grew up with YouTube too.
Jack:I guess we did kinda yeah. I would say my humor was largely shaped by YouTube. So maybe I was a little late to the party. But no, there definitely was a time where I feel like humor was kind of just shaped by whatever was on TV or
Shakyra:whatever Right. Kind
Jack:of type of movie was.
Shakyra:Because it all got based on pop culture, honestly.
Robin:Yeah. Yeah. So I mean like with my kind of age, I'm like 19 and like there was this phenomenon of like boys in middle school going through like their edgelord phase because of all the content they consumed on YouTube. I feel like we're going to see that more when kids are consuming these with no restrictions at all. Can definitely see that with the content that's being made.
Jack:Information becomes more accessible.
Shakyra:So
Jack:I think honestly now, I wouldn't go as far as to say we have more an importance on these studios and these storytellers to embed these messages, make them more for kids than they ever were before. Because lord knows if they're not getting it on YouTube Shorts, they're going to have to get it somewhere. I think movies has always been a great way to do that.
Shakyra:To teach and educate,
Jack:too. Another great example I thought of was this new Pixar show, Disney Pixar, it's on Disney plus, it's called Win or Lose. It follows a, I think it's like a youth softball team. And it follows like different characters. I see that trailer.
Jack:Yeah. Each episode is a different kind of character, but they're all connected. There's one common thread in episode. But I think that's a great example of something that's just trying to genuinely instill good lessons in kids and not necessarily bend to this kind of brainwrought humor, which is important. That's my point.
Shakyra:Yeah. Most definitely. Because even growing up, my parents, they specifically let me watch PBS shows. But mean, they wasn't as opposed to SpongeBob or things like that or like, you know, any shows like that. Now, one show that I really despise growing up was Fanboy Chum Chum.
Jack:Oh, I loved that one, which maybe says something about me. Maybe you guys could guess that I was really into Fanboy and ChumChum. Feel like you're a type person. Someone tells me they're into Fanboy and ChumChum, or they were into Fanboy and ChumChum, I'm like, yeah. Oh.
Jack:I see it. Because that was the original Brain Rot. And I think people have been underreacted. I feel like I have seen Instagram reels or whatever being like, this was the original Brain Rot. It kind of was.
Shakyra:It was.
Jack:I couldn't tell you what that show was about.
Shakyra:Yeah. Like Cow and Chicken and stuff like that. Well, the whole Cartoon Network show, except for Adventures
Robin:Go especially was like that.
Shakyra:I'm sorry, but I actually like that. That was me and my brother's favorite show, honestly.
Jack:Because Family and Chum Chum was just so
Shakyra:It was just almost a comedy.
Jack:SpongeBob was kind of brain ruddy, but it still had good lessons at the end of the day. It was saying something, know? Right. Even if it would have just weird moments.
Shakyra:Yeah. It was just like, February, Cha Cha. I
Jack:could not tell you what that show was.
Shakyra:Yeah. It was just random.
Jack:And I watched it a lot, and I could not tell you what it was about. So maybe that says something about me or that show. I don't know. But, yeah, I'm I'm glad I'm glad I grew up watching SpongeBob. Yeah.
Jack:I'm glad I grew up watching a lot of that genre of television. Most Were either of you one of those kids who weren't allowed to watch SpongeBob?
Robin:My mom didn't allow cable in our house because she said it would rot my brain. But like every weekend I would go to my grandma's house and just like binge watch. That was like my first time like binge watching like Cartoon Network and Disney Channel all day.
Shakyra:Well, my parents was kind of young and a hippie. So I actually had cable in my room. So I had that access when I was younger. I would not recommend that. But, you know, so I mean, but like I said, like my parents, they still like set me down and like feed me like education, you know, because education is like really huge in my family.
Shakyra:But, yeah, I was, you know I think it's just like me, personally, like, if if it's too overstimulating, like, I don't understand the plot, I'm not gonna watch it, like, no. If it's too loud, if it's too I don't know. Like I said, I was really a mature kid, so, like, the Brain Rod shows wasn't, like, really connecting with me, I guess. So yeah.
Jack:Which, you know, and that's unfortunate that Oh. The no. No. No. That the that the modern
Shakyra:He said it's unfortunate. I didn't have a childhood. That's crazy.
Jack:That's not what I'm saying. It's unfortunate that brain rot the foundation of Brain Rot is over stimulation.
Shakyra:Yeah. Right.
Jack:I'm not gonna pretend like I'm better than anyone. I think it's hilarious.
Shakyra:I don't it's no, I don't think no one is taking that.
Jack:No, no, no. I'm just like, I'm not gonna talk above it. Know, like, I do think it's hilarious. I think Instagram videos are so funny. It's one of my favorite things to to do on a Friday night now.
Shakyra:As a brain rot?
Jack:Yeah. But, know, it's meant to be it's meant to be funny. It's by no means intelligent. I feel like, I know in my class today we were just talking about The New Yorker, the foundation of The New Yorker and how that humor was meant to be elevated humor for a classy type of person. And I think Brain Ride is just the opposite of that.
Jack:If you want to make a spectrum, I think one side would be New Yorker cartoons, or New Yorker humor pieces. The other side would just be I don't skippity toilet.
Robin:Skippity toilet. Did you guys hear about the skippity toilet movie that's gonna come out? No. Or is it a show? That's a movie?
Robin:I think Michael Baynes might be
Jack:Oh, I did hear about Yeah. Thoughts on that?
Shakyra:Oh, it's a web
Robin:It's just like crazy that like that's
Shakyra:It's a web series?
Robin:Yeah. Yeah. I think.
Jack:Yeah. It's like a YouTube show. But I see. That's terrible.
Shakyra:That's kinda oh, well.
Jack:I could not tell you that. Did ask my brother about it, my younger brother, at one point. I was like, what is Scooby D toilet about? And he had an answer for me, which I think is probably more insane than him just saying, I don't know. Like, started explaining it using all these words, kind of explaining the lore to me.
Jack:I don't remember anything about it. But he explained it to me, so there is something there. Yeah. What it is, I don't know. But it's there.
Jack:Yeah.
Shakyra:So. Oh yeah, most definitely. So like, it just goes back to the question, like, do you think big TV companies and movie industry, do they feed kids
Robin:spring rot now? Yeah, I think that's my opinion.
Jack:Yeah, I would agree. I think in a lot of instances, yeah. I think what you give kids, they're going to watch no matter what.
Shakyra:Because they're super easy to influence. Influence.
Jack:If you give a kid something that's entertaining, they're going to watch it, whether or not that humor is somewhat intelligent or somewhat like, I don't even know,
Shakyra:not pretty broad. Again, I have to get diagnosed for ADHD or something. That just goes back to me having a short attention span as well. I don't know, growing up, I watched TV but not really. I was just in my own world.
Shakyra:I was more into books too.
Jack:Yeah. Kids have short attention spans, right? Yeah. And so if don't challenge that in any way, they're gonna love that.
Robin:Well, it's crazy because my friend used to work at Kumon and she would say that these eight year olds would not sit down for a book to be read. And I remember when you were talking about books, when I was a kid, my favorite time in school was the teacher reading the book because of a Dixie or something like that. And that's not something that kids are interested these days anymore because they're getting hits of dopamine so easily and so fast. It's really sad, honestly.
Jack:And to get a little lost topic, is a problem people talk about in higher ed. Gen Z isn't reading anymore, how the hell do I teach Gen And it's because of this kind of stuff of short attention spans, distractions becoming a lot more prominent. And that's an issue. I think, to tie it back to movies, it is kind of on these storytellers and these writers to challenge that, to challenge I think we get again, we kind of get this idea that it's just not worth challenging because it's just a kid's movie, so to speak. But no, it's like we need to pay attention to what we're teaching our kids, we need to pay attention to what we're saying to them.
Jack:There's a great monologue at the end of Knock at the Cabin, the M. Shyamalan movie, where David Bautista's character, he delivers this monologue and at the end of it he basically says that because it's like the end of the world. I don't think that was meant to be kind of the core theme of that movie, but that's what I tend to think about is that's the scene where he's just kind of telling the audience, pay attention to what we're teaching our kids, pay attention, we're handing them the world. You need to like That's true. Yeah, you need to be aware of what you're saying to them.
Jack:So it's like when you throw an iPad in your kid's face.
Shakyra:Five packs a day. No, just kidding. But yeah, I actually had a thought. Okay. So we all know Jackpot, he's like the uncle of our generation.
Shakyra:So how did he do in Minecraft overall? Like his specific character? Who okay. Who was he again? I'm sorry.
Jack:He was Steve, yeah.
Shakyra:Oh. Oh. I did not play Minecraft as a kid, as Sean.
Jack:He's like the main he's like the guy you play as when you play Minecraft.
Shakyra:Right. Mhmm. Okay. Never played that. Because he just wasn't really interested in me.
Shakyra:I
Jack:And that was another thing when people were like when they showed Jack Black as Steve and they were like, this is not my Steve.
Shakyra:I hate when
Jack:he said I Who is Steve then? What what is your Steve then?
Shakyra:Oh my god. That's
Jack:so He's just like a I mean, it's like a sandbox character. I don't know what he could be anyone. I think Jack
Shakyra:Black It's a concept.
Jack:Yeah. It's like it could be Jack Black. Who are you to say it's not Jack Black? Like, it's fiction for me It's you. It's you as much as it's Jack Black as much as it's anyone else.
Shakyra:It's how you take
Jack:it. Exactly.
Shakyra:And that's what the directors want.
Jack:I do think he did a good job, Like I said, he's kind of one of those actors where you come to knowing what you're going to get and he delivers every time. I feel like Adam Sandler is kind of the similar way. But he does surprise me sometimes.
Robin:I liked how funny they made him and I liked how serious but not serious he made him because I thought that they would make him super blank, because we were saying Steve is basically nothing, but he made so much out of it where it's like, I just love the way he exaggerates his auras, how he enacts scene,
Shakyra:and I
Robin:just loved it so much.
Jack:He made it his own, you know? And I did like that, how you walk into a scene and be like, this is just explain it. I thought that was hilarious. Which is great for people, think especially kids, when they play Minecraft and they see it on the screen and they see Jack Black announcing it in a funny voice. That's hilarious.
Jack:Maybe not for us, maybe it's a little corny for us, but I think for kids, watching him explain what a crafting table is, is the funniest thing in the world. I personally would have found that to be the funniest thing in the world if I was 10. Mhmm.
Robin:Like the Ender Pearl?
Jack:The Ender Pearl. Yeah, that was a good gag. And I like the elytra scene where they're like flying through the mountains.
Shakyra:Yeah, yeah.
Jack:And then they had to like go through the hole. I thought that was so funny.
Robin:Yeah, yeah. But
Jack:not everyone's Mhmm.
Shakyra:You know, a movie that I am, like, excited for is Spider Man, Beyond the Spider Verse.
Robin:Mhmm.
Shakyra:I'm so sad that it got delayed once again. Mhmm. I just feel like that was a great kids movie too, honestly. For me it was, so.
Jack:Yeah, know, I like those movies. Yeah. And that first one got an Oscar now.
Robin:Yeah, I think so. Mhmm.
Jack:I am also
Shakyra:Crazy sound track too. Yes, I love the soundtrack too.
Jack:And one more thing, new Superman trailer. Oh, Superman trailer. I thought that was awesome. I'm excited for that movie to totally switch gears. Not really.
Jack:I don't know if it's a kids movie. Not really. I don't know. It's James Gunn. He's going to do his thing.
Jack:But I'm personally really excited. I know a lot of people I mean, the superhero stuff, there's always going to be people sharing their opinion. The Marvel fans aren't going like it, the Zack Snyder fans
Shakyra:or whatever.
Jack:I'm personally excited. Curious what you guys think.
Robin:The trailer made the colors look really cool. I really liked how it looked.
Jack:I think James
Shakyra:Be promising.
Jack:Yeah. And I think James Gunn is certainly a good director. I think it's a step in a different direction for like the superhero movies we're used to. We did an episode on this. I don't know if we talked about Superman, though.
Shakyra:I think we did, actually.
Jack:Oh, did? Can't even remember. Too many episodes.
Shakyra:No. That's
Jack:yeah. And this actor, who I haven't seen much from him, I'm pretty excited for what he has to bring. As much as I loved Henry Cavill, I thought he was a great Superman. I am just as excited for this one.
Shakyra:Oh, yeah. So should I watch it? Minecraft? Yeah? Yeah.
Shakyra:Maybe? Yeah. Okay.
Jack:If you
Shakyra:Well, if if I get chucked with a popcorn, I'm sorry.
Jack:I think I might have died down right now.
Shakyra:Oh, well, that's great.
Jack:Yeah.
Shakyra:That's great because no. Let's let's take a seat. I mean, I guess. I mean, no. It's it's okay to have fun in theaters because that's what going to the movies is all about, in my opinion.
Shakyra:Yeah. But all of the, you know, throwing the popcorn, throwing drinks Yeah. Come on out. Let's not be destructive here. Yeah.
Robin:The second time I watched it, I felt like the audience, like, the reason why they were clapping and the reason why they acted so excited was because they saw it on TikTok. Whereas, like, the opening weekend was so much more, like, authentic and they were, like, genuinely accepting. It's just like you're doing too much, I feel like, at a certain point.
Jack:I do think there is some beauty, though, and this does connect to Brain Rot. There's some beauty in Brain Rot in doing that stuff in the sense that we're all just kind of on a wavelength. As younger people, as a younger generation, we've almost developed our own way of speaking to each other. Yeah. It's like only we can understand.
Jack:And I do think there's some kind of beauty in that, Like the fact that I walked into the I walked in and just said chicken jockey to Taylor.
Shakyra:Well, I walked in.
Jack:I think that stuff is kind of funny. And we all kind of know what we're talking about, you know? Yeah. Whether or not we find it particularly funny.
Shakyra:Right. Well, I just didn't like how he went to go see it without me, but you know, that's that's fine. We we'll talk about it off camera. Yeah. He's probably not gonna be here next week, but no, I'm just kidding.
Shakyra:Yeah.
Jack:Yeah. I'm actually getting canned, guys. Sorry.
Shakyra:Hashtag cancel
Jack:CancelJack because you saw the Minecraft movie.
Shakyra:No, I just kidding. But yeah, well, thank you so much for coming on today.
Robin:Thank you for having me.
Jack:Thank you to our audience members for listening and thank you to Taylor, our podcast coordinator for doing what they do and also providing us with a great discussion point today. That was a good point. I didn't plan on including that. I was like, I'm going add that to the list. But once again, if you have any film opinions that you like, if you enjoyed the Minecraft movie, if you have a funny story from the theater, I would love to hear about it.
Jack:And we can talk about it next time. It'll still be relevant. Trust me, guys. You can email me at jack. Williamsstatenews dot com.
Shakyra:Please email this
Jack:man. Please email me. I'm begging. Guys, we've done so many episodes, and we are going get a video on the Instagram to maybe get more engagement or get people emailing in. But I do want to hear from you guys, genuinely.
Jack:I love talking about other people's opinions and engaging with other people's opinions about movies because that's what movies are about. That's what art is about. Yeah. Till next time. See you.
Jack:Bye.