Totally Minnie

Hello & welcome back.  Today, I'm taking a look at a special from 1988 that well let's just say that it captures the '80s and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.   

The Plot

Okay, first off the title is a lie.   Minnie isn't the star. She's not even the co-star.  At best, she's a supporting character in this special.   Which this special can be summed up in two words, nerd makeover.   Yeah,  and really going beyond that the way this special works doesn't make sense to me.  The nerd makeover isn't done in a malice fashion and Minnie and the mentor played by Suzanne Somers do come across as genuinely wanting to help and I wish this had been expanded upon more because as it stands, this special's plot served no purpose as it was just a special showcasing the music of the '80s set to clips from classic Disney.   Now as I said this special wreak of the '80s but it's hard to show in a text blog.  Okay before I forget most of the special takes place at a place called Minnie's Hip School where you can learn to be hip. So, yeah take that for what it is. 

Characters

Now I won't be breaking this down any further as there are really only three characters to focus on here.

Maxwell Dweeb played by Robert Carradine 

Now as I was saying  our main character was most certainly a stereotypical nerd.  It even comes down to his name.  I mean his last name is Dweeb.  Now it's never said in the special but that is how it's listed in the credits.   Now Maxwell seems like a nice enough guy if a little clumsy, who while not anti-social didn't know how to act around women and with help from the Suzanne Somers character and Minnie,  we saw him become a better person in that regard.   Now I actually have no problem with Maxwell learning how to act around ladies but I think the makeover takes away from the overall message because by the end of the special, he no longer looks like a nerd and they of course make him look handsome.  I just have to ask what is wrong with being nerdy. Because you can't be a nerd and get the girl.  Now another big issue I have with Maxwell is that he's a nerd and clumsy but that is all there is to him.  Yeah, he's not the most developed character. None of the characters are all that developed and over time throughout the lessons, we see Maxwell learning how to interact and I guess that's okay but I don't know something about this special doesn't sit well with me.

Mentor played by Suzanne Somers 

Now there's not to much to say about the Mentor character except for while nice and sweet, she at points was a bit annoying and y'know in some ways in this special, it seemed like this special was trying to mold this Maxwell character into what they thought '80s girls wanted in a man. Which explains the cheesy looks and oh, how could I forget to mention that our Maxwell was also in Revenge of The Nerds.  Typecasting, nah. 

Minnie voiced by Russi Taylor 

Now apparently this special was meant to introduce Russi Taylor as the new Minnie. Well, maybe she should've been in it more if that's the case.   Look, this special is called Totally Minnie but Minnie Totally ins't the star of this special.   Honestly, out of the three leads, Minnie gets the least amount of screen time.   If Minnie was suppose to be the star, have the special revolve around Minnie and not be a Minnie special in name only.

Music

Just a quick note, I'm not looking at all the songs as that would be the entire special. So instead, I'm just looking at the standout songs.

Neutron Dance

What is there to say about this one. It's fun.  Not much to say about it really other then that.  It's just a fun little number and I think this is one the standout numbers from this special. Just a lot of fun.

Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Okay, if this part had been released as a music video by itself that would've been awesome as in my opinion, this is the highlight for the special.  Yeah, Elton's cameo really has no overall barring on the paper thin plot but man, this is just so cool.  And also I think Elton John is the only person that could pull off that look. If I have any complaint, why does Mickey seem evil?   It just seems random to include him like almost as if this sequence is painting him as a bad guy.

Nasty Boys 

Okay, this song just seems random to include to me but that's me.  It's not a bad song but why?    Don't get me wrong, I think I get what they were going for but it just seems like an odd song for this type of special.

My Final Thoughts

I don't hate this special as much as I thought I would.  Is it dumb? You bet it is.   But it has a lot of charm and it never comes across as mean spirited and the makeover is okay but I could see how it might rub people the wrong way.  So,  I won't say I enjoy it fully but there are aspects of it that I like.