Wassail Wassail Wassail! Christmas is almost upon us, and we’ve got a gift of a guest for you this week: Barry Jenkins, AKA Mr. Moonlight. He chats to Simon about ‘Mufasa’, the origin story for Simba’s father and the long-awaited prequel to 2016’s live action animation Lion King. When a flood washes the cub-Mufasa away from his homeland and parents, he finds himself an outsider in an altogether new territory—where he stumbles across young lion Taka and begins a life-changing new journey to becoming the King of the Pride Lands we all know and love. Simon asks the Oscar winning indie director how he ended up helming this huge Disney musical, and what he’s learned from the four-year journey to its release.

We’ll hear Mark’s take on ‘Mufasa’ too, along with reviews of two more animation releases this week. We’ve got ‘Sonic 3’, where the speedy blue hedgehog and friends face new adversary Shadow—and Aardman’s Christmas gift to us all, the new Wallace & Gromit adventure ‘Vengeance Most Fowl’. The nation’s favourite plasticine pair are up against their old glove-headed adversary Feathers McGraw in this noirish stop-motion treat. You can hear Mark and Simon in conversation with co-directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham in last week’s episode, recorded live at our Christmas Spectacular.

Plus one more review of ‘Alien Onstage’—a gloriously oddball documentary about a group of Dorset bus drivers creating a theatrical version of the 1979 sci-fi film classic. We absolutely promise this is the wholesome if slightly madcap holiday viewing you didn’t know you needed—but you really, really do.

Top correspondence from you all as usual—including this year’s bespoke Christmas wassail number – don’t miss it!

Timecodes (for Vanguardistas listening ad-free):

Review: Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – 08:13

Review: Alien on Stage – 58:09

Review: Sonic The Hedgehog 3 – 52:59

Interview: Barry Jenkins – 26:10

And normally this is just for the Vanguardistas, but as we’re feeling festive – here are 50 Christmas TV films of the holidays for everyone:

WATCHLIST: FREE FESTIVE FIFTY

1. Easter Parade – December 23, 9.25am BBC TWO

2. Meet Me in St Louis – December 23, 11.05am BBC TWO

3. Coco – December 23, 3.15pm BBC ONE

4. Ghostbusters (1984) – December 23, 4.50pm BBC ONE

5. Chicken Run – December 24, 10am BBC ONE

6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind – December 24, 11.25am CHANNEL 4

7. A Christmas Carol (1984) – December 24, 2.10pm CHANNEL 4

8. White Christmas – December 24, 2.15pm BBC TWO

9. Moana – December 24, 2.20pm BBC ONE

10. It's a Wonderful Life – December 24, 2.30pm ITV

11. The Snowman - Christmas Eve – 3pm CHANNEL 4

12. Shrek – December 24, 3.55pm BBC ONE

13. Home Alone – December 24, 6.05pm CHANNEL 4

14. Beetlejuice – December 24, 10.45pm BBC TWO

15. The Rocky Horror Picture Show – December 25, 00.15am BBC TWO

16. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – December 25, 6.10pm BBC ONE

17. Toy Story 3 – December 25, 11.20am BBC ONE

18. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – December 25, 3.10pm ITV

19. North by Northwest – December 25, 5.05pm BBC TWO

20. On Her Majesty's Secret Service – December 26, 9.25am ITV

For the remaining films on the list, go to 33:10 in Take 2 and listen for Mark's pick and reaction as well!

You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

< Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices