Welcome to the very first episode of the Pop Culture Brain podcast with Alex and Lara! Join us as we discuss Pixar's upcoming sequels, Selena Gomez booking an Oscar-potential role, one of the best books becoming a movie, Christina Applegate's wild Anchorman story, and all of the unpredictable Oscar races of 2026.

https://www.popculturebrain.com/p/linksWelcome to Pop Culture Brain, bringing you the movie news, TV news, and what-to-watch recommendations you need to know. We’ve got you covered with fun and informative pop culture updates and reflections.Pop Culture Brain has been highlighting and curating the best and most important entertainment news for over a decade. It was named one of TIME’s Top 30 must-see Tumblr blogs and BuzzFeed’s Top 90 Tumblr blogs, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Tumblr itself.

There’s a very sweet secret about Miss Congeniality’s famous April 25th joke. Miss Congeniality turns 25 years old this month, so here are some things I bet you never knew about it.

Sources: Parade; E! News; ABC News; iHeart Canada; Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast; Texas Film Comission; Press Connects; Selling Your Screenplay; Variety; NY Times; Box Office Mojo; RottenTomatoes; Cinemascore; The Numbers; IMDB.

Critics hated it. The audience shrugged. But Dude Where’s My Car became a cult classic anyway. Dude Where’s My Car turns 25 years old this month, so here are some things I bet you never knew about it.

Sources: THR; Far Out; Mental Floss; Los Angeles magazine; Vulture; The Guardian; Box Office Mojo; RottenTomatoes; Metacritic; Cinemascore; Chicago Tribune, NY Daily News; Pittsburgh Post Gazette; Comic Book; The Independent; Forbes.

How the hell did a designer of Christian video games end up creating a blockbuster horror franchise about homicidal animatronics? Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 hits theaters this weekend. So here are some things I bet you never knew about the games and first movie.
Sources: Catholic Game Reviews; Geeks Under Grace; Sandwichly/YT; Fandom; NY Times; Clickteam; Vandal; Kotaku; Polygon; NBC News; IGN; Radiotimes; Metacritic; Guinness World Records; AV Club; Joystiq; Vox; Gamefile News; PC Gamer; Northshore Magazine; THR; Deadline; The Christian Post; Player One; Bloody Disgusting; Variety; JoBlo; Collider; Vulture; CBR; Louisiana Economic Development.; MatPat/YT; Movieweb; Gamespot; Screenrant; Fangoria; /Film; Box Office Mojo; The Numbers; RottenTomatoes; Metacritic; Cinemascore; Film & Television Industry Alliance; IMDB.

Some critics hated Jumanji — but Robin Williams definitely got the last laugh. Jumanji turns 30 years old this month, so here are some things I bet you never knew about it.

Source: Syfy Wire; LA Times; Chris Van Allsburg official site; Illustrators; Polar Express official site; Minnesota Public Radio; Deadline; Time; NY TImes; Union Leader; My Keene Now; Sentinel Source; ILM; Jumanji DVD; Box Office Mojo; The Numbers; Cinemascore; MetaCritic; RottenTomatoes; Roger Ebert; Screenrant; Board Game Geek; Giant Bomb; Channel 4; IMDB.

Not a single network wanted to make STRANGER THINGS and their reason why is so dumb. Stranger Things’ final season starts this week, so here are some things I bet you never knew about its origins.

https://www.popculturebrain.com/p/links

Yes, Disney did try to market Zootopia to furries. Zootopia 2 hits theaters this week, so here are some things I bet you never knew about the 2016 original.

To get Wicked off the ground, its songwriter made one of the boldest moves in Hollywood history. Wicked For Good hits theaters this week, so here’s the 125-year story how it went from page to stage to screen.
https://www.popculturebrain.com/p/links