... FOR "FRANCHISE FACE-OFFS (PART 8 - 'LETHAL WEAPON' EDITION)"

In almost every movie romance, there's a thing called the "meet cute," in which a boy and a girl are brought together in some deliberate comic fashion - often the result of an awkward social mishap or hilarious misunderstanding. This is, of course, just their first step toward falling in love: both characters usually come from opposite sides of the tracks, and will spend the rest of the plot bickering and flirting and generally getting on each other's nerves – until finally, at the end, they realize they are Made For Each Other.

Some noteworthy examples of this. In Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934), runaway heiress Claudette Colbert meets down-on-his-luck reporter Clark Gable while arguing over a seat on a bus. In Disney's One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1969), Pongo the dog "arranges" a meeting between humans Roger and Anita at the park (they argue for about two seconds before falling into a pond together). In Grease (1978), John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's "meet cute" doesn't actually occur on screen, but is recounted during a musical number instead ("She swam by me, she got a cramp" / "He went by me, got my suit damp"). And in 1993's Sleepless In Seattle, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan don't officially "meet cute" until movie's end – on top of the Empire State Building, no less, on Valentine's Day.

When it comes to the Buddy Film – which, you will recall, follows the same basic plot structure as the Romantic Comedy, minus the romance – the concept of "meet cute" still applies. Oh, the end result may turn out different, but the function of it is the same: to unite two characters with conflicting personalities in some fateful, memorable way, thus setting them at odds with each other for the rest of the movie. (This is otherwise known as "conflict.")

... FOR "CINEMA'S MOST NONSENSICAL SEQUELS"

My six-year-old daughter currently has three obsessions in life: her Littlest Pet Shop toys, these elaborate arts and crafts projects she likes to do all over the house (more specifically, she'll sit at the kitchen table with her scissors and crayons for hours on end, and it's the discarded pieces of trash that we find all over the house), and Disney's Princesses. The first two have only become part of her daily regimen within the last few years or so. The Princess thing, though... that's been ingrained since birth. It's a girl thing, I suppose – this fascination with tiaras and magic wands and big poofy dresses. And we're more than happy to indulge her, as long as Prince Charming keeps his distance.

So it wasn't a shock to find her glued to one of those Disney Princess Enchanted Tales on TV the other day. This one featured Aurora, Sleeping Beauty herself, who'd been left alone to govern the kingdom while the prince and the king went off to a weekend seminar or something. It didn't take long for Aurora to break into a musical number, a semi- elaborate bit called "Keys To The Kingdom," and as I listened, a thought entered my head: "Funny. This doesn't sound like Tchaikovsky at all."

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 27 - 'OLIVER & COMPANY' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: Oliver & Company (1988; based on Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)

The Plot: An orphaned kitten joins a gang of wild dogs and learns to survive on the streets of New York City; they run afoul of a vicious loan shark.

The Songs: "Once Upon A Time In New York City," "Why Should I Worry," "Streets Of Gold," "Perfect Isn't Easy," "Good Company"

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 26 - 'THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: The Great Mouse Detective (1986; based on the book series Basil Of Baker Street by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone)

The Plot: In Victorian London, a mouse with renowned deductive skills battles his arch-nemesis, a sewer rat intent on kidnapping the Queen.

The Songs: "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind," "Let Me Be Good To You," "Goodbye So Soon"

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 25 - 'THE BLACK CAULDRON' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: The Black Cauldron (1985; based on the five- part series The Chronicles Of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander)

The Plot: An assistant pig-keeper in medieval times races to find the mystical Black Cauldron, before evil-doers can use its unlimited powers to create an army of the undead.

The Songs: None (!)