The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 12 - 'The Royal Tenenbaums’

The Big Picture

The Ringer

Tv & Film

4.3 • 5.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sean and Amanda return to continue their yearlong project of listing the 25 best movies of the 21st century so far. Today, they discuss Wes Anderson’s ‘The Royal Tenenbaums,’ one of the greatest father-figure movies of all time (starring Gene Hackman, giving one of the best father-figure performances of all time). They explain why they made the difficult decision to make this the official Wes Anderson selection for the list, discuss why there is nothing among his filmography that quite matches this unique energy, and wonder whether this is the best collection of needle drop moments from any Anderson movie ever made. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Jack Sanders This episode is sponsored by State Farm®️. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®️ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is presented by State Farm. Life's full of decisions, big and small, and sometimes
0:04.3	you make movie ones you can really stand behind. For example, I was wise enough to stick
0:09.3	around through the mid credits during Ryan Cougler's sinners. And unlike my co-host, Amanda,
0:15.3	I got to see a very special sequence with the great buddy guy, among other things. State Farm gets it.
0:21.0	Making confident choices can make all the difference. That's why with the State Farm
0:24.7	Personal Price Plan, you can choose the right amount of coverage to help create an affordable
0:28.4	price for you. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save
0:32.8	with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on
0:37.3	rating plans
0:37.8	that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer, availability, amount of
0:42.5	discounts and savings, and eligibility vary by state.
0:58.5	I'm Sean Fennacy.
0:59.4	I'm Amanda Dobbins. And this is 25 for 25, a big picture special conversation show about the royal tenen bombs.
1:06.6	Anybody interested in grabbing a couple of burgers and hitting the cemetery?
1:10.5	Okay.
1:11.5	So, this is our Wes Anderson selection.
1:14.4	Here we are.
1:14.9	This is Wes's third feature film.
1:16.9	It's his first film in the 21st century.
1:19.4	He wrote and directed this movie co-written with Owen Wilson, his early partner in writing.
1:24.2	It stars Gene Hackman, Angelica, Houston, Danny Glover, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson,
1:28.2	Gwyneth Paltrow, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Kumar Palana, Seymour Cassell, and the voice of Alec Baldwin.
	...

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