Question: Why is Betty Boop a black & white "Toon"? She makes the remark to Eddie that things have been tough since everything went to colour, but it was the development of coloured film that was different. Wouldn't "Toons" always have been coloured, but only filmed with the black & white film of the day? So shouldn't Betty Boop have also been a coloured "Toon", just like Mickey Mouse, who was also a black & white cartoon when he first appeared on film in "Steamboat Willy" in 1928, but is seen as a coloured "Toon" at the end of the film. Also if black & white "Toons" can become colourized, then why didn't Betty have this process done?
Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.
Question: Darth Maul had to feel that Anakin was very Force-sensitive, so why would he almost hit him with his speeder (it looks intentional)? And why wouldn't he tell Darth Sidious about a very Force-strong boy being with the Jedi?
Answer: There is nothing to indicate that a Force-user should automatically detect Force sensitivity in others. In fact, in the books it is made very clear that this is not the case (as Luke has to discover a way for himself to detect potential Jedi candiates). As Anakin did not use the Force while Maul was present, Maul would not pick up any indication that Anakin could use it, and would therefore not suspect Anakin to be any more than a slave.
Question: After the dog and Prince Wendell have been switched, why does the Queen even care about having the dog (who is really Prince)? She doesn't know that Tony can talk to him, so as far as she knows, no one can understand the dog at all. Why would she be concerned?
Answer: Because if Wendell and the switched dog somehow came in contact with each other then they would switch back. She does not want to risk this happening.
Question: What happened to Peggy's brother (Luanne's father)? Why isn't he around?
Answer: Luanne's father does show up in an entire episode: the 12th season finale 'Life: A Loser's Manual.' He stays with the Hills after getting out of jail. However, Peggy has not told anyone that he has been in prison, not even Hank. They believe that he works on an oil rig. But it all comes to light when he causes trouble and lands Lucky and then himself in jail. By the end of the episode he is headed back to prison. The Hills and Lucky keep up the oil rig charade for Luanne's sake.
Dear Mildred - S4-E7
Question: While writing to his wife, Col. Potter refers to getting a cup of Joe meaning coffee, why does he call it a cup of Joe?
Answer: The term actually comes from the US Navy and made its way into modern civilian jargon today. Its origin comes from the following: Josephus Daniels (18 May 1862-15 January 1948) was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Among his reforms of the Navy were inaugurating the practice of making 100 Sailors from the Fleet eligible for entrance into the Naval Academy, the introduction of women into the service, and the abolishment of the officers' wine mess. From that time on, the strongest drink aboard Navy ships could only be coffee and over the years, a cup of coffee became known as "a cup of Joe".
Question: Does anyone know if Mary Jane and Peter will have a daughter in the movies (as they did in the comics)?
Answer: Given that, in the films, they're only just starting their relationship, it can be safely said that any thoughts of starting a family are likely to be some distance off.
Question: What is Bobby's full name? There is one episode where Peggy says that she and Hank gave him a dumb middle name.
Answer: Bobby's full name is Robert Jeffrey Hill. I cannot recall the episode however on whether it was a joke to give him a dumb middle name.
This might be a continuity mistake now. In "Bobby Slam" (Season 2, Episode 10), Peggy says that she wanted Bobby's first name to be Jeffrey, but "some man" wouldn't "let" her name him that. Also, Boomhauer's first name is revealed to be Jeffrey, and he is highly respected by his friends and neighbors. Doesn't sound like a name that Peggy really thinks is "dumb."
Answer: In S03E18, "Love Hurts and So Does Art", where Bobby gets gout, they take him to the doctor's to see what's wrong with his toe. When Peggy is filling out the HMO forms, she says, "You know, Bobby, we gave you a dumb middle name."
Question: What was Mickey's motive for being one of the killers?
Answer: His main motive was fame, or infamy for that matter.
Answer: Mickey's reply when Syd asks, that he's "always been a follower," indicates he's probably just psychotic, looking for any excuse to kill.
Answer: He hadn't no motive. Remember? It was the millennium. Motives are incidental. That and he was out of his mind. And he wanted to blame the movies.
Question: Does Darth Maul know that Darth Sidious is Palpatine?
Answer: Yes, Darth Maul did know Palpatine's true nature. Palpatine/Darth Sidious was his master. Also, in the movie, they have a brief discussion on the balcony outside Palpatine's office.
Question: What are they injecting people with at CTU to make them talk?
Answer: It is probably Sodium Thiopental, know by the trademarked name, Sodium Pentothal, or Truth Serum. Thiopental is still used in some places as a truth serum. The barbiturate drugs as a class decrease higher cortical brain functioning. Since lying is more complex than the truth, suppression of the higher cortical functions may lead to the divulgement of the "truth."
Question: What does Fowler signal when the truck full of marines pass a car with a woman with a veil in it?
Answer: Its a crude gesture meaning "I want to perform oral sex on you."
Question: What would happen to Erin's interview if Darcy fires Nick, as it was Nick who arranged to meet her?
Answer: She would come in and explain it and they would either cancel it or interview her anyway.
Question: What music is played in the scene of Norrington's promotion ceremony, where he receives the sword from governor Swann?
Answer: It's an instrumental version of the song Rule Britannia.
Question: Is there any meaning behind the name of the street that the Hills live on, Rainey Street?
Answer: It's a real street in Austin, Texas, and was apparently where Johnny Hardwick (one of the show's writers and the voice of Dale Gribble) used to live.
Question: Is there any word that Felicia (the other girl that Peter dates in the TV series) will be in the movies?
Answer: There are no indications of Felicia Hardy showing up any time soon. However in Spider-Man 3 we will meet Gwen Stacy, another one of Peter's girlfriends from the comics.
Question: If the Buckets were very poor, then why do they even have TV? Why don't they use the extra money for food?
Answer: TV is kind of a necessity. Here in the UK debt collectors can't take a TV if it's the only one in the house. Also, they can't afford newspapers so how would they catch up on news? The TV will last for a while whereas it would only buy a few days worth of food, so the TV is a more sustainable option.
Answer: In addition to the other answer about TV basically being a necessity, there's also the very real chance that they got the TV for dirt-cheap or even free somewhere. It looks like a crummy old antenna TV anyways. They often get old TV's in things like thrift stores or flea markets, etc. I actually specifically look for things like old TV's and VCR's in thrift store and find them a lot since I enjoy collecting old analog media and devices. Plus, given that the grandfather used to work for Wonka, it's entirely possible that he bought it in the past before the family became so poor.
Answer: Don't they have to pay for a monthly subscription? Isn't cable paid for every month?
This was based on the book, not the timeframe of the movie. There was no cable for TVs when the book was written OR in the 1971 original film. Yes, cable was available in 2005 at this film's time but that's not the logic here.
Question: At the start of the film, where the stage light falls from the 'sky', it says Sirius on it. Are we meant to presume that this stage light lit up the place in the sky where the star Sirius would be in real life?
Answer: That would seem like a logical deduction, yes. The light was presumably on some sort of track to allow it to simulate the movement of the heavens caused by the rotation of the Earth.
Question: Does the vault number 713 (the philosopher's stone's Gringott vault number) have any symbolic meaning or is it just a random number?
Question: What's with Obi-Wan disappearing when he dies? I mean, I've never seen anyone else in the Star Wars 6-logy do it.
Answer: Yoda does it as well. This is linked to the bit at the end of Episode 3 when Yoda tells Obi-wan that his old mentor Qui-gon has managed to 'return' through the Force and instructs him to learn how this can be done. As such, when they die, both Yoda and Obi-wan are, in some unexplained manner, absorbed into the Force - this is what allowed Obi-wan to continue to communicate with Luke during the subsequent films.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: Toons are made of ink. There would have been no reason for them to be made of colored ink before there were colored films. The black and white and colored characters would have been played by different toons. Steamboat Willy doesn't look much like modern Mickey Mouse so it must be a different "actor" playing the role. Modern soap operas do this all the time - a brunette character goes away for a while and comes back as a blonde a foot taller.
Myridon