Author: Arlyn Murphy

Arlyn Reviews ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever’

Just in time for the holiday season, Disney+ has released a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid animated movie. Loosely based on the 2011 book Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever follows Greg on mischievous winter adventures with his best friend Rowley while also enjoying Christmas with his family. It may not be a direct adaptation of the book, but it keeps many of the same storylines and overall is another solid entry into the animated franchise.

With the movie debuting during the holiday season, it’s key that it touches on some traditional holiday themes. When a big snowstorm shuts everything down it forces Greg to spend time with his family at a time when he wants nothing more than to be away from them. Another one of Greg and Rowley’s typical dumb ideas leads to a series of events that brings Greg face-to-face with the driver of a broken snow plow. Their interaction leads Greg to realize that being with his family isn’t the worst thing in the world and he learns to start to cherish those moments.

(L-R): Manny (voiced by Gracen Newton), Frank Heffley (voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos), Susan (voiced by Erica Cerra), Greg (voiced by Wesley Kimmel) and Rodrick (voiced by Hunter Dillon) in Disney’s DIARY OF A WIMPY KID CHRISTMAS: CABIN FEVER, exclusively on Disney+. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

From a kid’s perspective, Christmas is too often all about presents and that’s definitely something Greg deals with in this movie. For most of the movie, Greg is obsessed with this year’s “best gift ever”: a gaming system. Also in typical kid fashion, Greg justifies his snooping and grows paranoid about his elf on the shelf observing his behavior. Greg’s obsessive behavior over the present ultimately leads Greg to learn the most important lessons about the holiday season, not everyone is as fortunate as him, and giving is better than receiving.

Author Jeff Kinney’s continued creative input into the movies allows him to tweak the storylines for the new medium and for modern times. Aimed at younger viewers, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever offers laughs and lessons wrapped up in a cute animated package delivered on Disney+.

About Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever

Get ready for the Wimpiest Christmas ever! The original animated adventure, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever, the latest animated movie based on Jeff Kinney’s wildly successful book series, will premiere December 8, 2023, exclusively on Disney+. The film is a hilarious and heartfelt holiday tale centered around everyone’s favorite disaster-prone middle school student.

The winter holidays are turning out to be especially stressful for Greg Heffley this year. After
accidentally damaging a snowplow while making a snowman with best friend Rowley Jefferson, Greg worries he won’t get the new video game console he so desperately wants for Christmas. To make matters worse, he gets snowed in with his family, including his grumpy older brother Rodrick and annoying younger brother Manny.

Directed by Luke Cormican (Teen Titans Go!) and written and produced by Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever features the voices of Wesley Kimmel (The Mandalorian), Spencer Howell (Ithaca), Chris Diamantopoulos (Beavis and Butt-Head), Erica Cerra (Power Rangers), and Hunter Dillon (Deadpool 2).

The Characters

(L-R): Manny (voiced by Gracen Newton), Frank Heffley (voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos), Susan (voiced by Erica Cerra) holding Elfrendo, Greg (voiced by Wesley Kimmel) and Rodrick (voiced by Hunter Dillon) in Disney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever, exclusively on Disney+. © 2023 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Wesley Kimmel (The Mandalorian) is the voice of Greg Heffley, the disaster-prone middle
school student having a stressful winter holiday. He is trying to be on his best behavior so he will get the new video game console he desperately wants for Christmas but gets into trouble with best friend Rowley Jefferson when they damage a snowplow while innocently building a snowman.

Spencer Howell (Ithaca) voices Rowley Jefferson, who enjoys spending the winter holidays
inside sipping hot cocoa and singing Christmas carols with his parents, eagerly anticipating the arrival of Santa Claus on the big night. He is an unwilling accomplice to Greg Heffley’s snowplow cover-up.

Erica Cerra (Power Rangers) is the voice of Greg Heffley’s mother, Susan, who lives for the
Christmas holiday season and all its traditions. She is happiest when the family can celebrate the Yuletide season together.

Chris Diamantopoulos (Beavis and Butt-Head) voices Frank, Greg Heffley’s father, who is so busy anticipating a massive winter snowstorm that he is missing out on the family’s holiday
traditions that are so important to his wife Susan.

Hunter Dillon (Deadpool 2) is the voice of Greg’s older brother, Rodrick Heffley, who is spending the winter holidays lazy and unmoving from the couch until he decides he will find the culprits wanted by the police so he can take the reward money for himself.

Lisa Ann Walter (Abbott Elementary) voices Gabby, who drives a snowplow to make extra
money for the holidays. She is a single mother to her son Tyler, who is the light of her life.

Elfriendo is a homemade doll from Susan Heffley’s childhood who keeps watch over children and reports any bad behavior to Santa and his elves at the North Pole.

The Filmmakers

Jeff Kinney (Writer/Producer) is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a
Wimpy Kid series and the Awesome Friendly Kid series. He is a six-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book and has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England, where he and his wife own a bookstore named An Unlikely Story.

Luke Cormican’s (Director) numerous animated credits include over 78 episodes of Teen Titans Go, on which he served as writer, producer, and director, as well as The Penguins of
Madagascar, Brandy and Mr. Whiskers, The Buzz on Maggie, and Ren and Stimpy Adult
Party Cartoon, among others. Cormican also served as head of story on Teen Titans Go to the Movies.

John Paesano (Composer) is a BAFTA-winning, Emmy®-nominated composer with a range of credits that include The Maze Runner film trilogy, both of PlayStation’s Spider-Man videogames, 50 episodes of Marvel’s Defenders and Daredevil and 100 episodes of
the How to Train Your Dragon series (for which he won an Annie Award).

https://youtu.be/A–mvyHQhcc

December 8, 2023
Arlyn Reviews ‘BAYMAX!’

I always am so excited when Disney releases a new project because they never fail to entertain me. Their latest project, BAYMAX! has done just that. In 2014 (when I was 6), Disney released Big Hero 6, a movie about a robot named Baymax and a group of heroes saving their city, San Fransokyo. Baymax started out as a personal healthcare companion and was designed to help people in need; however, he ended up being a superhero. BAYMAX! returns the character to his intended purpose and the result is one of the year’s best feel-good projects.

This show isn’t only hilarious it’s also very heartwarming which is one of the many aspects I like about it. Baymax is loveable here not only because he helps random people but also because he is very funny. As runs around San Fransokyo helping everyone, he heals not only their injuries but also helps them face their fears. And when Baymax finds himself in need of a helping hand, the show reminds us just how important good deeds can be.

Almost everything Disney produces seeks to teach a life lesson to the audience. This show is no different in that regard. At the forefront is the fact that if you are kind to others, others will be just as kind to you. Baymax helps all these people without them asking, and then they all help Baymax.

The series really shows who Baymax really is and it also shows us all who we could be if only we all had someone there for us like Baymax. It’s definitely the kind of show that needs to be out in the world and remind us all how important it is to be kind.

June 29, 2022
‘Ms. Marvel’ Episode 4 Primer

In episode 3 of Ms. Marvel, “Destined”, Kamala finds out more about her heritage and how the power inside of her works. After rescuing her from Damage Control at the end of the second episode, Kamran’s mom, Najma, fills Kamala about the true nature of her great-grandma, Aisha, who is a Djinn from the Noor Dimension. Najma and Aisha believed that a pair of bangles, one of which Kamala now wears, could return them and their exiled family back home. Najma and her family, the Clandestine, seem harmless and and to only want Kamala’s help in using the bangle to open a portal to the Noor Dimension.

While Kamala learns the truth about her heritage and asks Bruno to help her send the Clandestine home, her brother’s wedding takes center stage. Unfortunately, it turns out that Najma isn’t so trustworthy after all and quickly decides to make Kamala try to send them home, despite a warning from Bruno that it might be very dangerous. After being warned by Kamran that the Clandestine are on their way and that everyone at the wedding is in danger, Kamala pulls the fire alarm, essentially ruining the wedding. She does this to save everyone from getting hurt but it only hurts her relationship with her family. Kamala survives a fight with the Clandestine, which is interrupted when Damage Control shows us and takes them into custody. When she returns home, she is too afraid to tell her family that she is Night Light. At the very end of the episode, her Nani calls Kamala and says that she needs to come to Karachi right away. Nani insists this because she saw the same vision of a train that Kamala saw during her fight with Najma.

Why her Nani sees the same vision as her is pretty self-explanatory. She probably has the same powers as Kamala and the bangle is connected to them both. Kamala’s mom probably also has this power but she is hiding it from Kamala, just the same way she hid the bangle at first. If her mom does have the same power then we can assume that she has the same visions as well.

Arlyn’s Assumptions

In this next episode, I know that Kamala goes to Karachi. In order to get there, Kamala must tell her mom about everything that has happened, including her powers and the visions she is seeing. Either that, or she’s going to be sneaking out for one heck of a trip! It’s also going to be interesting to hear another side of Aisha’s story, this time from someone who seems like a little less of a villain than Najma. Will their stories match up? Almost definitely not, so I’m thinking this episode will reveal the truth about Aisha, the Clandestine and Kamala’s heritage.

The next episode of Ms. Marvel will stream on Disney+ tomorrow!

June 28, 2022
‘Ms. Marvel’ Episode 3 Primer

Episode 2 of Ms. Marvel, “Crushed”, was a very exciting episode. As Kamala comes to understand what her new powers can do, she learns from Bruno that her powers don’t come from the bangle, but that the bangle just triggers something already inside of her. Just as all that starts to come together, Kamala runs into the new kid at school named Kamran. Kamala starts crushing on Kamran immediately, making Bruno more than a little jealous.

The episode also makes good on the post-credit scene from the first episode that showed the Department of Damage Control taking an interest in Kamala. When Kamala saves a little boy, showcasing her superpowers once again, she not only gets the DODC’s attention again but also has a vision of a lady holding her hand out to her. At the very end of the episode, when Kamran helps Kamala escape the DODC, it’s revealed that this mysterious lady is actually Kamran’s mom.

Arlyn’s Assumptions

Why she was having visions about Kamran’s mom? Well, we don’t know but if I had to guess I think it might be because it is actually also Kamala’s great-grandmother, whose life story was at the center of much of Episode 2. It would be weird if she was just having visions about a random lady, but it would make sense that she would have visions about her if she had the bracelet before, too. In this next episode, I believe that her great-grandmother will explain everything to Kamala. She will help her understand her powers a little bit more and why she has been in her visions.

The next episode of Ms. Marvel will stream tomorrow!

June 21, 2022
‘Ms. Marvel’ Episode 2 Primer

This first episode of Ms. Marvel, “Generation Why”, was incredibly relatable to most teens. The first episode introduced Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Pakistani girl, who is obsessed with the superheroes that saved Earth, especially Carol Danvers. She lives a typical teenage life and has a loving- and hilarious-family. While her mother is very conservative and her father is a bit disconnected, they love her very much. Kamala has two best friends, Bruno and Nakia, and seems to spend most of her time at school (all the time really) with her head in the clouds, daydreaming about and doodling superheroes. Day to day, she lives a pretty ordinary life and goes mostly unnoticed.

That all begins to change quickly once Kamala finds this a bangle that her Grandma gifted her. Kamala and Bruno have been looking forward to AvengerCon and Kamala has spent a lot of effort on her Captain Marvel costume. She needs just one final piece of flair and the bangle is it! Unfortunately, while Kamala’s mother is fine with Kamala going to the Con, she has a problem with her costume: she thinks that it is too skimpy. Because of this, her mother refuses to let her go, so Kamala had to sneak off to the convention. During the convention, Kamala went on stage for a costume contest. As soon as she puts the bangle on, her powers start to show and she immediately has what’s maybe a vision (?) of what looks like hundreds of people walking in a crowd. On stage, her powers are totally unleashed and since she has no control of them, she accidentally puts one of the “cool kids” from her school in danger before saving her with a pretty cool “stretchy arm” that looks like her powers from the comics.

The big question is obviously why Kamala’s grandmother had a bangle that unlocked super powers just sitting around in a box of stuff. Does the bangle give Kamala the powers? Does the bangle activate powers Kamala already had? In the comics, Kamala was an Inhuman whose powers were activated accidentally. While she’s different in the show, it seems like that part could stay the same. It definitely feels like there’s some connection between the powers and Kamala’s heritage.

Arlyn’s Assumptions

The next episode will definitely see Kamala explore her powers a little more. I’m a teenage girl who loves Marvel movies and the heroes. If I suddenly had powers, I’d spend all kinds of time trying to figure out how they work and see what cool stuff I could do! I also think that she will be in quite some trouble for sneaking out to the convention.

Episode 2 of Ms. Marvel streams tomorrow on Disney Plus.

June 14, 2022
‘Moon Knight’ Finale Primer

Last week’s fifth episode, “Asylum”, didn’t do much to clear things up for me. The episode did quickly reveal that Marc and Steven were on a boat headed through the underworld on which they had to weigh their hearts to see if they were balanced enough to make it into The Field of Reeds. When the scale wouldn’t balance, they were forced to relive a series of rough memories that led Marc to create a second personality.

Steven was forced to relive some of Marc’s worst memories: the drowning of his brother, Randall. Marc’s mom went crazy, blaming Marc for it, and became hateful and abusive. Marc and Steven’s hopes that their trip through these memories would balance their scales were dashed, and the goddess Taweret’s ship kept taking them to their destination. The ship was boarded by a bunch of souls from the sands and a big fight followed that ended with Steven falling overboard and turning into stone. Losing Steven made Marc’s heart balance, allowing him to pass into the Field of Reeds. So he’s dead??!

Arlyn’s Assumptions

For the first time in a Marvel Studios series, I have no idea how it’s going to end. Marc will obviously have to make it back out of the Field of Reeds, free Khonshu, and reclaim his power as Moon Knight, but given where he left off and the fact that the other gods aren’t too fond of Khonshu, it’s hard to guess which one, if any, will help Marc return and stop Harrow. Marc has had some help along the way, if you remember though, so it’s possible that Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of many things, including fate, might return.

The season finale of Moon Knight streams tomorrow!

May 3, 2022
‘Moon Knight’ Episode 5 Primer

Episode 4 of Moon Knight, “The Tomb”, was illuminating to say the least. We learned so much, Including the fact that Ammut was trapped in Alexander The Great’s tomb, and Alexander once served as his avatar! Arthur really did a number on Marc, first revealing to Layla the Marc knew how her father died and then shooting Marc, which is when things REALLY got nuts. The last part of the episode took place inside a mental hospital where Marc and Steven were patients and Arthur was their…doctor? The big question in this episode is, is the hospital where Marc is taken in the afterlife or is this whole thing in Marc’s head? Like is he dead or did he make up all these scenarios?

In the hospital, we all the characters from the series return in different roles and more Easter eggs than we could count. There is also more evidence, maybe the best yet, of there being a third personality, when Marc gets Steven out of a tomb and then another tomb is seen, shaking as if someone on the inside is wanting to get out. Finally, the madness ends when Marc and Steven casually bump into a talking hippo. Not only does everything happening in the asylum causes Marc to call into question whether or not the events he’s experienced are real, but they also cause the audience to wonder the same thing.

Arlyn’s Assumptions

In the next episode I think that they will dive deeper into the whole hospital situation. There is still two episodes left so Marc can’t be dead…again…just yet! But without the help of Khonshu, how will Marc and Steven escape wherever it is they are? And even if they do, will it be in enough time to stop Harrow from freeing Ammut?

The next episode comes tomorrow!

April 26, 2022
‘Moon Knight’ Episode 4 Primer

Episode 3, “The Friendly Type”, really moved things along in the overall plot, including Arthur using the scarab to lead him to the site of Ammut’s tomb. At the behest of Khonshu, Marc tries to get the Ennead, a group of major Egyptian gods, to intervene with what Arthur is trying to do, but Arthur lies to them, leading the Ennead to warn Khonshu not to interfere further. To find the coordinates of the tomb, Khonshu turns back the sky to the night they locked Ammut away, angering the Ennead. As the episode ends, Khonshu is imprisoned, leaving Marc/Steven without his power.

Marc and Steven get way more comfortable with each other over the course of this episode, even willingly letting each other take over the body when it seems to serve them best. The episode also presents the clearest evidence that there might be a third personality within Marc’s mind. While interrogating a group of men, Marc is knocked out when Steven interferes with the questioning. When he wakes up, he’s in the middle of stabbing one of the men while another lies dead behind him. When Marc asks Steven what he’s done, he claims not to have done it either. In the comics there is another, more violent, personality named Jake. This could totally be his doing!

Arlyn’s Assumptions

In this next episode, I believe that they will end up finding Ammut’s tomb too late. I feel like Arthur will have already found it and dug it up. The other Egyptian gods have locked Khonshu away, which will obviously have a big impact on Marc and Steven seeing that Marc was just a corpse when Khonshu found him. I’m not sure how Marc survives. I have a bad feeling about this…

The next episode streams tomorrow!

April 19, 2022
‘Moon Knight’ Episode 3 Primer

Episode 2 really helped us get a better understanding of who Steven and Marc are. We learn that Marc is a mercenary who was killed and resurrected by Khonshu. As Steven learned more about Marc and how they are sharing a body, the two began to work together a little better. The episode also provides an opportunity to get to know more about what Arthur wanted. Arthur tells Marc that he used to be Khonshu’s avatar, but now he’s chosen to work for Ammut and dish out her brand of preemptive justice rather than Khonshu’s more traditional punishments. And so much of this episode dives deep down into Arthur’s plan of freeing Ammut, which involves the scarab that is a compass to her tomb.

Steven had a problem with the idea of punishing people before they commit their crimes which causes a huge fight leading up to a pretty cool reveal: Steven and Marc can each summon their own, different suits. Steven wears the “Mr. Knight” suit while Marc wears the traditional Moon Knight “armor” suit. We also learned way more about Layla, who used to be married to Marc and knows about the suit, but doesn’t know about Steven. When she first meets up with Steven, she thinks that it is just a cover for Marc.

Arlyn’s Assumptions

At the end of episode 2, Marc ended up in Egypt. Marc’s goal is to find the tomb of Ammut before Harrow has the chance. This is obviously going to cause an issue and they will most likely end up fighting. I feel like there will be more issues because Steven is not okay with being the man in the mirror, meaning they will most likely be fighting for control the whole time. There will also be a conflict between Marc and Layla, seeing that Marc just up and left her and never reached out.

The next episode streams tomorrow!

April 12, 2022
‘Moon Knight’ Episode 2 Primer

As someone who has never read the Moon Knight comics, I found the first episode to be puzzling. For people who are familiar with the comics, the character’s history of multiple personalities is something they bring into the show with them; I was finding out about his personalities as I was watching the show, and they didn’t always make it very clear about what is going on. By the time the episode was over. I was still confused as to which character is which, but the scene of Moon Knight standing over the jackal had me looking forward to more.

As puzzling as Steven Grant The Gift Shop Worker’s story is, Arthur Harrow’s story is very clear. He makes it very clear that he wants to free Ammut, the Egyptian goddess of the underworld, from imprisonment. Harrow’s desire has brought him into conflict with Grant, who happens to have a scarab that will help Arthur achieve his goal. Grant, as it turns out, serves as the avatar of another Egyptian god, Khonshu. As the episode draws to a close, Steven finds out that he is sharing a body with Mark, who seems pretty familiar with Khonshu. Mark convinces Steven to let him take control and then becomes Moon Knight, The Fist Of Khonshu.

It wasn’t until the bathroom scene that I really understood what had been happening through the course of the episode. I finally understood that when Steven would have his blackouts, Mark was coming out and helping him at dangerous times. Moving forward, it’s clear that Steven shares his consciousness with at least one other person, who seems to know a whole lot more about Harrow and this scarab.

Arlyn’s Assumptions

In this next episode I think that Steven is going to have to figure out what is happening and he is going to form a relationship with Mark. There is one other person he is going to have to come to know: Layla. Steven and Mark will have to become better friends in this episode in order to figure out just what’s up with Khonshu and how they can stop Harrow.

The next episode will stream tomorrow!

April 5, 2022