Toy Story 5

[00:00:02] What you want, when you want it, where you want it. This is The MESH. Footcandle Films. Film news and reviews from two guys who really like movies. This episode is brought to you by the Footcandle Film Society. For a schedule of upcoming screenings and membership information, visit the society's website at www.footcandle.org.

[00:00:34] Hello and welcome to Footcandle Films here on the MESH.TV podcast network. That was the background sound of the Toy Story 5 trailer playing on my iPad as we got ready to roll. Just as a little bit of an indication of what we're going to be reviewing and discussing in today's episode. My name is Alan Jackson. This is Chris Fry with me. We're with the Footcandle Film Society and the annual Footcandle Film Festival.

[00:00:59] And we're here for the Footcandle Films podcast to talk about movies, both current and upcoming movies. And also when we get to your recommendation, I guess past movies as well. Yes. Chris, how's it going? How are you doing? I'm doing well. Yeah. Spoiler, you are aware of what I'll be recommending because Footcandle helped sponsor an outdoor screening of this movie recently. So, yes, Alan and I were in a park.

[00:01:28] It was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I believe we did. No, no. In downtown. Much more family film, which will coincide with the main review today. But, yes, we were outdoors until almost midnight, breaking down the equipment. It was a long night. It was. But the movie was good. Enjoyable night. Yes. But it was a long night. It was a little on the warm side outside. It was. It could have been worse. Could have been worse. But it was a little. Could have been a lot better though. So as well. But it was fun. It was fun.

[00:01:54] Good crowd in downtown kind of over for the outdoor film screening we did. Help put on with the downtown partnership there. And, yes, the little teaser. If anybody knows the film that we showed, that will be Chris's recommendation. But we'll wait and hold that for later in the show to give that away. We've got some other films to talk about in the meantime there, Chris, before we get to your recommendation at the end. We do have as our featured review today.

[00:02:20] It will be the latest from Disney slash Pixar and director Andrew Stanton. And we're hearing, I think there's another person at play, co-director as well, we'll talk about, is Toy Story 5. And that is the film we're going to be reviewing here in just a minute. I am literally 15 minutes out of my screening of this film. So my thoughts and opinions are completely fresh. I have not written anything down, Chris. That's awesome. It's going to be just stream of consciousness coming out of the screening. We can talk.

[00:02:50] So we're going to have the review of Toy Story 5. Shortly after that, we'll be digging into a couple of trailers for upcoming films. And I do have one news story. We don't always dig too much into movie-making news and Hollywood news. But I do have one I found interesting. And it kind of ties in a little bit even with our main review of Toy Story 5 and some other things with this show. So I do want to talk about a little bit of a newsworthy item. We'll get to that after the review.

[00:03:18] And then, as I've already teased, we'll be having your final part of the show being the recommendation that Chris likes to give of a film that he thinks is worth us checking out. So that is our plan for today. Are you ready to get started and jump into our featured review, Chris? Let's do it. All right. Here we go. Toy Story 5. I can't. I can't. It's unrespondent. I have plastic fingers.

[00:03:47] It's good to be back. Oh, oh, oh. Shining. What? Nothing. Someone needs a brown marker. It's been too long, Woody. Came here as fast as I could after Jesse called for help. Oh, thank you, thank you. We've got it handled. Look, star, deputy. Uh-huh. Me. No star. Oh, hey, Buzz, what is that? What? Where? Ow. Hey. I'm going to let this device know how things are run around here. Try to stay calm, Jesse. I'm the definition of calm.

[00:04:16] That's not going to work. I want to talk to you, device. Not touching, Jessica. Oh, no, no. She used the J word. Scandal. Hi. Hello, Bill. Oh. Stump-a-lo, Bill. Uh, first we were playing, then the world was... This podcast was started in 2011, meaning the first Toy Story franchise entry we discussed was the fourth installment.

[00:04:44] I was positive on the film, looking back at my letterbox rating. I gave it four stars. If I recall correctly, Alan, you were less enthusiastic and felt ending the series at a triumvirate of films would have been a better legacy for Buzz and Woody. Taking that into consideration, are you more favorable on this fifth iteration? Um, yeah.

[00:05:10] Honestly, just because I think I've come to peace with the Toy Story franchise, yes. I thought the Toy Story 3 ended. Perfect trilogy. It was like a great series of movies. It worked. Gotcha. I was not a big fan of number four. Honestly, Chris, I'm even trying to remember what the whole plot line of Toy Story 4 was. Forky. Forky. And it had something to do with a fair? Yes. The family took a trip to like the fair, so you got out of the house and stuff.

[00:05:40] Okay. All right. Yeah. So four just didn't stick with me very much, you know, like the first three did. So I was a little more sour. I think I was more just sour on it of why are they continuing when they had such a perfect ending at the end of three. But now I realize, no, look, there's life in this franchise. These are great characters. This is a great style of movie making. You know, it's just got a broad appeal. So I'm like, I'm fine. I'm fine. Let's keep going. Let's keep making them.

[00:06:10] I'm just going to get past my hangups of there needing to be like an actual closure to any kind of story. No, there doesn't need to be. Let's just keep rolling. It's fine. I think the Toy Story franchise works. And I think five to me is a good example of just why it works. And it works pretty consistently. You've got a really nice wide assortment of characters to work with. I like the fact that Toy Story 5, we didn't really mention the plot line here, but, you know, focuses a lot more on Jesse.

[00:06:39] Jesse being a little bit more of the protagonist here, which I like because, again, honestly, the parts with Woody and Buzz in this film were kind of the ones I least cared about. It just seemed the most rinse and repeat. Oh, of course, we got to have them fighting. We got to have them kind of bickering and trying to one up each other. And I'm like, that got really old and boring. So I'm like, no, I like the story with Jesse. And I like her being kind of the lead. And it made me think, all right, if they do a Toy Story 6, let's hone in on another character

[00:07:09] and let them be a little bit more of the lead. And you just got a great supporting cast around them. So that's where I am with it. I'm realizing it's more of a ongoing collection of films centered around a very wide, vast collection of great characters. Each one can have a message about youth, about growing up, about how we handle things in our life. They can have those messages, and I'm fine with that.

[00:07:38] So that was my bigger picture view of it. I did like Toy Story 5. I thought it was a little overstuffed. I did think there was maybe a couple too many things going on. But otherwise, I still really enjoyed it. I had a good time. I think when the film tries to lean into a message that I kind of wish it had gone a little deeper with this idea of childhood friendships and how the world we live in today makes

[00:08:08] it supposedly easier, but also more difficult to have relationships and friendships. To me, that was a really great concept to dig into. And when the film leaned into it, I think it was stronger for it. I think trying to mix in several other themes into the movie that it tried to do just got it a little overloaded. I would normally rail against the idea of needing to have even yet more new characters introduced in 5.

[00:08:38] But if we didn't have new characters introduced in number 5, we would not get to have Smarty Pants, who is now one of my favorite characters. Voiced by Conan O'Brien. Right. Conan O'Brien doing a character called Smarty Pants. There's just a lot of humor to mine out of his character. Agreed. I thought it was very good. He's kind of the Forky of number 5, as far as new character that people really like. So, you know, yes, the cast has grown maybe a little too much.

[00:09:07] Maybe there's a few too many people to mix in. You got to give each character just like one line that they can say in the background that you remember from the first movie. You're referencing Duke Caboom kind of got brought in just for a cameo. Even Forky's was a really small role in this. It's like, it is a lot of characters. It's a lot. But I'm actually okay with introducing new ones if they're as fun as the new ones we got this time. So, Toy Story 5, I liked it. I thought it was good.

[00:09:34] Chris, I am anxious to hear your thoughts, though, because you went into it probably with a different mindset than I did, where you enjoyed 4. I did. And you were happy to see the franchise continuing and if it could go. So, how did you think number 5 fared in the whole mix of things? So, with the Toy Story films, the first one came out in 95. There's no reason to discuss that one. Everybody knows why it's great. Everybody knows why it's awesome.

[00:09:58] In 99, it was toys as collectibles versus being played with, which I thought was an interesting theme to kind of bring up. Okay? So, cool. 2010, the one lots of people think, Alan included, thinking that was like, you know, this is the pinnacle. Ended there. Kids aging out of toys. Andy leaves and goes to college. Uncertain future for the toys because they go to a daycare center by mistake. So, these are all like each movie had something kind of interesting for me to like latch on

[00:10:28] to. The fourth film really examined Bonnie as a new owner because that was the kind of new, she kind of comes in at the end of three and she's a new owner. It's like a new era. Differences, it was enough different for me and we got introduced to Forky and Duke Caboom. So, like that. So, now we get to the fifth film. I thought this film, this is a lot of times what I feel like Alan will say, I thought this film was fun. So, that, yeah, fun. Right.

[00:10:58] And here's the thing. For me, I agree the two plot things that you felt like were really interesting was learning a little bit more about Jesse and yes, great. And then complications with friendships, great. But what to me in 2026 felt like, and other toy stories haven't really dealt with it, but was just kind of like been there, done that, was the whole tech screen debate.

[00:11:27] I think like that seems like, you know, the other entry came in 2019. This should have been like maybe 2021 or 2020. Like it just by now, it's like, it was a little dated to kind of be referencing it. And look, I'll. Not that the points aren't valid. No, no, no. The points are valid. I thought it was a little. Kind of late to the game. That and a little on the nose, the whole, you know, they look out across the neighborhood and like in everybody's window and everybody's on tablet. Okay. Yeah, we get it. We've had that discussion.

[00:11:57] We know that about our world. I agree. I think it was a little dated and I found it to be the less interesting is the addiction to tech. It was more for me, like what you were saying about what it means about connecting with people and what that, what kind of possible impacts that was having on young children. That's what I thought was really interesting part of it. They could have leaned into it a little more. I will say there again, I'm going to go for a little bit of a positive after Bonnie does

[00:12:25] get the lily pad, which is like the technology that she becomes fascinated with. And she got it because she didn't have it. And a lot of her friends had it. She felt alienated. There's a scene where they show her, I guess, in the living room, she's on her technology device, but it shows her dad is also. So it's not like we're not just throwing this all on the kids. Oh, this is all the kids. No, the parents are. So I thought that was a good attempt to at least kind of balance the lecturing going on. I agree.

[00:12:55] And I will say too, I think, I think overall how the film decides to resolve its issue with tech. Yes, it's, it's, it's a little on the, it's a little there again on the nose, a little cliche ending, but I did like the way it ended in terms of it opted not to get too preachy about things. It could have gone a lot preacher if it wanted to on topic on this topics. It didn't.

[00:13:23] So I guess in the end it kept it pretty light, but I do think that the, the friendship side of thing, the in-person friendship that Bonnie, they're trying to help explore and improve. Somebody was at the door. It sounds like it's okay. I saw the doorknob turn. I did too. But the, but the friendship side of what they're trying to explore and how kids make friends

[00:13:50] and what the nature of friendship looks like for children now across. Yeah. That to me was really interesting. And I do think that's probably just timely enough. The tech angle of it. Yes. Is a little, is a little been there, done that. Sure. I've talked about, but how children or how young people interact with each other and how they make friends or not make friends and the pressures on them to, to use technology or

[00:14:18] to use certain tools to become friends. That to me was really interesting. I wish the film had maybe been a little more focused on that as, as the main driving plot point. But overall, I hear you though. I mean, yeah, I, if. I think your feelings about four are kind of my feelings about five. I think it's kind of what, like you switched a little bit. And I think we're both saying that, yeah, four and five, they're fine. They're good additions.

[00:14:46] They're enjoyable films, but we're not at the level where we were with the first three as far as the overall quality and impact. I favor four a little bit more than you may favor five. But still, I mean, it's hard to argue that the trilogy standing alone without these. Yeah. I'll say if I'm going to hit on something else, which you kind of alluded to, and I went and saw this with my wife last night and she mentioned it because I, you know, I like to hear what other people think, like we're driving. I was like, so what'd you think?

[00:15:15] And she called this out the very first thing I was like, yes, yes. And I was, I was like, was it just me? But no. A squadron of high tech edition Buzz Light years and they're like bare minimum story arc irritated me. And it's from the opening scene. You see this and you're like, oh, okay. But then for me, I felt like I could see the plot device just churning from that opening

[00:15:41] scene and forgivable, you know, because it's like, this is a kid's movie, but irritating to me because it added nothing to the story and committed the cardinal sin of just making the runtime endlessly exceed. Like if you would have chopped out all that, because there were ways that the point they serve, they could have found another way to do it. And it would have saved like 15 or 20 minutes of the film. I'm with you. I'm with you on that. I, the film opens with this sequence, with this squadron of Buzz Light years and you don't

[00:16:11] really know what their impact is going to be on the story. So at the opening scene, I'm intrigued. I'm like, okay, this is interesting. This is an interesting setup. I wonder where this is going to go. Right. And they would keep cutting to this, this squadron. Yeah. Cause they're separate from everybody. Storytelling wise, I know what they're trying to do. They're trying to say, oh, you have no idea how that story is going to lead into our main story, but it'll all work. And when it actually does connect, you're like, uh, I don't really see the point. That was just a waste of my time.

[00:16:39] That was a felt wasteful. And just like I said before, I think the, uh, Oh, Woody and Buzz are back together. And yes, they have to be antagonist. It was kind of like they got antagonist and, and they got to be enemies or got to be picking on each other. For no reason. For no reason. It was really just kind of dumb reasons. It was like, oh, well, yeah, we have to have them like fighting them each other. Sure. And that seemed wasteful as well. So it was like, no, you've got a good movie. You've got a good story. You don't need to add these other elements.

[00:17:10] Uh, I don't know. Yeah. That was, that was where I said it just felt overstuffed. I think you could remove those two elements from the film and you have a good solid film. I think the problem is Chris, is that if you did take away those elements, I don't know if it's just that visually the film didn't, wouldn't really look very different from some earlier toy stories. Okay. It all is taking place in houses and it's all taking place at the tire swing, which is something from the second movie.

[00:17:39] It's like visually I could almost see it. Oh wow. It does look and feel so much like number two, which number two is the one. And I think this is almost like a direct sequel to the whole Jesse story. So maybe there was a little bit of feeling like we got to add some more elements in it to diversify it more, but I feel like it actually hurt it more than it helps. And to be clear, Alan and I are both saying like, yeah, these are adult problems. Any kid I think is going to love this movie because if they like the other toy stories,

[00:18:07] which most kids do, they're going to like this. These are, these are adult problems. No one else is going to be bothered by this. I will say I continue to be really impressed with the animation. I think it's a beautiful looking film. All five. I mean, I can't. Yes. They're very, very well done. There's a couple of scenes even I can call out like, even though the squadron of Buzz Lightyear's was annoying from a story standpoint, right?

[00:18:35] Visually, there was some really cool visual moments where they just looked really good. Yeah. And just, yeah. So I think the care and attention put into the films is still pretty extraordinary. There was something too, for me that at first I was like, oh, this is going to be interesting. I thought they were combining because the animation looked so real to me. And I guess the way they shot, the way they had like, not, they didn't shoot it.

[00:18:59] The way they animated it, it looked like it was a real horse for a second in a field talking with one of those characters. And then they pulled back and I was like, oh no, that's, it's still, you know, animated. But it looked so photorealistic. I thought they were using a real field with a real horse and the animated character like laid over the top of it. And that wasn't what it was, but it just looked so realistic. So that kind of took me, that kind of took me aback there for a second.

[00:19:26] Well, I mean, I'd say the same almost a little bit with Jimmy Dean, the pig. I like the pig a lot. Okay. And again, that's a real, it was meant to be a, not a toy animal, a real animal in the movie. And I thought it was done pretty well, just like the horse. There's enough here. You mentioned, you mentioned Conan O'Brien's character, Smarty Pants. And it was enough with that for adults that they kind of catch on to. Yeah. That makes it enjoyable. And just Jess's reaction.

[00:19:54] She sees this pig, then she discovers the same. She's like, oh, you know, there again, for adults. It's funny stuff like that that you're like, okay, that, that alone kind of justifies the film because they're, they're trying to make it entertaining for the adults that are there with their kids. So yeah. Can I just say Joan Cusack as Jesse. Yes. So good. Yeah. I mean, she, she always is, but I think she's not let up. I mean, she is still knocking this character out and just has it just right.

[00:20:25] I could say Tim Allen, Buzz Lightyear, Tom Hanks as Woody. They're good, but you've kind of got their own. They're a little, yeah, they're on cruise control. They're just kind of checking in. They're doing their thing. It's not bad. No, but it's nothing. Joan Cusack though. It's just Jesse. Jesse's become, I think the most interesting character of this whole franchise over five movies. And so I think it was the right move to like, let her kind of be more of the, in the spotlight, the spotlight and the lead of this film.

[00:20:54] So a couple other characters in there. Greta Lee is Lily pad. I thought was very good as well too. I liked the style of character. They, they let her play. Also had a lot of fun with Craig Robinson as Atlas. And then I think there was another one in that, in that group of new characters. Snappy. Snappy. Shalbo Rabara. Those three with smarty pants, just as love fun.

[00:21:21] Again, I groaned when I saw, oh gosh, here we are a whole another slew of new characters we got to learn and try to keep up with. But they had an interesting slant to them all being kind of very older tech, but still related to tech. And they were, they were fun. So it was a, it was a good time with all of those. So yeah, no, I, I, I did like it. I did like it, but I think mine has just become from a spot of acceptance that this is

[00:21:51] a franchise that will probably continue on. I wholly expect there'll be a toy story six. Sure. Based on the box office numbers. I think you're probably right. My thing is, okay, let's a toy story six. Let's pick another set, maybe quote secondary character to kind of elevate a little bit. And let's like the movie to be a little bit more of their lead. I'm fine with that. I think it's a fun world to make movies in. It's kind of the perfect franchise.

[00:22:17] If you think about it, it's like you have this growing cast of characters. They're all toys. So you just have this broad connection to them across all ages. Right. And you can put them into different situations each time and have some emotional connection to the idea of youth and childhood and growing up and all that. Yeah. It's kind of the perfect franchise. It's like, all right, if you're going, if you're already at five, fine, let's go to 10. I have no problem with that. Okay.

[00:22:47] I would prefer they stop at three, but they didn't. So let's just embrace it and keep going with the rest of them now. So, um, yeah, that's good. Anything else you want to call out or comment on with this? No, I'll say the, it's interesting. Some of the other films and I would need to do a rewatch of the first four to remember which ones I don't think the first one had this, but I could be wrong. Um, there are sequences that are like the fantasy sequences where the owners, whether it be Bonnie

[00:23:14] or this film, we have blaze who's introduced as a friend, they are playing with the toys and you kind of go into a completely different animation style. The one that I can recall, I don't remember which movie it was in, but there was like a train heist sequence and that was done with a different animation sequence. And then you come out and you see that it's one of the, the owners actually making everything happen. This film has a couple of instances of that, but what I like is they then actually tweaked

[00:23:40] that a little bit where Bonnie's simulations of that were one way, but then blazes simulations were a little bit odder and that weirder, which I really liked, especially the one. Yeah. She had a lot more, they gave her a much more creative slant. Yeah. Not that Bonnie's not, but it was just like kind of like a zany kind of slant to it. Yeah. And I really liked how they kind of tweaked that little thing that they do in the movies. Agreed. Yeah. No, I thought that was, that was really good.

[00:24:09] And I do like the switching of animation style. You'd mentioned that something that they've done in other movies. I honestly didn't recall, but I like kind of switching to the, the, the playtime sequences and just kind of having fun with that visually as well. So yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, that is Toy Story five. Yep. It's in theaters. It will be in theaters for a while. It's probably people are flocking. Overall. I think the reaction has been good to it.

[00:24:39] So, um, you know, it's another Toy Story movie. So I think people, you have to really work hard, I think, to mess these up from this point on, like you just have to really miss the mark to make a Toy Story movie not work from a crowd pleasing standpoint. So, uh, we'll see. Here's hoping if they, which they will continue to do Toy Story six and seven. Let's hope they at least can keep up the quality and keep up, uh, everything they're doing there. So, all right, great.

[00:25:09] Well, let's take a quick break. We come back. We've got a couple of news items or actually just one news item in two trailers to share. That's what we're going to do in our next section. And then we'll get into Chris's recommendation. So stay tuned. You're listening to foot candle films here on the mesh.tv podcast network. We'll be right back. Want to discover great podcasts or maybe even start one of your own. Welcome to the mesh Western North Carolina's podcast network built for creators and listeners

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[00:26:07] We had our review of toy story five in the first part of the show, but now we spend our time talking about female films we have not seen yet. We're only getting a little taste or portions of before we show our couple of trailers there, Chris, I did want to bring up a news item. Okay. Uh, you know, we are, our fingers on the pulse of what's going on in Hollywood and then the filmmaking business, you know, us, we're just sure. So, so, so deep into that world and the movers and shakers around us. Right.

[00:26:36] But I did think this news item was worth talking about for a couple of reasons. One, it has to do with tech because we just talked about toy story five and the, the, the battle with tech that that film kind of explored a little bit. And this has to do with, uh, one of our studio we've talked about quite a bit on the show, which is a 24. I've heard of them. A 24. It's made a lot of movies. We really like, uh, maybe spread themselves a little thin the last couple of years. I don't know.

[00:27:04] We've had not the most enthusiastic view of every one of their releases, but you know, but they are growing very, very popular movie studio right now. They had back rooms just recently. Back rooms, but big, you're a big fan of, very big fan of and, uh, made a lot of money. So it's good there. Did. Um, all right. So this is the article headlines. I'm reading this from the AV club. Uh, so I'm going to credit them for having, uh, the work done behind the scenes.

[00:27:30] A 24 is taking $75 million from Google for AI research. Google claims the partnership ensures that, quote, the tools of the future are shaped by the creators who use them. So what this is saying is that Google has invested $75 million into a 24 as a studio to forge an artificial intelligence partnership between the two companies.

[00:27:55] So they're going to work on helping a 24 develop new technologies to assist filmmakers. Uh, the deal does not give Google access to a 24 archive or data at all. Uh, but it sounds like trying to help with collaboration tools that filmmakers can use and to help enhance their productions. Uh, ensures the tools of the future are shaped by the creators who use them.

[00:28:20] Um, claims that the tools, uh, a 24 partners, Scott Belsky expanded on the endeavor saying the tools won't look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with. So it sounds like when I hear that, it's like they are investing to try to build tools that filmmakers can use to help craft their films. Could be generating scenes through AI, generating, uh, portions of their films.

[00:28:47] Um, they gave an example that, you know, a 24 has already been dabbling with some AI work very, very lightly. But, uh, the brutalist film we talked about a couple of years ago, uh, they'd use AI technology to blow back for that. Yeah, they did, but they had used AI technology to clean up some of Adrian Brody's Hungarian accent after film was done using AI as a tool to help clean up that accent.

[00:29:09] Uh, director Martin Scorsese also just gave his stamp of approval to AI for making storyboards, which is the kind of labor that most audiences may not think of or notice, but will certainly make the people who make their living from being a storyboard artist rather uncomfortable. Yes. So it sounds like they're investing in more tools. They're not coming out and saying that AI is going to help make movies.

[00:29:33] It sounds like they're trying to invest in tools to augment and help improve the movies that creators are working on. But just in general, what's your overall just gut feel on this? I know we, we didn't get too deep into it. I know there's a lot more detail behind the surface on this. Sure. Yeah. Just the idea. I haven't read the article. A24 in Google on an AI partnership. I mean, just how does that strike you? Kind of ick. Yeah.

[00:30:01] Um, but that being said, I mean, AI in general, I think it's kind of like the, yeah, I mean, closest thing I can associate with it or try to make in comparisons to internet. There's a lot of awesome stuff about the internet. There's a lot of stuff that's not awesome about the internet. Social media. There's a lot of stuff that, you know, I benefited from social media. I thought it was kind of cool, you know, but there's also a lot of stuff that's not great about social media.

[00:30:30] AI, I think in general, it can be useful, obviously, but I do fear about, you know, taking jobs. I hear that concern and I, and not only that, taking jobs, yes, concern. But then there's kind of an application of, um, maybe not being able to discern what is true and what is not true because of AI and how they could influence like video images. It's like also very concerning.

[00:30:59] Um, and I know like both a 24 and Google, um, you know, their corporations, their companies, they're there to make money. Um, but you know, I, I would hope that hopefully creatives, like let's say for instance, you brought the, like a storyboard artist, which I remember seeing. I didn't see the article, but I saw a lot of people cranky about Martin Scorsese kind of saying, oh yeah, storyboards. That's awesome. I'll use it.

[00:31:27] Um, you would hope that hopefully the storyboard artists hear this rumbling and can kind of say, okay, I can draw them. But what I'm going to do is take the challenge of using AI to help me so that I am not left in the dust of this. Because the genie's out of the box. AI is not going anywhere. So try to learn how you can learn it and adapt to it because, but you know, generally it does make me a little fearful, I guess, because you don't want people to lose their jobs and creatives.

[00:31:57] Well, you know, miss out. So I'll, I'll play. Does that make sense? Yeah, absolutely. And just know that I am 98% of where you are on this as well. Sure. I'll play. I'll just, just to have, for the sake of discussion, I'll play a little quick devil's advocate. Sure.

[00:32:13] For hundreds of years, we've gone through technology evolutions all the way from the creation of the wheel to, you know, electricity, other things that we've developed and built and used and added to our, to our plate of technology. It's just, it is a nature of evolution. It's a nature of the industrialization of our world. It's sad. It's bad, but it happens.

[00:32:43] Right. And yes, AI will absolutely, there will be jobs lost. My fear is always with, with any technology is that the technology that can help, uh, take on a job that didn't require people with natural skills and abilities to do that job. I'm, I say, well, that's probably okay.

[00:33:07] Like if people are working in assembly lines that don't require a natural skill necessarily in some situations, it's just manual work that's being done. And there's ways to do that more automatically and let people move on to other jobs that might be more fulfilling and might be more, uh, invigorating and use their, their mind and their abilities and skills more. Or always for that.

[00:33:29] My fear is always when technology does come up and tries to absorb those jobs of people that are using true skills and talent. They have, they're investing in the workforce. When you lose that, that's when it's, it's a shame. It's, it's, it's sad to see. So I don't know.

[00:33:46] I, I, you know, my thing is if they develop tools out of this partnership that, uh, you know, let's say somebody, their skillset is that they are really good at, um, helping with dialogue translation, translation, uh, different dubbing voices for, for films. That's what their skill is. And these tools help them do that work better and more efficiently. Okay, cool. That sounds pretty good.

[00:34:09] But if it replaces those individuals who have a real skill and that for doing this work, okay, well then that's, that's a shame. So yeah. Yeah. All right. Yeah. I, it's a double edged sword. I, I, I, like you said with the internet. Yes. Would I rather still have that available technology available to be able to use and do for some constructive and positive things? Yes. But by taking it, it means that you have to also take the disadvantages and the harms that can come along with it too.

[00:34:38] And, and how do you manage that? Right. So I'm taking a wait and see approach with what happens with this. I mean, you know, AI has been around for a little while now and you know, there are people putting up AI generated videos and films all over the internet and all that. Yeah. So far, nothing has really blown me away to say that I'm like worried about natural filmmakers making films. Right. I get it.

[00:35:04] I, we're still maybe a little early in that train and it could come about, but I still feel the same way about it. Like I do a page layout design, print design work back in the early nineties where everybody thought that, Oh, because we have these new tools that we can design our own graphic design and logos and flyers. And it still ended up, you still need the people that are talented to do it, to do it right. So I hope that's going to be the same case with, with all this. So, okay.

[00:35:35] That was my news item there. And, and, and we got, we got to step on a little tiny little soapbox, but nothing. It's fine. Look, I wish them all the best on any kind of endeavor. I mean, if a 24 overall mission is to help creators make better films. Great. Right. Let's, let's do it. Sure. And as long as the people that are involved in creatively making these films can keep exercising those, those gifts they have, then I'm all for it.

[00:36:01] But as long as there's a watchful eye over the balance here. So, sure. Okay. Good deal. Well, let's move on to a couple of trailers. A couple other announcements of films that I know we're curious about, interested in. I have not seen either of these trailers. I don't know if you have. I have not either. Oh, God. So let's jump into the first one. A trailer just released this past week. It is for the film Clara and the Sun.

[00:36:27] Taika Waititi's adaptation of a, of a, is it adaptation of a book, a film? What do you, what do you know about the background of this? I think it's an adaptation of a novel. A novel? Yeah. Okay. But this, like, I had only just heard of this yesterday. So it was really news to me. I was, you know, Taika Waititi, I think his last venture was Next Goal Wins. Yeah, that's right. That was the last one, wasn't it? And that was kind of, and that kind of came and went. Yeah. So, yeah, I'm curious to see what he's up to.

[00:36:56] So this is based, I'm reading up now. It's based on the bestselling novel by Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro, written and directed by Taika Waititi. Clara and the Sun, the film introduces audiences to Clara, an artificial friend who wants nothing more than to find the perfect home. I'm going to leave it there. Looks like we've got Jenna Ortega in the lead role.

[00:37:19] And we also have Amy Adams in here as the mother figure of Josie, who we're going to meet in the trailer. So let's watch the trailer for Clara and the Sun and see what we think of this latest film from Taika Waititi. Here we go. My name is Clara. I'm an artificial friend. Good morning, artificial friends.

[00:37:48] Good morning, store manager. I know. Artificial friends aren't as popular as they used to be. But I still firmly believe that all of you older AFs have a fighting chance at finding homes. Glorious son, please let today be my day. Let me find a friend. If I do get chosen, how will I know if my person and I are a good match? Just remember everything you learned and hopefully they'll come to love you, like a member of the family or a family dog. I'm Josie. I'm Clara.

[00:38:17] Clara, honey, if I'm going to buy you a robot, I'm not going to be spending money on an old outdated one. You said that I can choose and I choose Clara. She's special. And she's odd special. 20% off. All right. That was the trailer for Clara and the Sun. Chris, any initial thoughts? I want to tell you something that was not revealed in the trailer and get your initial thought. Oh. Okay. Okay.

[00:38:45] Do you recall, I'm pretty sure you do, a film called Never Let Me Go. Yes. One of your favorites. Oh, yeah. I think it's one of my favorites. Yes. Okay. It was based on a novel by the same author, Ishiguro. Okay. Okay. So, I will now answer your, well, okay. So, what does that make you, what are your thoughts based on the novel? No, no. I'm actually even, look, I'm jacked up. I'm ready. I love what I saw in this movie. Yeah.

[00:39:10] And now hearing that it's also the same author that wrote Never Let Me Go, which I'm a huge fan of. Which deals a little bit with technology. Very similar storylines. But this seems to have a little more- Comedy. A little more playful view of it. But definitely, it looks like it's going to get into some- Serious. Some headier subject matter as well. No, I'm super excited. Okay. I love it. To me, I think this is what Taika Waititi needs.

[00:39:36] He needs really good source material, a really good book to adapt that plays to his strengths. He gets to weave humor, but also Taika Waititi does really good with emotional drama as well too, and the balance of the two. Jojo Rabbit was one of those films that, you know, tried to blend the two. I think it was successful, but I can also see some people not finding it successful. It was like too much one end to the other on the drama and the comedy.

[00:40:07] This film looks like it might be the perfect blend and plays to his strengths. And if the source material is strong, which I'm sure it is, then yeah, we're in a good spot. You mentioned before we had started watching the trailer, you or I guess our audience would be listening to it. You mentioned the author's name. I was like, God, that sounds familiar. And so while we were like listening to the trailer, I kind of pulled up and I was like, yes, it is the never let me go guy.

[00:40:32] Always when I see something is based on novel, as I mentioned before in the podcast, it makes me feel good about something because I'm like, okay, there's something, it's not just a clever idea and then they try to do whatever they can do with it. No, it's based on somebody wrote a whole book about this that, you know, is a bestseller where you're like, okay, there's going to be something here that's going to be better than just a short film about the same idea, you know? So, well, I really liked the trailer. Yeah. I'm very encouraged by it.

[00:41:01] The fact that the source material is there, everything you said, I second. With addition to, I like Jenna Ortega. She was good in Beetlejuice. She's good on the show, Netflix show Wednesday. But I am overjoyed to see her kind of take something that she's playing kind of like the lighthearted idiot type thing. And it's such against the type where I'm like, oh, that's awesome. She's not a goth kid, you know, type of thing. No, I thought it was a good mix for that.

[00:41:30] And Natasha Lyonne is kind of the store owner, also looks kind of fun. Well, and you think about it, Chris, the things that we probably nitpick the most about films that frustrate us or disappoint us, so much of it is the writing. It's like, you know, we know these directors. We know that they're going to make a good-looking film and they're going to direct a good film. But if the core writing, the overall story is not compelling or doesn't work or has some

[00:41:59] issues in it, it kind of just hurts the whole process, I think. And it stands out more for us. So, yeah, I'm with you. I'm encouraged if the source material is a proven story. It's like, okay, guys, we have the story. Now, directors, it's your guys' job to put it on the screen for us and make it work. And that's why I'm encouraged by this. So I think this is the right mix. So excited to see it. Was there a date on this?

[00:42:28] I missed that. October. October. So this year, yeah. Okay, good. Well, we will look forward to Clara and the Sun coming in October from Taika Waititi, director, based on the novel we mentioned. Okay. Our second trailer, Chris, was one that is from Studio A24. I'm assuming not generated by AI. This is an actual human being movie. It is a film called The Debut. Hold on. I don't want to play it yet. Hold on. iPad.

[00:42:58] iPad has a mind of its own today. The Debut. This is from writer and director Jesse Eisenberg, who last did – what was the name of the film he did? I cannot remember. A something pain? A real pain? A real pain. Yeah, that was it. I think that's it. Yeah, a real pain. Where the two relatives, a cousin, go off on a journey to look at Holocaust. Yes. Yeah. Learn about the Holocaust. In Prague, I believe. I believe that's correct. Yeah, I believe it was.

[00:43:28] Yeah, so writer and director Jesse Eisenberg, which we also know as an actor. We've seen him in a lot of things as well. So, Jesse Eisenberg, writer and director of the film They Debut. It is starring Julianne Moore. Jesse Eisenberg's in this. And Paul Giamatti. So, I like all three of those actors. I do too. So, and I generally like The Real Pain. Oh, I like The Real Pain. And Culkin won an Oscar for it. He did. He did. So, I think there's a little bit of heat behind, you know, people wanting to see what

[00:43:57] the debut is all about. Sure. And it looks like this is a film that I don't have a definite release date for it. It just says coming soon is all I can see on the listing from the A24 write-up on it. So, let's take a look at the trailer for the debut. I've never heard I'm saying that. The debut. Yeah. The debut. The debut. It just sounds weird. Yeah, it does. The debut. Here we go. Let's watch the trailer for this film.

[00:44:29] Hey, Mona. What did you do all day? When kids can drive, she doesn't do anything anymore. Today, I auditioned for a musical show. Mona, look at you. Full of surprises. What's your story? I don't think we've seen you before. I haven't sung in front of anyone since church choir. We're auditioning for Jerry. Who's Jerry? I'm sorry. Basically the biggest name in New Jersey Community Theater. He's brilliant, but he's not here to be your friend.

[00:44:59] Hi, Jerry. Mocha no milk when you have it. Mona Friedman. That's me. You're up. Whenever you're ready. Mona? Yes? You're the only person who auditions for Miss Danielle. You got the part. So, that was the trailer, official trailer for the debut from A24. Still going to have a hard time saying that.

[00:45:26] Chris, your takes on this latest film from writer-director Jesse Eisenberg. It is rare in this show that I think we do the trailers and I'm as equally as excited about like all three or all two of the films that we do. Yes. But I'm equally excited about this one. Agreed. The trailer, too, has something where it seems like it's going to be a kind of film where Paul Giamatti plays a director. He's community theater. He's kind of a jerk.

[00:45:53] Julianne Moore plays it and it's kind of a comedy based on just them like working it out. But then it actually seems like it kind of takes a little bit of a turn and there's more to the curmudgeon director. But it's satisfying and like they actually come to work together, the Julianne Moore actresses. So, yeah, which I guess from Eisenberg who made a comedy about people going to, but it was a dramedy about people going to the Holocaust, obviously, because there's the Holocaust.

[00:46:21] So this seems to take something at first kind of a turn on that where it's funny, but then it actually turns into something a little deeper. So, yeah, I'm very curious. You pointed out something in the trailer kind of towards the end. One of the last things that pops up on the screen is music and lyrics by Jesse Eisenberg, as well as being the writer director. So don't know if that means they're going to be songs. So this is actually a musical that she's trying out for or. Yeah, I don't know.

[00:46:50] So I'm interested. The thing is, a real pain. You know, I did like that film as well. I can't tell you anything about Jesse Eisenberg's directorial style from that movie. That movie was, it was a written movie. It was the one that I remember the lyric. I remember the dialogue. I remember the conversations. It was a well-written film. Sure. I don't remember anything about visually how the film looked and all. Looking at this trailer, granted, I know a trailer is a cut together shots.

[00:47:20] I think it appears that Eisenberg is definitely broadening his visual scope in the film. It was like some of the shots and some of the sequences looked really impressive and looked really big, bigger and a little more visual thought put into it than maybe. So I'm happy to see a little bit of evolution there, too. But I got to imagine the writing strong. I mean, I would hope so. And I really like Giamatti and Moore, especially them pairing off each other. I think it'd be really interesting to see.

[00:47:49] So, no, I'm super on board. I'm with you. I'm equally excited for both of these two films. I'm very, if they're both coming out this fall, I will be very happy with a couple selections to see. Only feedback? Again, I think the trailer just gave away a little too much. Oh, well. Just a bit. Sure. So I don't want to see it again. I don't need to see a second trailer. Right. I still think we need to work towards a teaser trailer mentality.

[00:48:16] Truly like not giving away any plot points, giving you a sense of the style and mood of the film and a taste of it without any plot layout. This trailer did tend to get a little plotty towards the end where it's like, all right, we kind of know where it's going. I hope we're wrong. I always hope a trailer is kind of misleading and that we actually get into it. And it's very different than what the plot seems to be from the trailer. But anyway, that's my only feedback. Nothing towards Mr. Eisenberg. I'm sure he did not craft the trailer. Sure.

[00:48:45] So anyway. I mean, I understand. Like for you and I, that's what we prefer. But I can understand from A24 standpoint. I can't remember who the studio was on the first film. But these aren't Toy Story 6 or the next Marvel movie. You got to sell it. So they're trying to sell it to people that otherwise probably wouldn't come see it. So yeah. But I agree. You and I have often said teasers are the way we like to see stuff. But still, highly interested in both films. Of both of which I knew nothing about.

[00:49:14] I've only known about them for less than 24 hours. So just to kind of comment on, I did look at the credits for this film. Okay. Cast and crew. There is a composure attached to it that's not Jesse Eisenberg. So there's original music that's being made. However, if I look in the sound department category, there is a – I'm sorry, not sound department. I was looking for a music department. When I look there, it is songs by Jesse Eisenberg. Okay. So there will be songs in the movie. Excellent.

[00:49:42] And they are songs that he has written. And I tend to like – I'm a fan of musicals both on the stage and on the screen. So yeah, that gives me something else to be excited about. Well, my hopes – what my expectations are is that this is probably – it's like they are putting on a production. Sure. The production will have musical numbers in it that will be custom written for the film. So that's my guess anyway on that. All right.

[00:50:11] Well, that is our two trailers we wanted to explore. We're looking at Clara and the Sun and the debut, both hopefully coming out this fall. We know Clara and the Sun is for sure the debut. We don't – well, no. I just saw a release date, December 3rd. So we got an October and we got a December. So it could be some Oscar things going on there maybe because of the release dates. Very real. Maybe. Could be. All right. So with that, Chris, we have completed our news and trailer section of the show.

[00:50:39] We are left with one final element for this episode and that is your recommendation. Chris watches a lot of movies, likes to share with us his recommendation for the episode, something he either recently caught back up with or recalled and wants to share with us as – if we're looking to build our watch queue for the coming weekend. Chris, what do you recommend adding to our watch list? So as I mentioned – excuse me.

[00:51:03] We just recently did an outdoor screening of The Princess and the Frog, a Disney movie from 2009. And I had seen the film. I remember liking it, but it reminded me of why I liked it. Yes, it's a fairytale-type story. As you can guess, it involves a princess and a frog somewhat. The general story is a waitress desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being,

[00:51:31] but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him. So it's a little bit of a twist on the whole princess and the frog story. The music in this is great. Some of it's done by Randy Newman, which, you know, always a fan of Randy Newman. And it just – it really works. It's in New Orleans. The villain in this is voiced by – he's a voodoo doctor, which makes sense with New Orleans. It's voiced by Keith David.

[00:51:55] So that's enjoyable because his voice is just – if you don't recognize the name, if you heard the voice, you'd be like, oh, that dude. I just really enjoyed it. And I feel like it's a – it's an underseen Disney film, I feel like. Oh, yeah. So it's one that if you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend you see it. And if you have seen it but have forgotten about it, footcandle.org, widely available on Disney Plus if you subscribe to that service.

[00:52:22] If not, they probably have copies of it at your local library or you can, you know, do it VOD in several different places like Apple or Amazon. Yeah. So – Yeah. And I will join in and give a recommendation as well on that film. This first time I saw it was at our outdoor screening. Okay. So that was kind of a new film for me, having not caught up with that one in the past. Really enjoyed it. Thought it was really good. I may have some misgivings about the choices they made story-wise with the lead character.

[00:52:53] I feel like the princess got a little side – or the – Yeah. The main tiara got a little side one maybe. I think she should have been more of the – more of the true lead in the film. Tiana had been a little more of the protagonist to really make things happen. That's what I wanted out of it. And she got turned into a frog and was a frog for a big majority of the movie, which I thought was not a great move for the story. But film-wise and production-wise, it's really good. And the music, like you said, is great.

[00:53:23] It was nice to see hand-drawn animation. This was still a film in the 2000s. Yeah, 2009. CGI animation was already all over the place. But Disney still did a hand-drawn animated film for this one. And it looked good. It was just a nice kind of throwback type of film, too, to kind of see that style in use and work so effectively.

[00:53:44] And I'll say, too, the directing team behind this, Ron Clements and John Musker, they're responsible for things like Aladdin, The Little Mermaid. Most recently, the animated version of Moana, not the one that we're about to get with the live action. So, yeah, the pedigree behind this is, like, well-established. So, yeah, Princess and the Frog, highly recommend. Absolutely. I can echo that as well. All right. Well, that will wrap us up for today.

[00:54:13] That was our show. This has been Foot Candle Films. We did our review of Toy Story 5. We watched trailers for Claire and the Sun in the debut. The debut. The debut. I just need to pace myself when I say it. There you go. Okay, just take your time. And I also talked about A24 and Google working together on some AI stuff for movies. In Chris's recommendation of The Princess and the Frog,

[00:54:38] Chris, if anybody would like to have a dialogue with us and talk about anything film-related or anything we discuss in this episode, how can they do so? You can contact us by sending an email to info at footcandle.org or leave us a voicemail at themesh.tv website, where you can also check out past Foot Candle Film episodes, as well as other podcasts on various subjects from barbecue to comedy to mental health. We're also on Facebook at Foot Candle Film Society and other social platforms as just Foot Candle Film.

[00:55:07] Individually, Alan and I are on Letterboxd, where we try to track what we're following and watching sometimes. I get to do it a little bit more than Alan, but he still checks in every now and then on that. Every once in a while. There you go. Do us a favor. If you like the show, consider leaving us a review on whatever platform you receive your favorite podcast on, because it will help us reach new listeners, and we'd appreciate that. All right. Well, that will do it for today. Thanks, everybody, for listening to Foot Candle Films.

[00:55:34] We'll be back next week with another episode and more films to discuss and news and trailers to share. Until then, take care. We'll see you soon. See you in the ticket line.

[00:56:24] Special thanks to Carpal Tuller for the show theme music. For more about Carpal Tuller, visit www.carpaltuller.com. You've been listening to The Mesh, an online media network of shows and programs ranging from business to arts, sports to entertainment, music to community. All programs are available on the website as well as through iTunes and YouTube.

[00:56:51] Check us out online at themesh.tv. Discover other network shows and give us feedback on what you just heard.