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These days it feels like everyone is talking about how the American Dream of homeownership has become out of reach. Well, Rocket is trying to give more of us a chance to own our homes. They're making homeownership simpler and more accessible to more people, turning renters into owners. Rocket believes that everyone deserves a shot.
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At the American Dream.
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So are you ready? Own the dream. Visit Rocket.com or call 800-4Rocket I love.
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Talking to people and learning from their experiences. And one thing that holds true for all of us is we can't do it all alone. We need our village. Hi there, I'm Honey German Y mi tribu incluye a State Farm. My State Farm agent is there when I have questions regarding the right coverage for me or need help filing a claim. Mi mundo hira maseguro con State Farm online, over the phone or in person. They got us like a good neighbor. State Farm is there.
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B
Oh man, Will, I am excited.
A
It is about our movie today or about something else? Or about everything.
B
I have had a dream for a long time to have a dance athletic line.
A
Me too.
B
Yes, I know, I know. It's finally happening. I've been working on this for a couple years. Our VIPs were able to start ordering on Sunday and now I'm sitting impatiently waiting because it is going live tomorrow. I'm really really excited for this. It's an exclusive dancewear towards. You know, it's it's athletic but it's really cater to dancers that really want to elevate their dancing to the next level. We've got these amazing grips that are on the sides of the legging that will allow them to do extensions. You know all those flexible extensions you like to do?
A
I. Yeah, I'm a big fan of those. You know me.
B
And when you do it, sometimes your leg slips out of your hand because of the legging. So you sometimes will scrunch and pull your leg up so that you can get like skin on skin contact this. You don't have to do that. You can literally grab it. It's got actual grip like what football players use.
A
Smart. Yeah.
B
It's an athletic grip. So I'm so excited. And the colors and the material, everything is just like gorgeous. I'm so proud of this first line and this launch.
A
Well, wait, how do I get it for when I'm gonna go dancing then? How does one find this stuff?
B
So you would go on my page or Sabri Dance official on Instagram and there's a link right there. Or you can go just right to the. The website as well. Sabriedanceofficial.com okay, cool.
A
Because my problem when I'm doing my extensions is not that my leg slips out of my hand, it's that my hip slips out of its joint. So I don't know if that is. Do these pants help that or do you still have to dance? They don't teach you how to dance, right?
B
Unfortunately, it does not teach you.
A
Gotcha.
B
The Official website is sabriofficial.com.
A
Nice.
B
And so. Yes. It's so exciting. Well, I've been so giddy all week. I just.
A
I'm.
B
I can't believe this is finally happening.
A
Well, that's really cool. Is it just pants? Is it pants and tops?
B
Pants and tops. So it's bra tops. There's a short one, there's a mid, and then there's a little bit of a longer one. We got midnight blue, and then we've got our onyx, cheetah, and our cheese. It's subtle. It's not hot pink. I will actually do one eventually.
A
I'm sure you will.
B
It's a subtle. It's gorgeous. Oh, they're so, so beautiful.
A
Well, congratulations. That's awesome. Proud of you. That's really cool. Thank you.
B
Thank you.
A
That's really cool. Wait, say the website one more time. So everybody has it.
B
It's www.sabris a B R I official dot com.
A
Cool. So everybody go check it out. Go get some awesome dance clothes. I know I'm gonna get some. Cause hopefully they're gonna teach me how to dance, which maybe they won't.
B
They're not miracle workers.
A
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. They're pants. They are not talent. Exactly. Well, congratulations on that.
B
Thank you. Thank you.
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And welcome back, everybody, to Magical Rewind, the show that makes you want to grab your friends, your PJs and your popcorn and go back to a time when all the houses were smart, the wave tsunamis, and the pants had little grippy things on them. No. And the high school's musical. I'm Will Verdell.
B
And I'm Sabrina Bryan.
A
Well, it's time to tackle a new dcom here on Magical Rewind, and it's one with a very common theme for kids movies taking hostages. It's 2009's crime comedy, Dadnapped. This movie, filled with a lot of very familiar Disney faces, debuted on February 16, 2009, to a large fanfare. Actually, 4.6 million viewers, to be exact. This was a big hit for the channel, even besting the huge Nickelodeon movie of the year spectacular by over 39%. And frankly, I'm never gonna watch that, so I won't know which one's better either way. Here's the thing about this movie, though, is despite its Nielsen success, Dadnap was not a favorite for critics, scoring a 45% on the popcorn meter with critic David Nussair. I think I'm saying that name right, calling it, quote, the lowest common denominator, quote and, quote, underwhelming second, unquote. But we are not gonna let that sway our votes. We are of the people. And of course, despite these critical insults, it did get a sequel in the form of a young adult book. Dadnapped junior Novel was released around the same time as the movie. So it does appear that Disney had high hopes for this film. Interesting. Dadnapped was shot on a very decent decom budget of $4.5 million. And they shot it in, wait for it, Utah. We're back, baby.
B
I feel like I haven't seen it for so long.
A
Right. The world all makes sense.
B
I forgot what Salt Lake City looked like for a minute.
A
Right. Okay, so we asked this a couple questions to start the show. What was your expertise when it came to dad napped? Had you heard of dad nap? Did you know a dad napped or your dad napped fan?
B
I did not. But I will tell you, I'm a fan of every single person that's on that screen, so I feel a little bit like I should have paid attention to this one because, yeah, this cast was Incredible.
A
I agree. The cast was great.
B
What about you, Will? Was this your. Your top one?
A
Uh, never. No, I never seen Dadnap.
B
When you think of Decom, you don't think of Dadnap.
A
I don't. I don't think of Dadnap. No. Everybody knows when I think of dcom, I think of. Well, no, I'm not even going to think of. I'm not even going to say a bad title because we've been through it. Go back and watch our old feed. You'll know the ones I like and the ones that I don't like. So here we go. Floss, floss, floss. It's time we get into the synopsis. Young Melissa Morris. You'll understand that hopefully young Melissa Morris is desperate to gain more attention from her best selling author dad. So when her father gets kidnapped by obsessive fans, she must come to the rescue like the protagonist in one of his popular spy novels. Sabrina, early thoughts on Dadnap. Take it away. What'd you think?
B
I found myself at a place where I have been before with these dcoms. I absolutely hated this dad from the beginning. I was just beyond disappointed. I literally could not get out of my feelings about this dad for the first 15 to almost 20 minutes of this movie. Like, you are the most selfish, self absorbed. A hole.
A
Is that all we're gonna get? Just a hole? That's it.
B
I can't even. You are such a. Anyway, you suck. You suck big time.
A
You're terrible.
B
You're such a. I hated him so bad and he's like one of my favorite characters on Friends.
A
Yeah, well, he's also a good guy. Somebody I've known for a long time. That's George Newburn, who's the voice of Superman in Justice League.
B
He's.
A
I work with him all the time.
B
I did not know that. Anyway, his. This character was unreal as an adult acting and behaving this way. I was very disappointed.
A
Did you like the movie though?
B
It was kind of a lot to take in. Right. There's such a big cast. It was a little overwhelming for me at the beginning to see everyone that kept popping up and up and up and up. As you're going, you're going, oh my God, Moises is here. Oh my God, oh my God. You know, you're going, okay, okay. What's your character? What's. You know, it was a little. I wasn't able to really sit and chill on it for a while. It wasn't until like halfway more closer to the end. That I was able to finally, like, relax and just watch the movie. What about you?
A
Oh, Sabrina. Bryan. This is a tough one for me. This movie is bananas and not kind of in a good way. This did not feel like a dcom to me. You know what this felt like to me? This felt like a Nickelodeon movie to me.
B
I was just going to say it doesn't feel even like a Paul Hoen movie.
A
No, at all. I. That's why. And, you know, little spoiler alert, we. We got to interview Jason Earls for our Park Hopper episode. And I specifically asked, does. Did this movie start with a different director and then Paul Hoen took over?
B
Because we know Paul Hoen has done that.
A
Felt the same. The story doesn't make any sense. It is super weird. The characters are weird. The main girl is having, like, some sort of a meltdown, mental break. It is. This movie was. I had to watch this movie in chunks. Like, this was not a movie that I was able to sit down and watch from beginning to end. This was a rough one for me, to be totally honest with you. Cast was great. Disney banger after Disney banger, when it comes to the cast, nobody's acting was bad. Like, nobody's acting was bad, truly at all. What I saw, this was not a character thing.
B
What I felt was very hard to grasp was each of these characters are such. Or each of these actors are such phenomenal actors, but the characters, I feel like they had to. It was like they were battling a little bit as far as not. Not. Not the actors, but just the characters all were so big and so extreme and had to be so funny, every single one of them. And when on screen together, that's what I said. I was, like, overwhelmed a little bit.
A
It is. It was. It was this. This movie for me. It was like the things they were having this great young cast try to accomplish were next to impossible. And it was one after another, especially towards the end.
B
And I'm always about. I love a good food fight. I got to do one when I was an extra on the Matilda movie.
A
Like, so much fun.
B
So fun for kids on set. This was just like, by the end of it, I'm like, oh, my God. Why is everything so colorful and gooey and being.
A
Yeah, this one didn't do anything. Oh, I know. Yeah. This was. This was a rough one for me because we've seen some good ones.
B
Yeah. And luckily, he is such a good physical actor that, like, it makes it totally fine, but. Poor guy. Poor guy.
A
Wait, this was. This was a. This was, like, A fever dream wrapped in a tab of acid that was then dipped into ayahuasca. Like this was a weird movie. But anyway, it was.
B
It was overwhelming for me for sure.
A
As we said, Dadnapped is another Paul Hoen joint, a director that we have covered extensively here on the podcast. He is currently at the helm of Zombies, a modern day DCOM hit franchise, and is no stranger to the medium, having directed Let It Shine, Luck of the Irish. You wish. Read it and Weep, Jump in and Cheetah Girls One World. We've already interviewed this Disney legend. He's a great guy. So as we sit and patiently wait for zombies 4, go check out our talk with him currently sitting there on our feedback. Great interview, awesome guy, great director. Just didn't this one didn't feel like him. But anyway, like we said, this movie is filled with Disney Channel faces. It was a pipeline to get their promising talent into a movie. First up, we've got Emily Osmond as Melissa. Sixth Sense star Haley Jo Osment is her brother and we just saw her in the Hannah Montana movie playing a role she started in the series of the same name, best friend Lily Truscott. She is also a bit of a pop star of her own during her Disney days. You actually get to hear one of her songs in this movie at the end. She also released a duet with magical rewind dreamboat Mitchell Musso, and at one point they were they were singing together. She was also part of the Disney machine and she was great in this movie. She really was with what they gave her. She carried the whole thing. It was a strange character, but she hit all the beats. She did it very well. She was funny when she had to be funny. She was sincere when she had to be sincere. She did everything she possibly could with what they gave her. Most recently, now you can see her on Young Sheldon as Mandy McAllister, a role she is now revisiting in the just renewed CBS spinoff, starring in George and Mandy's first Marriage. And then David Henry is Weez. David is a Disney star of the past and current day, is starring in the original Wizards of Waverly Place series and the current reboot, as well as the show's decomp we recently watched for the podcast. He also played Ted Mosby's future son in How I Met yout Mother and shared the role of Ronald Reagan with Dennis quaid in the 2024 movie Reagan, Jason Earl's new friend of the podcast you'll get into. You'll. You'll understand what that means when you Go check out our Park Hopper episode. Is the villainous Merv Kilbo? Like he just sounds bad.
B
Merv.
A
Merv Kilbo Earls is another Hannah Montana star. He played Jackson and also starred in the Disney XD series Kickin It. Fun fact. Earls also worked as the recent on set acting coach for High School Musical the the series, which is arguably the best named thing ever and eventually appeared on the show as camp counselor Dewey Wood. Moises Arias is little brother Andre. Moises has turned his childhood stardom as Rico, also on Hannah Montana, into a full fledged acting career, appearing in movies Ender's Game and Nacho Libre and was most recently seen in the hit limited series Fallout as Norma. I mean he's everywhere. Denzel Whitaker is Sheldon and has also appeared in some impressive movies over the years including Training Day and Black Panther Man. And another character actor regular that we've seen is Charles Halford. He plays the quirky skunk. You've seen Charles in a ton of stuff later in life. Looking totally different now in True Detective, Outer Banks and the Walking Dead, just to name a few. And of course, Phil Lewis plays Maurice. Lewis is a longtime character actor as well, seen in movies like Heathers and City Slickers, but is best known to our listeners as Mr. Mosby in the Suite Life of Zack and Cody. He also transitioned into a very prolific TV director on shows like Good Luck Charlie, Mike and Molly, side Hustle and Bunk'd. All right, Sabrina, how many of these people did you go to the Disney Channel games with and were any on your massively losing teams?
B
You are so rude sometimes.
A
I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. I was listening to the winners. What were you saying?
B
I. It's just. I can't. I can't even defend myself anymore. It's just what it is. Damn. Anyway, Moises was actually on my team.
A
Okay.
B
Jason was not. We know this because we know this. Jason lost. Jason's have a little bit of a to Sir Jason. David Henry was there for sure because I know Selena Gomez was but I don't remember hanging out with him. Which is weird because I think we're closer in age than Right. I was compared to a lot of the people. And then Emily Osmond. I don't remember what team she was on, but I'm sure she wasn't on mine.
A
It's just. So this was just such a movie where they were just slamming it full of stars. It was.
B
Yeah. And then. And then Phil. Phil. Phil was. I think they're doing. He wasn't he was one of the hosts, right? He was like one of the hosts. Yeah. He came in and did a couple of things. So, so fun. That's what I'm saying. Like, it's like you don't. It's not even just, um, times where we got to compete, but it was like hanging out or doing, like, interstitials together and things like. That was just really fun to see all of them.
A
That's cool. Well, speaking of winning, dad Nap comes in at. Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this, Sabrina? 90 minutes. We've got a winner, people. Right on target. The perfect length for a decom. I would like to thank Disney and Team Blue also win. Uh, also, I mean, just, it's a perfect length for probably any movie. Great job, everyone. Mission accomplished. It was written by Alan Silberberg, who started his career writing the nostalgic game show Double Dare, which is something from back in my day. That's when I was on Nickelodeon. I knew Mark Summers. That's what that was my Nickelodeon day. Oh, I've told you that, haven't I? You know Robin, the woman who used to bring all the stuff out on Double Dare? He was his co host. She was my legal guardian when I lived in Florida doing the Nickelodeon stuff. Yeah, Robin. Hi, Robin.
B
No way.
A
Yeah, this Double Dare was my. That's. These were my friends and yes. And would also work on a lot of other early 90s stuff, like the all new Mickey Mouse Club Doug and Chop Chop Ninja. But this was actually his only dcom. And of course, dad Napped is currently available to view on Disney. So if you want to watch it now, you can. If you want to watch it later after you listen to us, you can do that, too. You can do a lot of things because we believe in you. We just know that you're bad at cooking, so stay out of the kitchen. I don't know that, actually. I'm just assuming. Okay, the time is now. Let's set a trip trap and get to dad Napped. I almost rhymed. We open with a dcom mainstay, one that we have talked about so many times. The trope we can never avoid. It is a pop song playing over the credits while we see details from the room of our young main character. You just keep pointing it out.
B
It's starting to it just now. It's like, starting to eer. Irritate me.
A
Right? It's a thing.
B
And I feel bad because it's. You're like. You've said it many times in the Podcast. It's the greatest way to figure out quickly who this girl is, where she comes from, what she's into, what's her favorite color, all that stuff. It's great. But my God, we can't figure out another way to do this. Like, not even just.
A
That's all we see. That's all we see.
B
One other version.
A
Here we go. How many times we get to see it again? None of these movies were supposed to be watched back to back. That's the difference with streaming things right away. It's like, wait a minute. These are all the same people doing the same thing every week? Yes. So we've seen it. It is. We've witnessed it time and time again. Because again, as Sabrina just said, it's a very fast way to get to know somebody without any dialogue or wasting any time. And in this case, in this very specific one, we see baby photos, a book series called Trip Zoom. There's Girly Pink everywhere. And our lead teenager, Melissa Morris. Again, they love the alliteration. Shannon Shipley taking a look at her framed family photo. It's her and her mom and her dad. But then magically, a good looking young man appears in the pic, but then fades away instantly. But she seems hurt by even the fact that he was there for a moment. All right, so this is obviously gonna be about books, which is one of the things I love to talk about. Did you have book series as kids that as a kid that you just loved, you couldn't get enough of?
B
I read the. What was it? Goosebumps?
A
Yeah. Great series.
B
Series. And then I also. I can't. The one I remember was like my first one I was really into was the something about a train track. The Boxcar Kids. Boxcar Kids? Yes. Box Car kids.
A
Thank you, Lisa.
B
Thank you, Lisa. Best producers in the world else to explain it. And then I really liked. Well, I was really into like National. Was it National Geographic? Like the.
A
I love looking at Scholastics and stuff like that.
B
Yeah, those were mainly my things. It wasn't always necessarily like storytelling. It was more like learning about animals or learning about different places in the world. That was like really what I was into.
A
That's cool. Love that. Yeah, I love it.
B
What about you? Was it just comics? Like, what was.
A
Oh, no, I didn't find comics till much later. My. The first book I found that changed my life was a book that my third grade teacher read us and then we had to take home and read at night by an amazing author named Lynn Reed Banks called the Indian in the Cupboard. They ended up making a movie about it years and years later, which was terrible, but the book was phenomenal. And then that led to, like, choose your own adventures. And then that led to then the first fantasy series that changed my life, which is by David Eddings, which is called the Belgaria and the Melorean series. And that then. Then it's just fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy.
B
Oh, I see it back there.
A
So, yeah, it was. I loved it. But anyway, for our film, we fade into Upper Valley High School. It's English class right before the holiday break, and Jeffrey Zimmer is called to the front of the class for his book report. Jeffrey's report is on Neil Morris's new book from the Trip Zoom series, Freeze Dried Dreams, Too Many jokes. I'm not even gonna go there. Now, a small detail that is worth pointing out here. Okay, Sabrina, what would your guess be on how Trip Zoom is spelled? Cause throughout the movie and the subtitles, we actually see it as both Trip T, R I, P P zoom Z O O, M E and Trip zoom T, R I P Z O, O, M. So what do you think it is?
B
Oh, it was spelled twice.
A
Yeah. Which one do you think is right?
B
That was one of my first Sabrina sees.
A
Dang it.
B
I don't know. I feel like Disney likes to throw in, like, a extra little letter here and there.
A
Yeah, I think so, too. Disney D, I, S, N, E, Y, A. So, yeah, your guess is as good as ours.
B
Disney, Disney.
A
I like that. That's what it is. From now on, we're rebranding.
B
Okay.
A
Now, although this class is thrilled about this book report, it seems like it's a massive bummer for Melissa. The teacher points out that Freeze Fried Dreams isn't even out till tomorrow. But Jeffrey explains that his dad knows a guy who works at the paper factory, so he got an early copy, he pulls it out, and the class is wildly impressed. And so is the teacher, who rushes to a desk to listen as well. Jeffrey starts his report. He explains that Tina is in the clutches of the ruthless Rodolfo and Trip Zoom is nowhere to be found. Now, as he tells the story, we see it acted out in real time with cutscenes. And this is the only time this happens in the movie ever.
B
Yeah.
A
Now, did you think this is how the movie was going to play out? That occasionally we'd be cutting to Trip Zoom stuff? I mean, obviously.
B
Yeah. Yeah.
A
Nope. Never happens again.
B
I felt kind of missing. I would have liked to see certain things. I mean, she's already Having these hallucinations anyway, it's like.
A
Right, it's exactly so. But this time, just as Rudolfo approaches Tina with a power saw, we see Trip Zoom in the shadows. And this is the same boy that appeared in Melissa's family photo. So we saw that the boy that appears and disappears is obviously Trip Zoom. He does a flip off the second story and surprises Rodolfo with a Spider man like quip, Is it me, or are you actually getting uglier? Burn. Rodolfo charges at Trip, running into a trip wire. Which maybe made me think that might be his signature move, but who knows? While Rodolfo is stunned, Trip gets the handcuffs off of Tina and runs to the roof. By the way, keep that in mind, because if there's gonna be a drinking game for this episode, it's gonna be the amount of times characters are handcuffed in a dcom. So Trip and Tina run to the roof, but that is a terrible place to hide out because there's nowhere to go but down. As they contemplate their next move, here comes Rodolfo. Just in time. Our hero picks up a tarp and grabs Tina. He jumps off the roof and uses the sheet as a parachute, landing safely on the ground. They hop on matching dirt bikes and leave in a hurry. Rudolpho yells, this is an over. Trip Dune. It's supposed to be Zoom. Not by a long shot. But the funny thing is, it is over because we never see Rodolfo again or any of these characters except the Trip guy who comes back. What? I'm already now like, okay, I'm all right.
B
Pushing. I'm going, oh, God, I'm going to struggle this one.
A
That's what I thought, too. This is when I think I turned on my phone and started to scroll for about a half an hour.
B
And she. And also. And I'm. I don't know, it was just, I guess, edited this way. The amount of eye rolls that Emily is. That's one of my supremacies. Was like, I was going. I was thinking, not the handcuffs. That's a good one. I was thinking, how many times is she gonna eye roll in this?
A
Eye roll? The drinking game eye roll. You'll be dead by the second act break.
B
Yeah.
A
But back in class, the students are hanging on every word from the book report. And by the way, this guy just absolutely spoiled the end of this book or the big part of this book for the people where it hasn't even come out yet. It' got a copy of Harry Potter, the last one. And just in his book report decided to read the last chapter to the team. So it's like, what? But anyway, as he finishes, the class applauds, but Melissa is not moved. The teacher calls it another literary masterpiece, which is definitely not hyperbole, but also reveals that the writer, Neil Morris, is the dad of one Melissa Morris. The class, of course, erupts, and they start chanting Trip rules just as the bell ring. And now, on her way out of class, Melissa turns and spots a huge ad for Trip at school. You know, like all schools that have huge ads for books everywhere. And that's when we enter a new device in the movie, something we're gonna see a lot of. She can talk to Trip. In this case, we see his mouth move in the big poster, despite the fact this is a photo and he's a fictional character. So. And it looked bad with the mouth flaps and the eyes. It was just. The whole thing was strange. But Melissa. This is where we figure out that Melissa really seems to hate him and the fact that he takes up so much of her dad's time. So that night at Melissa. Okay, well, we'll get. All right. Okay. That night at Melissa's mom's house, Melissa is watching a TV report about the new book's release. And now the imaginary Trip is bickering with her through the TV screen. And that's when her mom enters the room. Melissa hides her possible schizophrenia and certifiable delusion, saying she's just excited for the camping trip with her dad. Tomorrow. We find out that her parents are divorced, but the split was amicable. And I thought, huh, Divorce in Disney. I thought we learned that your. Your spouse can be dead and that's okay, but divorce is something they usually stay away from. So I was like, okay. And so many kids come from divorced families. It's probably good to throw more divorce in there. It's. It's real.
B
I did love, too, that the mom was not condescending towards the dad. Like, she did a great job of co parenting in this moment too, which even with him being huge, awful for kids. Yeah, he did not do well. But I think it was huge for her for that message to be pushed.
A
Now, do you think personally, one of the reasons they got divorced is because he became super wealthy and just bailed on her and he lives in a massive house somewhere.
B
I took it as he's an egomaniac and couldn't stop talking about himself and his fame and. And the book. Like, she also. She. She left. I thought it was. She would be walking away from him because of this exact thing that she's having to watch her daughter go through.
A
Huh, that makes sense. I buy that totally. The next day, Melissa's mom opens the door to see Trip, but it's actually a cardboard cutout Neil, Melissa's dad and her ex, is hiding behind it. He brags about how much his new book is going to sell, which is always cool to do in front of your ex wife who you have divorced before you became J.K. rowling. She quickly shames him into not asking about their daughter, which he doesn't do, and tells him to make the camping trip the best father daughter experience possible. Melissa enters, giving her dad a big hug and and out from the vacation. But he says he is 150% hers for the weekend and only hers. While he makes this promise, she sees Trip in the corner of the room. Yeah, right, he says. He's not so sold on where her dad's attention will be. And this fictional character is probably accurate. Now they're out on the road. The two are in a Mustang convertible, which is a very modest car for the world's biggest author. They're driving with Trip's cutout in the backseat like you do. Melissa talks about packing new boots and the game word wham. And the fun they're gonna have. But he breaks some news to her. They first have to stop at the Mercury Zoom convention. It'll be filled with real zoomers and he's judging a costume contest. Then they can go camping right after. Now, she is obviously nervous about this change in plans, but she agrees to go. And you'll be shocked to hear this, but the cutout comes to life again, doubts this plan is gonna work out. This fake Trip cardboard cutout guy is just a just.
B
And it looks so bad.
A
It does look very bad. It doesn't look good. The father and daughter enter Mercury, which is a quiet little town. And they see a long line already waiting for him at this Mercury Con. He again promises her, don't worry, it's only gonna be one night. They get inside a hotel. Dozens of fans are supposed to be dozens of fans, but there's not enough extras at even a small convention. And it looked very strange. And for some reason, somebody was cospl as a scuba diver. Okay, I'm assuming that's a character we're supposed to know from somebody you go to. No one cosplays as a scuba diver unless there's. Anyway, I do a lot of conventions and I love them and they're fun. I've never seen A scuba diver.
B
I have the biggest question when we get to Sabrina Seas. It's literally actually all my Sabrina seizes is just asking about this because about conventions.
A
Okay, great.
B
These things, and I love them. I have so many questions. I've never been to one.
A
I've always. I'll take you to one.
B
Big Bang Theories.
A
Oh, yeah. No, I will open your eyes to one. I will open your eyes to one. Sabrina, you're gonna love it. So, yes, Dozens of cosplayers are cosplaying as his characters. They're making a mess of the lobby. He's helped by the starstruck hotel owner, Merv, who puts him in the presidential suite. This is where we see a shady character, Sheldon, hiding out in a phone booth. He says into the phone, quote, the package has arrived. And on the other end is a young man named Weeze at home devising a plan to, quote, unquote, win the contest. Whis hangs up and plays a quick turn of word Wham. Which was the same game legally changed enough from Scrabble that Melissa mentioned earlier, no matter his bonus word score move, this all spells trouble. Thank you. At the hotel, Merv walks our duo to their suite, supposedly the establishment's finest, but it's basically just two beds, a lava lamp and a chandelier. Later, at the hotel's convention, Neil is being hounded by fans with theories and ideas. And he bumps into a big, nervous fan named Skunk, who gets his obviously because he's got a white stripe down the center of his hair and he wants to get his book signed. Excited, Skunk runs to show it off to his brother Maurice, who tells him to stop playing around. They're not there for autographs. Also, there's a super amount of sketchy people at this event, just like criminals everywhere. And I go to these conventions all the time. They're not criminals. They're incredible people. Melissa watches the activities around her dad from afar, taking notes. Then, out of nowhere, a man falls from the rafter, suspended by a rope, just like a low budget version of that Mission Impossible stunt. He brags about how he's gonna win the contest, but Melissa is shocked to hear about the challenge. He informs her that whoever at this event can prove their quote, zoom enough, wins prizes. And the prizes are they get to become a character in her dad's next book and the chance to read it before it's published. We also learn that the catchphrase from the book is apparently floss, as in teeth floss. Is this a superhero catchphrase? Am I supposed to get this. Cause I don't know what that is.
B
It comes up at least three or four times in the movie all the time. Incredibly lost. I didn't understand it.
A
That should be it. Lost. Lost. Lost. Yeah. I don't.
B
I don't know.
A
I didn't either.
B
I'm out of my realm. I don't know anything.
A
This is my realm.
B
And I still don't get it about Comic Con. It's so like.
A
Okay, I will say as. As the voice of God here. Yeah.
B
He.
A
They use dental floss a lot in the movie. That's what they do to tie up the guy and then I think that to trip people. So maybe that's. It should have been explained better, but maybe that is what Tripp carries as his. As a weapon is floss. Okay, maybe again. Well, it's a great weapon against gingivitis.
B
Right, Right.
A
So.
B
This goes back to what we. And maybe they did film these in that hit the cutting room floor to get to that 90 minutes.
A
But the story, they cut out the story.
B
They were like the. The going into, like what we got a little bit of in the movie. Thinking we maybe see maybe.
A
Yeah.
B
You know, moments of the book. Acting.
A
Act.
B
That would have been a time where he. If it is floss, he opens up the floss. He's got the, you know, whatever. Does like a.
A
Are we going to get dad napped? The Paul Hoen cut. Maybe, like, there'll be a new. A new director's cut.
B
We should ask him what.
A
Okay.
B
What was left out? Because holes here.
A
Excuse me, Paul, but I have questions. The next morning, Melissa sees that her dad has been working the entire trip so far, just like the cardboard trip predicted. But Neil reminds her he'll pick a contest winner and they'll be on the road by noon. Cut to. Oh, geez. It's 1:20 and she is still waiting. Sabrina's favorite dad is doing it again. As a frustrated Melissa makes her way out the door, she bumps into Wheeze. In their exchange, he mentions word Wham. And the two get a little flirty, realizing they're both impressive whammers. Too many jokes. Again, not gonna get into that. They go their separate ways, and Whis, his little brother, and his little brother's friend Andre make their way to a van. Back at the con, a presentation by a contestant trying to prove he's zoom enough ends with an explosion of slime and Whis's little brother emerging to tell Sheldon that the distractor is locked and loaded. Sheldon radios Whis and the whole gang puts on safety goggles. But we have no idea what we're in for. Then Sheldon turns on a mysterious machine that starts churning onions, pushing the smell right into the convention. Which makes me wonder, if it's an odor thing, why do you need goggles? But the fan starts to become repulsed by the odor. I guess if it's onions, you start to cry. I get that. You'd be blinded. Okay, I. That one makes sense.
B
No, I. Were you not. No, absolutely not. Nope. No, no, no. Were you not expecting these onions to start shooting out of something to do something?
A
I didn't know. It's also the giant hose that he just lays at the bottom of the ground. No one sees the 35 foot hose that's a foot in diameter that he just brings into the convention.
B
Hey, again, I don't know. This is why it was very Nickelodeon. No, that would not be looked at.
A
As we promise you, it's much smaller hoses, which much fewer onions at.
B
Oh, got it. Okay. All right.
A
So he turns on the machine, it starts churning onions. It pushes the smell into the convention. The fans start to become repulsed by the odor. But Melissa's safe outside, talking to her friend on the phone. But inside, everyone starts coughing and tearing up. And again, there are actual onion goggles. You can buy them on Amazon. They head for the doors, thinking it's a ventilation problem. Neil is also evacuating, but is approached by Andre and pulled out the side door. This catches Skunk and Maurice's attention, who apparently also want a piece of Neil outside. In a move that has become as predictable as clockwork, Trip appears and continues to ridicule Melissa. She calls him a jerk and says soon he'll be walking out that door when vacation starts. But we know that won't happen anytime soon. In fact, Weeze's brother is with Neil, introducing him to the tearjerker onion machine in person. It's actually one of his ideas straight from the trip book. And Neil is impressed. Just as he's thrown into the van to meet Whis and Sheldon, they tie him to a seat with dental floss, as Jensen had said. So maybe that explains the floss catchphrase. But as they speed away in this really expensive van, Skunk and Maurice steal a uniform delivery truck to chase after him. This is their guy, too. I'd also like to point out they stole this giant truck that they then have the entire movie. Like no one's gonna see them in this giant yellow stolen truck that they have for days.
B
Days.
A
But anyway, Melissa searches for her dad at the con, but can't find him anywhere. She does notice a nearby surveillance camera and realizes this might help find her dad. Merv shows her the footage, and it shows her dad being kidnapped by random teens. Now, in response, she calls the local police to report a missing person, but the cops are skeptical and technically extraordinarily lazy and bad at their jobs. She's been told to wait 48 hours to fill out a report. By the way, that is not accurate. You don't even need to wait the 24 hours. You can report somebody missing immediately, just so you know. Just when she thinks there's nothing she can do, she's visited again by imaginary trip. He's surprised she's not taking the opportunity to be trip herself, doing whatever she can to get her dad back. But she explains she hates trip. Zoom hits her again while she's down, saying that's why her dad writes about him and not her.
B
Ouch.
A
Whis, Sheldon, and Andre are spinning around in the van with Neil floss. He's now flossed and gagged in the back. So maybe that's what it is. It has to be flossed because they keep using the floss. They're talking about mint and all this kind of stuff. It's very strange. This is when I felt like, okay, yeah, somebody dosed my drink. Skunk and Maurice's uniform truck trails very nearby them until the van stops. Then Skunk hops out and hides in a bush, slowly making his way to the hostage. We still don't know what's going on here. He's been dad napped at this point with these. Now two other guys following in another giant stolen van. Now, while in the van, the kids reveal all the trip traps they use to abduct Neil. And he's actually very impressed but also ready to be released. Instead, they stuff the sock back in his mouth and say, you wrote it. We do it. The van speeds off again, leaving Skunk knocked out in the street somehow. Melissa, finally, with some trip motivation, calls her dad's phone, and Whis answers and starts to explain the situation. He says once Neil agrees to their one demand, they'll let him go. But wait. Melissa recognizes that voice. It's the word wham, Guy. He also puts two and two together. And just as a car wash employee comes up and asks what type of finish they want for their van. Because, of course, when you're abducting somebody, you stop to get your car washed. Melissa hangs up and wonders if she just got a clue about Their location. Merv, now why not just go through like a drive through, like hey, we want to stop and get food. Who stops to get their co? Merv appears and tells her where the nearest car wash is. We are now back at the car wash and the boys are putting some finishing touches on the van like you do when Whis accidentally drops his word Wham. Guide and sees Melissa and Merv arrive in a red convertible, which is technically a nicer car than the millionaire author has, by the way. But anyway, Melissa surveys the scene while Merv makes a call back to the hotel. But while his attention is diverted, the kidnappers push his convertible into the car wash. Melissa and Merv try to stop it, but instead find themselves completely drenched and soapy from the wash. The car is filled with water. It's actually a very cool stunt. I've only seen maybe once or twice in a movie, but never to this extent except maybe on a Pod Meets World movie that we recapped. Camp Nowhere. That's the only time it has been this full. It's usually like it gets a little full, but this they really filled up. I also don't buy that at 15, you know, you're going to, you're going to learn to drive in another year. You don't know where the brake on a car is. I'm sorry, I don't drive that. She gets in, she's like, I don't know where the brake is. I don't buy that either. She's also very smart in the movie. So you're going to know where the brake just hit any pedals. The car wasn't on. Eventually it'll stop. Melissa, See this is where you see, this is where I'm like, yeah, emergency.
B
Break next to you.
A
Anything hit a button. Melissa sees the dropped word Wham Guide and notices it's a library book that is due today. We are now back in the kidnapper van and Neil is losing his patience. But he also notices their library books are due today. What timing. And weird. What a weird. He warns them of the late fees and the group instantly makes a rushed turn to avoid the fine. So they have no fear about kidnapping a grown man. But late fees? No way. Not gonna happen. I am not paying a nickel. I'll do 30 in the slammer as I'm charged as an adult for kidnapping. But 5 cents on an overdue book? No, not gonna happen.
B
I mean, I think it's great they're showing kids being responsible. Kinda kind of.
A
They're all wearing their seatbelts as they're mowing down pedestrians. And once the kidnappers do arrive at the library, they make an innocent deal with Neil. If he shows them the book slap trip trap, they'll release him. He agrees and starts the challenge in the library. So then why did they kidnap him in the first place?
B
What was.
A
Why did they kidnap him?
B
What was the point of either of these groups kidnapping him?
A
No.
B
Made zero sense. Like, it was just like nothing.
A
Why did they dad nap this guy? I did not understand. It's like it was this amazingly planned out thing for nothing. Then we see the sudsy convertible arrives at the library. Two still followed very closely. Nobody even held back slightly in this movie. Followed closely by the uniform truck. And Melissa runs inside to get her dad. Still being heckled by the piece of imaginary trip. Melissa enters the library trying to find her dad. Neil just finished the book trap for the next librarian to feel the effects. So apparently some poor librarian is going to get Trip trapped. But Melissa blindly approaches, checks the book, and is splashed with blue paint. The boys applaud and Neil hugs his daughter. You found me. She's confused. I am too. What the happening at this point?
B
What is going on, Will? What? What are we doing here?
A
I don't know. I truly do not. At this point, I was looking around my room going, like, is this fake? Like, this can't be. It did. The story didn't make any sense.
B
I rewound a little bit. Did I miss something? Okay.
A
I don't get it.
B
I didn't. Then I had to fast forward. I was like, I didn't watch this again.
A
I didn't get it. I just didn't understand it.
B
But again, all the characters, they're all great.
A
Yes, the acting's fine.
B
The acting is fine.
A
This is why it felt like a Nickelodeon movie to me, which don't seem to be on the same level as the Disney movie.
B
So.
A
Yeah, yeah. So he says, you found me. And now Neil is cool with his kidnappers. Like, he's Patty Hearst. Like, they haven't been cool with him at all.
B
But if I walked up to where I'm scared as someone has my dad, I find him and he's like chumming it up. I would have walked up to him and been like, dad, what the hell is going on?
A
What are you doing?
B
What are you doing going on? Let's go. Like, come on, it's time to go. Whatever. Like, I've.
A
Yeah. And so Melissa thought she was saving her dad. He admits he's been having fun with Sheldon, Andre, and Whis has He. He hasn't. It's Stockholm syndrome. That happened very quickly.
B
Second in the library is having fun. Yes.
A
Yeah. Whis tells Melissa they got off on the wrong foot. And they flirt some more. But she's had enough. She's ready to leave with her dad and start camping. He apologizes to his new crew and follows her out. Neil doesn't understand his daughter's angst. Somehow. She says she's been thinking of this vacation for weeks. She wanted everything to be perfect for them. But every time she's with her dad, he brings Trip along and everything is ruined. She argues that Trip Zoom is not a fictional character. He's a pain in her butt. Then Skunk and Maurice pop up, now in sheriff's uniforms. Neil recognizes the duo as they try to cuff him. Cuffs. Remember?
B
They come up to him. This was funny. They come up to him and they've got like karate.
A
Yeah, they're doing karate.
B
I'm like, where's your gun?
A
Yeah, what have you got? I know.
B
Where's your gun?
A
All the producers, can you please isolate the sound of Sabrina saying karate handjobs and send it to me immediately? I'm gonna need to have that on a perpetual loop. Thank you. Thank you very much. So they're wearing sheriff's uniforms. Neil recognizes the duo. They try to cuff him. Only then boom. Melissa forces herself into the other cuff. Whis, Sheldon and Andre watch the new bad guys put their father and daughter into their truck and decide to chase after them. He's now been dad napped twice. It's a double dad napping. And everybody knows you get double dad napped after you get karate hand jobbed. So Sheldon decides to call the police station. But again, the cop just keep it in fun, Sabrina. The cop doesn't believe anything regarding Neil Morris. And maybe this town just has a terrible police force. That's what it seems like. The gang realizes it's up to them and they very closely follow the laundry truck through the night, eventually landing at a creepy drive in Theater is where he follows them. Skunk and Maurice eventually throw their prisoners into their abandoned trailer and it's covered in notes. Neil and Melissa are getting scared. Obviously. Skunk has a knife, but also a plate of snacks. Neil assumes they want money, but Maurice has other plans. He reveals a notebook filled with papers for lights out. Lenny. A book that his brother Skunk has been writing. Maurice wants a real writer to finish the book. And that's where Neil comes in. And until the book is fixed, they can't leave no matter how long it takes. So this is where it kind of turns into misery. Neil starts reading Chapter one. The sky was dark and the air was cold, and the man held the gun so tight his fingers felt like cheese. Uh oh. This could take a while. As Neil works on the awful book, the brothers watch a public domain movie outside. Melissa says they need to make a distraction. Her dad isn't so sure. He doesn't want to risk her life on some silly plan. She's furious that her ideas are always quote unquote silly, yet everything he writes for Trip Zoom is genius. She wants to know why he doesn't write about her. He explains that his characters are larger than life and extraordinary. She tears up. She pushes back. He doesn't know any of her interests. He's missed all of her dance recitals and knows nothing about her awards in writing. She wants him to finally admit it. Trip comes first. And just then, we hear sirens. Everybody is spooked, but we know it's just the boy's van. Skunk and Maurice don't know that though, and they immediately grab their hostages and try to take off. But Melissa sneakily grabs a Zoom book from Skunk's pile on their way out. Skunk then pushes the captives into the uniform van, telling Neil to keep writing. So he's going to be writing as they drive around in this big stolen van that's bright yellow and has now been missing for days. In the van, Melissa starts giving Skunk's book notes, and her dad actually agrees with everything she's suggesting. But when the uniform truck hits debris in the road, it shakes the car and Maurice spots his tail. He knows he's being followed, and he didn't even have to look in the mirror. They're three feet from. They're the only two vans on the road, and they're right behind him, so he's following him. He quickly turns off road, putting them through a dirt obstacle course. Skunk opens the back door and starts doing what you do, throwing pants at them, eventually forcing them to avoid the clothing rack, and boom. They're slammed into a ditch. Skunk celebrates as they leave, their last possible detractors in the rearview. But just as things are looking good for the baddies, they realize they're almost out of gas. Oh no. Steal a bigger van next time. Melissa also announces she has to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, Maurice doesn't trust her. But Skunk says he'll stand by the door when they make it to the gas station. And once they arrive, he does just that. He uncuffs her shot. He puts on a jacket and waits for her to either number one, number two, or number three. Sabrina, do you think it was one, two or three? What do you think? She. She set it up as number two, don't you think?
B
Yes.
A
Okay, I thought so too.
B
What's number three?
A
If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you. Just be lucky we don't get to four and five. Once inside, it's number zero. Actually, as Melissa just surveys the. Well, when you're full of it, that's when number four and five happen. Melissa just surveys the restroom. Eventually seeing her imaginary zoom once again in the mirror. He explains he's just in her head. But she keeps him there. And this forces her to realize if he's in her head, then she can think like him. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the trip book she stole from Skunk. She finds a page for the quote unquote presidential pickle, which incidentally was my nickname in high school. And then she finds her lip gloss and circles the word presidential, leaving the paper jammed in a mirror.
B
You circle it. Why wouldn't you just say what you wanted to say with what you mean?
A
Right? We're in the presidential suite. They're taking us here. They're taking us here because that's not confusing. And this movie is confusing, Sabrina. Well, you've got. You've got pen and ink and you just circle one. She circled the word and we've got to go find her. Like. Yeah, why not just write they've taken us to the presidential suite on the mirror or something. Maybe here. Okay, play to play devil's advocate. Maybe she thought she had to do it that way. So if he walked in to check to see if she'd left any clues, it wouldn't be that blatant. I don't. Again, I'm going for a stretch. I think it's just cause it's supposed to be confusing. Yeah. So she jams it, leaving. Okay. She exits with a long piece of toilet paper stuck to her shoe, leaving a trail to the truck. She removes her jacket, tosses it to the floor and get back in the handcuffs. Shot for the drive. Meanwhile, Maurice is on the phone defending his actions to someone. Maybe they aren't the bosses of this plan after all. They drive off and Neil returns to writing the book again in the back. Until Melissa argues that he needs better conditions to write. And Maurice actually agrees they're just going to go back to the hotel, which how did we know that after the already all Right. She already. She circled the. Okay. Just then Andre, Andre, Sheldon and Whis stumble on the drive through. They see Melissa's jacket, the trail of toilet paper from the bathroom, and find her page with presidential circled. But Pickle, of course, was sadly ignored. Whis smells her lip gloss on the paper and knows it's Melissa. Sheldon reveals that his idea, he thinks it's a clue for a pickle farm. But Andre knows this means presidential suite, and they leave for the hotel again. Would it just be easier to write, they took us back to the hotel. The uniform truck arrives back at this hotel and they're greeted by the real bad guy, their boss, Merv. That's right. It's the hotel owner all along. He helped Melissa earlier, but all it did was lead him to her dad. Now he tells his henchmen to get Neil to his room to finish the new book. What a turn of events. Did you see this coming? Did you know Marv was going to be the bad guy?
B
I, at this point, have forgotten about him. I really did.
A
I knew at the second game on screen it was all going to be. Of course it was going to be Merv. Of course it was.
B
Yeah, I mean, I know. I truly was. Like, I can't believe they have Jason Earl and they've barely used him. Like, what the heck? Yeah, like, he's hilarious. How. I mean, all of them on the cast are. But yeah, you're gonna have them in this movie and just give him this teeny, tiny role. What?
A
Yeah. No.
B
So they did.
A
It's Merv. Merv's here. And we're now in Merv's room. It looks like a 70s bachelor pad. I loved his room, by the way. Outdated and swanky. It was the best.
B
It was such a good set.
A
It was great.
B
Such a good set.
A
This is where. So, Melissa, follow me through. This is handcuffed to the hanging egg chair shot. And Neil is placed in front of a laptop. Okay, but now we're back. Keep that in mind. Keep that in mind. We're now back on the road. The boys have forced a pizza delivery guy from Ralph's Pizza Shack to bring them to the hotel. Also, the pizza has the best crust in town. And for some reason, they dance and listen to cool music on the way in their car. Back at the hotel, Melissa notices a sketch for the Merv. And how does she notice this? By getting up and walking around. Wait, she was just handcuffed to the chair.
B
Hello.
A
Not anymore.
B
She's just.
A
Not anymore. They're just bad handcuffs. Or she Just doesn't want to be in them anymore. So she notices sketches for the Merv. An idea for an expensive Vegas like high rise redesign of this particular hotel. And apparently this is his motivation to do this whole plot which makes no sense. Somehow. Skunk is getting better at writing and Melissa and Neil are bonding as father and daughter in the same process the next day. Now the hotel convention is still bumping with book fans and is as messy as ever. The pizza man finally arrives too. So where were they coming from if the other people got there so much faster? But it dropping off our teens. How are they driving through the night? Okay. By this point I'm just going, okay. Let the colors wash over me. Back inside, Melissa is finishing up the book while Maurice and her dad sleep with Skunk. Also in the shower, she sees an opportunity. Trip appears. But she's so sick of him only talking in catchphrases. But still asks him what he thinks of her plan. But she knows the answer. She found the confidence within herself. She has a good plan. Voss. Meanwhile, the boys barge into the presidential suite only to realize Melissa and her dad aren't there. Where is she? Then Sheldon redeems himself and figures it out. It's like the climax from Zoom Time. Boom time. I think it's called the signal of strength. It is a signal Zoom uses to lead the cloned rebels to his location. Whis realizes she's brilliant and Andre warns him, if you don't ask her out, I will. Which was a very funny line. They just need to find the signal. And they need to find it. Now we are back on the con stage. There's a Zoom debate going on until Whis and Andre break it up. They announce that Neil is in trouble and he needs the Zoomers help Floss. Unfortunately, Merv hears all of this and now knows he must stop this group from obviously going and wrecking his master plan. The plan of which we still don't know what the hell is actually going on. This is where we get a montage to yet another pop song. Now with a poncho sporting group of Zoomers making water balloons, mixing paint and creating new Tripp traps throughout the city for their plan later on. Melissa still needs to figure out what her signal's gonna be that's important. But her dad reveals that a lot of trip is actually based on her. She's in the plot, she's in the humor. She's in the heart. And she is the reason that he writes. This beautiful moment is interrupted by Merv, who just needs this book. Finished. He knows a Zoomer firestorm is brewing outside and Melissa just wants to know what this is all about. Merv says that he cares about what her dad writes, not what Skunk's been doing. He want now try to follow me here because hopefully as I read this out, I'll understand it too. He wants to sell the manuscript to the new and last Neil Morris book to fund his new hotel idea. And until that book is perfect, Neil won't see his princess and locks Melissa in the bathroom. Now even Skunk and Maurice are a little disturbed. This isn't what they signed up for, but Merv says they're looking at jail time either way, so they better do what he says. So he wants to to hold this guy, have him write his last book. Not what Skunk wants. Kill him, sell the book rights and then build a hotel. That's the Disney Channel plan, folks. That's the plan.
B
This is where we're at.
A
This is where we are. This is when by this point I think I was looking at everything else in my room going like, oh, that needs to be cleaned up. It was. Yes, it was just. Okay, so outside. We're back outside now. The Zoomers are ready to go. As Melissa paces the bathroom she needs to give them the signal. She pulls down a shower curtain and starts raiding the medicine cabinet, working quickly to create something. Eventually, she writes a very large Z on the sheet and places it outside the window, giving the group the signal that they need. They immediately then storm the hotel, which again, why not just lean out the window and say come get me or write something else on the thing. But anyway, they storm the hotel slingshotting super stinky cheese bombs right into Merv and his hotel plans. It's an all out attack. Water balloons, spray guns, paint, toilet paper. It's actually really disgusting and gross. It reminds me very much of Nickelodeon stuff. This might be the dirtiest movie we've seen yet. And it forces Merv to retreat, grabbing Neil and Melissa for an escape. But they quickly realize every route is blocked by zoomers and they're attacking from every direction. The fans seal off the streets while Melissa loses her captors with a slip Slap Zoom trap and reunites with Whis to dental floss up Skunk and Maurice. So yeah, floss, floss. Maybe that is what it is. But they never explained that at the beginning. No, the only bad guy left is Merv. He still has Neil and is trying to just get to his car. But that's when Sheldon spots him again. Making up for that one time he had a stupid idea and wanted to go to the pickle farm. He yells charge. And it's a full on brave heart attack. Hundreds of kids turn the corner and they ambush Merv until he's trapped. But he fakes his retreat and runs away again. He's still getting away, but as he's about to round a corner, Maurice and Skunk, still flossed up, see the mob coming. And for their own redemption, Skunk tells his brother to spin, and they create a tripwire, forcing Merv to fall into what can only be described as a large pile of coleslaw that's there for some reason that I don't understand. Do you understand what the reason for that was?
B
No. I've lost. What do you think it was at this point?
A
You absolutely lost me. It was. Yes. Okay. I'm glad I wasn't the only one.
B
It was like really pushing of just.
A
You know, trying to get through this at this point. This was a rough one for me, I'll be honest.
B
It was. And it's sucked because I want to love all of the movies that we watch. You know what I mean?
A
And I then the cast is so good.
B
And the cast is so good. And I love Paul Hoen. And yes, it was like the whole time and I'm going, am I just in a bad mood right now?
A
I thought the same thing.
B
I just like not wanting to.
A
So funny you say that. I thought the same thing.
B
Like, am I just in a mood? Like, is that. Is that what's happening?
A
Yeah. And no, it just. This did not feel like a dcom at all. It felt like a bad Nickelodeon movie.
B
Yes.
A
You know, like, the vibe was just wrong.
B
I also watched Nickelodeon growing up, but, like, it wasn't as on the caliber for me as like the Disney star.
A
Agreed. And this felt like that.
B
Yeah, it did.
A
So it was strange.
B
Yeah, strange.
A
Yeah. So the kids celebrate as the real police finally arrive. And with no sign of the lazy cop, who of course, could have ended this movie an hour ago now. Yep. But we're. Thank you. We are now back at the convention. Without the threat of evil looming, Neil speaks to his fans. He thanks them for their triptastic efforts. Everyone there will get a signed copy of his next book. He also says it's time to reward the winner of the Zoom Enough prize. He picks Andre, Sheldon and Whis, some guys who really stepped up in the face of danger, ignoring the fact that they were actually his first kidnappers and definitely had awful intentions and put socks in his mouth repeatedly. But who Cares as Whis, then yells reading rocks. Good message. Weird way to say it. Zoom appears once again for Melissa. But instead of getting into their normal war of words, she thanks him. She couldn't have done it without him. But he's not hearing it. She did it. She did it all on her own. And Neil announces he has one more prize for his inspiration. He's awarding his daughter. That's right. There you go. She gets the prize. She's been the inspiration for everything. The fans give her a standing ovation as the father and daughter embrace union stage. The crowd chants Floss. As a handcuffed shot. Skunk and Maurice watch on. Skunk is still optimistic. Dostoevsky wrote some really cool stuff while in the slammer. And just like that, they're taken away to prison. It's finally time for Neil and Melissa's vacation. Weeze shyly gives her his number in case she wants to, you know, go out. She says yes, but makes him promise it'll be a normal date. No weird costumes, no dental floss, and no police intervention. That's a pretty lame date, if you ask me. He agrees. And hey, man, if you're not wearing Katu's and using dental floss for something, you didn't get lucky that night. He agrees. And then the Morris duo drive off as the Zoomers once again chant Floss. And then we get bloopers. But not bloopers. Even the bloopers weren't good. It's just characters getting hit in the face with slime and doused with water as the credits pass by and we hear Emily Osmond's end track called Hero and Me. Did you know at the time this was an Emily Osmond song? Oh, that's cool. And that is our movie.
B
I didn't.
A
We go.
B
No, I figured.
A
I was like, yeah, I kind of did, too. But at that point, my ears were on fire and my eyes were bleeding, so. Okay, this is a rough one for me, folks. I'm sorry. This was a really rough one for me.
B
Just hate it. Especially talking to Jason.
A
I know. You mean you hate that you don't like them as much as we don't like them.
B
You know, but even himself, he said when he read it, it was weird. Yeah, when they did it, it felt weird.
A
But here's the thing. We have to be okay. I don't care if you've got $5 or $500 million. Some movies are going to be good, and some movies are going to be not that great, and some movies are going to be terrible. And there's going to be everything in between.
B
Yeah.
A
That we are getting spoiled by some of these movies. A. Because I know I'm watching them the wrong state of mind. And I know that they're good movies for what they're supposed to be. And I'm trying to get better at being like, this is a good movie. I'm just being a jerk about it because I'm watching it in the wrong frame of mind or whatever. And this is actually a good movie for what it's supposed to be. That being said, some of these just aren't going to be good movies.
B
Yeah.
A
And this just wasn't a good. Great cast, great director. It looked nice, but the story and the script were terrible. I'm sorry. I don't understand the movies. I don't understand the motivation for kidnapping either time. None of it made any sense. They didn't explain anything. It just wasn't a good.
B
It just didn't hit the mark. And that is what's so.
A
It's so rare to be this off. Yeah.
B
To be this off. It just is so rare. And it's like, what sucks for me, what I think I start. Why I think I was like, almost getting irritated is this movie, you know, within this time while they were filming, this was Disney's way to give the kids on their channel that aren't the number one on the call sheet. Right. They're the twos, the threes, the fours, whatever. Giving them an opportunity to have a shining light on them.
A
Yep.
B
So I really had high hopes that this was gonna be just such a great movie because I'm sure the kids appreciated it. I'm sure their parents did. You know what I mean? Like, all of that, like, it was. It should. It was set up to be something really great. And again. And am I just in a bad mood right now? I'm just not interested in watching this. Or did I set my expectations just too high? Like, I kept trying to make it my fault, but it was like, but I'm lost. I'm lost. And this isn't making sense. And so, you know, we'll get to my. Sabrina. Sabrina sees are more so, like, questions.
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. No, I've got. I will. I will say this. I was very impressed with Emily Osmit.
B
Yeah.
A
I thought for what they gave her. I thought she.
B
She did great.
A
She. They should have had her star in a number of other decoms because she. They didn't give her a whole lot. And she. Every beat was real.
B
Yes.
A
And you easily could have made this where with. This was like. This was terrible, but she was great. So there's. There's some bright lights, but, yes, this was a tough one. Well, let's see what other people thought about it, and let's do our real reviews. Do you want the five star or the one star?
B
I want the one star.
A
You want the one? All right, I will take the five star. And the five star is written by our old friend Unamit. Unamit is back. Here we go. Everyone experiences being written as a book every day. We realize something is always missing, but in fact, it was beside us all along. Treasure someone you love and never let it go away without regrets. Five stars. I'm not sure that person even saw the movie, but there you go. Can you give us the one star?
B
Oh, yes. The one star was from Zachary O. Why are you kidnapping dads?
A
It's a logical question. One star. Okay, well, we are gonna come to the fun part, my favorite and of course, Sabrina's favorite part of the podcast. We are doing our feature game this week, and our feature game this week is called lit or Miss. Thank you very much. Producer Jensen can come up with them, can he? We're gonna be given the names of classical books and four choices of authors, and if we get three of five authors correctly, we win. I'm going to let you pick first every time, because I just glanced at them, and I think I know the answer to all of them.
B
Do you?
A
Yes.
B
Damn it.
A
So go ahead. We're going to start. Number one, Pride and Prejudice. Was Pride and Prejudice written by A, Emily Dickinson, B, Jane Austen, C, Charlotte Bronte, or D, Judy Blue.
B
Jensen? So much.
A
Please say dude.
B
Uh.
A
C, Charlotte Bronte is who you think. Okay, I'm pretty sure Pride and Prejudice is actually a Jane Austen novel. It's B, Jane Austen. It's B. Okay. She had a 50% chance. Number two, Moby Dick. Was that A, Mark Twain, B, William Faulkner, C, Herman Melville, or D, Dan Brown? Say D. Oh, my God. Moby Dick would have been great. Written by Dan Brown, where it's like, Moby Dick is actually, you know, Jesus's dad. B, William Faulkner. Okay, I'm gonna go with the right answer, which is C, Herman Melville. Let's see, 33%. So now, percentage wise, the next one she's supposed to get just percentage wise. Okay, you're supposed to get the next one.
B
Oh, no.
A
Number three, To Kill a Mockingbird.
B
I'm gonna. I'm asking.
A
Just percentage. That's percentage. You're supposed to get this one Here we go. Is it A, Truman Capote, B, JD Salinger, C, Harper Lee or D, Jackie Collins? Okay, say D.
B
Oh, I don't know. I have no A. Oh, the percentages.
A
Fail, but it is C. Harper Lee is the answer to Kill a Mockingbird. She was Truman Capote's assistant and that was the book she went off and wrote on her own. It is, by the way, it is harder to get zero right than it would be to get all five percentage wise. Number four.
B
The fact that you get so much joy, Jensen, of creating this bull is just insane.
A
I don't know if it's joy as much as like. It is joy. It's like pure bliss.
B
Shame on you.
A
Pure bliss is a better shame.
B
Shame on you.
A
Number four, the picture of Dorian Gray.
B
God, I hope Keely never listens to this episode. Oh, she's gonna be so irritated. Why is she literature reader? Oh my gosh, yes.
A
Picture of Dorian Gray. A, Edgar Allan Poe, B Oscar Wilde, C Charles Dickens or D J.K. rowling? A. Oh, okay. It's B. Oscar Wilde is the answer. We are so close to a no hitter. I'm so excited. I can't take it. One more. Number five. One more. The crowd goes silent. Les Miserables. Is it A? Is it? You're just picking A. I mean it's the same chances. It's A, Victor Hugo, B Emily Zola, C Gustav Flaubert or D, Jim Davis.
B
A.
A
You're going to go with A?
B
Yeah.
A
It is A. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. She just needed to not hear the name. What she got right is pick a letter A, B or C. That's awesome. I think that's honestly this is the best possible outcome. It's great.
B
Shame. Shame on you.
A
I'm so blessed. Floss.
B
Floss.
A
But by the way, Jensen, I'm gonna need a copy of Moby Dick written by Dan Brown. Oh yeah, sounds like a job for ChatGPT. ChatGPT. Thank you so much producer Jensen for once again making my day. That is absolutely wonderful. Can we do some Sabrina sees? Sabrina see?
B
Yes, please. We've gotta get past this. Okay, so we basically talked about every single one that was on it. Just the questions, the craziness. One of the things that I honestly, I'm so glad you brought up how we did not see that kind of idea of an action play of the book so that we got a little bit more. That would have been an easy way for them to give us the information of these holes. And again, I don't know, I would assume that they did, but for some reason pulled them out. It has to be. But the only one we didn't talk about was, you know, we did. Like, that would explain floss, because floss is not explained at all.
A
No.
B
How he uses floss, why floss is a thing would be done easily by just doing a quick scene with him, with the floss and why these kids are using floss to tie people up and whatever. And then I did notice the handcuff situation. I thought that was a second one of she thinks back about something that her dad wrote in the movie of how he's gotten out of handcuffs before, and that's how she gets out of it.
A
That would have been nice to see.
B
That's not the only thing we didn't see or didn't talk about, but that was like, an extra thing, like using that as a way to explain some of the stuff that. I get it. You're trying to keep it quick and moving, but, like, it would have been a little bit helpful. But I did have to ask you. Do you feel like you were triggered because of. It's all around this con thing that you go to and, you know, the ins and outs of it, like, just was.
A
It just. It seemed to be written by somebody who's never really been to a con?
B
That's what I mean. Yeah, that's what I mean.
A
Some of it is that, you know, like, the stuff they do on stage, if they have a contest or something, that stuff can happen. People dressing up, that stuff can clearly happen. Nobody's throwing slime and. And stuff all over the place at a convention. That doesn't happen. Also, the. The author of the book would be sitting behind a desk with his book set up, and there'd be a line of people waiting to meet him and sign their. He's not just. You're not just randomly walking around signing autographs at a convention. You're like, you have a table set up, and people come and talk to you and do. So they were. Let's say, if I'm being generous, they were playing it fast and loose with the con world.
B
Okay.
A
Yeah.
B
Yes. Which I think for some, you know, I. What it seems like, again, I've never done it, but I watch Big Bang Theory all the time. They talk about cons a lot, and a lot of the people go. Are, like, really huge and amazing fans. And so I would think that this would be, like, something that they'd be like, that's not how it is at all. Like what? You know, it would be, like, somebody who does write For Big Bang to not ever go to them. Like, yeah.
A
I mean, again, they got some of it right, but a lot of it not right.
B
Just way, way off.
A
And I want to take you to one because they are so much fun and so inclusive, and everybody's welcome, and everybody can just be weird and nerdy. It's the greatest that. It's awesome.
B
So fun. So fun, you know, But I feel like that that was something that was kind of going. I bet you will's so irritated. Can't be this can't be what it's like. Like, it just. You know, and then I was also, like, as the author of the thing that they are all coming. Like, it's very unsafe. He has, like, no security, like, of any sort. Like, not walking around, not how it's done, you know, and staying at that same hotel, like, people could walk.
A
That happens. That happens. Oh, there's times where you're staying at the hotel where the convention actually takes place, and you're riding in the elevator with all the fans and all that stuff. That's actually that thing hap. That happens quite often.
B
Someone could follow you to your room.
A
Oh, you have. Weird things happen. Major problems with Danielle before, not just Danielle. I've had people follow me to different countries.
B
Like, when we. Oh, my God.
A
Oh, yeah.
B
No, it's.
A
It can be bad.
B
When we were on tour, it was so important of where we, like, it was to the point where we had to, like, take a van away from the bus and get dropped off, because if they followed our bus then now we're like, you know, in a hotel room with somebody.
A
And you know how many times that we were on tour for POD meets World Live? Or would there be a group of people waiting in the lobby for us at the hotel?
B
That happens all the time. Oh, gosh, no. That is so unsafe.
A
That's real. That happens a lot.
B
Wow. Okay. All right.
A
We weren't staying at the Merc, but that's all right.
B
Thank God. Yeah. I mean, Adrian had her entire luggage stolen by, like, one of the fans that was out, like, saw us come in, and our. The assistant was, like, taking, you know, the fans, put her on a bell hop, and, like, literally, she, on tour, had no clothes, nothing.
A
That's the thing is 99.9% of the fans you meet are the nicest, the best, coolest.
B
Yes.
A
That just. You just want to hang out with them. They're respectful. They're the greatest people in the world. It's that tiny. It's that 0.1% that you.
B
But the problem is that 0.1% stays with you forever. Like, you never forget that.
A
Those.
B
Those very small and very far between.
A
Oh, yeah. Very small, for sure.
B
You know? Wow.
A
All right. All right. Can we rate our film, our options for this week? Yeah, we're going. I'm not even gonna make a joke. Out of 110. One bad, ten good. Our options this week. One out of ten spoiler book reports. One out of ten legally acceptable Scrabble ripoffs. Onion smells. Floss. Floss. Flosses. One out of ten book splat trip traps. One out of ten Stockholm syndromes. One out of ten double kidnappings. Presidential pickles. One out of ten best pizza crusts in town. Or one out of ten large piles of coleslaw. I think I get to pick this week, don't I?
B
You do.
A
And just because it's so difficult to say I want to do one out of ten Book slap book. See, I already screwed up. Book splat trip traps.
B
All right, all right. I think you went first last week.
A
If I. I did. I believe I did.
B
So. Okay, so I'm gonna go first. And this was rough because, again, I have such so much love and so much respect for these actors, and I freaking love me some Paul Hoen. This was tough for me. There was too many holes for me to even enjoy it at all at times. But the cast was phenomenal, and they did a great job. So that bumps it up for me a little bit. I'm giving this a 5.5 book slap trap traps.
A
That way.
B
5.5.5 book slap traps.
A
There you go. Yeah, the cast saved it a little bit, but not enough for me. This was. I mean, it just was all over the place. This was such a strange movie. Again, great cast. I didn't even think about this before you said it, and you're 100% right. It was a great opportunity for the second season. Thirds on the call sheets to have something to do. And they all did great with what they were given, but the problem is what they were given was not good. So, yeah, this is. This is going to be a four for me. Four Book splat trip traps. This just. This was not a good movie, and some of them aren't going to be good. And I. I think most people know that we're fans, and fans don't want to be. I don't want to sit here and bash Disney. I don't want to bash actors that we like, and not every movie is going to be good. And this, unfortunately, is, you know, we're going to be able to count on one hand with four fingers left over the amount of Paul Hoen movies that aren't good on the Disney Channel.
B
Seriously, this is not.
A
And I.
B
And I think it goes to show too. Like we've talked to now, Paul and Jason Earls. This was, I don't think this is something they look back at super fondly either. Like, thinking it was, you know, like, I don't feel like they felt like this was their. They mean. At least neither of them mentioned this one.
A
Yeah, no. And I think they both just think it's just weird because it is. It's just weird. It's Fever Dreamish. Nothing makes sense. Nothing comes back. Wait, why are they even kidnapping. It is a very strange movie all the way around. Yeah. Yeah. Well, okay. Well, thank you everybody for joining us for our next movie. We're actually only going to go back for a few years for a more recent addition to the collection. It's 2021's Spin, available now to watch via Disney. And this week, as we've talked about many times now on our dedicated Magical Rewind feed, we are absolutely thrilled to have chatted with a Disney legend, Merv from Dadnapped himself. And from another little something. What was that thing he did?
B
The Hannah Montana.
A
Hannah Montana.
B
It's Jason Earl's Hannah Banana, as he calls it.
A
Hannah Banana. And we talk about everything. It was a really, really fun conversation. It really was. Here is a small taste of what's to come. I did a bunch of extra work for Disney before I ever booked anything.
B
And really, that's cool.
A
If you watch. That's so Raven. I'm in a ton of that. So Raven. Including my favorite behind the scenes thing of there was, I think it was an episode where she was like running for student office or something. And they were supposed to be an auditorium full of students, but like on a Disney budget, sometimes there's nine. So there was literally like 20 of us, right? And we, we wore our stuff and we sat in a section and then we went and we changed our clothes and they sat next to another section. And then so when you look at the scene, like there's a shot where I'm in like four places in four different.
B
In four different outfits.
A
It's fantastic. That was a good one. A dcom icon. Try saying that five times fast. Dcom icon. Dcom icon. In our opinion, he's great. So make sure you subscribe to our dedicated Magical Rewind feed on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcast. And for more info you can always follow us agicalrewindpod on the Instagram machine. Go do that now. Thanks everybody.
B
Bye bye.
A
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Balancing multiple projects, family and everything else life throws at me requires a great support team to keep it all together.
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B
They are part of your team.
A
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Pod Meets World – Episode: Dadnapped Release Date: February 26, 2025 | Host: iHeartPodcasts
In this episode of Pod Meets World, hosts Danielle (A) and Sabrina (B) delve into the Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) "Dadnapped" from 2009. They embark on a comprehensive rewatch, dissecting every aspect of the film—from plot intricacies and character performances to behind-the-scenes insights and overall reception.
The hosts begin by addressing the mixed reception of "Dadnapped." Despite its Nielsen success, drawing 4.6 million viewers upon release, critics were less favorable, with David Nussair rating it 45% and describing it as "the lowest common denominator" and "underwhelming."
Danielle notes the strength of the film's cast, highlighting Emily Osmond's performance as Melissa Morris. “[Emily Osmond] carried the whole thing. It was a strange character, but she hit all the beats. She was funny when she had to be funny. She was sincere when she had to be sincere” ([07:08]).
Sabrina echoes this sentiment, expressing admiration for the actors despite her disappointment in the film's narrative. “The cast was phenomenal, and they did a great job” ([16:12]).
Danielle and Sabrina provide a detailed recount of the movie's plot, focusing on Melissa Morris's quest to rescue her kidnapped father, Neil Morris, a bestselling author. They critique various elements of the storyline, pointing out numerous plot holes and inconsistencies:
Character Motivation: Both hosts struggle with understanding the kidnappers' motives. Sabrina questions, “Why did they dadnap this guy? It made zero sense” ([41:19]).
Conventions and Realism: They critique the depiction of conventions, noting inaccuracies in how they're portrayed. “They were playing it fast and loose with the con world” ([71:22]).
Recurring Tropes: The use of common DCOM tropes, such as characters being handcuffed repeatedly, received negative feedback. Danielle remarks, “The amount of handcuffs... dystopian” ([25:05]).
Visual and Special Effects: The hosts found certain visual elements, like the onion machine and colesslaw scenes, to be confusing and poorly executed. “[This] was a rough one for me” ([58:12]).
Emily Osmond is lauded for her ability to breathe life into Melissa despite the script's shortcomings. Danielle states, “She did great... every beat was real” ([63:59]).
Jason Earls as Merv Kilbo, the antagonist, received mixed mentions. While his performance is recognized, Sabrina points out his minimal role, stating, “They gave him this teeny, tiny role” ([51:37]).
The supporting cast, including Moises Arias and Charles Halford, are acknowledged for their versatile performances, though their characters often fall prey to the film's inconsistent writing.
The episode touches upon the involvement of director Paul Hoen, noting that despite his successful track record with other DCOMs like "Zombies", "Dadnapped" did not align with his usual style. Danielle and Sabrina express disappointment that the film didn't reflect Hoen's typical quality.
They also mention a forthcoming interview with Jason Earls in the "Park Hopper" segment, providing listeners a glimpse into future content.
The hosts engage in interactive segments to add variety to the episode:
Lit or Miss: A literature quiz where Danielle and Sabrina answer questions about classic books. Notably, Danielle scores impressively by correctly identifying authors such as Jane Austen for Pride and Prejudice ([66:02]).
Feature Game - Lit or Miss Results: Danielle secures a five-star review for the "Treasure someone you love" comment, while Sabrina assigns one star to the question “Why are you kidnapping dads?” ([64:59]).
These segments serve to lighten the episode's critical tone and engage listeners in a fun, educational activity.
Danielle and Sabrina reflect on their personal experiences with conventions and the fan culture depicted in "Dadnapped." They discuss the safety concerns and realism (or lack thereof) in the film's portrayal of fan interactions and security measures.
Sabrina shares, “When we were on tour, it was so important to watch where we went” ([73:05]), emphasizing the importance of security for public figures—a theme somewhat mirrored in the movie's plot.
Both hosts conclude with low ratings for "Dadnapped," citing the incoherent plot, overuse of clichés, and poor execution despite a strong cast.
Sabrina: Rates the movie 5.5/10, highlighting the cast's efforts but noting the numerous plot inconsistencies ([76:12]).
Danielle: Gives it a 4/10, emphasizing the disjointed story despite the talented actors ([76:22]).
They acknowledge that while some DCOMs may not resonate with them personally, they recognize the effort and fan appreciation behind such films.
The episode wraps up with sneak peeks into future content, including an interview with Merv from "Dadnapped", and discussions about other DCOMs like "Spin". They encourage listeners to follow their Magical Rewind feed on various platforms and engage with their social media for more updates.
While "Dadnapped" boasts a talented cast and ambitious premise, Danielle and Sabrina’s in-depth analysis reveals significant narrative flaws and execution issues that detract from the film's potential. Nonetheless, the episode serves as a testament to the hosts' dedication to providing honest, fan-oriented reviews, balancing critical insight with respect for the artistry involved.
Listeners who appreciate a thorough critique of DCOMs and enjoy behind-the-scenes discussions will find this episode both engaging and informative, even if they agree with the hosts’ unfavorable assessment of "Dadnapped."
**Stay tuned for more nostalgic rewatching and insightful discussions on future episodes of Pod Meets World!