The Greatest Showman & Captain Planet and the Planeteers

This week’s show sees the Dads in the swanky new surroundings of Project 52, with dreamboat/heart-throb Cris replacing that other fella who used to join us sometimes. The old guy, can't remember his name. Whilst he may lack his own offspring, and let's face it one of us more than compensates for him, Cris is a fan of the fissure so we break him in roughly by compiling a list of the Top 5 Cracks in movies.THE GREATEST SHOWMAN was a 2017 musical smash hit telling the story of P.T. Barnum, visionary showman and entrepreneur, who rose from poverty to create a worldwide sensation with his circus. Both my kids adored the film and soundtrack and I have too many happy memories intertwined with it to keep any kind of critical distance, so I only see the energetic choreography, dynamic camera work, old school charm of Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron and inspiring themes of embracing diversity, the pursuit of your dreams, overcoming adversity, the power of imagination and self-acceptance. Bad Dad Peter agrees, sharing a personal connection to the magic of the film with one of his many children whilst some of the Dads saw this as a problematic example of historical whitewashing, with the at times ruthless huckster Barnum reframed as a kindly progressive, completed by below average songs. So a strong recommend from everyone then. This week's kids review goes to show that a strong theme tune doesn't compensate for crude character designs, repetitive action sequences, one-dimensional characters based on lazy stereotypes and heavy-handed environmental messaging in 90's animated tv series CAPTAIN PLANET AND THE PLANETEERS, with the green-mulleted hero portrayed as a preachy, sanctimonious supermansplainer with all the charm and charisma of a compost heap. Well intentioned and with a cast including former Trekkers Whoopi Goldberg and LeVar Burton, its depressingly relevant themes can't excuse the fact that this light entertainment was light on any actual entertainment and therefore more likely to inspire environmental apathy than activism.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads