Drills and Chills - October 2023 Exercise Thread

[Elizabeth Smith]

+30 minutes from a sweaty GrowwithJo video. My husband and I have a sort of tradition of watching one old Universal monster movie each weekend in October, but I may need to add some Disney Halloween movies to my watch list this month! Escape to Witch Mountain intrigues me.

50/500

 

[CarolineBowmanFan37]

+390

720/5000

 

[PollyannaMom]

25 minutes on the treadmill last night and a 50-minutes yoga class this morning brings me to 95/500,

and we haven tons more Blue on the board this morning -
Elizabeth Smith, CarolineBownmanFan37, me (PollynnaMom) and the TEAM!!

We're collectively at 1,435 minutes and 12% of goal!


Today's Disney Halloween movie is: The Watcher in the Woods, released October 24, 1980.


I'm not sure I've ever actually seen this one, but the article referenced above describes it as a definite departure from Disney's usual fare:
One of Walt Disney Productions most “un-Disney-like” films is the 1980’s The Watcher In the Woods, a mystery-horror release directed by John Nough. Filmed in England, which contributes an effective atmosphere to the spooky tale, Watcher revolves around two sisters who find themselves almost obsessed with the story of a missing girl in the ominous-looking woods that surround their English countryside home. It turns out the missing girl bears a striking resemblance to the oldest daughter (Johnson), according to the grandmother (Davis), who coincidentally is the owner of the house. Dark, brooding and ominous throughout, Watcher In the Woods is easily one of the “scariest” Disney films ever produced, remarkably so, since nearly all of the “violence” is implied, never seen.

And this one does appear to have been released just time for Halloween.
Here's the original Disney trailer:

And apparently, Lifetime re-made it in 2017:

 

[Raya]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a huge favorite here! If you ever go to MNSSHP they show it (along with Mr. Toad, Skeleton Dance, and Trick'or'Treat) on the Mickey's Philharmagic screen. We love to get some candy and relax in the air conditioning while we watch.

Decided to walk to the library to return a book instead of driving. It's strange how walking 7 to 10 miles a day at Disney is no big deal, but walking a mile at home is crazy talk. The 20 minute walk turned out to be lovely, even if there wasn't an e-ticket ride waiting at the end.

Raya - 45/400
week 1: 45/100

 

[sophy1996]

+165

195/1200

 

[livih99]

I'm in again for 600. Had another inspection shift last Sunday for 6 hours. Going to count 1/3 as exercise (+120) and +46 at the gym on Tuesday

166/600

 

[PollyannaMom]

Hello again, and congrats to Raya, sophy1996, and livih99!!!

Team total is 1,816/12,840 and 14%!!

Another dark one (that I'm almost sure I haven't seen) the next movie on the list is Something Wicked This Way Comes, released April 29, 1983:



"Something Wicked This Way Comes, a 1983 Walt Disney Productions release, is an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s same-named novel. Bradbury, one of the masters of modern science fiction, also wrote the screenplay. A traveling carnival comes to town, and like most small-town kids, Will and Jim can’t wait to go see everything the sideshows have to offer. And also, like many small-town kids, the boys are unable to control their enthusiasm and curiosity, so they sneak into the carnival and make some terrifying discoveries. The owner of the carnival is the aptly-named Mr. Dark, whose fancy is evilly seducing carnival-goers with the lure of fulfilling their darkest desires. The film is very dark, very un-Disney-like, and delves deeply into the age-old good vs. evil issue, and the powerful influence that greed can hold over the best of us."

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

130 minutes - horses and a 2 mile run

475/2400

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

+20 minutes of walking.
70/500

 

[PollyannaMom]

Nothing for me yesterday, but team totals are up to 1,966 and 15%!

We're back to animation with our next Disney movie - The Black Cauldron, released on July 24, 1985:



"Fantasy, magic, and fun are all brewed together in Disney’s legendary adventure The Black Cauldron. Whoever releases the mysterious Black Cauldron’s power will be invincible! The fearsome Horned King will do anything to possess it, but he is challenged by the most unlikely adversary: a young assistant pig keeper named Taran, who dreams of doing heroic deeds. With a motley team of the brave Princess Eilonwy, a minstrel named Fflewddur Fflam and Hen Wen, a remarkable pig who can predict the future, Taran embarks on a quest to stop the Black Cauldron’s evil once and for all. Will he have the courage to succeed?"


Here's some trivia from IMDb:

It was the first Disney animated film that was not a musical, and the first Disney to receive a PG rating.

It was the first Walt Disney movie to feature the "classic" Walt Disney Pictures logo: the white castle and text over a blue field (which would later be replaced by a new CGI logo in 2007).

The movie is loosely based upon the first two books in Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles ("The Book of Three" and "The Black Cauldron"). The Chronicles, in turn, are loosely based on the mythology of ancient Wales, a collection of tales known as the Mabinogion.

Hayley Mills was originally considered for the role of Princess Eilonwy, but she was ultimately voiced by Susan Sheridan.

Kellogg's released plastic models of eight of the characters free with their Corn Flakes cereal.

Click here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088814/trivia/ for more.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

+30 minutes from a really lovely walk this afternoon outside! Less than 80 degrees (79) outside, feeling the fall vibes incoming.
100/500

 

[Raya]

15 minutes walking at lunch yesterday and 20 minute walking after supper tonight. Funny story: Something Wicked This Way Comes is from a book by Ray Bradbury (of Fahrenheit 451' fame). I tried to read it for a spooky book club a few years back and it's crazy descriptive. Turns out he was paid by the word, so the book is deliberately long! Stick with the movie.

Raya - 80/400
week 1: 80/100

 

[PollyannaMom]

15 minutes for me (110/500) and the team stands at 2,046 and 16%

The next movie on the list is Return to OZ, released June 21, 1985:



Most people know the 1939 MGM Wizard of Oz film, but there were actually 14 books in L. Frank Baum's original series, and many more characters - some of whom appear in this film. Dorothy, this time played by Fairuza Balk, must return to rescue an Oz in trouble:

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

+40 minutes from another beautiful walk outside!!!
140/500

 

[ShannyMcB]

+75 for me not a bad start
75/345

Return to Oz TERRIFIED me as a child...I don't know if I could even watch now!

 

[CarolineBowmanFan37]

+1320 over the last few days.

2040/5000

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

345 minutes - horses and 5 mile run

820/2400

 

[PollyannaMom]

Good morning, all, and congrats to:
ShannyMcB, Elizabeth Smith, CarolineBowmanFan37, Twilight Sparkle, and the TEAM!!


Our next Halloween-y movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas, released October 29, 1993:



"...One of the first big-screen productions to make heavy use of stop motion animation, this musical fantasy is now hailed as the “Godfather” of the technique. The film has an eerie, unexplainable “feel” to it, and Burton’s sense of the macabre is evident...The musical soundtrack by Danny Elfman is concise and razor-sharp lyrically, reminiscent of the 1982 musical, Little Shop of Horrors..."

 

[sophy1996]

+165, including a nice walk for a local Humane Society. Fun to see all the different dogs! And to catch up with my friend. I invited her dog to come, and told her she could come as well if she wanted.

360/1200

 

[BonnieF]

A quiet weekend - one rainy day, and one gorgeous one! 30 minutes in the garden. It's almost ready for winter I'll getting a few steps in today- it's pumpkin and apple picking time! The fall chill has arrived, so warm cider this afternoon!
I can't believe I haven't seen a single one of the movies so far!!!!

140/500