'Twas the Night

Summary

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Pod Meets World: "’Twas the Night" (December 9, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this festive episode, Danielle, Will, and Rider transport listeners back to the early 2000s as they revisit "’Twas the Night"—a 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM). The hosts share their reactions, dissect the film's plot and creative choices, and provide behind-the-scenes insights. The episode is brimming with holiday nostalgia, humorous banter, and a healthy dose of critical analysis, all wrapped in the warm glow of childhood memories and TV history.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Favorite Christmas Memories & Toys

• Sabrina Bryant recounts her most magical Christmas—a romantic surprise visit from her now-husband, Jordan, while away for a show (03:00). She also remembers getting her white, pink, and teal rollerblades as a child and immediately spending the day outdoors.
• Will Friedle treasures the G.I. Joe U.S.S. Defiant space shuttle he received, a prize toy he still owns (04:02).
• The hosts reminisce about the durability and danger of '70s and '80s toys, which would never pass safety standards today.
  • Will: “Toys in the 70s would kill a kid. And they were great.” (05:00)

2. Setting the Festive Tone

• The hosts dress in red and green by accident, laughing about Sabrina’s ’90s sweatshirt.
  • Will jokes about "crystal meth bear," a fake urban legend he invents on the spot (06:44).

3. Christmas Movie Traditions

• Sabrina’s holiday essentials: "Elf" (while decorating the tree) and Jim Carrey’s "The Grinch" (08:07).
• Will’s tradition: Watching "A Christmas Story" while wrapping gifts, dating back to its first release (08:48).
• Discussion of how "’Twas the Night" fits into the Disney holiday movie canon, acknowledging its status as an under-the-radar, low-budget counterpart to "The Santa Clause" (09:54).
  • Will: “Make absolutely no qualms about it, ‘Twas the Night’ is basically a lower budget version of another Disney movie, ‘The Santa Clause’... It was basically a direct ripoff.” (09:56)

4. Initial Impressions of "’Twas the Night"

• Both hosts discovered the movie only for the podcast and were surprised to learn Disney Channel had Christmas content in 2001 (10:44).
• Sabrina found the movie “an easy watch and festive,” if unremarkable (11:42).
• Will was ambivalent: “I felt like I saw a movie.” (12:51)
• The ending left both underwhelmed. The movie’s structure felt flat after a strong start.

5. Bryan Cranston: The DCOM MVP

• Will and Sabrina marvel at Bryan Cranston’s presence in this small-budget DCOM.
  • Will: “I am a huge Bryan Cranston fan, so I have a soft spot for anything he’s in.” (12:20)
  • Sabrina: “I mean, it was just so shocking. I had no idea he was in this movie, nor would I have ever in my life guessed...” (19:47)
• Both agree Cranston raises the movie considerably:
  • Sabrina: “This movie would be a completely different movie had he not been in it...” (20:11)

6. Surprise Director: Nick Castle

• Shocking trivia: Nick Castle, director and original Michael Myers from "Halloween," helmed "’Twas the Night."
  • Will: “This guy’s career is B-A-N-A-N-A-S, bananas. I’m telling you, it is amazing.” (17:03)
• Castle’s legacy (“The Last Starfighter,” “Escape from New York,” “Hook”) is celebrated with fanboy excitement.

7. Child Actors and Casting

• Special shoutout to Brenda Grate (Caitlin):
  • Will: “You can just tell when a child actor is working at a different level… She was very, very good in this movie.” (13:56)
• Josh Zuckerman’s performance as Danny also earns praise, and the hosts preview an upcoming interview with him.

8. Plot Recap Highlights & Notable Moments

• Opening (27:28): Quick montage in rhyme, culminating with a tied-up Santa.
• Family Dynamics: Danny (trickster teen), Uncle Nick (slacker conman), and how their family is roped into Christmas chaos.
• Modernizing Santa: Santa now uses a high-tech sleigh due to “reindeer flu”; the magic gold ball manages time and present size.
  • Will: “I don’t like Santa without his reindeer. The reindeer are an important part of Santa.” (37:50)
• Major Plot Holes:
  • How did kids tie a huge, unconscious Santa to a chair?
  • Why are people frozen by acting instead of freeze-frames?—“These were actors that were just told to freeze. They’re shaking all over the place. Nobody looked frozen.” (45:46)
• Santa’s Lore Innovations: Hosts love the bag of tiny presents and time-freezing explanation, even as other magical logic flounders.
• Tickle Fight with Thugs: Santa defeats street “gang” via tickling—eliciting much skepticism and eye-rolling (52:45).
• Moral and Emotional Beats: The themes of redemption, family forgiveness, and holiday spirit are revisited, if a bit clumsily in execution.

9. Writing & Creative Critique

• Writing and character inconsistencies are called out, especially in the film’s rules and logical inconsistencies.
  • Sabrina: “At the beginning, I felt like this had so much steam… then it just plateaued.” (45:04)
• The final resolution is deemed weak, with the story just “kind of ending” (80:53).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Time | Quote & Attribution | |----------|---------------------| | 04:02 | Will: “It was the G.I. Joe U.S.S. Defiant, which is the best thing I ever got. It was the big space shuttle that GI Joe made... I still have it.” | | 06:44 | Will: “That was crystal meth bear. I remember that. That's how they used to smuggle things...” (joking about Sabrina’s 90s bear shirt) | | 09:54 | Will: “Twas the Night is basically a lower budget version of another Disney movie, 'The Santa Clause’... it was basically a direct ripoff.” | | 12:51 | Will: “I felt like I saw a movie.” | | 13:56 | Will: “You could just tell when a child actor is working at a different level than other child actors around them...” | | 16:57 | Will (on director Nick Castle): “This guy’s career is B-A-N-A-N-A-S, bananas. I’m telling you, it is amazing.” | | 20:11 | Sabrina: “This movie would be a completely different movie had he not been in it [Bryan Cranston].” | | 45:46 | Will: “These were actors that were just told to freeze. They're shaking all over the place. Nobody looked frozen.” | | 80:53 | Will: “There was no real resolution. The movie just kind of ends and he goes, maybe I won’t steal anymore.” |

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Segment Timestamps

• Favorite Christmas Presents & Toys: 02:42 – 06:13
• Favorite Christmas Movies: 08:00 – 09:26
• About ‘Twas the Night’ (context, trivia, cast, director): 09:54 – 22:56
• Film Recap & Major Plot Points: 27:28 – 62:35
• Listener Reviews (1-star/five-star): 67:17 – 68:23
• Fun Quiz (Movies Based on Poems): 68:27 – 71:08
• Sabrina Sees (Observations & Nitpicks): 71:15 – 77:10
• Final Ratings: 77:10 – 81:33
• Next Episode Teasers: 81:45 – 84:28

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Flow and Tone

• The conversation is a mix of sarcastic nostalgia, genuine fondness for holiday traditions, and typically biting Pod Meets World humor.
• The hosts bring friendly banter, emphasizing how nostalgia can both elevate expectations and make flaws all the more glaring.
• There are repeated running jokes (Santa’s logic, “reindeer flu,” the freezing effect), plus enthusiastic asides about movie trivia and Disney Channel lore.

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Ratings and Final Thoughts

Will: 6 out of 10 reindeer flus
Sabrina: 6.5 out of 10 reindeer flus

• Both felt the movie started strong, then fizzled.
• Bryan Cranston’s performance alone elevated their enjoyment by “at least three points.”
• Creative new explanations for Santa’s magic were appreciated, but the plot, child acting, and special effects were inconsistent.
• The end message—spending Christmas with loved ones, naughty or nice—was a holiday-appropriate parting note.

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Teasers and Next Episode

• Upcoming: A mega “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie” review (the Jonas Brothers' big-budget holiday return to Disney+).
• Coming soon: Park Hopper episode guest Josh Zuckerman (Danny Wrigley).

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For Fans & Newcomers

Even if you’ve never seen "’Twas the Night," this episode captures the thrill and cringes of vintage DCOM-watching, seasoned with pop culture callbacks, behind-the-scenes tidbits, and the holiday spirit.

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Summary compiled from the Pod Meets World, "’Twas the Night" episode, December 9, 2025.

Transcript

[Sabrina Bryant]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Like the song says, it's the most wonderful time of the year and maybe the most wonderfully busy too. But that's all part of the magic, right? Here's my tip for keeping things wonderful. Keep yourself wonderful. First, enjoy a crisp cold Coca Cola and instant reset. Merriment restored. So look out for yourself with the Coke and then share the love con tu gente. Together we'll keep the season chill and bright. Enjoy a Coca Cola and refresh your holidays at Magical Rewind. We love watching our favorite movies and now we get to stream them everywhere we go. We switched to T Mobile and since then it's been Perks on perks, Hulu and Netflix already included with their best plan, travel, stream, repeat, all on the best network. You won't believe what you can get with T Mobile. Switch today, shop online, in store or on the app, visit t mobile.com receive Hulu with ads and Netflix Standard with ads. While you maintain a qualifying experience beyond line in good standing, T Mobile is the best mobile Network in the US based on analysis by Ookla of Speedtest Intelligence data 1H 2025 finding the perfect Gift for the Holidays Oof. It's harder than keeping up with a family group chat, but listen up. Tengo un secreto Stella Rosa wines. Show up to the next fiesta with a bottle or two. Y esta? I just had a box of Stella Rosa Black and Moscato d' Asti delivered to my house the other day. Both are perfect for celebrating the holidays, but my favorite right now is Stella Rosa Black. It's a semi sparkling red wine that's just right. It's not too sweet. And you know what else I love about it? The low alcohol content. Because that means I can still make it to the gym in the morning, skip the stress and just bring Stellar Rosa to your next Fiesta. Visit Stellar Rosa.com to find your favorite flavor near you. Saludos.

[Will Friedle]

Hey, I'm Freddie Prinz Jr. On my podcast Wrestling with Freddy, we talk about what happens when things take a turn in and outside of the ring. Like when the heel wrestlers back you up into a corner and your tag team partner jumps in to have your back. It helps to have backup. That's why so many people turn to their State Farm agent to help choose the coverage you need and to be there when it counts. Because when life gets unpredictable, it's good to know someone's in your corner. Like a good neighbor. State Farm is there.

Hey Sabrina.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Hey Will.

[Will Friedle]

What was the best Christmas present You ever got present? Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Oh, I could go real cheesy on you.

[Will Friedle]

Was it the steak eating hot tub? No. Okay. I don't know if that was a gift or not.

[Sabrina Bryant]

No. One year, well into dating Jordan, I had to do Chris a show. I went into. I went and performed a show for like a week or so, and it was going to actually be over Christmas, so we had a Christmas Eve show and then we had a day after Christmas and it was all the way in Florida. And I was so sad because we really hadn't spent that much time away from each other. And so he ended up surprising me and coming and like missing Christmas with, you know, obviously his family and everything to be with me on Christmas. And I like, that was like the most magical and romantic thing. I was just so, so overwhelmed.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, my God.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I do also do remember when I was little when I got the year I got my rollerblades was like, my.

[Will Friedle]

Husband came out and my rollerblades and.

[Sabrina Bryant]

My rollerblades that year, they were white with pink and teal. Like, oh, they were so hot. I love them. I was so stoked. I. I don't think I even came home inside, like the house after I opened them. I was done for the day just outside.

[Will Friedle]

Good for you.

[Sabrina Bryant]

What about you, Will?

[Will Friedle]

Mine's kind of similar. Susan and I. No, I'm kidding. It was the GI Joe USS Defiant, which is the best thing I ever got. It was the big space shuttle that GI Joe made. And it was the coolest thing I've ever had. I still have it. You do?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Do you have a lot of your stuff like that?

[Will Friedle]

I still have my first car.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Well, that's really cool.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, Like, I don't throw anything out, so I still like all the stuff I have, I basically still have now. Some of it is beat to hell.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

But I mean, like, I still have.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Fun of me for having Gidget. Still my doll, kid.

[Will Friedle]

Your demonic doll that is responsible for the deaths of several people. That's different. Yikes.

[Sabrina Bryant]

So it's interesting though, a gift like that, especially with little kids. Like, I try so hard to hold on to stuff, but like, Letcher just like beats the hell out of these things. I don't know how I'm ever gonna keep anything that he likes.

[Will Friedle]

They don't build anything to last anymore. The toys in the 70s would kill a kid. And they were great. Remember, you were. You were too young for lawn darts. Lawn darts were just giant spiked darts that you just throw into the air and you're supposed to hit a Thing, but you're just throwing them at your friends. So they had. They literally discontinued them because they were just killing kids all over the place.

[Sabrina Bryant]

They were, too.

[Will Friedle]

Lawn darts. We used to have the most expensive, most dangerous toys ever. BB gun fights. It was awful. So, yeah, it's. Thank God. That's why they make things that don't last anymore. Because when you go hit a kid over the head with it, it shatters.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah. And that's all Ledger does. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

My Transformers, my original Transformers were metal. Metal, yes. The G1 transformers were metal.

[Sabrina Bryant]

What was the transformer?

[Will Friedle]

Eight. Seven.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Eight.

[Will Friedle]

No, I was 84. So that's when the show came out for Gen 1.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah. Eight or nine. That was a metal thing. Never.

[Will Friedle]

That's how the toys were built. Yeah, Your Matchbox, cars, all that stuff, Everything was metal.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I don't even let him have, like, any of his balls that aren't, like, Nerf, like, type material, you know, like the, like, squishy. Because he just throw. I mean, he's destructive. Like, he's just insane. Boy, energy is crazy. Now Monroe, like, will sit in color. She's cool. Ledger, his mission is to destroy it.

[Will Friedle]

Well, yeah, that's what you're supposed to do.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Use it to destroy something else in the house. It's insane.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Well, anyway, that's gonna lead us to, I think, probably the next kind of chunk of movies we're gonna be doing. Cause we did All Hallows Eve. Look at you.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Favorite Christmas.

[Will Friedle]

I didn't even realize. We're red and green.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yes, we are.

[Will Friedle]

I didn't do that. We didn't do that on purpose.

[Sabrina Bryant]

No, we're ready. Green. I mean, I wore this shirt, this sweatshirt, on purpose. This gets me into the holiday spirit like no other. And anyone who can see this knows this is, like, from the 90s. Early 90s.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. That was crystal meth bear. I remember that. That's how they used to smuggle things into the country. Was in crystal meth bear. That's so cute. Did you not know that?

[Sabrina Bryant]

No. Are you being serious?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryant]

So that specific bear, they have them with, like, kittens and.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. No, but that specific bear was known for. They used to cut the back of it open and just fill it with drugs and ship it in.

I'm kidding. Sabrina.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

[Will Friedle]

And now it feels like Christmas. Yes. I love it.

[Sabrina Bryant]

All right.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, I love it. No. Well, first of all, welcome back 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 are smart, the wave tsunamis, and the teddy bears held drugs. I'm Will Friedle.

[Sabrina Bryant]

And I'm Sabrina Bryant. He got me again.

[Will Friedle]

I did, I did. It's very good.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Got me again. I did.

[Will Friedle]

Hang the stockings, settle the mistletoe, Leave out the cookies and the milk, and spend your last dollar on gifts because we're celebrating the holiday season here on Magical Rewind. And now reviewing the 2001 Christmas decom. TWAS the Night. It's a good title. Originally released on December 7, 2001, it's part of the channel's popular holiday programming. Something we know includes a whole lot of hocus Pocus and Christmas themed TV episodes. You have a favorite Christmas movie. What's your favorite Christmas movie of all time? Do you watch something every year?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Every year I have two, and you can't get me to try to, like, pick between them.

[Will Friedle]

I'm guessing one of them's Elf.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Elf is the. Is the movie we play every year while we're. While we're putting the tree up.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Here. And then the Grinch and the Grinch is now one of Monroe's favorite movies.

[Will Friedle]

Original Grinch, like the animated one or like the Jim Carrey? Okay. Never seen that.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I haven't seen the animated one.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah, the original. You know, I've got. You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. Yeah, that was.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I. Jim Carrey just. I mean, him and then Will Ferrell, like.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah, they.

[Sabrina Bryant]

They killed those movies. They.

[Will Friedle]

Elf is so. Just so good.

[Sabrina Bryant]

So good. So good. Both of those. I watch them every year. Every year. I know you watch A Christmas Story.

[Will Friedle]

A Christmas Story every year by myself in my theater room with all my gifts. So I do my wrapping to A Christmas Story every single year. That's just my thing. Sue's like, go do your thing. And so I've been doing that since, I think since the year it came out. I've watched Christmas Story every single year.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

It is a perfect.

[Sabrina Bryant]

So it was a VHS tape originally?

[Will Friedle]

Well, I think originally. I think the first time I saw it, I probably saw it in the theater.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Right. In the theater.

[Will Friedle]

And then. And then it was vhs, yeah. Or no. And then they started playing it on tv every year. You could always find A Christmas Story.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

It was like that became. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Now it's everywhere. But even before streaming, Christmas was everywhere.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

This is actually the second ever Christmas decom, the first being an old favorite of ours. The ultimate Christmas present. And much like that movie, Twas the Night gets frequently replayed on the Disney Channel during December's, even to this day. The title of the movie, of course, is a play on the 1823 poem A Visit from St Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore. So something that has lived numerous lives and is still read today. And no shock here, the movie was filmed in Canada. That's right. Canada, people. Canada.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Toronto, of course.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, well, it's Toronto, Canada. Everybody knows that now make absolutely no qualms about it. Twas the Night is basically a lower budget version of another Disney movie, the Santa Claus, which was released seven years earlier. And this film is nowhere near as successful. But that's not to say it can't become one of your favorite new holiday traditions. We don't want to sour it for you. It's just worth pointing out this is hardly an original premise for the studio. And by that I mean it was basically a direct ripoff and you can make up your own mind. Twas the Night is available to watch right now on Disney. Maybe pair it with a lit fireplace, some hot cocoa and a festive Christmas tree. Or just mindlessly scroll on your phone while it plays in the background. Doesn't mean a thing to us. Up to you. Stop being so codependent. Jeez. Disclaimer not to listen to this with little kids who want to find out whether this is real or not. Yeah. So did you know anything about this movie before we were assigned our homework?

[Sabrina Bryant]

I did not. I did not.

[Will Friedle]

I'm amazing. Really. Well, 2001 is kind of right in your wheelhouse, isn't it?

[Sabrina Bryant]

It is. It is. To be honest. I mean, when. When the fact that the channel had Christmas movies at all shocks me, because I don't. I literally, for the longest time, just figured they just didn't touch, like the holiday.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, got you. Right.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Because I never seen Religious. Yeah. And I watched so many dcoms and I just never seen one, I just figured they just never had them. So we've now watched two, which is crazy.

[Will Friedle]

I obviously knew nothing of this film and have now seen it and still don't really know much of this film. The eggnog is getting warm, so let's hack into the sleigh hard drive and get our synopsis. A mischievous teen and his slacker uncle accidentally knock out Santa and are forced to deliver presents in his high tech sleigh. What were your early thoughts on Twas the Night? Did you like this movie?

[Sabrina Bryant]

I thought, honestly, this was, like you said, a lower budget. It was. It wasn't, you know, remaking Reinventing the wheel, as you say. It wasn't anything like that, but it was an. It was an easy watch and it was a festive watch. I love Christmas time. I'm always down for it. I love Santa Claus. I love all things. And it being on the channel, like I said, I've never really even realized the channel had Christmas movies. So it was nice to see that this is what the channel would make of a Christmas movie.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, okay.

[Sabrina Bryant]

What about you, Will?

[Will Friedle]

Honestly, I don't know.

[Sabrina Bryant]

You don't know?

[Will Friedle]

I don't know. I am a huge Bryan Cranston fan, so I think I have a, A soft spot for anything he's in.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I literally out loud said, oh my God.

[Will Friedle]

When I. He's the best.

[Sabrina Bryant]

He's so excited. He was going to. I was going to be watching him for the next 90 some minutes.

[Will Friedle]

But a lot of this movie doesn' make a whole lot of sense. Some of it's weird. I didn't dislike it. Like, I didn't come out going like, man, that movie was terrible. But I also didn't come out going like, man, this movie was really good. Like I, I felt like I saw a movie.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah, that, that's how I feel. I mean, the end is the. The was kind of the worst. Like. Ah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it all starts for me.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It was the end. The, the stuff in the middle. The, the. The beginning. I felt like it started off so strong. Like so strong. And then it just kind of, just kind of plateaued for me, you know?

[Will Friedle]

Me too. I also get into the. How does this work? Rules of things.

[Sabrina Bryant]

There are a couple of things that we. The rules. The rules were not set in place, nor did we. Yeah, some of those rules.

[Will Friedle]

But again, I love it. I love Brian Cranston, I really do. And I thought he was great. I thought the acting was really good. Josh. You know who else was phenomenal was the sister.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

She was really, really good in this movie.

[Sabrina Bryant]

So much that I went.

[Will Friedle]

How. Googled her. Oh, I googled her.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Cuz I was like, okay, so did she really for the chant? I did not. Did she end up working for the channel a lot?

[Will Friedle]

Because I'm like, I don't.

[Sabrina Bryant]

She's not a face that is really recognizable to me of the channel of that era. What? Why? What was the reason? Because she was a great Disney kid.

[Will Friedle]

I thought so too. She was very, very good in this movie. You could just tell when a child actor is working at a different level than other child actors around them. And she, you know, Josh was obviously great. But there was a couple little stumbles that have nothing to do with him. But she. I thought was. Was really good. So. Yeah, my honest answer is I don't know. I do not know how I feel about this movie. And maybe going through the synopsis maybe will help me more.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah, I think so. I mean, I, you know, again, it was in no way was it like some of the movies that we have been watching lately that were like, no.

[Will Friedle]

But I also feel like. And there, there's a couple people that I'd love to get on the show that are like the quote unquote DCOM experts. I mean, Lisa's one of our producer. Lisa is one of them. Where there seems like a real time in the DCOM world. Pre. We've called this pre Cheetah Girls. I would say post break. Pre Cheetah girls in that 99, 2000, 2001 era where you can tell they're pumping them out, where some of them just kind of missed the mark, they seem a little cheesier. The writing isn't kind of on point for some of them. And this, this fell a little into that category for me. This feels almost like there's a two or three year stretch of DCOMs where they kind of don't know what they're doing yet because they're not doing Brink and they're not doing Cheetah Girls well.

[Sabrina Bryant]

But they're doing them every. They're, they're coming out every. Like you said, they're just pumping them out. So they're just not being as like finessed or something.

[Will Friedle]

Right. Maybe that's what it is. Maybe I felt, I don't know if this movie felt rushed or it felt. I mean, I don't know. Anyway, we'll get into it. So we have now been reviewing DCOMs for approaching two years now. And I'm not sure we've had a more surprising credit in the history of the show than who directed Twas the Night. So Sabrina, does the name Nick Castle ring any jingle bells for you?

[Sabrina Bryant]

It doesn't. Until I read.

[Will Friedle]

Until we read.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Okay, so we read what our producers put in our hands.

[Will Friedle]

Get ready for this.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Holy cow.

[Will Friedle]

So Nick Castle, who directed the film, is best known as Mike Myers. Yes, Michael Myers in the original 1978 horror classic Halloween. The actor, he played Mike Myers in one of the scariest characters in the history of film.

[Sabrina Bryant]

One of the most terrifying Haunt youh Dreams at Night characters.

[Will Friedle]

He'd also revisit the character in three modern day sequels by Danny McBride and David Gordon. Green. But talk about scary. Yes. He's also a director, most famously for the cult kids movie.

My God. Oh my God. This movie. I can't even say the title of this movie without putting reverence behind it. This movie meant so much to me as a kid. So much to me as a kid. The Last Starfighter. He also directed the Boy who Could Fly, Major pain, the Ellen DeGeneres wedding movie. Mr. Wrong. I mean, this guy's so talented. He also has writing credits on two of my other favorite films of all time. John Carpenter's Escape from New York. Plisskin. Snake Plissken. Oh man. And Hook.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I mean, one of my favorite movies, a movie that I watched on repeat.

[Will Friedle]

This guy's career is B A N A N A S Bananas. I'm telling you, it is amazing. So he's connected to all these kids movies, but also a character synonymous with fear. He is a regular at horror conventions these days. He is an icon. But can we seriously. It's like finding out that Rob Zombie directed Brink.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yes. So just kind of like I am.

[Will Friedle]

Begging our producers to get this man on just so you can see me turning into 8 year old kid watching talking about the last Starfighter. Have you seen the Last Starfighter?

[Sabrina Bryant]

No, I haven't.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, do you? You don't even know what it's about, right? No. Oh, God.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Imagining it. Somebody start fighting.

[Will Friedle]

1984, 1985. It's this kid at a trailer park. That was good. Come on. That was good. This kid at a trailer park starts playing this video game that was just left there called the Last Starfighter. And when he beats the game, you find out it's basically an audition to become a starfighter pilot in this intergalactic war. Awesome. And so an alien essentially comes down to Earth and picks him up and brings him there right as the base is destroyed. And there's one special ship left that he has to fly. It is the sick as an eight year old boy. It's the sickest thing.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Oh my God.

[Will Friedle]

Ever. So I. It was just. I can't. We got it.

[Sabrina Bryant]

That has to be so many guys like my age.

[Will Friedle]

It was hu I. It was huge.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Favorite movie. Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Just unreal.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. So I'm going to talk about that quite a bit. And Twas the Night stars a very familiar name. Yeah. An actor who was the star of arguably a top five television show of all time. And I'm not talking about Malcolm in the Middle. It's Bryan Cranston as Nick Wrigley. Cranston began his career in the early 80s, working as a character actor with breakout roles on Seinfeld and in Saving Private Ryan. But it was in the year 2000 that he entered the mainstream as Hal the dad on Malcolm in the Middle, a job that landed him three Emmy nominations. But it was his next job that no one saw coming. He went from lovable comedy goofball to high school science teacher turned meth dealer as Walter White on Breaking Bad. Won the medium's greatest roles ever, winning him four Emmys and becoming a true critical darling of the century. Amazing. He was also Oscar nominated for another movie, I Love Trumbo, and appeared in other films like Argo, the Power Rangers as Zordon, Little Miss Sunshine, and Drive. And he is still at the very tippity top of his game, winning the Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series this year for Seth Rogen's the Studio. So I've already asked this a few times, but is Bryan Cranston the best actor we've ever seen in a decomposition? I mean, we've got Zendaya, Shia, Debbie Reynolds, but it's freaking Brian Cranston. It.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I mean, it was just so shocking. I had no idea he was in this movie, nor would I have ever in my life guessed that he had a, like, guess that he actually was in a dcom.

[Will Friedle]

Ever.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Ever. Right. I mean, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

But I mean, again, then I look at, like, the fact that he was Zordon.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yes. When you start looking at it like.

[Will Friedle]

He just wants to do fun stuff. Yes.

[Sabrina Bryant]

He. Yes. And to be honest, like, going back to, like, kind of just thoughts on the movie. This movie would be a completely different movie had he not been in it.

[Will Friedle]

It would not. I bet you I could have answered the question of whether I liked it or not had it not been Bryan Cranston. Yes. Because he's throwing me because I love him.

[Sabrina Bryant]

So he made this move. I mean, he really.

Held this movie because it could have been. Because he's just so good. He's. And he leaned into his charact. He was a nasty man. He was just like. It was just.

[Will Friedle]

God, it's great. I would love to hear what he thought when he read the script, but I love it.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I know, I know. It's crazy. So, yes, I was shocked, but appreciated it so much.

[Will Friedle]

Same, same. And then we have Josh Zuckerman playing Danny Wrigley. Josh had already appeared on TV in the West Wing and the Amanda show before, twice the night, and would later play young Dr. Evil in Austin Powers Gold Member. He also has been seen In a ton of other movies like Surviving Christmas, and Sex Drive. He also appeared on TV shows like Kyle XY, Desperate Housewives, and 90210. He was also in Frickin Oppenheimer. He's been in everything. We can also let you know. And I'll announce it again at the end, but he's gonna be our guest on our part Copper episode. We're very excited. We had a great conversation with him, and it was really cool. And so director Nick Castle might be a horror legend who has terrified millions of people over the years, but you know what's the scariest thing of all? The length of this movie. So how long was Twas the night? It was 87 minutes.

All right. Sorry. That was my. That was me being horror. So it's three off target. But on the shorter side of history, which we love to see. It's a true Christmas miracle. Thank you, everybody involved. I'm sure Tiny Tim had something to do with that himself.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Sound more like a bed movie.

[Will Friedle]

Where is your head going? It's Christmas. I was trying to imagine stabbing somebody, not having sex with them.

[Sabrina Bryant]

So Christmasy.

[Will Friedle]

God. Yikes.

It's true. But nice.

Too many jokes. Too many jokes.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I know.

[Will Friedle]

And on the writing side, we've got three credits. TV writer Jim Lincoln, who'd worked on Honey I Shrunk the Kids, the TV show Weird Science, the TV show, and Desperate Housewives, and his writing partner, Dan Studney, who also wrote the movies Jack the Giant Slayer and Reefer Madness, the movie musical, which great movie, but it's the final writer that caught my attention. That's Jenny Tripp. And she doesn't have many credits to her name, but she did contribute, quote, additional story material, quote, to a big Disney milestone film, the Lion King, which is probably the reason she got this movie. But she didn't work again after. I'd love to hear a story because something feels weird here, so I want to know what it is.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I'm Kristen Davis, host of the podcast Are youe a Charlotte?

[Eva Longoria]

The most anticipated guest from season three is here. The Trey to my Charlotte.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Kyle MacLachlan joins me to relive all of the magical Trey and Charlotte moments.

[Eva Longoria]

He reveals what he thinks of Trey.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Giving Charlotte a cardboard baby.

[Will Friedle]

Why would I bring her a cardboard baby? I was literally. I was like, this doesn't track for me at all.

[Eva Longoria]

When he found out Trey's shortcomings, I'm.

[Will Friedle]

Kind of excited to talk about. You know, I think he's. He's a guy who spends time in central park, you know, he's probably gonna be some surgery stuff, you know. And I was like, all this kind of stuff going on. And they were like, yeah, yeah, yeah, fine. And they said, but he's impotent. And I was like, he's impotent.

[Eva Longoria]

And why he chose not to return to in just like that.

[Will Friedle]

They came and presented an idea and I was like, I get, I see it. It's kind of a one joke idea. You don't want to miss this.

[Eva Longoria]

Listen to Are youe a Charlotte? On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or.

[Will Friedle]

Wherever you get your podcast.

[Eva Longoria]

This is Eva Longoria from Hungry for History with Eva Longoria and Maite Gomez Rejon. Hi everyone. Happy holidays. Let's talk about those two words about keeping the holidays happy. Because let's be honest, even the happiest season could use a boost. You've got to take a minute for yourself, a little me time, and refill those joy reserves. So there's still plenty left to share. Maybe that means taking a break from wrapping, planning, cooking, hosting to recharge with a refreshing Coca Cola. Ah, one sip and you're ready to hang more lights. Sip and recharge your jolly now. Because self care isn't selfish. It's necessary. Whether you're a holiday multitasker extraordinaire or the host with the most, or, I don't know, the actual Santa Claus, you deserve a moment to reset. So if things are getting a little too jingly, jangly, take a breath, center yourself, have a Coke, and get back out there refreshed, radiant, and ready to slay. Yes, I did. See how I did Santa's slay. You're welcome. Enjoy a Coca Cola. Refresh your holidays.

[Will Friedle]

Hello. Hello. I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast smart talks with IBM. I recently sat down with IBM's chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, and I asked him, how can companies use AI to its fullest potential to create smarter business?

[Malcolm Gladwell]

My one advice to them, pick areas you can scale. Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side. For example, if anybody has more than 10% of what they had for customer service 10 years ago, they're already five years behind. If anybody is not using AI to make their developers who write software 30% more productive today with the goal of being 70% more productive.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it. We say you can leverage what we did. We are happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change in the process. Because the biggest change is not technology is getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things.

[Will Friedle]

To listen to the full conversation, visit IBM.com smarttalks.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Let go.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[Sabrina Bryant]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Pressure is coming down.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

This is Trainer Games.

[Will Friedle]

Watch it on prime video starting January 8th.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

Come for the Black Friday seasonal savings. Stay for the award winning reporting for a limited time access to the Washington Post is just 99 cents. That's unlimited access to all of the posts for only 99 cents every four weeks. That's a great deal for the first year. After that it'll cost $12 every four weeks. You can cancel anytime. But don't wait. This Black Friday seasonal offer won't be here for long. Go to washingtonpost.com iheart and grab this deal before it's gone. That's washingtonpost.com iheart.

[Will Friedle]

And now, hark the Herald Angel Sing let's break bad and save Christmas. It's time to recap. Twas the night we open during the holidays outside the suburban Wrigley family home, we see snow and Christmas lights and a young narrator recites the poem for which the movie is based on. But when it gets to not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. We hear a girl scream, and when he mentions the stockings hung with care, we see them being pulled down in haste. And when St. Nick gets name checked, we see colorful lights being pulled off a Christmas tree and used to tie Santa Claus to a chair. Our narrator can't believe the real Santa exists and is in his house. And then we flashback to the day before Christmas. John, the workaholic father of the Wrigley family, is wrapping presents while Abby the mom, is burning cookies in the kitchen. The obnoxious genius sister Caitlin is upstairs reading an advanced trigonometry textbook. And a beloved little brother, Peter is aimless. I don't know why I said it like that. Peter.

Weirdly British Peter, is aimlessly roaming the halls. It's very strange.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Peter back in Hook Yeah, Peter.

[Will Friedle]

How about just Peter is roaming the hall, is prohibited from entering his big bro's room. And that's when we find out our narrator, Danny, who is playing a flight simulator video game, has a real Ferris Bueller kind of vibe to him. And then he realizes something. He's totally Neglected. It's Christmas Eve. He checks his wallet and he only has a dollar. As he tells his family he doesn't have enough money for presents, he narrates his own poem about having no money, disliking his dad, his sisters being too smart, and now he'll force his little brother to buy some of his old junk. And while Danny counts his manipulated brother's money, his parents are furious. Despite his no returns policy, Danny now must give Peter. That's how I'm gonna keep saying it. A full refund. Danny argues it's like their Uncle Nick says, he's just sharing the wealth. Uncle Nick is considered a bad role model slash con artist. And the mention of his name alone doesn't excite Danny's dad. But Danny defends Nick by calling him, quote unquote, the bomb, which in 2001 might be one of the first the bombs we've gotten. While they argue, Peter walks off to get a cookie jar. And in the kitchen, he ends up breaking it into a million little pieces, spilling tons of change on the floor. He was getting the money to give it to Danny. What a sweet little kid.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I know. Says it's money for family right now.

[Will Friedle]

Upstairs in his room, Danny looks at a picture of him and Uncle Nick and calls him the coolest person in the family. Though Peter thinks Danny is the coolest person in the family. And we might have a Best little brother award in a dcom. What a twist. Like a good little brother. Never thought we'd see that.

[Sabrina Bryant]

True.

[Will Friedle]

Danny bets Uncle Nick is somewhere making a big business deal right now. And then we get a Pod Meets World patented optical flip because Uncle Nick is actually blindfolded, tied to a chair and begging for mercy. And when he wrestles off the blindfold, we see it's just two young nerds yelling into a mug, claiming they were swindled by Nick's phony website, realfastdo.com, which, as our producers like to do, they actually check stuff out and is not currently a website. Okay, how did they get him tied to the chair without knowing who they were?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Number this is our first what?

[Will Friedle]

Okay, there's a lot of people tied to chairs. Where I didn't understand how they got tied to chairs.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Correct.

[Will Friedle]

And so we'll get to that. But this is the first ha. Of how did this guy get. Yeah. Okay, so Nick can't believe it, but these dorks, Bill and Harry, are furious about the $30,000 they lost and they want it back. Nick claims he made investments with the money and Then lost it all. And so the nerds threatened to pour hot cocoa on his beloved laptop, which he calls Lappy. But instead, they pass Nick off to their vice president of collections, an intimidating henchman named Elliot, who grabs the conman by the nose. If Nick doesn't return their money by Christmas morning, Elliot will hurt a lot more than just his nose. They untie him, and as soon as they leave, he's running down the fire escape to skip town, lappy in hand. But Elliot spots him leaving, and it becomes a chase to hide. Nick finds a building next to a long line of impatient children and parents waiting to take pictures with Santa. He goes through the line. He sees all the kids waiting. He knows all the kids are waiting. He hears the kids yelling, we want Santa Claus. So what does he do to escape unnoticed? He bumps into Santa, steals his clothes, and becomes Mr. Claus, because that guy was taking a dump in the bathroom. So he steals his costume, so now he's dressed like Santa. That's the worst way to escape all the people waiting for Santa.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Well, he was trying. It was like a disguise.

[Will Friedle]

But it's a disguise everyone's waiting for, right? It's. It was like. It was like, why? What? So I get why they had to do it, because they needed him to be in the Santa pants for the rest of the movie. But still, it was very strange. Yeah. So he's able to fool Elliot and jump on a bus. We are back at the Wrigley's. The family has gathered to read the actual visit from St. Nick when their doorbell rings. It's Uncle Nick, still dressed as Santa Danny. The kids are happy to see him, but John knows something's up. But before he can even question his brother, he's been called to the hospital. There's been a major outbreak of reindeer flu.

Of reindeer flu. Gonna say again?

[Sabrina Bryant]

I mean, I guess we didn't really. I had no idea what their occupation was.

[Will Friedle]

No, we had no idea what it was.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It was kind of like, oh, first of all, I mean, obviously, the reindeer flu thing, it was like, what?

[Will Friedle]

Absurdity, of course.

[Sabrina Bryant]

But it's like, oh, he's a doctor. And then it's like, oh, and she's a doctor, too.

[Will Friedle]

Like, they're all doctors.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Okay. All right.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. So I'm going to ask just a very simple question. Is it just a creative name? Are we supposed to believe it's real? What is reindeer flu Is.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I guess there's another one that comes on. And I actually was just looking into my notes, and I didn't write it down. It's something else that comes up later on. That was, like, a really weird situation, too.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I think it's. I think. Well, it's another reindeer flu. They talk about it again.

[Sabrina Bryant]

But anyway, it's another situation. Like reindeer flu.

[Will Friedle]

It is.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah. And I'm like, what are these? Like. And he said it's so nonchalant, like, oh, like the reindeer flu.

[Will Friedle]

Like, oh, like, yeah, we get it every year.

[Sabrina Bryant]

The common thing.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. That's why Rudolph's nose is red. It's because of reindeer flu. Because of reindeer and, you know, some.

So this Covid, like, emergency forces them to leave the kids with Uncle Nick, which terrifies John, of course. But Nick seems to be doing pretty well so far. He's now reading the poem as the kids argue about if Santa is even real. And Caitlyn's being a real twerp about it. She doesn't think it adds up. But Peter still believes, thanks to Danny. But it's like, dude, you know, your little brother still believes. Give the kid a break and let him believe in Santa Claus for a little. It's like, come on.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It's such a thing that parents do have to navigate at some point when older kids start to. It just actually happened with Monroe with an older kid. When right before we were going to Disneyland, and the older kid told her that those. That Cinderella wasn't really Cinderella. She has a wig on. And Jordan, I have never seen him get so upset about another little kid. He was like, she can't play with her anymore.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, no, that's me. You can't. Come on.

[Sabrina Bryant]

And it's her. It's her friend's older sister. And she's like, why does. Why haven't they talked to her about not, like, ruining the magic for the little kids?

[Will Friedle]

I remember.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I was like, I don't know. She's not our kid. We will know to do that with Monroe and Ledger. That's not our kid.

[Will Friedle]

Can't let her around that kid anymore, though. We can't let around that kid. Can't let her around that kid. Come on. That kid's bad news.

[Sabrina Bryant]

That's what he said.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. That kid's bad news. In trouble. I'm completely on Jordan's side with this one, by the way.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It's a horrible thing, like, but it is. Let your little sister, a little brother, live in the magic for a little bit longer.

[Will Friedle]

It's part. It's. It's a very specific part of your. Your life that changes when you find out that Santa isn't real. It really is. And I remember. I remember literally screaming and crying at the top of my lungs, but begging my parents to tell me because I wanted to know, is he real? Is he real? Is he real? I know he's not real.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Was it your brothers that were ruining it or just school everywhere?

[Will Friedle]

No, I just figured it out.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

It's kind of logistically impossible. So I was like, yeah, unless he's a wizard. And then if he was a wizard, he. Because those are real, he would be doing things.

[Sabrina Bryant]

My big fear is, is that the kids finding out that we're lying to them for so long. Like, how is that going to backfire?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, exactly.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I don't remember being pissed at my parents.

[Will Friedle]

My dad hated to have to tell me. We still talk about this story to this day. Like, it would crush me that I had to tell you because it's.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I was the youngest and that's the end of it.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Like, that's the end of it for them.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, that's the end. So until you get grandkids back and then it starts all over again. But anyway, reindeer flu, which I think is what I have right now.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah, it might be. It sounds like it.

[Will Friedle]

It does, right? Yeah. So she doesn't think it adds up. But Pete still believes, thanks to Danny. And before John and Abby leave, they send the kids off to bed. Even teenage Danny. And it's not even 9pm yet. But his dad does not want him hanging around with Nick. And now with the doctors gone, Nick goes to work on Lappy. He's trying to get a loan, but is immediately hacked by Elliot and the nerds. Their real time tracking his location. So Nick sends them a super virus that scrambles their hard drive and will mess with any computer within 50 miles. And that's when we look to the skies and hear something descending fast to crash on Earth. Then there's a loud thud and some footsteps on the roof. Danny shows up downstairs to investigate, and Nick assumes it is a huge squirrel. And that's when everything freezes. Tons of molecules that look like gray killer bees come flying out of the fireplace, eventually combining to reveal Santa Claus with a huge bag of gifts. The special effects aren't very good. So, I mean, let's be honest, the special effects aren't great.

[Sabrina Bryant]

They. Yeah, they were the budget. They were the special effects of this budget.

[Will Friedle]

It was.

[Sabrina Bryant]

But I will say that was a cool way to do it. It wasn't him shimming down the chimney. I thought it was like, creative way that I haven't seen before in a Disney movie of how Santa gets.

[Will Friedle]

I thought so, too.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It was creative to me. So I let it go. I agree it looked great, but I let it go.

[Will Friedle]

He's also a good movie version of Santa.

[Sabrina Bryant]

He's a great.

[Will Friedle]

He really is. He is played by Canadian actor Jefferson Mapen, who's best known as Fatty Rossiter in the movie Unforgiven. And I remember that role. He was great.

Oh, man, but he was great. Santa is talking to an elf named Albert in his earpiece and is led to lappy with uncle and nephew still frozen behind him. Yes, they are frozen. And we will get into that because. Anyway, Albert instructs him to put the virus in the computer trash, which apparently Santa had to use computers on his sleigh this year because the reindeer have the reindeer flu again.

[Sabrina Bryant]

This is real.

[Will Friedle]

So this is real now. This is an epidemic. This is something we're going to have to get another whole thing of whether we have to get shots or whatever because of reindeer flu.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Flu.

[Will Friedle]

But I. Here's. Okay, I get why they needed to do this because they needed to steal the sleigh and all that stuff. But I did not like some of the changes to Santa. I don't like Santa without his reindeer. The reindeer are an important part of Santa. So I. Even if it's one rogue reindeer, give me a reindeer. Okay? I don't like. I don't like this thing that flies itself. Because then why does he need the reindeer? Santa doesn't need the reindeer. He can just do this all.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It's like digitally.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it was. It's very strange.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Well, and it's strange too, because it's like 2001 when I don't feel like our Internet and all that stuff was really like that. Savvy.

[Will Friedle]

No, But I guess in Santaland it is. Also at one point he says in the movie, which freaked me out, he's like, I just should be lying on a beach somewhere letting one of the reindeer rub lotion on me.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I didn't get that.

[Will Friedle]

Why not, Mrs. Claus? Why wouldn't the line be Mrs. Claus rub somewhere? Yeah, well, one of the reindeer is rubbing lotion on him. And just. I still. I couldn't sleep last night. Cause the visual is too much for me.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I could sleep last night. I was wearing a red jump, like a red sweatshirt with red pants. Yesterday, out shopping for stuff, and this man called me Mrs. Claus. And that really bothered me. I was like.

Rude. Wow. He's like, oh, Let me guess, Mrs. Claus. And I was like, sir, excuse Me? Sir, I am not that old. Geez Louise.

[Will Friedle]

Mrs. Claus is timeless. She's not old. Yes, she is.

[Sabrina Bryant]

She is an old woman with gray hair and a round body.

[Will Friedle]

She's time. You know. You know all this Santa Claus, by the way, was invented by the Coca Cola Corporation. Have you actually read that?

[Sabrina Bryant]

No.

[Will Friedle]

The Santa Claus that we know, the big cheeks, the. The ruddy cheeks, the white beard, the red suit, all of that was invented in, like, the 20s by Coca Cola. There is not a single Santa Claus like that. Before the Coca Cola company invented it.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Was it like their advertisement or something?

[Will Friedle]

During Christmas, they wanted to know, they wanted to brand the holiday, and they wanted people to associate Coca Cola with the winter holiday. So they literally invented that Santa Claus that we now know.

[Eva Longoria]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

It's all. All invented by Big Soda. Thank you very much. Much.

[Eva Longoria]

This is Eva Longoria from Hungry for History with Eva Longoria and Maite Gomez Reon. Hi, everyone. Happy holidays. Let's talk about those two words about keeping the holidays happy. Because let's be honest, even the happiest season could use a boost. You've got to take a minute for yourself, a little me time, and refill those joy reserves. So there's still plenty left to share. Maybe that means taking a break from wrapping, planning, cooking, hosting to recharge with a refreshing Coca Cola. Ah, one sip and you're ready to hang more lights. Sip and recharge your jolly now. Because self care isn't selfish. It's necessary. Whether you're a holiday multitasker extraordinaire or the host with the most, or, I don't know, the actual Santa Claus, you. You deserve a moment to reset. So if things are getting a little too jingly jangly, take a breath, center yourself, have a Coke, and get back out there refreshed, radiant, and ready to slay. Yes, I did see how I did Santa's slay. You're welcome. Enjoy a Coca Cola refresh your holidays.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Hello.

[Will Friedle]

Hello. I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast smart talks with IBM. I recently sat down with IBM's chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, and I asked him, how can companies use AI to its fullest potential to create smarter business?

[Malcolm Gladwell]

My one advice to them, pick areas you can scale. Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side. For example, if anybody has more than 10% of what they had for customer service 10 years ago, they're already five years behind. If anybody is not using AI to make their developers who write software 30% more productive today, with the goal of being 70% more productive.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it. We say you can leverage what we did. We are happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change in the process. Because the biggest change is not technology. It's getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things.

[Will Friedle]

To listen to the full conversation, visit IBM.com smarttalks.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.

You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[Sabrina Bryant]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Pressure is coming down.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

This is Trainer Games.

[Will Friedle]

Watch it on prime video.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

Starting January 8th, come for the Black Friday seasonal savings. Stay for the award winning reporting for a limited time access to the Washington Post is just 99 cents. That's unlimited access to all of the posts for only 99 cents every four weeks. That's a great deal for the first year. After that it'll cost $12 every four weeks. You can cancel anytime.

[Sabrina Bryant]

But don't wait.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

This Black Friday seasonal offer won't be here for long. Go to washingtonpost.com iheart and grab this deal before it's gone. That's washingtonpost.com iheart com.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, now ready once again for the skies. Santa decides to start with the Wrigley house. While he's there, Peter and Caitlyn are on the nice list, but Danny's on the naughty list. He blames Nick, who's on the naughty list for life. Santa goes to his bag, picks up some tiny rat presents and leaves him under the tree. He this was brilliant to me, by the way. Yes, great, great idea for how Santa can do all this stuff. And then I made it. Even in my head, it was like if they did it nowadays, it's just a big bag of sand because every grain of sand is a present from around the world. So it's just the idea that they're tiny and you can leave them because then he could carry them all. Genius, genius, genius. He reveals a magical gold ball from his pocket, presses a button, and the tiny presents quickly inflate to regular size. Now, as genius as that idea is, the gold ball is really stupid because of course you can lose it. It should be a watch or something that's on Santa because you don't. You don't do. You don't have your most important things at all.

[Sabrina Bryant]

But yes, that makes sense but it looks.

[Will Friedle]

Which is what he does.

[Sabrina Bryant]

He lost it right along with it. Because I was so like.

[Will Friedle]

Nope.

[Sabrina Bryant]

At this point. That's what I said. I kind of went up and down. And, you know, at the beginning, I felt like this had so much steam because I loved.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryant]

These creative ideas of Santa that was not seen before.

[Will Friedle]

Brilliant.

[Sabrina Bryant]

So I let the ball go.

[Will Friedle]

I would have. I would have made it a thing that he wears on his wrist. And as Bryan Cranston is checking his pulse or it steps on his arm by accident, he makes the guy smaller. And then he realizes it, and he literally pulls it off of Santa's. Santa's arm. Because the idea that it's just something you can lose is really stupid.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Anyway, this is just. These are the way my brains work. So he pulls the ball from his pocket, presses a button, and the tiny presence quickly inflate to regular size. But as the big jolly man readies himself to leave, he drops the gold ball, accidentally releasing Nick and Danny from their spell.

This is some of. Not okay.

One of the easiest things to do in movies is freeze the frame so the characters don't move. These were actors that were just told to freeze. That are clearly sitting there and moving because it's bad. Freeze frame. Yeah, it's really bad. It's because it's just like. Just freeze the frame. Don't. Don't make the actors stand there for 40 seconds because they're shaking all over the place. Nobody looked frozen.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah. And how many takes did it take to even get what they have?

[Will Friedle]

I know.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Which is great.

[Will Friedle]

Terrible.

[Sabrina Bryant]

And so it's like. And at that point, for most of the time at least, he wasn't. The. Santa wasn't in frame with them.

[Will Friedle]

No. There's just so easily shoot around that. So it's. That's such an easy fix that it's weird that they didn't do that.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It is strange.

[Will Friedle]

It's just weird.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Very strange choice.

[Will Friedle]

So Nick and Danny are released from their spell. The two are scared by the sight of Santa, who tries to convince them that they're hallucinating. Santa tried to. Nice. Santa tried to fool them with the old look over there trick, but slips when he makes a run for it and knocks himself out. As he lays there on the floor completely still, Nick and Danny poke him with a stick and realize this is the real Santa. Danny grabs a golden ball, accidentally pressing the button and shrinking Nick to the size of a thumb. What? And when Danny presses the button again, Nick returns to normal height. So it's. I Guess you can do it with people, too. Danny quickly realizes an unconscious Santa on Christmas Eve can ruin everything. But Nick insists they do nothing. It's not their problem. And when Nick now accidentally hits the golden ball button, it freezes Danny. Wow. This thing is very powerful. When he tries to unfreeze his nephew, quote unquote, because nobody's actually frozen, they're shaking all over the place. He instead turns himself into floating molecules and floats out the chimney and into the sleigh on the roof. Nick has no idea what to do when he wakes up in Santa's mode of transportation, but figures this is the miracle he needed. He fidgets with the stick shift. Who. Anybody who jumps into a new vehicle that's perched precariously on a rooftop isn't gonna start pressing buttons. Sorry. It's like, what are you doing? It's like, I'm gonna grab this joystick and start pressing buttons. What are doing? You thinking? Yeah. He fidgets with the stick. Nothing happens. He presses the gold ball button once again, sending his molecules back into the house. He can't believe the possibilities. He unfreezes Danny and now suggests to his nephew they pick up the gauntlet and take over for comatose Santa. Since Danny is so good at flight video games, he can control the sleigh while Nick can deliver the presents. Danny, surprised his uncle changed his tune. But they shake hands and become heroes. Danny wonders about his brother and sister. They can't just leave them home alone. But Nick argues they aren't alone. Santa's there, even if he's unconscious. And just like that, they're off flying over the city in the sleigh. Okay, who tied him to the chair?

[Sabrina Bryant]

That's the next. What?

[Will Friedle]

Who lifted this giant man?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Man.

[Will Friedle]

Giant unconscious man.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yes. He's a big guy.

[Will Friedle]

He's a huge dude.

[Sabrina Bryant]

And all we have is a sister. That is. No, because it's.

[Will Friedle]

That's. It couldn't have been the two little kids.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Oh, they were sleeping still, right?

[Will Friedle]

Are we supposed to believe that they picked this man up and they. They put him on the chair, unconscious, this huge dude, and then tied him to the chair?

[Sabrina Bryant]

I.

[Will Friedle]

It's like, I didn't get that. I was like, who. Who tied him to the chair anyway?

[Sabrina Bryant]

And to use lights from the Christmas tree doesn't seem like a decision, like, an adult would make.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. I don't know. Any of it is. It was just these. Everyone's like, you're nitpicking. Yeah. It's literally my job. Nick is still in Santa's outfit. And suggests they start in the rich area of town, making up some excuse about lightening the sleigh's load. Back at the Wrigley house, Peter is awake and downstairs, he's very surprised when he sees a passed out Santa, but assumes it's his Uncle Nick. When he goes to pull off his beard, he realizes this isn't Uncle Nick at all and screams at the top of his lungs. Meanwhile, in a nearby mansion's roof, Nick realizes you can put your hand in Santa's bag and magically pull out presents. Brilliant. While inside the house, Uncle Santa has a completely different plan. He's frozen time as expected. But instead of delivering gifts, he's stealing expensive items and using the gold ball to shrink them into pocket size for travel. This guy's a D. Yeah. And when Nick Nick the D does return to the sleigh, Danny uses Santa's database and sees who's on the naughty list. And, well, it's him. Danny's on the naughty list. Nick doesn't care. Who is this Sanita Judge anyway? It's their turn to call the shots and decide who's naughty and who's not. Nice. Back at the Wrigleys, we return to the start of the movie where someone has tied Santa to the chair. Again, it's Peter, who's now woken up Caitlyn to help. And then Santa opens his eyes. So I don't know who tied him to the chair, but I can tell you even the four of them wouldn't have been able to move this dude.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah, he's so big.

[Will Friedle]

He explains, he's the real. Also, I don't know if you've ever tried to pick anybody up who's like, not like, passed out or unconscious. It's just dead weight. It's so difficult to do. Don't ask me how I know. And then Santa opens his eyes. He explains he's the real Santa and proves it by mentioning the one time Caitlyn cheated in the third grade. Now convinced and with Santa untied, Caitlyn notices Santa's sleigh is gone. Santa suggests someone decided to be charitable and help while he was incapacitated. But when he realizes it was Nick Wrigley, he knows this can't be good. He tries to communicate with the elves, but he needs the sleigh for that to work. And then he sees Lappy, since that's what brought him down to earth, he asks Caitlyn for help. And she has a plan. She'll hack into the sleigh and override the flight plan to bring it home, but she needs a stronger signal. So they're off to the computer shop with Santa driving terribly behind the wheel of mom's car, which also notice was bright red. Like Santa. Santa.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I did notice that too.

[Will Friedle]

Interesting. Now in a new rich family's home, Uncle Nick is stealing and shrinking stuff, but is surprised by Danny, who has now entered the house to change a naughty kid's gift. He also wonders why his uncle's taking so long using the ball. Danny delivers a punching bag because the naughty boy has been fighting at school and maybe he'll get his anger out on this instead of. Nick is impressed with Danny's thoughtfulness. He says when he was a kid, he always wanted a very specific, beautiful Jimi Hendrix guitar. He asked for it every year, but never got it. But his brother Danny's dad got everything he wanted. It was just naughty versus nice. But maybe if Danny was around back then, Nick would have gotten the guitar and he turned into something. So it was like he was noticing good things about his nephew.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And then before they leave, Danny notices Nick is a little lumpy, but makes nothing of it. At least for now, the real Santa and the Wrigley siblings have made a wrong turn and found themselves in a very sketchy alley. We hear rap music and see guys spray painting the walls, so we know that's trouble. Santa yells out and politely asks him to move, but when he honks, they don't seem very happy about it. The thugs surrounding the car. And they're quickly annoyed by his Santa ways. But weirdly, when Santa does get out of the car, exposing his full outfit and belly, the dozens of thugs are scared. So why would they be scared of him? First of all, they outnumber him.

[Sabrina Bryant]

But like, also, like, he's an old man. I mean, he's an old man dressed as Santa. What are you. What are you worried about?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. It's also what kind of hooligans are out spray painting at like midnight on Christmas Eve?

[Sabrina Bryant]

It's hooligans. Thugs. I believe that. I believe that.

[Will Friedle]

Really?

[Sabrina Bryant]

I just don't believe they'd be intimidated in any way by an older man dressed as Santa.

[Will Friedle]

But the thugs are prepared for a fight. And Santa says he didn't want to do this, but then gets into a praying mantis defensive position. But instead of brawling, Santa starts feverishly tickling the gang leader. Then defying gravity with parkour, which did not look good, and tickling the man even faster, resulting in an all out surrender. The leader realizes Santa is a mean tickler and offers him a spot in his gang because that's what every gang needs, is a good tickle guy.

But Santa's in a hurry, and so to help, the gang escorts the family to comp you smart in the low rider. While listening to rap music, Santa thanks Pablo and promises them good stocking stuffers inside the computer store, which is for no reason anyone can figure out whatsoever. Open in the middle of the night at like 2 o' clock in the morning or whatever it is on Christmas Eve.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Who would need to go in there that way?

[Will Friedle]

Location your mouse pad at 3am yeah. The store manager's obviously upset. Santa's apparently late. He was supposed to be hired as a Santa for the shop this afternoon, but that guy didn't show. Caitlyn doesn't care. She's looking for the computer. We're now back in the sleigh. Nick has shrunk a sports car and Danny suggests maybe stopping by a homeless shelter to do some charitable work. But Nick leads them to a nearby mansion. Even though they don't have kids, Nick continues to hide his real plans by saying his goal is to switch out their dinner and force them to know what the other side eats like. And even though this idea is terrible, Danny loves it. Back at the computer shop, Kaitlin and Santa are working with a high tech computer when an employee approaches Peter. Gonna keep saying it like that. Their lookout jumps into action. He blocks the man and asks for the bathroom or he'll pee in the aisle. And it works. Just as the computer boots up, Peter is the unsung hero of this movie. And when we return to the sleigh, Nick is loving life. He suggests they do it again next year, but Danny notes that Santa will obviously be back by then. But Nick explains head injuries can be serious. You never know. And then they arrive at the mansion, which is as big as Harry Potter's school. And as they approach the landing, they lose control of the sleigh. It's been commandeered and they're descending fast. It's Caitlin at CompuServe. She's steering them in circles and sending them back to her house. Danny thinks on his toes they should turn off the sleigh to reboot it and disconnect the hack. It might damage the hard drive, but Nick loves the idea. Once they shut it down, they start a free fall to the ground and can't restart it. By the way, this is how you fix all computer programs. Unplug it and plug it back in. As they panic, they get it to reboot just in time. And land in front of again what has to be Hogwarts. And now Santa and the kids are depressed outside the computer store, which, again, is still open. Caitlyn can't believe she had them locked in and then lost control. Santa realizes that Danny is helping his evil uncle and banishes him to the Naughty List forever. He may even tell the Easter Bunny about this, but Peter, his great little brother Peter tries to defend him, and that's becoming more and more difficult to do. Unfortunately, we're now back in the mansion and there's literally people in tuxedos and tiaras. Is this. Is this a weird Christmas Eve party or is this normal?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Weird Christmas Eve party.

[Will Friedle]

All right, good. I'm glad that wasn't just me.

[Sabrina Bryant]

The tiaras, I mean.

[Will Friedle]

Is that your Christmas tiara?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah, like, I, I, you know, I guess you could have kind of like a really fancy Christmas party, but it was the tiaras that were just like.

[Will Friedle]

Do you own a tiara? An actual tiara, not a fake one. Like, do you own, like, a nice tiara? Be honest. Come on, Sabrina.

[Sabrina Bryant]

No, I don't.

[Will Friedle]

You wouldn't sit in the hot tub eating steak with a tiara on.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Don't go back to the hot tub.

Do the hot tub again.

[Will Friedle]

Just checking.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Okay. No, I don't. I mean, I'm not gonna say I wouldn't want one.

[Will Friedle]

It's so funny. My wife says the same thing. She's like, God, tiaras are so stupid. But, I mean, if I were to have one.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I know. If you have an extra one, she can just, like, throw.

[Will Friedle]

Wear a tiara.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I don't know. I don't know. No, A lot of women, I mean, what? A lot of women wear them for their wedding.

[Will Friedle]

Like, they wear tiara at their wedding. Really?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah. I feel like sometimes, like, tiaras are, like, with, like, a, like, part of the veil. Like, it's like a beaded kind of tiara.

[Will Friedle]

Again, I haven't said tiara this much in my entire life, and now it just sounds weird.

[Sabrina Bryant]

No, but yeah. I mean, I would love to have a real one. Oh, my gosh, that'd be so cool. Just know where I'd wear it.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, you got a Christmas party. I guess. A Christmas party. Exactly. So, yes, now we're in the mansion. Nick has frozen a big high society party to steal some jewelry, eventually landing and swiping a massive diamond from Mrs. Vanderlip, who he also has kiss her cheek, which was weird. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Danny is trying out the fancy food as this terrible plan plan is taking place. Shrinking a plump turkey and replacing it with a store bought, underwhelming bird. But when he eventually walks out into the hallway, he stumbles on his uncle. Mesmerized by the diamond. He puts two and two together and calls him out for stealing stuff, using the gold ball to enlarge all the shrunken items in Santa's coat. And we get a very cool kind of effect here now with Nick balancing on top of a huge pile of things, including a Ferrari.

[Sabrina Bryant]

And a piano.

[Will Friedle]

And a piano. And everything else. Nick quickly tries to cover his tracks, saying he's collecting stuff for charity. But Danny shrinks the items back down and knows the truth. It's all been one big scam. Nick changed his tune, now pitting himself as a Robin Hood type, suggesting he cuts his nephew into the deal. But Danny says they're done, not just with Christmas, but their entire relationship. Danny makes his way to the sleigh and his uncle follows close behind. Nick admits he has a cash flow problem and says that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to fix it. He apologizes and pretends nothing is wrong. Then Danny demands they go back home to actually help Santa. And even though Nick pretends it's a good idea, he swipes the gold ball and stays at the mansion. Danny takes off in the sleigh and doesn't even say goodbye. Santa and the Wrigley siblings are on the couch back home, depressed, without any idea how to fix things. Santa doesn't even know how he'll get home. And that's when they hear a crash outside. Danny has returned. Caitlyn gets to work fixing the crash sleigh because for some reason now, Danny couldn't land it when he could the first time. Doesn't make any sense, but anyway. But she's not sure what she can help in time. Danny apologizes to Santa he wasn't trying to steal his sleigh. But Santa doesn't know what to believe. Danny also tries to defend Nick, claiming he was just in over his head. But Santa knows the truth. Nick is a scammer and Danny has been scammed. And that's when Caitlin finally admits defeat. The sleigh's hard drive is fried, and although the computer store was open at 11, it's now closed at 11:40 on the other side of town. Nick is waiting for the bus, coping with his actions. He thinks Danny will forget all about this in a week, especially when he sends him an expensive gift. But it's obvious that this is affecting him. And that's when the two nerds and Elliot from the beginning of the movie remember them. Yeah. Well, they pull up. They're looking for the tracked location of their scammer, the Wrigley house. Nick, who is still disguised as Santa, hides his face and lets them drive off, but quickly realizes the kids are now in danger. Then the bus arrives. Santa is having a mental breakdown. It's the first Christmas he'll ever miss. And now he's starting to spiral. Maybe he'll just retire to Florida and work at his tan. This is where he talks about Rudolph rubbing lotion.

He admits he's just depressed. Everything has gone wrong. Oh God, I'm seeing Rudolph and like a little like Italian kind of what? A little Speedo kind of thing.

[Sabrina Bryant]

And he's oh my gosh.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it's awful, it's awful. And I blame them.

[Sabrina Bryant]

All of our days, thank you.

[Will Friedle]

It's not me, it's them.

Yep, everything has gone wrong. And then the nerds pull into the driveway looking for Nick. Danny reveals he's not home, but the nerds don't believe him. They want in the house. And thug Elliot is willing to go through Santa to make it happen. So Santa steps up. But guess who isn't ticklish. Elliot. Uh oh, this is a problem. And just as Elliot starts cracking his knuckles, they're interrupted by Uncle Nick. He's now returned. And though he has very expensive items in his bag to pay off the debt, he's not handing them over. The stuff isn't his to give. Maybe he's learned something. He'll be returning it all to their rightful owners. And so Elliot slowly approaches for a butt kicking. But Nick is one step ahead of him and uses the gold ball to shrink him down to an action figure. I thought he was the next step. If it wasn't a decom was he was just going to crush him under his foot like a little anti. But he didn't. And with the golden ball's power exposed, the nerds and Elliot, now back to human size, leave in a hurry. Nick has saved everyone and hugs the kids. Even Santa is impressed when Nick gives him back the gold ball. Caitlyn is touched. But this doesn't fix the sleigh. Peter said it like that again suggests they use lappy. And though Nick is hesitant at first, he allows it and it works. Santa says this was a great first step to rehabilitation for Nick and will return all the stolen items for him. Santa also makes the Wrigley family promise to keep all this a secret. And he admits the whole naughty versus nice thing might not be as black and white as he first thought. And with that, Santa flies away. Later that night, when the Wrigley's parents return home from curing the reindeer flu, remember that Uncle Nick is asleep on the couch. And John admits he may have been wrong about his brother after all. He even calls the surprise visit his big present this Christmas. The next morning, Uncle Nick is awoken by the family rushing in to see their presents under the tree. He seems to appreciate the love he's seeing. And then Caitlin finds a present for Uncle Nick. It's the Jimi Hendrix guitar he always wanted. And the card reads, to my favorite naughty boy. Sorry for the delay, but better late than never. Love, Santa. The family, completely unaffected by a random gift being under the tree, encourages him to play it. But Nick reveals he won't be keeping it. He has to sell it off to pay his debts. But Danny says it's not like he's returning it today. Just play it while he can. So Nick puts it around his neck and begins to strum. He's terrible and out of tune at first, but then turns into Eddie Van Halen with a superstar riff of Jingle Bells. The family applause as Danny finally finishes that custom Christmas poem from the start of the movie. The overall thesis is to spend time with your family, whether you're naughty or nice. And merry Christmas, everyone. And that's our movie. Still don't know if I like it or not. I honestly don't.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Hey, it's Will Friedle and Sabrina Bryant.

[Will Friedle]

From the podcast Magical Rewind. And we have a very special guest on this week's episode. He's the mastermind behind some of your favorite movies like Hocus Pocus, Newsies, the Descendants, and of course, High School Musical. Yes, it is the one and only a living legend, director Kenny Ortega.

[Sabrina Bryant]

We sit down with Kenny to talk about his incredible career and the legacy he's created with his choreography and film.

[Will Friedle]

You seriously will not want to miss this one.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Listen to Magical rewind on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Eva Longoria]

Hi, it's Jenny Garth, host of the I Choose Me podcast. This week, I'm so excited to welcome my friend Gabrielle Carteris, the Andrea Zuckerman from Beverly Hills 90210 to the pod. We're choosing to get real.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I lied to the networks about my aging contracts they never have hired me if they had known my age.

[Eva Longoria]

We're choosing to be honest she looked.

[Sabrina Bryant]

At me and she said this business is about ass, which you have neither.

[Eva Longoria]

Of, and we're choosing to get nostalgic. Listen to I Choose me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is Eva Longoria from Hungry for History with Eva Longoria and Maite Gomez Rejon. Hi, everyone. Happy holidays. Let's talk about those two words about keeping the holidays happy. Because let's be honest, even the happiest season could use a boost. You've got to take a minute for yourself, a little me time, and refill those joy reserves. So there's still plenty left to share. Maybe that means taking a break from wrapping, planning, cooking, hosting to recharge with a refreshing Coca Cola.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Ah.

[Eva Longoria]

One sip and you're ready to hang more lights. Sip and recharge your jolly now. Because self care isn't selfish, it's necessary. Whether you're a holiday multitasker extraordinaire or the host with the most, or, I don't know, the actual Santa Claus, you deserve a moment to reset. So if things are getting a little too jingly jangly, take a breath, center yourself, have a Coke, and get back out there refreshed, radiant, and ready to slay. Yes, I did. See how I did Santa's slate. You're welcome. Enjoy a Coca Cola. Refresh your holidays.

[Will Friedle]

Hello.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Hello.

[Will Friedle]

I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast smart talks with IBM. I recently sat down with IBM's chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, and I asked him, how can companies use AI to its fullest potential to create smarter business?

[Malcolm Gladwell]

My one advice to them, Pick areas you can skim. Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side. For example, if anybody has more than 10% of what they had for customer service 10 years ago, they're already five years behind. If anybody is not using AI to make their developers, who write software 30% more productive today with the goal of being 70% more productive. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Wow.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it. We say you can leverage what we did. We are happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change in the process. Because the biggest change is not technology. It's getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things.

[Will Friedle]

To listen to the full conversation, visit IBM.com smart talks.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.

You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000 thousand dollars.

[Sabrina Bryant]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Pressure is coming down.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

This is Trainer games.

[Will Friedle]

Watch it on prime video.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

Starting January 8th, come for the Black Friday seasonal savings. Stay for the award winning reporting for a limited time. Access to the Washington Post is just 99 cents. That's unlimited access to all of the posts for only 99 cents every four weeks. That's a great deal for the first year. After that it'll cost $12 every four weeks. You can cancel anytime. But don't wait. This Black Friday seasonal offer won't be here for long. Go to washingtonpost.com iheart and grab this deal before it's gone. That's washingtonpost.com iheart.

[Will Friedle]

Final reviews. Let's do some real reviews, please. Here we go.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I have the five star.

[Will Friedle]

I'm very excited. And it's by our old friend Unamis. This is a great television film. I love the concept of Santa being able to stop time. Not only as a gimmick for the plot. It's also the only thing that could explain how Santa does everything he does in just one night. And it would explain why nobody sees him. I mean, that's it. That's how he does it. Thank you. Movie five stars. He's not wrong. Is not wrong.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It was great.

[Will Friedle]

What do you got, Sabrina?

[Sabrina Bryant]

I got the one star and this might be one of my favorite names usernames of that we've had.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryant]

One star review by you talking to me. 345.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Love it.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It's good. This movie puts the whole Disney company to shame. Santa is very soft, dull and stupid. Also, you may notice when the people are frozen, you can see them shaking.

[Eva Longoria]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Thank you.

[Sabrina Bryant]

A few bucks could edit that. You're talking to me. 345. Is not wrong.

[Will Friedle]

Is not wrong.

[Sabrina Bryant]

He's right. You could. It didn't make sense. Why did they do that?

[Will Friedle]

It didn't. And now we are approaching Sabrina's favorite part of the program.

[Sabrina Bryant]

That is of course, it's actually starting to become. Cause I'm getting better and better.

[Will Friedle]

You're loving it. We've got. I wonder what our record is at this point. But you've been killing it lately. But this one is called Poetry in Motion Pictures. Oh, it's a play on words. Twas the Night is a rare movie that was based on a poem, but it's not the only one. We'll be given a movie title and we'll have to guess if it was based on a poem or not. We got a 50. 50 shot here. And three out of five wins. All right, number one, was Little Women a poem or not? Sabrina?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Ugh. Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Is it a poem?

[Sabrina Bryant]

I thought.

[Will Friedle]

It's just a book.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I know it was a book, but did the book start with a poem? Who are we playing with?

[Will Friedle]

Oh, that's right. It's a good question. Who's with us today?

[Sabrina Bryant]

You got producer Michaela.

[Will Friedle]

Hey, Michaela. How are you?

[Sabrina Bryant]

He's. Good luck.

[Will Friedle]

All right, here we go. I. I think Little Women's just a book. I don't think it's a poem, really. I don't know.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Say poem.

[Will Friedle]

I'm gonna say book.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It's not a poem.

[Will Friedle]

Damn right. Number two, Braveheart, which is one of the funniest movies to watch because I love it so much, but it's one after another of just horrible problems in the movie. My new favorite one that I just spotted is there.

Scene in the woods, and they're all from Scotland in the 1300s. And literally in the background with all the actors, just a dude in a baseball hat just walks by, like, obviously somebody from the crew. It's great. Oh, you see airplanes in it. There's. It's just.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Are you serious?

[Will Friedle]

It is considered the. The most historically inaccurate film of all time. Like, to the point where kilts weren't even a thing at that point in. In Scotland. Oh, it's great. It's great. But. Yeah, no, they're wonderful. But anyway, Braveheart.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Based on a poem or poem.

[Will Friedle]

I think it is a poem. I think it's an episode about William Wallace. I think it is.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Will is correct. It is a poem.

[Will Friedle]

Yep. There you go.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Number three over here.

[Will Friedle]

Dangerous Liaisons.

Sure.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Poem.

[Will Friedle]

I think it's a book.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It is not a poem.

[Will Friedle]

You are. Oh, for three.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I can't even win at this point.

[Will Friedle]

Number four, Troy. Poem or not a poem.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Definitely a poem.

[Will Friedle]

It is a poem. It's based on the Iliad by Homer.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Correct.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. Number five, Mulan. Oh, I won, by the way, for the record, but number five, Mulan. Was Mulan a poem or not a poem?

[Sabrina Bryant]

I could see it being a poem.

[Will Friedle]

Because I think it's a poem too, actually.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah. Yes, you guys are correct.

[Will Friedle]

All right.

[Sabrina Bryant]

At least I didn't shine.

[Will Friedle]

I went five for five.

[Sabrina Bryant]

You did, Will.

[Will Friedle]

Wow.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Great.

[Will Friedle]

Patting myself on the back. Can we do a Sabrina Seas, please, Sabrina? See.

[Sabrina Bryant]

We can. I'm gonna start off with this one, and I feel kind of bad about it. This isn't necessarily a dig on, like, the acting, but we really didn't talk about Peter.

[Will Friedle]

I didn't, I didn't want to.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I, I, I'm not gonna talk about the acting. What I'm gonna say is I wish that they had actually. It felt, it felt a lot like.

Hocus Pocus where we talked about the wor. The, the voice coming out of the actor is not the character. This is, I felt the same situation. I wish, because I did like his character. I wish they actually cast somebody who was very young, like younger, because he.

[Will Friedle]

Was playing younger than that.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah, he was playing it so young. You know, he was like, the way he was, like, using his words and stuff felt like a little, little kid.

[Will Friedle]

Do you think that was an act, or do you think that was him? I think that was him.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Him.

[Will Friedle]

Because if that was an act, if that was an act, then he's a genius.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I thought he, that's, that was an act. I did. I was saying if they, or regardless if they liked how young his voice sounds, which would have been fine, but he'd been younger to me.

[Will Friedle]

I gotcha.

[Sabrina Bryant]

And so he threw me. Anytime he had a part in the movie. Kind of threw me off that I started to kind of go, yeah. It just didn't make sense.

[Will Friedle]

It also, I think being next to the other kids who were so good, so good. I mean, Josh was great. But again, I can't get over the girl who. I gotta find her name, the girl who played Caitlyn, because I kept going back to her, like, man, she's, she's damn good.

[Sabrina Bryant]

And I, it was crazy for me that she wasn't all over the channel. She was like a pure, perfect Disney kid.

[Will Friedle]

I agree. Brenda great, by the way, is her name Brenda great?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Brenda great. I bet you she had done more stuff on the channel.

[Will Friedle]

She's known for Twas the Night as Caitlyn, and she was in Tarzan 2 as Turkish.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Oh, okay. And that's it?

[Will Friedle]

I think so, yeah.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Oh, wow.

[Will Friedle]

But she was Disney. Yeah, she was a Disney kid.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Moving on. That Velcro wallet got me. Did you have one of those? And what color was it?

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yes. I don't even remember.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I had so many of them. I loved those things, those Velcro. Well, there was nothing better than the feel and the sound of a Velcro wallet. Before you pulled out your cash. You had it.

[Will Friedle]

Susan does not allow Velcro anywhere in the house. She thinks, thinks it's a cheat. So Velcro shoes or Velcro? She's like, no, no, we don't, we don't do Velcro. In this house. There's no Velcro.

[Sabrina Bryant]

That's. That's an interesting thing. I might need to. I might need to dive into her psyche.

I have to ask you about this because, by the way, I live with Velcro with my kids. I'm not tying their shoes.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, no. She's like, you're gonna learn that. She's like, kids. She's like, that's a cheat. You're gonna learn to tie your shoes. You're not gonna Velcro your shoes.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It's not for them. It's for me, not for them.

[Will Friedle]

But, yeah, she's one of those.

[Sabrina Bryant]

There's no. There's no way for me to even double knot. That ledger can't undo. Like, really, he is. So he'll go around the tree and.

[Will Friedle]

In the bunny hole or whatever it.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Is, he'll sit there in his car seat and just get it until he finally gets that thing out anyway. Okay. Flappy killed me. That name of his computer killed me. I just. I felt like it was like. I don't know. It gave me the.

[Will Friedle]

I know what you mean. I know what you mean. Because it's this. It's such a. It's such a basic trope.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Where it's like, hey, this is my favorite shoe, Shoey. Like, it's like, you know. Okay, that's. I get it. Like, they should have named it something else. Like Chuck. Like, something had nothing to do with anything.

[Sabrina Bryant]

So weird. Yes. But Laughy was like, I don't know. It just. I. Yeah. Oh. First of all, I loved the little Easter egg of Splash Mountain. Like, this isn't Splash Mountain.

[Will Friedle]

He didn't even hear that.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Yeah, he mentioned it at some point when they're in the sleigh, then the next thing happens, which was so weird. The soup in the hands. When he's got, like, the dinner and he's holding it in his hands while they're in it. And then the sleigh starts free falling.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Where does it go? Because he's holding on for dear life. And then he picked it back up. I thought you were. You would, like, fully be annoyed with that, because it was like, you can't lose it or you lose it forever. It's gone.

[Will Friedle]

It was weird. It was weird.

[Sabrina Bryant]

And then the.

Second to last thing is. Okay, I thought you were going to say this, too. The last time the, like, villain nerds, right? See him go, he's in a Santa suit, right? At a bus stop, and he jumps on the bus. That's the last time they see him, him.

Then the next time they see him, he's at a bus stop in a Santa suit. How were they not like.

[Will Friedle]

I don't think they know he's supposed to. Somewhere around just the one. The one villain was supposed to have seen him in the Santa suit, but he didn't see him get on the bus. I don't think. I think that's how they were trying to shoot it.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I think that that was like. No.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, no, I get it. It's still a stretch.

[Sabrina Bryant]

The last thing. What was with all the knuckle cracking at this movie?

[Will Friedle]

There was a lot of knuckle crack. Because that's how you show you're a bad guy.

[Sabrina Bryant]

That's how you show you're a bad guy. And I've never understood that.

[Will Friedle]

Why you crack your knuckles.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Knuckles tough. No, I don't crack my knuckles at all. No, not at all. She also. His little sister cracks her knuckles when she's getting serious about.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, because that's like the whole. That's like the. That's like the unprepared. Yes. There we go. I'm either gonna beat you up or.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I'm prepared to go. There was just so much. Too much. Anyway, that's it for Sabrina Sees.

[Will Friedle]

Well, thank you. And now it's time to rate our film. God, I don't even know how I'm gonna rate this movie. I don't know. I still don't know what I think. But anyway, let's do one to ten.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Let's make five the middle. Okay.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Hey, there you go. I like that one.

[Will Friedle]

We can do one to ten. Bomb Uncle Nicks. Sweetie DCOM little brothers. One to ten. Santa's taking a dump. Don't pick that one. One to ten. Reindeer flus.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Oh.

[Will Friedle]

Gray killer bees. Santa gang fights. One to ten. 24 hour computer shops. Except for the one hour that they needed to be open when it wasn't.

1 out of 10 Hogwarts homes or 1 out of 10 Vanderlip diamonds. What do you want to do?

[Sabrina Bryant]

Reindeer flu. We gotta do it. It's gotta be.

[Will Friedle]

It's gotta be.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Gotta be.

[Will Friedle]

I think I rated first last time.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I'm okay to go first this time.

[Will Friedle]

To you. What do you got?

[Sabrina Bryant]

So, like I said, I was so in. I love Christmas movies. I loved the creativity of something that I've never seen done before. As far as explaining how Santa actually can fly around the world and get all of the kids their presents for Christmas within such a short period. I loved that. And then it Again, like I said, it kind of just plateaued. And I feel like for me, it plateaued around the time we saw the Gangsters and the Low Ride. It was just kind of like, weird. Yeah. Now the choices are feeling weird. And then for sure, at the end, just the. He comes back. I guess I was, like, looking for, like, some fit. Fist throwing or something. I don't know. Like, there was, like, nothing really, like, that great about how the movie ended for me. And then really. Oh, that was one of the three. I didn't write it down. The guitar playing at the end. Weird. It. I thought I found it weird. I don't know if. Well, first of all, I wanted to ask you, did you feel like it was good guitar playing? Like, does he know how to play? Is that a thing? Like, he's a guitar guy?

[Will Friedle]

Yes, I guess.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Like, him being able to do that. That.

[Will Friedle]

But it didn't look good. The fake guitar playing didn't look good. It was a very odd choice.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Oh, I meant, like, that's what I was saying. Was it good? Did it look good? I don't know what a good fake. I don't know what good guitar playing looks like or not. I can't.

[Will Friedle]

Well, you do. You do know that the one we saw in Poof Point, that was bad guitar.

[Sabrina Bryant]

That was. I could tell that that was bad. This. I felt I.

[Will Friedle]

It was better than that.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I bought it.

[Will Friedle]

It's better than that.

[Sabrina Bryant]

It just seemed weird. Like I said, like, the end of the movie was just kind of like. Yeah, but it started off so strong, so. And because I feel like the actors that really did drive it for a lot of it. I'm gonna just sit on a 6.5 reindeer flues. It was not a great movie. It wasn't a terrible movie. It was just kind of like right in the middle for me.

[Will Friedle]

I think I'm gonna be kind of right there with you. I agree with everything you said. I love. I mean, love Bryan Cranston. Love the. Some of the lore they added to Santa Claus, to the character. I. I was cool. I do. Like, because again, if he hung out with them all night long, essentially Santa's there for like four or five hours.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

And can still get everybody in the world their gifts.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

Which, you know, it's midnight to me. Yeah. So I didn't. I mean, I guess he has to freeze time. I don't know. The. The. The. Not. Not actually freezing the frame and everybody shaking is just a strange choice.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Just a crazy choice.

[Will Friedle]

There was no real resolution. The movie Just kind of ends and he goes, maybe I won't steal anymore. Yeah, I'm gonna go a little lower than you, but not much. I'm gonna give this a six. Reindeer flues. I just. I didn't. I still don't know if I. I might've hated this movie. I don't know.

[Sabrina Bryant]

I don't think you hated it.

[Will Friedle]

I don't think so. Again, I can't. Had this been anyone but Bryan Cranston.

[Sabrina Bryant]

That's what I mean.

[Will Friedle]

Would have been. This would have been a four or three.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

But it's Bryan Cranston, so it's like I'm gonna. I'm gonna give three spots just because it's Bryan Cranston. And again, the. The other kids weren't bad. Josh was not bad. The. The Josh was good. The sister was great.

Yeah, it was. It just the. The story at times didn't make a whole lot of sense. But hey, it's Christmas, so I think a 6 and a 6.5 are pretty fair. Yeah. And now.

We get to announce our next movie, which I'm very, very excited about because it brings us somewhere we very rarely go. And that's current day. Yes, we're going to be watching. So our producers can't stand these people. They hate this trio. They hate this trio like you have never heard. But we're going to be watching. I'm lying, by the way. They are obsessed.

[Sabrina Bryant]

One has literally known this trio since the beginning of their careers and the other would do anything in the world to marry.

Any one of them even matter.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. By the way, we got. I'm. I'm guessing this is Michaela who wrote I'd 100% pick double teamed over this movie. And you know what? So would I. Oh, Double team was better than this movie. I don't even know what I rated. Double team. I don't even know what. I don't even remember what I rated.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Like a two.

[Will Friedle]

No, I didn't give it a two, but it was. I. Yes, this movie Double teams was better. Better than this movie. But it's Bryan Cranston put Bryan Cranston in double teamed. Oh, my God. Forget it. If he's both twins, he's both twins. Forget it. Best movie ever. Yes. But back to the movie. Yes, it's the 2025 giant holiday release. A very Jonas Christmas movie. This just dropped on Disney plus and marks the return of Nick, Joe and Kevin to the original Disney movie. And it's got a bigger budget than we used to. That is for Darn Sure. So go watch it and FA la la la la la la. Come back next week and we'll find out what we thought. But first we've got a pretty cool Park Hopper episode which we teased. And by teased I mean told you exactly who's coming on. We interviewed the first Jesse Pinkman of Twas the Night. It's Josh Zuckerman AKA Danny Wrigley. We talked all about his time working alongside Bryan Cranston and helping to save Christmas. Let's get a little preview of what you're in for.

Brian Krentz was probably already cast. Okay. And so probably said that I didn't meet but I didn't meet anyone. It wasn't like I did a chemistry read or anything. I'm pretty positive I met everyone and yeah, we definitely filmed in Toronto and probably had a table read it and that's where I met everyone and including. You know, I may have auditioned with Nick Castle though.

He was super cool and it was a lot of fun to talk to.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Him and we got to talk about so many of his projects.

[Will Friedle]

Oh my God. You, you won't be absolutely shocked to go and IMDb this guy, he's been in fre and everything. It's really amazing. But yes, that's going to be available on our dedicated feed this week. So all you have to do is search for a Magical rewind on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more info you can follow us at Magical Rewind Pod on the Instagram machine on your telephone cranker thing. You can go and do that now. Thanks everybody. Goodbye.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Bye.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.

You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave you here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[Sabrina Bryant]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Sabrina Bryant]

Pressure is coming down.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

This is Trainer Games.

[Will Friedle]

Watch it on prime video.

[Trainer Games Announcer]

Starting January 8th, come for the Black Friday seasonal savings. Stay for the award winning reporting for a limited time access to the Washington Post is just 99 cents. That's unlimited access to all of the posts for only 99 cents every four weeks. That's a great deal for the first year. After that it'll cost $12 every four weeks. You can cancel anytime. But don't wait. This Black Friday seasonal offer won't be here for long. Go to washingtonpost.com iheart and grab this deal before it's gone. That's washingtonpost.com iheart.

[Will Friedle]

And Doug here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds of with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

[Malcolm Gladwell]

Cut the camera.

[Will Friedle]

They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Affiliates Excludes Massachusetts. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. The holiday season can be exhausting with all the parties and the end of year celebrations, but don't forget to take care of yourself by stocking up on your favorite nutritional products. Now through December 30th 30th shop in store and online and save on items like Cliff Snack Bars, Luna Bars, Boost Nutritional Energy Drinks, Premier Protein Shakes, Z Bar Variety Packs, Open Nature Powder and Body Fortress Protein powder offers end December 30th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Sabrina Bryant]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.