Holiday preview

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, December 8th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino offers a preview of what’s new in entertainment this December.

COLLIN GARBARINO: Summer might be the traditional season for blockbusters, but in the weeks leading up to Christmas, Hollywood rolls out the red carpet inviting all those families who’ve gotten together for the holidays to sit down and enjoy a movie together.

Granted, the movie magic is a little less shiny this Christmas since the actors’ strike pushed many of the biggest movies into next year. But there are some options coming to theaters and streaming that might pique your interest.

This weekend, fans of quirky crime shows can rejoice because after more than a decade, Tony Shalhoub returns as Adrian Monk. He’s an obsessive-compulsive detective who’s plagued by a thousand phobias.

DR. BELL: So how does that feel? To be working again?

MONK: Like riding a bicycle.

DR. BELL: Good. I’m glad to hear that.

MONK: I mean it’s terrifying.

Mr. Monk’s Last Case is a new movie debuting today on Peacock, and if you loved the original series you’ll enjoy this funny reunion episode of one of the most popular police procedurals.

Over in theaters, Hayao Miyazaki and his famed Studio Ghibli have a new animated feature, The Boy and the Heron. The movie is set during World War II. The young hero must travel from the Japanese countryside into a fantastical world in hopes of rescuing his mother. The Boy and the Heron feels like an old-school fairytale. You know, the kind that warns kids not to wander into the woods and where not everything ends as happily ever after as you would hope.

OLD MAN: This world that we’re in. It will only last one more day.

This film is rated PG-13 because there’s a little bit of blood and some cigarette smoking. Otherwise it’s family friendly, though little ones will probably find it too slow. The movie is beautifully animated and thought provoking. It calls into question whether imperfect humans can ever create a perfect world.

Looking ahead to next weekend, there are two new movies revisiting classic stories.

Netflix will debut Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, a sequel to 2000’s Chicken Run made by the claymation studio responsible for Wallace and Gromit.

ROCKY: You know, I’d say our little island paradise just got a little more… paradisier. Cock-a-doodle do!

In this age of super-slick digital animation, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget offers some nostalgic charm.

In theaters, the big movie arriving December 15th is Wonka starring Timonthy Chalamet. It’s a prequel to Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, telling the story of how Willy Wonka became a candy-making magician. The movie also stars an orange Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa.

OOMPA LOOMPA: What is it?

WONKA: Nothing.

OOMPA LOOMPA: Well it’s obviously something because you said, “Huh.”

WONKA: Forget it.

OOMPA LOOMPA: Very well.

The sets are fantastical and there will be singing and dancing.

The weekend before Christmas we’ll also get plenty of new movies. Migration is a PG-rated animated movie about a family of ducks who fly the wrong way for winter and end up in New York City. Migration was made by Universal’s Illumination Entertainment, which has been putting out some winning movies lately. The movie also features the voice of Awkwafina as a cranky pigeon. She always cracks me up, no matter what movie she’s in.

BABY DUCK: What’s duck a l’orange?

PIGEON: It’s you… with l’orange on top.

Coming out the same day is the big action movie of the holiday season, which you can probably skip.

In 2018, Aquaman made more than a billion dollars worldwide, but its sequel appears to be dead in the water. Warner Bros. is scrapping their comic-book movie universe and starting over from scratch in 2025. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the last drop in a failed franchise.

On Christmas Day, a couple of new movies come out. First, there’s the remake of The Color Purple, but it isn’t going to be like Steven Spielberg’s classic from 1985.

SHUG: [SINGING] Now that I’ve got your attention. Here’s what you men need to hear.

This version is a screen adaptation of the 2005 Broadway musical adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s classic from 1985. Be warned, this movie will have lots of singing. Movie musicals have become a polarizing subject, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that in the trailer Warner Bros. is hiding the fact that this version is a musical.

The other movie coming out Christmas Day worth looking into is The Boys in the Boat, directed by George Clooney. It’s one of those inspiring based-on-a-true-story sports movies.

COACH: The 8-man crew is the most difficult team sport in the world. The average human body is just not meant for such things. Most of you will not be chosen.

This one is about how despite the trials of the Great Depression, the University of Washington rowing team beat the odds to compete at the Berlin Olympics in 1939.

So, that’s what we have to look forward to for the rest of 2023. I hope you find something new or old to enjoy with your family this Christmas.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

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