The podcast where film-fans Allen Turing and Sol Harris take a weekly journey to Development Hell to discuss a film, then pitch their ideas for the sequel.
Guest: Emily Slade
Films covered in this episode:
Mulan
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Emily: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 84%
Mulan II
Allen: n/s
Emily: ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 35%
What? Another live-action Disney remake already? Yeah, they're just pumping these out. It's Mulan, this time. Starring Eddie Murphy! (You know what that means...)
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Guest: Calvin Dyson
Films covered in this episode:
The Lion King
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 90%
The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 65%
The Lion King 1½
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%
Nants a podcast bagithi baba! Sithi uhm podcast! We're doing The Lion King Trilogy. You know the drill.
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Guest: Howard Jenkins
Films covered in this episode:
Aladdin (1992)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Howard: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 84%
The Return of Jafar
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Howard: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 47%
Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Howard: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 57%
Disney have done that thing that they keep doing where they remake their old films. This time, they're messing around with Aladdin. Hear talk of the animation process, shifting political standards, Robin Williams and the introduction of an instant classic new Diminishing Returns comedy character...
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Guest: Calvin Dyson
Films covered in this episode
Dumbo
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%
This week has everything from deep explorations of race politics, dubious accusations of animal cruelty against Thomas Edison, a quiz game and, of course, discussion of Dumbo... Disney's beloved classic film and the upcoming Tim Burton remake.
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Released 13/03/2017
Disney's new take on Beauty and the Beast follows hot on the heels of films like The Jungle Book, Pete's Dragon, Cinderella, Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland. Is the new trend of Disney remaking all of its animated classics harmless, nostalgia-driven fun or a tragic symptom of the end of cinematic creativity? We explore that as well as aforementioned films, Disney's upcoming slate of (at least) 17 further remakes and our pitches for the remakes that Disney should greenlight next. Oh and, also, does the new Beauty and the Beast look any good?
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Films covered in this episode:
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 74%
Maleficent
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 37%
Cinderella (2015)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 70%
The Jungle Book (2016)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 67%
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰
Overall score: 40%
We review Beauty and the Beast (2017) in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"
Released 26/12/2016
This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!
It's Boxing Day, and in less than a week, it'll be 2017, so why not get comfy in your favourite chair, help yourself to a nice plate of Christmas leftovers and recover from yesterday's antics with a nice, relaxing Diminishing Returns? Well, we say "relaxing", but this one gets pretty full-on at times as film-Scrooge, Allen Turing, repeatedly butts heads with Calvin and Sol regarding the movie offerings of 2016.
This is a retrospective episode of the show, looking back at the last 29 editions of the podcast, and that essentially means that we cover a whole heap of films listed below (and more).
Films covered in this episode:
Finding Dory
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 64%
Independence Day: Resurgence
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 50%
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 77%
Ghostbusters (2016)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%
Star Trek Beyond
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 70%
Jason Bourne
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 40%
Suicide Squad
Allen: ✰ ✰ (revised from original score of ✰ ✰ ✰ ½)
Calvin: ✰ ✰
Sol: ✰ ½
Overall score: 37%
David Brent: Life on the Road
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 80%
Ben-Hur (2016)
Allen: ✰ ✰
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 40%
Bridget Jones's Baby
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 80%
Ash vs Evil Dead (season 2)
Allen: n/s
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 80%
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Allen: ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ (rated in subsequent review of the year episode)
Overall score: 37%
Inferno
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: n/s
Overall score: 50%
Doctor Strange
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 67%
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Allen: ✰ ✰ ½
Calvin: n/s
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Overall score: 60%
Moana
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 84%
This episode is a continuation of the following episodes:
"Finding Nemo"
"Independence Day"
"Absolutely Fabulous"
"Ghostbusters II"
"Star Trek Into Darkness"
"The Bourne Legacy"
"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"
"The Office"
"Ben-Hur"
"Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason"
"Evil Dead"
"Tim Burton"
"The Da Vinci Code"
"Iron Man"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Frozen"
Some discussion from this episode is continued in:
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"
Review of the Year episodes:
"Review of the Year 2016"
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 1"
"Review of the Year 2017: Part 2"
"Review of the Year 2018: Part 1"
Released 21/11/2016
This classic episode is in the Diminishing Returns vault. Sign up to our Patreon for as little as £1 to access our back-catalogue episodes!
With Moana soon upon us, Diminishing Returns attempt to fathom the mammoth cultural and financial success of Disney's 53rd "classic", Frozen. As usual, things culminate with each of the gang pitching their own idea for a sequel, but not before Allen tries his usual schtick of attempting to sap the fun out of everything. Don't worry, though; he fails.
Films covered in this episode:
Frozen (2013)
Allen: ✰ ✰ ✰
Calvin: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ½
Sol: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
Overall score: 77%
We review Moana in:
"Review of the Year 2016"
You may also be interested in:
"Live-Action Disney Remakes"