Welcome to the Talking Disney Podcast Movie Night! We love movies here at the Talking Disney Podcast, we watched and talked about each of the Disney animated feature films on Podcast Episodes #51 ('The One That Started It All') through #124 ('Strange World Is The End Of Our Journey'). We are bringing some of that movie watching magic to the website. We will still talk about some movies in the podcast in the near future as well. Our goal is to watch one movie a week, share some details and publish our thoughts on Fridays. Some weeks we may have comments from all three hosts, sometimes two and sometimes just one.
The movies will be picked at random and for now to make it easier on us we will choose movies that are currently on Disney+.
So without further ado, here is our next Talking Disney Podcast Movie Night movie - ‘The Parent Trap' (1998).
Spoiler Warning - There may be spoilers ahead so if you haven’t seen the film check it out first. If you have seen it or don’t care about spoilers then by all means click “Read More >>”.
Hallie Parker, a hip Californian, and Annie James , a proper London miss (both played by Lindsay Lohan) are identical twin who don't even know each other exists - until they accidentally meet at summer camp. Now they're up to their freckles in schemes and dreams to switch places, get their parents (Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson) back together and have the family they've always wanted. (from Disney+)
Directed by Nancy Myers. Produced by Charles Shyer, Bruce A. Block (co-producer) and Julie B. Crane (Associate Producer). Written by Nancy Myers (Screenplay), Charles Shyer (Screenplay) and David Swift (original Screenplay). Cinematography by Dean Cundey. Music by Alan Silvestri. Starring Lindsay Lohan (Hallie Parker / Annie James), Dennis Quaid (Nick Parker), Natasha Richardson (Elizabeth James), Elaine Hendrix (Meredith Blake), Lisa Ann Walter (Chessy), Simon Kunz (Martin), Polly Holiday (Marva Kulp, Sr.), Maggie Wheeler (Marva Kulp, Jr.), Ronnie Stevens (Grandfather) and Joanna Barnes (Vicki Blake).
A remake of the 1961 film of the same name which was adapted from Erich Kastner's 1949 German novel, Lisa and Lottie (Das doppelte Lottchen). The film cost approximately $15 million to make and brought in $92.1 million. It grossed $11.1 in it's opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office behind 'Saving Private Ryan'. Released on VHS on December 8, 1998. A Blu-ray 20th Anniversary Edition was released on April 24, 2018 and the film was available on Disney+ on its launch day, November 12, 2019. This was Nancy Meyer's debut as a director and Lindsay Lohan's feature-film debut.
The soundtrack included, "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole, "Do You Believe in Magic" by The Lovin' Spoonful, "There She Goes" by The La's, "Top of the World" by Shonen Knife, "Here Comes the Sun" by Bob Khaleel, "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" by Linda Ronstadt, "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited, "Never Let You Go" by Jakaranda, "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood & The Destroyers, "The Happy Club" by Bob Geldof, "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" by Natalie Cole, "Dream Come True" by Ta-Gana, "Groovin" by Pato Banton & The Reggae Revolution, and "Let's Get Together" by Nobody's Angel.
Film Technical Specifications - Genre: Romance, Family, Comedy | Rating: PG | Runtime: 2 hours and 9 minutes 129 minutes) | Sound Mix: Dolby Digital | Color: Color (Technicolor) | Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1.
Jason's Thoughts
I do not remember seeing this film before, so I was excited when it popped up as our next Talking Disney Podcast Movie night film. I did remember a few scenes but that just could have been in passing or maybe from the trailer? Even with that excitement my expectations were not very high but at the end of the film I was pleasantly surprised. I thought Lindsay Lohan was excellent as Hallie Parker and Annie James in her feature film debut. I think her British accent was fairly spot on for such a young actress. She would go on to star in a couple more Disney feature films, including Freaky Friday (2003), Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004) and Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) which hopefully come up soon in movie night segment. The rest of the cast was also great, I don't think one bad or forgettable performance in the bunch. For fans of the television series Friends you may have recognized Janice who had a recurring spot on the show, Maggie Wheeler who played an assistant at the camp. This new version of 'The Parent Trap' didn't stray to far from the 1961 version and I think was very much respectful of the original and even gave some tiny little nods and references to the original. There were a few slight differences but overall very true to the original. Like I mentioned earlier, I was pleasantly surprised and I really enjoyed this film and 'The Parent Trap' gets a score of 92.50 (out of 100) from me.
James' Thoughts
I hadn’t seen this movie before this week and I honestly wasn’t too excited to see it. I have, of course, seen the original, since it seems like my sister had it on all the time when we were kids. Although I grew tired of the original as a kid, I have really learned to love it over the years and I think it’s a great movie. I wasn’t too sure about this version and have never made the effort to watch the remake. I was, however, surprised at how much I enjoyed watching this movie. I think Lindsay Lohan does a great job as do all the other actors/actresses. I really enjoyed the little nods to the original and I thought they did a great job of recreating the fun of the original film. I definitely liked this movie and will watch it again. The original version remains one of my favorites, but I think this one is great as well. On a scale of 0-100, I would give this movie a rating of 91. Watching this gives me hope for Freaky Friday - another movie I enjoyed as a kid but didn’t give a chance to the remake. Since it stars Lindsay also, I will have to give it a chance!
'The Parent Trap' Fun Facts
~ Actress Joanna Barnes played the wicked girlfriend in the original 1961 version of The Parent Trap and plays the mother of the wicked girlfriend in the 1998 version. In the 1998 version the wicked girlfriend's name is Meredith, rather than Vicky like in the original. Joanna Barnes' character, as the mother, in the this version is still named Vicki.
~ Both the original and remake are exactly two hours and nine minutes long.
Have you seen 'The Parent Trap?' What are your thoughts on the movie? Share in the comments below, we'd love to hear them!
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