August 18, 2022

Title: LAND DOWN UNDER

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

ACTION ADVENTURE (3D: "Indiana Jones" genre)

I'LL DO IT TOMORROW (10D: "Meh, that's not happening today")

FINAL FANTASY (22D: Role-playing video game franchise)

Theme synopsis: The bottom word of each vertical theme answer can precede the word LAND to form the name of a themed area at the Disneyland and Disney World theme parks. Our LANDs DOWN UNDER are ADVENTURELAND, TOMORROWLAND, and FANTASYLAND. 

Things I learned:

• WORRY (8D: "Hattie Harmony" ___ Detective" (kids' book by Elizabeth Olsen and Robbie Arnett)) Hattie Harmony: WORRY Detective is a children's book written by actress Elizabeth Olsen and her husband, Robbie Arnett. The book was released in June of this year, and is aimed at helping children manage anxiety. The title character (who is a cat) helps her friends figure out ways to calm themselves. You can watch Elizabeth Olsen and Robbie Arnett read the first part of Hattie Harmony: WORRY Detective here. 
• FINAL FANTASY (22D: Role-playing video game franchise) The first FINAL FANTASY video game was released in Japan in 1987, and in North America three years later. To date there are 16 games in the FINAL FANTASY franchise. (Well, 15 that have been released. FINAL FANTASY XVI is scheduled for release in 2023.) FINAL FANTASY is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, so the fact that I did not know it tells you about my video game playing habits!

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PSA (1A: "Queer the Census" ad, e.g.) "Queer the Census" ads were public service announcements (PSAs) from the National LGBTQ Task Force to encourage everyone, especially people from marginalized communities, to complete the census. 
• BRESLIN (19A: "Little Miss Sunshine" actress Abigail) Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 movie that centers on a road trip taken by a family from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Redondo Beach, California in order for the daughter Olive, played by a 10-year-old Abigail BRESLIN, to compete in a beauty pageant. As you might expect from a movie described as a "tragicomedy road trip film," there are many adventures on the way. Abigail BRESLIN won multiple awards for her performance. In light of today's theme, I want to note that Abigail BRESLIN also appeared in the 2009 movie, ZombieLAND. 
• RED TEA (37A: Alternative name for rooibos) Rooibos, which means "RED bush," is a plant that is endemic to an area in the western part of South Africa. The leaves of the plant are used to make tea, also known as rooibos, or RED TEA, bush TEA, or redbush TEA. RED TEA does not contain caffeine, and has lower tannin levels than black or green TEA.
• NOVA (41A: Bossa ___ (music genre)) Bossa NOVA is a style of samba developed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s. "The Girl from Ipanema" is an example of a Bossa NOVA song. 
• TITAN (53A: Wonder Girl or Superboy, e.g.) TITANs is a TV series based on the DC Comics team, Teen TITANs. The show premiered in 2018. Both Wonder Girl (aka Donna Troy - portrayed by Conor Leslie) and Superboy (aka Subject 13 / Conner - portrayed by Joshua Orpin) joined the show in its second season.
• MEOW (34D: "Give me some catnip!") Well, you know this was my cat's favorite clue. She's

  

  My cat, Willow

  definitely a fan of catnip. I tried to find a picture of her MEOWing, but I couldn't find one quickly. (I'm sure I have one...) So, you will have to take my word for it that she MEOWs a lot - apparently she has a lot to say, including, perhaps, "Give me some catnip!" 
• TESS (36D: Author Gerritsen) I have previously written about author TESS Gerritsen.
• DAN (46D: "Schitt's Creek" actor Levy) Schitt's Creek is a TV series about a formerly wealthy family that relocates to a small town named Schitt's Creek, which they once purchased as a joke. DAN Levy co-created Schitt's Creek with his father, Eugene Levy. On the show, DAN Levy plays the role of David Rose. I have previously written about seeing DAN Levy at a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Geography review:

• LAO (16A: Southeast Asian language) LAO, also referred to as Laotian, is the official language of Laos, a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. A variation of LAO known as Isan is spoken in northeast Thailand.
• DES (61A: ___ Plaines, IL) DES Plaines, Illinois is a northern suburb of Chicago. It is named after the DES Plaines River which runs through the city.

As was the case when we saw LAND DOWN UNDER as a theme answer in May of this year, as soon as I read LAND DOWN UNDER as the title of today's puzzle, I had the 1980 Men at Work song going through my head! (Thank you for that earworm, Amanda...) I enjoyed today's theme, and appreciate the extra layer that all of these LANDs are featured in Disney theme parks. I want to shout out some clues I especially liked today: (17A: "Hands off, bucko!") for LET ME GO, (24A: Kiss, on the streets of London) for SNOG, and (63A: "Cleanup on ___ five!") for AISLE. Thank you, Amanda, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to begin my Thursday. (🎵"I come from a LAND DOWN UNDER..."🎵)