Well, we had so much time last year that we decided to bring it back.

In case you missed it, last year, In light of the post-season college basketball tournaments being canceled, I thought, “What better way to keep the crazy competitiveness of March alive than with a movie tournament?”

So, I introduced Corinne’s Movie Madness.

Just like the basketball tournaments, we had a field of competitors facing off in one-on-one competitions. You, the Reel Nerds fans, decided which of the two movies in a given match-up advanced to the next round, and eventually crowned The Princess Bride as last year’s champion.

(Sidenote: A special thank you to Brad for the excellent graphic!)

This year, with the help of the other Nerds, we are doing a themed Movie Madness tournament.

The competitors and bracket mechanics

Unlike other competitions, this one is very selective. Only 16 films qualified for a coveted spot on the bracket. No doubt you’re wondering exactly how we picked 16 films out of thousands of good ones.

We decided this year that our field will be entirely composed of animated Disney and Pixar movies. Each Nerd picked four of their favorites for the bracket.

We figured the fairest way to do it would be to have each Nerds’ four films as their own region or division. That way, each of us will definitely have one movie in the semifinals / the Final (four) Films.

And, just like the tournament, each movie has a “seed” or ranking within its Nerd’s division. As far as I can tell, we gave the rankings based on how much we like each of them. #1 is our favorite, #2 second-favorite, etc.

How you participate

Just like the college basketball tournament, Movie Madness will start on Thursday, March 18.

That day, we will post the first match-up on the Nerds’ social media pages and you go and vote for whichever you think is the better movie! Simple as that.

For instance, on March 18, it’ll be the 1-seed vs. the 4-seed in Ryan’s division; whichever movie receives more votes before midnight will advance to the next round. (In the case of a tie, the higher seed will win; so if you like the lower-seeded movie, get your friends to vote for it too.)

Eight days later, we will advance to the second-round match-ups, and the procedure will be the same until a movie is crowned the winner. If I’m counting right, our championship match-up should be on April 1.

Announcing the field

So, this year, in the spirit of the NCAA tournament and its Selection Sunday show, friend of the podcast Gerry the Artist and I recorded a special bracket announcement segment that should be hitting the Reel Nerds podcast feeds today, or soon. As I announced the match-ups, Gerry gave his spur-of-the-moment analyses of each first-round match-up and the divisions overall.

Here’s the video file if that’s your preference:

But, in case you don’t have 26 minutes to spare, let’s get you caught up:

• On Thursday, March 18, we will have Ryan‘s 1-seed Pinocchio versus his 4-seed Dumbo.
• On Friday, March 19, Ryan’s 2-seed Toy Story 2 facing off against his 3-seed The Lion King.
• On Saturday, March 20, kicking off Brad‘s division is his 1-seed Wall-E against his 4-seed Robin Hood.
• On Sunday, March 21, Brad’s 2-seed Oliver & Company will go up against his 3-seed Ratatouille.
• On Monday, March 22, we will have a Disney princess showdown between my (Corinne‘s) 1-seed Beauty & the Beast versus my 4-seed The Little Mermaid.
• On Tuesday, March 23, we’ll see a Pixar afterlife movie match-up when my 2-seed Coco takes on 3-seed Soul.
• On Wednesday, March 24, Zach‘s 1-seed Fun & Fancy Free takes on his 4-seed (and Gerry-identified dark horse of the tournament) The Great Mouse Detective.
• On Thursday, March 25, we conclude the first round of the tournament with Zach’s 2-seed Ichabod & Mr. Toad against his 3-seed The Jungle Book.

(And in case you didn’t watch / listen to the bracket announcement, these are all the classic 2D-animated Disney films, and not the the “live-action” remakes.)

Thus, on Friday, March 26, we will start the second round and on April 1, we will have our championship showdown.

Here is your full field:

Which of these 16 films will be crowned the Champion of Corinne’s Movie Madness 2021?

Visit the Reel Nerds social media pages to cast your vote!