Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: If Linus knows the true meaning of Christmas, why didn't he tell Charlie Brown what it was when Charlie Brown brought up his feelings of depression earlier in the special?

Rob245

Answer: He never asked about the "true" meaning of Christmas, only that he was depressed about it. He didn't have the Xmas spirit. The feelings of love and compassion. He was talking about Santa Claus and gift-giving, but Linus told him what Christmas is all about.

Question: When Jimmy tells Ricky and Bobby to go home after the bar fight, they go to the limo with the Welshman. The 3 get in. Who drives?

Answer: Horace is also with them; he drives.

jshy7979

Question: In the finale, when the team is spraying Doom with water, when Ben closes the fire hydrant, the same noise made when Sue gained powers is heard. Was this on purpose?

sunfox35

Answer: I've just watched the scenes back-to-back and the similarities are pretty vague, so I can only assume you're referring to some subtle background noise I didn't notice. Regardless, chances are if they reused the same sound, it was just because it was some sort of licensed music-library sound they thought worked well in both scenes. This actually happens all the time. I've seen movies where, if you listen very closely, you can hear the same sound clip 2, 3, 4 or more times mixed into the background noise. (Ex. "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" reuses the same "pottery breaking" sound about a half-dozen times if you pay attention during the earthquake scenes.)

TedStixon

Question: Right after the battle with the guerrillas, why does Dutch get pissed off and yell at Dillon? He says something about them being set up. However, Dutch and his men already knew they were going into a combat situation. What was Dutch so angry about?

Answer: Dutch is upset because Dillon lied to his team about the objective. Dutch and his team don't take on assassination-type missions, and he doesn't view his team as expendable... whereas Dillon needed a skilled but expendable hit-squad to take out the guerrillas. It was basically just a large-scale assassination mission. So Dillon lied and said it was a much more noble rescue to lure them in and make them think it wouldn't be as dangerous.

TedStixon

Question: Given Connie's a psychologist and knows Norman's state of mind, why would she marry him and also trick him into getting her pregnant?

Rob245

Answer: Norman is mentally stable in this film. Connie and Norman fell in love during his institutionalization. After being deemed sane and released, they were married. Norman is afraid to have children because he doesn't want to pass on his psychosis. Connie believes that with proper care, their child won't end up like Norman, and plans to become pregnant.

Question: The Beast accuses Maurice of coming to "stare at the Beast", as if people know about him. So why do the townspeople not believe there is a Beast, until Belle shows them with the mirror?

Answer: The Beast is self-absorbed, selfish and cannot see the good or innocence of people (hence why he was changed into a beast). He assumed that the only reason Maurice would be there is to stare at "The Beast" (after all... EVERYONE must know about "The Beast" in the Beast's mind).

Answer: It's doubtful the Beast was aware of what the villagers actually knew or believed about him. Typically, people become divided in their beliefs. Some may have believed there was a monster living in the castle, while others completely dismissed it as total nonsense.

raywest

Question: Carmichael died at his home. Was it his ghost or something else that John saw in the house as it was burning?

Answer: It was implied to be his "spirit" or "soul" that John saw.

TedStixon

Question: Where were Lonnie's friends from the first movie and why didn't they appear in the 1978 flashback?

Answer: The flashback occurs some time after the ending of the first movie. They likely just separated in the meantime.

TedStixon

Answer: Director Mark Lester replaced Wings Hauser the first day of shooting because he didn't think Hauser clicked as a maniacal counterbalance to Schwarzenegger's larger-than-life portrayal of Matrix. Last-minute cast changes are not unusual when an actor fails to meet certain character expectations. A classic example is Michael J. Fox replacing Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future because Stoltz portrayed Marty too intensely for a humorous sci-fi film. Viggo Mortensen replaced Stuart Townsend as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings because Peter Jackson felt Townsend wasn't properly preparing for the role.

raywest

Question: This is more of a general question for the franchise. What happens if Jedi discover children who have Force ability, but they are in stable, happy families? We see situations where Jedi were found as orphans, i.e. after battles, or a parent is glad to give their child a better life, as Shmi Skywalker did. But this can't be the case for everyone.

Answer: Jedi don't only go for the ones that are orphans, but they are the most likely to be taken in by the order, since they offer them a home and goal in life. When a child is showing he or she is force-sensitive, any legal guardian could or would contact the Jedi to find out more, possibly allow that child to be trained to become a Jedi, but it is not required. The order is basically a boarding school, or military school; the younglings can still see their parents, but not for too long. It's the choice of the parents, and later the child itself, whether or not to continue with the training. During the time of the Republic, the Jedi order even checked children for force-sensitivity and consulted the parents about training to gain new recruits.

lionhead

Question: Is a witch or wizard basically powerless without a wand? If so, could a Muggle, maybe one who has a magical family member, perform magic if they picked up a wand and tried a spell?

Answer: They can perform magic without wands, though on a more limited basis. The books mention wizards performing "wandless magic." Students even received some training in this. Also, a Muggle cannot use a wand to cast any spells. Only a wizard can use magic. The wand itself cannot generate magic but is just a conduit for a wizard's powers.

raywest

Question: What place was the Beast a Prince of? Considering that Maurice had to inform the other villagers about a castle in the woods. The village is not extremely far from the castle, apparently. Belle gets there soon enough when she wants to return, after helping her father. Were the villagers not ruled over by the Beast's parents?

Answer: One possibility is that this property belonged to the Prince. This could explain why the witch asked him for shelter, instead of asking a parent.

Answer: It's never specified that the Beast's family were rulers. Until 1789, France was ruled by a monarch. Lower-ranking royals can have titles and live in castles, but it does not mean they hold any political power or position. Some royals or aristocrats may act as an appointed regional governor under the monarch or hold a ceremonial position. For example, Prince William of England is also the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry is the Duke of Sussex, though neither "rule" those districts. Also, this is a fairytale, so details are deliberately vague and generalized.

raywest

Question: Otho says he was a paranormal researcher until "the bottom dropped out in '72." What does that mean - specifically, what happened in 1972?

Answer: He's probably referring to the 1960s Hippie counter-culture when people were into quasi-trends like the paranormal, séances, mysticism, occultism, ESP, astrology, Eastern philosophy, etc. Those fads faded by the early 70s, diminishing Otho's clientele.

raywest

Question: Why does Charles insist on referring to Delia as Lydia's mother, not stepmother? Even when he and Lydia are alone. (For example, the moment when he thinks Lydia is wearing one of the bedsheets, pretending to be a ghost.)

Answer: Charles is trying to force Lydia into accepting Delia as her mother, making his own life easier if his second wife and daughter get along. Lydia resents Delia and does not consider her as family, and certainly not as her mother.

raywest

Answer: I think Delia actually is Lydia's mother, at least in this movie. They don't get along, so Lydia rebels by pretending that Delia is a stepmother.

Question: Given that they live down south in Mississippi and it's Summer, when the judge walks up to Atticus' porch, he's fanning himself and Atticus says, "It's rather warm, isn't it?" If so, why is Atticus wearing a suit (OK) and a sweater? I get the suit, it's his work clothes, but a sweater?

Family5

Answer: The film is set in Maycomb, Georgia. There's no explanation, so any answer is speculation. However, Atticus usually wore a three-piece suit, so it was a vest, not a sweater. The suit was likely a lightweight material and was a typical style of the era. Atticus probably considered it a more professional look for a lawyer. Most likely this was a movie wardrobe decision, giving Atticus a scholarly appearance and persona throughout the film, even if in reality, it wasn't practical.

raywest

Question: Why didn't Dr Grant hide the eggs somewhere where the raptors could've sniffed them out? It would've bought them some time as the raptors would then have spent their time looking for the eggs.

Answer: That probably would have made more sense, but it would have been a less dramatic ending where the raptors confront everyone. The whole concept of the raptors hunting down a few missing eggs out of a large clutch is ridiculous. It's all about storytelling, not reality.

raywest

Also, I would like to point out that people don't always think of an obvious, practical solution when a situation is actually happening: "Hindsight is 20/20." This might be a sci-fi movie but it happens in reality. It's easy to analyze a situation as an outsider and say what should have been done.

Question: When they return to the plane, Alan and Billy start questioning Paul about when he climbed the mountain and then realized that he was lying about Kirby Enterprises. How did they figure out he was talking a complete load of rubbish?

Answer: Paul had claimed that he and his wife often did adventure tours like the Galapagos Islands, the Nile, climbing K-2, etc. When Alan and Billy observed him awkwardly struggling to don a backpack, they became suspicious and started quizzing him.

raywest

Question: Gaston tells Belle that she will end up as a beggar if she does not get married. I know this is a fantasy setting, but in similar settings, couldn't an unmarried woman still inherit property?

Answer: Gaston is trying to intimidate her into marrying him. If she did inherit father's home someday, it's likely that she could sell the property and go to Paris or another place with a larger population. Women could work a variety of low-paying jobs. Still not an ideal life, but better than growing old in the village and having very limited options.

Question: What was the point of changing "Twin Pines Mall" into "Lone Pine Mall"? This change doesn't affect the series' plot at all, so what was the reason behind it?

Answer: Just to show how actions in the past have had a knock on effect on the future, giving audiences a heads up that things have been changed. Alternatively just a fun thing for audiences to notice.

Answer: It's a small but noticeable change in the timeline as a result of Marty's time travel. The first we see when he returns to 1985, confirming that his actions have altered the present. It was originally called "Twin Pines Mall" because there were originally two pine trees; Doc reminisces about "Old Man Peabody" trying to breed pine trees on the land where the mall stood. When Marty travels back to the same place in 1955, it's Peabody's farm, and making his escape, he runs over one of the two pines (and we see the mailbox with the name "Peabody" on it). Therefore, when he returns to 1985 having destroyed one pine, the mall is now "Lone Pine Mall", because in the new, altered present, there was only one pine tree, not two.

Question: Charlie rings Lucinda's workplace and they put him through to her. But later he finds out she's just a temp called Jane, how does that work?

Answer: The operator put him through to "Lucinda" on the phone because there is a REAL Lucinda that works there and Jane (who posed as Lucinda) was her temp who filled in for her supposedly when Lucinda was away. So the operator simply patched Charles' call to Lucinda's office, and Jane answered. It was either lucky for Jane that Lucinda was away at the time, or maybe Lucinda was away on business for a given amount of time, and Jane took advantage of that.

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