Movies & More: 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Super Mario Bros', & 'Hailey's On It!' π₯
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The Ten News Season 3: Episode 64
In today's episode: π§ββοΈ What we're watching at The Ten News: Disney's, 'The Little Mermaid' and Ten'er Mia gives her review π₯ Ten'er Vincent shares his pros and cons of the Super Mario Bros movie ποΈ Actor, Gary Anthony Williams, of Disney's, 'Hailey's On It!' shares a sneak preview of the new show π Trivia with Tessa: Do you know how many tentacles Ursula the sea witch has?
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Links
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65672642
TRANSCRIPT:
Pamela Kirkland 00:02
Hey Ryan, did you get the tickets?
Ryan Willard 00:05
Not yet, Pamela.
Pamela Kirkland 00:07
How about now? Did you get them now?
Ryan Willard 00:10
No, but I just ordered waterproof socks. I'm not sure if I want to see the new Little Mermaid movie. The animated version is one of my favorite Disney films. So, I have really high expectations.
Pamela Kirkland 00:21
That's fair. You just have to go in with an open mind.
Ryan Willard 00:25
There's so many cool things to watch right now. I was thinking we could catch the Super Mario Brothers movie again while it's still in theaters.
Pamela Kirkland 00:33
Ryan, you've seen it seven times. It's my turn to choose. Plus, I already brought snacks.
Ryan Willard 00:41
Ah, okay, give me a sec. Ummm... give me those crunchy-mc-yum-yum's. Wanna start the show so we can go?.
Pamela Kirkland 00:52
I'm Pamela Kirkland.
Ryan Willard 00:54
And I'm Ryan Willard. It's Wednesday, May 31st.
Pamela Kirkland 00:58
This is The Ten News.
Sound Bit 01:02
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Pamela Kirkland 01:10
If you couldn't tell, I am so excited about the new Little Mermaid movie, which premiered on Friday, May 26th. The live action film is based on the animated version, which was adapted from a novel by Dutch author Hans Christian Andersen.
Ryan Willard 01:25
The live action film caused a stir of online controversy last year when the casting of the lead, Ariel, was announced to be 23-year-old Halle Bailey. Some people were upset that a non-white actor was cast to play the Little Mermaid but to me those concerns seem quite ridiculous since mermaids are literally mythical creatures that do not exist in real life. Or do they?
Pamela Kirkland 01:29
Whether mermaids exist or not, I think it's really cool that a person of color got to play such an iconic Disney character. After the trailer of the movie dropped, video reactions of black children watching the trailer flooded the internet and we got to see the joy and amazement on their faces after seeing a character on screen that looked like them.
Ryan Willard 02:09
Oh, I know that feeling. When I watched Shang Chi for the first time, I stood up and cried when I finally saw a superhero that looked like me.
Pamela Kirkland 02:16
Representation matters and the casting of Halle Bailey seems to be a smart choice. According to the Times in the UK, Bailey knocks all naysayers into place with an innately charismatic turn and full throttle vocal powers. And many other critics say she's the best part of the film.
Ryan Willard 02:37
Let's go to one of our Ten'ers, Mia to hear what she had to say about the film.
Ten'er 02:42
Hello, my name is Mia and I am 10 years old and in fourth grade. I thought it was a very good movie. It was very emotionally compelling. And there were points in the movie where everyone was interested, even the adults, which I thought was cool. And I thought that it was better than the first one because everyone likes to see their favorite movies as what it would look like in real life.
Ryan Willard 03:09
Thank you so much, Mia. We appreciate your thoughts! Hey, so Pamela doesn't know this but I also bought us tickets to Super Mario Bros so we can have a double feature. If you haven't seen it, one of our Ten'ers, Vincent is here to give you a quick little review of it.
Ten'er 03:34
The Super Mario movie the good and the bad. The Super Mario movie is a play on the original game, the Super Mario Bros. In the movie, two Plummer brothers, Mario and Luigi are transported to two different parts of a vast new world. Mario meets Princess Peach and goes to the island of Donkey Kong to raise an army against the villain Bowser. Leiji is captured by small men named Shai guys, and brought to Bowser who has recently acquired the powerful superstar. Bowser wants to rule the world with Princess Peach as his bride, and uses Luigi and the other prisoners as leverage to force Princess Peach into marriage. Mario and Luigi, along with their new friends teamed up to defeat Bowser and save both of their worlds. In my opinion, it was a very good movie. The animation was amazing. And they managed to incorporate all three games with Mario in them. Super Mario Bros, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart. There are only two things that I found were a bit off. First, there were a few instances in which they miss named creatures. One example was when they called the massive Banzai Bill fired by Bowser a bullet bill. The second was that they chose for the Mario brothers to not actually have an Italian accent. Well, that choice was likely mostly so that they could have Chris Pratt was Mario. I still would have loved to see the Italian brothers be a little more well, Italian. Yeah, my Personal favorite part of the movie was what Bowser saying his peaches song. It was a song about how much he loved Princess Peach. It was pure comedy to have Bowser show his tender side through a song. I also think it was genius idea to have Bowser be able to play piano. This is a wonderful film, and I would rate it as a 9/10.
Ryan Willard 05:19
Thank you, Vincent. I'm trying to find all the easter eggs in the Super Mario Bros movie. Did you catch any? If you caught any easter eggs leave us a voicemail at 877-TEN-NEWS and we might have you on the show!
Pamela Kirkland 05:40
Ryan, are you watching a TV show while doing our show?
Ryan Willard 05:46
I mean, kinda, yeah. Disney sent a sneak preview of their new show Hailey's On It! and one of the actors is stopping by. Gary Anthony!
Pamela Kirkland 05:55
Gray Anthony Williams is coming by!?
Ryan Willard 05:58
Yeah, that's him. From Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur and Lion Guard? Yeah, I'm gonna go talk to him so you don't spontaneously combust with excitement. All right, Ten'ers. I am here with the man, the myth, the legend. Sir, please tell us who you are, where you're from, and what it is that you do.
Gary Anthony Williams 06:23
My name is Gary Anthony Williams. I'm from a little town in Georgia called Fayetteville. I'm an actor. And I'm a voice actor. I do cartoon voices for a living. I get to stay home and make funny sounds with my mouth for a living.
Ryan Willard 06:44
You basically have my dream job, which we're going to dive into in a little bit. But particularly, there's a show called Hailey's On It! and it's premiering on the Disney Channel. Is it June 8th, I believe?
Gary Anthony Williams 06:55
June 8th on the Disney Channel, and then it's streaming the day after!
Ryan Willard 07:00
Can you tell me what the show is about and what your role on it is like?
Gary Anthony Williams 07:05
So, the show is called Hailey's On It! It's about this teenage girl Hailey Banks who's played by this actress, AuliΚ»i Cravalho. And she's this young girl who, when she was about in the first grade, she wrote up this whole list of everything she ever wanted to accomplish, like, right every right at the theme park, like just all kinds of crazy stuff, some just wacky, and some not. And so now that she's a teenager, someone has come from the future and told her that your list saved the world. And you have to make sure now as a teenager, to cross off every item on this list that you've been making all your life, and that will save the world. So it's pretty much about conquering your fears, not just facing them, but conquering your fears. I play this little character, he's this cute little teddy bear looking guy. His name is Beta. He's actually from the future. He's the single most advanced AI in the universe, she kind of took some robotic parts and these old stuffed animals and she made a teddy bear that she put his the phone in. So now it's this little cute teddy bear walking around who's just kind of sassy, and grumpy.
Ryan Willard 08:22
What is something from the show that's from the future that you wish you had today?
Gary Anthony Williams 08:29
One thing I would love is basically is how beta got there is just that whole idea of time traveling. Like that, to me is just the ultimate of being able to be at a different point in time where there is forward or backwards. That would be amazing to see. Or if I could go back just a couple of weeks ago, and plant my peas in my garden sooner before it got too hot.
Ryan Willard 08:57
If Hailey's on it is about facing your fears, what are some of your biggest fears? And how do you overcome them?
Gary Anthony Williams 09:05
I used to have a horrible fear of spiders. One day, there was a spider that had an egg sack outside my kitchen window and I thought I'm just going to watch the babies be born and then I'll realize this is nature and it's going to be fine. And I watched this little egg sack turn from this little tiny white egg sack to this big dark bubbling egg sack and then I watched all the spider start coming out and that did not work and did not help me get over it.
Ryan Willard 09:33
I got scared just hearing that, Gary.
Gary Anthony Williams 09:36
It was a horror movie. But what did help me get over my fear and I didn't even realize it until the next day. So I was writing a movie about spiders and I was researching spiders all day and it was like oh wow, there's these things called homing spiders, which means that you could put them like five miles away from their home and they'll find their way back home. All spiders can do it like within a few feet. But these are special. They can do it, you know, five miles away, they'll find their way back home by reading all these things about, you know, some of them have six eyes, some have eight eyes. And then the next day I saw a spider at my house. And for the first time I didn't get that weirded out. Oh, it's gonna get me no matter where I run. It was just because I did so much research on them.
Ryan Willard 10:21
So, basically, researching and learning about things can help you overcome whatever fears you might have?
Gary Anthony Williams 10:27
It did help me but also don't forget, I'm an AI so that really did help me.
Ryan Willard 10:38
The things that you've already done. They're like Ninja Turtles Out of the Shadows. You're bebop, you're on one of my favorite shows of this year Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Rick and Morty, Doc McStuffins, the Doondocks, SpongeBob SquarePants? It's insane.
Gary Anthony Williams 10:54
I'm doing a new Sponge, there's a new SpongeBob. A spin, the Patrick Star show. So every time in the Patrick Star Show whenever they go to a new job and they have a new boss. I'm always the same guy. I'm always their boss that, "Oh, you bumbling children." I'm always that guy. wherever they go. It's fun, man. Voiceover has been so much fun. And here's here's a little lesson for all the young people out there. And young best, that's anyone who is under 81 years old, once you're 82, you're an adult. Before that, you're young. I did not try to be an actor. That is something you should all know. I was. I was in high school. And I tried to sign up for a class to learn how to work the lights and stage operations, and a computer mistake put me in an acting class. And I got in the acting class. And the first class was all about doing mime. And I thought, well, this looks silly. And then I did it. And I was like, Well, that was fun. And then so I was kind of lazy and having a good time. So I stayed in the class. And that's literally how I first started becoming an actor from a computer mistake. Let those mistakes happen and take advantage of them. So if you have something that's your passion, and if you have something that really brings you joy, go for it. Don't let people tell you that can't do it. Because none of that matters to me.
Ryan Willard 12:27
So, don't let anyone tell you what you can't do?
Gary Anthony Williams 12:30
No, if it brings you joy, and you're not hurting a single person around you. And it really is something that makes you happy. And it's fun for you. Go do that thing. Go get it. Get it.
Ryan Willard 12:43
I love that. That's great advice. Thank you. And you mentioned something that I love. Kindness is cool, right? But what should a kid do when it's hard to be kind or if someone's not being kind to you?
Gary Anthony Williams 12:56
I taught my son years ago, and I have to remind myself of this when I remember he was playing with a bunch of friends one time and he got really upset. And I was like, take a breath and go step away from everything, and then go get a new perspective on it. That's what I still do. If something is really upsetting to me. I, I take a breath and I tried to step away from it. I just tried to step away. And always i i genuinely like people. I like meeting people. I like talking to people. Because like I said earlier, I like people who do things I don't do. And I like the different perspective of people. So I definitely look for the best stuff out of out of everybody. I look for I look for stuff I like instead of stuff I don't like I can always find something I don't like. But I always look for the things that I do like in people.
Ryan Willard 13:52
Thank you so much, Gary. You're welcome.
Pamela Kirkland 13:55
Thanks, Gary. You are an absolute legend. And we're so glad you stopped by.
Ryan Willard 14:00
Ten'ers, you can hear Gary Anthony Williams in Hailey's On It! on Disney+ on June 9th.
Tessa Flannery 14:14
Welcome to the trivia room.
Gary Anthony Williams 14:16
Hello, Tessa. How are you doing?
Tessa Flannery 14:19
Hi, Gary. It's an honor to have you on the show. I know you play an AI on Hailey's on it and always have all the answers. But are you ready to hop on up on the trivia throne for today's Little Mermaid trivia question?
Gary Anthony Williams 14:34
Okay, first of all, I'm wearing my trivia throne hopping up pants. Let's do this, let's mermaid this.
Sound Bit 14:46
What is going on here?
Tessa Flannery 14:55
In the original 1989 animated film, The Little Mermaid, Ursula, the sea witch is 50% human, 50% octopus, and 100% evil. But how many tentacles does Ursula have? Is it a) 6, b) 8, or c) 10? Ten'ers, did you guess it? Gary, what's your answer?
Gary Anthony Williams 15:18
The answer is simple. I can best answer this in a rhyme. Ursula, Ursula, who's always in the mix, her number of tentacles, let us all say six.
Tessa Flannery 15:32
Ah! The answer is A! 6 tentacles are all that Disney animators could afford to give Ursula. It took too long and cost too much to animate 8 tentacles, which is how many a real octopus has. In fact, the animators were so busy drawing Little Mermaid that they hired an outside company to draw all the underwater bubbles. Each one is unique. Plus, if you count Ursula's human arms, she does have eight limbs total just like an octopus.
Gary Anthony Williams 16:04
Exactly. That's how they got us. I was ready to trivia the trivia out of that trivia.
Tessa Flannery 16:11
Ten'ers, do you want to sit on the trivia throne and share your trivia knowledge? Visit thetennews.com/contact to get in touch and we might have you on the show.
Pamela Kirkland 16:22
Okay, Ry. I have to say, I dug Vincent's Super Mario Brothers review, and I'm down to finally see it.
Ryan Willard 16:30
Great, because I got tickets for Super Mario Bros right after The Little Mermaid. Is it about to be a double feature day? Yep. Right after we give Ten News snaps to one of our listeners. Time for Ten News snaps.
Pamela Kirkland 16:51
We got shouted out by instagrammer: abrooklynbabe, who homeschools her kids, Dexter and Dakota, and they listen to the Ten News each week as part of their curriculum!
Ryan Willard 17:01
Thank you, Dakota and Dexter, I hope your teacher mom gives you both extra recess this week! And thanks for listening to The Ten News! Ten Things You Need to Know drops every Tuesday and our in-depth reports drop every Wednesday. But if you want some bonus content, you could join the Tenβers Club on our website or on Apple Podcasts.
Pamela Kirkland 17:18
βThe Ten Newsβ is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts.
Ryan Willard 17:21
The Ten News creative team is singing βPart of Your Worldβ and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Logan DeYoung and Tessa Flannery. Big thanks to our Tenβers: Vincent, and Mia for contributing to this episode!
Pamela Kirkland 17:46
I'm Pamela Kirkland.
Ryan Willard 17:48
And, Iβm Ryan Willard. Thanks for listening to The Ten News.
