How's It Hold Up?
This podcast features three family members—a lesbian trans woman and animation enthusiast, her mother who is a teacher and wrote a thesis on videogames, and her wife who loves Scooby-Doo—as they watch mostly animated films. Each episode revisits a movie and asks whether it still holds up today. The conversations blend personal perspectives, nostalgia, and a shared love of animation.
Episodes
Jack and the Witch
(Spoiler Section Length: 2min 59sec)Starting off our 2026 Spookaboo, we have a fairly obscure movie that seems to be a Japanese take on a modern (for the 60s) fairytale. It's an odd little film with demon children, talking animals and lots of bone architecture. It's also from the 60s so expect a few trippy moments. Is it any good, and does it hold up for the modern (2020s) viewer? Let'
Peace on Earth (MGM) & Peaceful Neighbors (Columbia)
The end of the 30s was, obviously, a stressful time for global politics, and this definitely had an effect on cartoons of the time, though this effect would become much more pronounced in the 40s. These two cartoons represent the American stance on the boiling tensions of the time, to varying degrees of artistry and bluntness. Are either of them good, especially so long after the time period they
Coyote vs. Acme
(Spoiler Section Length: 8min 50sec)It's finally happened - the 2nd shelved Looney Tunes movie has been released, and we went and saw it in theaters! Besides The Day the Earth Blew Up, all Looney Tunes films have been live-action/animation hybrids, so that begs the question... how does this hold up compared to the Space Jams and Back in Action? And how is it as a movie, overall? Was it worth t
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Old Glory
The Looney Tunes (and Merrie Melodies) series are typically thought of as funny, or at the very least trying to be. But what happens when they try to step out of the comedy lane, into something more... prestigious? And very patriotic. Is the resulting cartoon worth watching? Let's find out!
Song of the South
(Spoiler Section Length: 6min 36sec)In Disney's long history of filmmaking, there are some movies the company would prefer you forget. Of these, perhaps none is more infamous than Song of the South. Frequently derided for being racist and boring, today we finally tackle it to find out, is it really as bad as everyone says? Should it be included on Disney+? Does this thing hold up, even a littl
Shorts! Donald Duck: The Hockey Champ & Officer Duck
The end of the 30s marks the fall of Mickey Mouse and the rise of Donald Duck, who would be Disney's predominant cartoon star throughout the 40s and 50s. In these two shorts we see increasing refinement of the Donald vs. the Nephews formula, and the first instance of Mickey's villain Pete showing up in a solo Donald effort. Do these cartoons show why Donald ended up becoming such a huge su
Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame Stage Musical (feat. Ryan)
(Spoiler Section Length: 19min 16sec)So after a hit Disney movie has been made, and people are clamoring for more, what options are there to give them that? There's sequels, obviously, a very popular choice. There's remakes, a current trend that some people hope will die at some point. And there's the even less common tv spinoff maneuver. But what about... the stage? There's actual
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Bars and Stripes Forever & Porky's Breakdowns (feat. Ryan)
Among the various Warner Bros cartoon directors, many are well-remembered today even by casual fans, and even more are remembered by those obsessed with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. But also some are rightfully forgotten. Generally speaking, Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton are among that latter group, even if they do deserve some recognition for their contributions to Bugs Bunny. But w
The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (feat. Ryan)
(Spoiler Section Length: 6min 13sec)When it comes to Disney animated sequels, there's an accepted canon when it comes to which ones are half-decent and which are the bottom of the barrel. In that canon, Return of Jafar is often considered the latter, but this podcast doesn't exactly agree with that opinion. What then of Hunchback II, which is also often considered among the worst? It's often derid
Shorts! MGM: Seal Skinners & Mad Maestro (feat. Ryan)
We've checked in once before with Friz Freleng while he's away from Warner Bros, with a Captain and the Kids short. Today we watched another short in that series and also another solo short. Is his output getting any better than his early Warner Bros days? Let's find out!!
Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (feat. Ryan)
(Spoiler Section Length: 10min 18sec)Of all the many Disney adaptations over the years, one of the most divisive is Hunchback of Notre Dame. Lauded by many for its darker tone compared to most Disney works but derided by others for Disney-ifying the source material with additions like the gargoyles or changes like the ending, it's a work whose reputation is hard to easily quantify. So what did
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (feat. Ryan)
Chuck Jones is given a lot of the blame for Daffy Duck's personality shifting over the years, and I don't think it's entirely fair to lay that all upon his shoulders. That said, he is PART of the equation, and we see some signs of what Daffy would become even in this very first cartoon directed by Jones that features him. So okay, sure, it's got historical value, but is it any good
Digimon Adventure 02: Hurricane Touchdown!!
(Spoiler Section Length 7min 20sec)Well we've watched the first two Digimon movies, we've watched the English Digimon Movie, so it only makes sense that we finally wrap around to watching the third Digimon film—which is actually the 3rd and 4th films, technically—so we can finish this whole Digimon saga off cleanly. And admittedly, this is the part of the English Digimon Movie that I was a
Shorts! Betty Boop: Musical Mountaineers
She's had a... well a sometimes-good run, but Betty Boop's time in the classic cartoon theatrical shorts era is coming to a close. In this episode we look at the final Boop cartoon that we'll be covering on the podcast, and talk a little about the remaining shorts in the series. And then we answer the question of if this is a decent way for Betty to go, and whether this or the shorts t
Digimon: The Movie (2000)
When one thinks back on the era of anime localization that existed in the 90s and eary 2000s, several things come to mind: a desire to remove all Japanese cultural references. A need to never let the soundtrack be silent. A desire for extra jokes. Any and all edges sanded down, no matter how much the script must be rewritten to make it happen. And all of those issues appear in this particular film
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Prest-O Change-O & Hare-Um Scare-Um
At this point in our viewing of Warner Bros shorts, two classic Looney Tunes stars have fully appeared (Porky & Daffy), one is nearly arrived (Elmer Fudd) and another inches ever forward, but still eludes us. That upcoming star is of course the biggest of them all: Bugs Bunny. In these two shorts we see bits and pieces of the rabbit who will one day charm the world, but the hare in these short
Pokemon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back (Japanese Version)
When movies in one language are brought over to another, whether through subtitles or dubbing, something is always lost, to at least some extent, even when translated with the best of intentions. But sometimes things are translated with less than good intentions, with more of an eye toward making them palatable to another audience than faithfully representing the original work. This sort of transl
Shorts! Silly Symphonies: The Ugly Duckling (1939)
Remakes are a tricky thing, especially nowadays. If the original was already good, what does remaking it offer? But when the original was already an adaptation of another work, there's always the possibility that a remake could be more faithful to that work, or even just interpret it differently. Such is the case with this final Silly Symphony, which adapts a classic fable that the series had
Animal Farm (1954)
With a recently-released new adaption of this classic novella stirring controversy, we decided to take a look at the original adaption, the one often used in classrooms. While it has its deviations, it overall sticks much closer to the source material, though it also has a notably small budget that effects the quality of the animation and the size of the vocal cast. Is this version of Orwell's
Shorts! Popeye: It's the Natural Thing to Do
The Popeye cartoons tend to fall into something of a pattern: Popeye and Bluto are both interested in Olive Oyl, and they fight about it. But what if they... didn't? This self-aware cartoon comedically interrogates the violence at the heart of your typical Popeye cartoon, with the iconic trio being tasked to avoid brutality for the day. Does this result in a good cartoon, or is this one best s
The Muppets Take Manhattan
(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 6sec)The final film in the original Muppets trilogy is one that is frustratingly difficult to find, compared to the two before it. It's not available on the same streaming services as the other two! It's in fact had weird distribution rights for a long time, and that combined with the lack of a digital soundtrack and a more grounded tone than the others has m
Shorts! MGM: Goldilocks and the Three Bears / Terrytoons: The Three Bears
When it comes to classic fairytales, they're often used as fodder for cartoon shenanigans, so much so that you can compare multiple versions of the same fairytale from the same studio over the years. But in this case we're focused on two different studios making a cartoon based on the same source material in the same year, but with wildly different budgets and directorial styles. Do either
The Great Muppet Caper (feat. Vaughn)
(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 50sec)One might expect the second Muppet Movie to follow in the tracks of its predecessor, another tale about the Muppets origins, perhaps them forming the Muppet Show or something like that. But instead Henson opted to create a genre film, a heist film combined with a full-blown musical, tap-dancing and water ballet galore. Does this unexpected direction yield enjoy
Shorts! Mickey Mouse: Society Dog Show
We start the year off with the final Mickey Mouse cartoon to feature him in his original design - after this one he'll start looking like he does in Fantasia! Unfortunately, though, this short is also part of the trend that would only get worse of making Mickey Mouse cartoons glorified Pluto cartoons. Do either of these aspects affect the quality of the cartoon, and is it still worth watching
The Muppet Movie
(Spoiler Section Length - 4min 6sec)Way back in the first season of our podcast, we covered one Muppet movie, and the time has finally come to cover more! Now we're looking at the very first of the many Muppet films, made while the classic Muppet Show seasons were still being made. And appropriately, this one focuses on how the gang got together, using a road trip format to do it. And, of cour
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Fresh Fish & Dangerous Dan McFoo
We start 1939 off with a look at Tex Avery, whose output is starting to creep closer to the type of cartoons he's most known for making, but that he won't make until he leaves for another studio. And at the same time, we have a new voice actor joining the folds in one of these cartoons, whose legacy in the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series would end up being far-reaching. But all that sa
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
(Spoiler Section Length - 10min 1sec)Many films have combined live-action and 2D animation before, some of which we've even covered here, such as Bedknobs and Broomsticks. But most of those films have a scene or two where the combination happens, or maybe it happens throughout but with only one character, such as Pete's Dragon. Those that make an effort to combine the mediums all throughou
Shorts! Looney Tunes: Porky in Wackyland
Our final short of 1938 is a cartoon that looks to the future, in that in many ways it feels more modern than most of the cartoons surrounding it that year, or even for several years after. Clearly the directors at Warner Bros thought so too, since they remade it beat-for-beat around a decade later. But feeling modern doesn't mean it's good, so... is this one good, or just a historical cur
Welcome to the Space Show
(Spoiler Section Length - 14min 50sec)What starts as a simple story about a group of schoolchildren learning to live together and communicate ends up being a galaxy-spanning adventure where those same kids go to the dark side of the moon, ride a lizard catbus, and stop a megalomaniacal villain from remaking the universe to suit his desires. But while that last thing is important, it's the visi
Shorts! Mickey Mouse: The Brave Little Tailor
When it comes to star characters for media creators, fame can be a tricky thing. It can often result in the dulling down of a once vibrant character, a sanding of the edges so the character can conform to the role of company mascot. Perhaps no character is more indicative of this than Mickey Mouse, once an adventurous little rascal, now often considered synonymous with a lumbering behemoth of a co
The Secret of the Third Planet
(Spoiler Section Length - 4min 24sec)We've watched several Russian films on this podcast before, but most of them were fantasy in nature, rather than sci-fi. This is an off-beat sort of sci-fi, but nonetheless is full of aliens, spaceships, laser guns and robots! Debuting a few years after Star Wars, this film still seems more rooted in older depictions of spaceships and more groovy sensibilit
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: The Night Watchman
Termite Terrace had a lot of directors come and go over the years, but perhaps its most well known has finally gotten to sit in the director's chair: Chuck Jones. While Jones' early work is often criticized for its Disney-esque sensibilities, do those criticisms apply to this first directorial effort? And regardless, is the short worth watching nowadays? Listen to find out!
Fantasia 2000 (feat. Ryan)
Many decades after the original, Disney finally decided to make a sequel to the original Fantasia, and in so doing they found themselves repeating mistakes while also chasing new sensibilities, resulting in a film that is less lauded than its predecessor... but does that mean it's actually less good? Listen to find out!
Shorts! Looney Tunes: Porky in Egypt
When you see the title 'Porky in Egypt' and you hear it's a cartoon from the 1930s, your hopes for that short being good might immediately dwindle, as you imagine just how racist it probably is. And certainly this cartoon is not exempt from such issues, but they take up a surprisingly small portion of the runtime. So what is the rest of the cartoon about? Trust me when I say that it
The King and I (1999)
(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 4sec)Most animated musicals are original works, rather than adaptations of classic stage shows, but this one's an exception! Taking a classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical, this movie tries to bring it to an audience grown used to Disney Renaissance fare, and it makes a few changes in an attempt to appeal to that audience. Are these changes successful, and regar
Shorts! Betty Boop: Buzzy Boop at the Concert & Sally Swing
Our time with Betty Boop is unfortunately coming to a close, as her theatrical shorts series would end in 1939. In her series later years, Boop's shorts have increasingly featured other characters as the focus instead of herself, and here we have two shorts that, frankly, aren't an exception in that regard. But they do both, at least, bring back some of that jazzy, swingy vibe that existed
Disney's Fantasia
All of Disney's early film output was experimental, but besides perhaps Snow White itself, none were more so than Fantasia. Designed as an experience unto itself, with a road show and everything, Fantasia was a huge passion project for Walt, one he intended to last for years with new versions and all sorts of exciting things... but then, it bombed at the box office, not making an actual profit
Shorts! Mickey Mouse: Boat Builders & Mickey's Trailer
The late 1930s were the golden age of Mickey, Donald and Goofy cartoons, though 1938 was the last year we got several of them a year. Of them, these two have been picked for review, featuring the boys building what equates to an Ikea boat, and the boys living in a trailer, driven around by Goofy. How do these two hold up to the likes of Clock Cleaners and Lonesome Ghosts? Listen to find out!
My Neighbors the Yamadas
There's a movie by Studio Ghibli that came out between the two icons that are Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, and it's a movie that few people seem to talk about. It's another Isao Takahata feature, and another one of his that's based on a Japanese comic strip. Featuring a watercolor aesthetic way before his eventual Princess Kaguya film, this movie looks like virtually nothing else in the Gh
Shorts! Looney Tunes: Porky's Party
It's Porky's birthday, and who's showing up to celebrate? Is it his friends Gabby and Petunia, or perhaps rising co-star Daffy Duck? No! It's... it's a penguin and goose we've never seen before. Oh, okay, well, this is also one of the last Bob Clampett cartoons that Chuck Jones did animation for, so is it a good sendoff? Listen to find out!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer the 4D Attraction
To wrap up our Holliganza this year, we take a look at a non-Rankin/Bass Rudolph short film that does its best to harken back to that original special and the way it was animated. Intended to be experienced with 4D effects, we didn't get to experience quite everything this short was intended to offer, but even still, was this a pleasant way to end the year? Listen to find out!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys
(Spoiler Section Length - 2min 45sec)The last attempt at a non-Rankin/Bass Rudolph movie went over poorly, at least financially, so this time around the rights-holders are doing a direct sequel to Rankin/Bass' efforts. They're also not putting this thing in theatres, which was probably financially a smart move. With CGI animation and character designs harkening back to the original, does t
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie
Our first Rudolph film post-Rankin/Bass has virtually nothing to do with the Rudolph special we all know, and instead is a retelling of the story with a lot of added aspects like fairies, an ice witch and a sly arctic fox. It's also got a lot of well-known actors lending their voices to the project, such as Whoopi Goldberg and John Goodman. The creators of the film were so confident in their w
Frosty Returns
We've been through all of the Rankin/Bass adventures of Rudolph and Frosty, so why not check out their adventures as handled by their later rights-holders? First up is Frosty, who, well, Returns in this eco-focused special from the 90s starring John Goodman and various improv talents. It might be nostalgic for some, but looking at it all these years later, does it hold a candle to the original
Shorts! The Captain and the Kids: Poultry Pirates
In the late 1930s, Friz Freleng decided to leave Warner Bros to seek greener pastures, and ended up over at MGM, working on their new in-house series The Captain and the Kids. Unfortuantely for Freleng, his time at the studio would be short, and unfortunately for MGM, so would this particular series of shorts. But does that mean there's nothing to offer from Freleng's short-lived tenure at the stu
Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia
(Spoiler Section Length - 5min 58sec)The original Ernest & Celestine was a great movie that we watched way back in our first season, and when we heard a sequel had released, it was only a matter of time before we covered it. And that time is now! Does this sequel, which features the bear and mouse duo visiting a new land, compare favorably to the original? And does it hold up in its own right?
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Cinderella Meets Fella
Early Elmer Fudd was a very different beast than the one we all know today, and last time we saw him on this podcast, he was a small part of a spin on a classic fairy tale. Well this time he's an ever bigger part of a spin on another classic fairy tale, but does the increased size of the role do him, or the cartoon, any favors? Is this a step closer to the Elmer we know? Is it even worth watch
Disney's Home on the Range
(Spoiler Section Length - 2min 14sec)Many films from the 2000s are blamed for 'killing' 2D animation in the west (at least for movies), such as Disney's Treasure Planet or Dreamworks' Sinbad. But at least for a few years, only one film had the ignominious honor of being the final 2D Disney film: Home on the Range. While Treasure Planet and Sinbad have their fans, Home on the Range
Shorts! Popeye: Bulldozing the Bull & Disney: Ferdinand the Bull
Sometimes two cartoons with similar subject matter appear in the same year. In this case, we get two cartoons that are both focused on matador bull fighting, with both cartoons seemingly taking that stance that it's a bad thing. One does so directly, with its protagonist constantly talking about violence against animals being bad, while the other has a protagonist that IS the bull in a fight,
Corpse Bride
(Spoiler Section Length - 20min 24sec)Last year for Spookaboo we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas film, often hailed as a Tim Burton-directed film, despite him being a producer. Corpse Bride shows us what an actual Burton-directed feature film looks like, for better and worse. It's got a fun supernatural world too, but also a significant portion of the film features a drab 'real'
Shorts! Looney Tunes: Porky's Hare Hunt
By the late 30s, Warner Bros finally managed to develop some cartoon stars that would end up standing the test of time, like Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. But their biggest star still hadn't arrived, until this short! Sort of! Tho the rabbit in this short is a far cry from Bugs Bunny as we know him today, it's still an important stepping stone on the way to Bugs' eventual actual debut in 1
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
(Spoiler Section Length - 7min 5sec)Anime movies attached to shows can be a mixed bag, often struggling to stretch characters and concepts out into a feature-length format, and struggling even further to work as stand-alone films. While many anime movies struggle because the anime they're spun off from are adaptations of manga, and thus they cannot contradict canon, the Cowboy Bebop movie does
Shorts! MGM: An Optical Poem & Silly Symphonies: Farmyard Symphony
It's well known that Fantasia could only happen because of the success of Walt Disney's first big feature-length gamble, Snow White. What's less well known are these two shorts that preceeded Fantasia's release, one featuring an important Fantasia collaborator and the other being a bit of a test for a more 'Symphonic' take on a cartoon than the Silly Symphonies often actual
Pokemon: The First Movie
(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 49sec)You don't need us to tell you that the Pokemon franchise is a phenomenon. And while the games are the biggest, most important part of that phenomenon, the anime was no slouch either, especially back in the late 90s. So when they made the very first Pokemon MOVIE? Kids went wild! Two of the three of us were kids back then, and you better believe we went wild
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Katnip Kollege
Are you a groovy kat? Have you got rhythm? Can you move to the beat? What if your answers to all those questions were 'no', but everyone else at your kollege said 'yes' and they're judging you for it? That's more or less the plot of this weird little kartoon. But is it worth watching? Listen to find out!
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
(Spoiler Section Length - 8min 20sec)We reach the end of our Looney Tunes movie marathon with the film that inspired the marathon in the first place! This movie came out very recently, but you'd be forgiven for not knowing about it, given how little it was advertised. It's a cartoon 50's sci-fi B-movie starring Porky, Daffy and Petunia, involving a space invader and a copious amount of
Shorts! Looney Tunes: Porky and Daffy & The Daffy Doc
By the late 30s, Disney had accrued multiple big cartoon stars, but Warner Bros still really just had the one: Porky Pig. Then Porky went on a duck hunt and the studio started to think... maybe we've got the makings for a second star. 1938 is the year they would try to make Daffy Duck a star, and what better way to start than by having him co-star with Porky? In these two shorts we explore Daf
Space Jam: A New Legacy
(Spoiler Section Length - 2min 8sec)Looney Tunes Back in Action started life as a Space Jam sequel, but ultimately evolved into its own thing. The true sequel wouldn't come for another decade or two, and rather than switching genres, it shows the Looney Tunes playing basketball yet again, just with a different star athlete this time around: LeBron James. But the Looney Tunes aren't the onl
Shorts! Terrytoons: Gandy the Goose & Goose Flies High
While both Disney and Warner Bros created duck characters who would go on to be popular to this day, they weren't the only studios trying to use waterfowl to create memorable characters. Enter Terrytoons, covered on this podcast for the first time! Their creation, Gandy the Goose, isn't exactly a household name these days, but is that because his cartoons are bad? Let's watch and find
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
(Spoiler Section Length - 13min 6sec)After Space Jam's success, attempts were immediately made to create a sequel. None of that really panned out until close to 30 years later, but back in the early 2000s a new Looney Tunes live-action hybrid film WAS made... to much less success than Space Jam. But success, critical or financial, does not actually tell one whether a movie is good or not, and the
Shorts! Donald Duck: Donald's Nephews & Good Scouts
It's time for ducks! And maybe some other forms of foul. But today specifically, it's a lot of ducks, with Disney's very own Donald and his three new co-stars: Huey, Dewey & Louie! These two shorts, the first two released starring the trio, show two very different ways of incorporating them into a Donald Duck short. I think it's ultimately a mix of the two styles that ends up s
Space Jam
(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 14sec)Come on and slam, if you want to jam. And Jam we must, because we're warping back to the 90s when Looney Tunes and Michael Jordan were at peak cultural relevance. Space Jam is a movie that was hugely popular at the time, but in more modern evaluations has often been found lacking. Given how cynically corporate the film's origins are, one would hardly be
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Now That Summer Is Gone
Frank Tashlin is a fascinating character, in and out of the Warner Bros animation studio multiple times throughout its lifetime. On the podcast, we've only watched his Porky shorts thus far, and so, when given free range to make a color short, with original characters, one of the last shorts he worked on before another exodus and eventual return, is the product still worthwhile? Listen to find
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
(Spoiler Section Length - 7min 37sec)Though Rankin/Bass was well-known for their holiday specials featuring the likes of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, the amount of specials that the company actually produced might be surprising to many casual viewers. But the fact of the matter is, they made enough holiday specials with enough of a shared universe that they were eventuall
Shorts! Popeye: Let's Celebrake
This holiday cartoon, released at the beginning of 1938, turns many Popeye conventions on their ear: Popeye and Bluto are pals and don't fight each other. Popeye is more focused on Olive Oyl's grandmother than Olive Oyl herself. And no real violence of any sort actually occurs! This might make it sound like a boring Popeye cartoon, but is that truly the case? Listen to find out!
Fantastic Planet (La Planète Sauvage)
(Spoiler Section Length - 10min 48sec)When you're passionate about animation, you end up knowing about a lot of movies by proxy, without having actually seen them. The French film with the giant blue people is one such film for Danika, and now it's finally time to watch the thing! It is significantly weirder than any of this podcast's cohosts could have imagined. But does it hold up? L
Shorts! Puppetoons: Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves & Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Though traditional, 2D animation was the norm for animated shorts in the 1930s, they weren't the ONLY things being made. George Pal was also out there, creating shorts using a fascinating form of stop-motion which involved a great many carved wooden figures. His 1930s work was primarily comprised of advertisments, but they're fascinating nonetheless. Do these old works still hold up, even
Ghost in the Shell
(Spoiler Section Length - 9min 3sec)Like Akira, Ghost in the Shell is one of those anime movies that is often brought up to represent the value and 'adult' appeal that anime has, as compared to western animated movies which are often following in Disney's footsteps. Like Akira, it's also very influential, both in its home country and overseas. But is it worthy of this reputation? D
Shorts! Mickey Mouse: Lonesome Ghosts
Ending our look at 1937, we come to Lonesome Ghosts, a short where Mickey, Donald and Goofy are ghostbusters, decades before the 80s film. But the twist is that they ones asking for their help are... the ghosts themselves!! Since the ghosts are so lonesome they want to terrorize our main trio, and they do so in many weird and wacky ways. Is it a good cartoon? Listen to find out!
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
(Spoiler Section Length - 7min 16sec)The last time all three co-hosts watched an Adult animated film, Eight Crazy Nights, none of them enjoyed it. But does that mean no such films have merit? Releasing in the late 90's, the South Park film released during the series' early years when they were considered especially controversial. It's a musical, just like ECN, and it's certainly no
Shorts! Looney Tunes: Rover's Rival
With Ub Iwerks gone, Bob Clampett was left to take over the cartooning unit, and his own sensibilities started to quickly become apparent, even if they weren't allowed completely free reign with Chuck Jones still there. In this short, we see some Clampett start to stretch his wings with evil cute characters while Jones has fun giving detailed animation to an ancient dog. Is the cartoon any goo
The Lion King Remake & Mufasa: The Lion King
(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 39sec)This podcast has made no secret of the fact that it's not exactly on board with the Disney remake trend, and perhaps no remake has been more dreaded by at least one of these co-hosts than The Lion King. Though it's often referred to as live action, this movie is basically entirely animated just like the original, just in a hyper-realistic style whose pu
Shorts! Popeye: Hospitaliky
Many Popeye cartoons return to the well of Popeye vs Bluto, and that well typically involves trying to best one another at something until it comes to fisticuffs. But what if the thing they were trying to best each other at was... getting injured??
The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride & The Lion King 1½
(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 41sec)The reputation of Disney sequels is generally not great, but among them the Lion King sequel and... interquel(?) tend to be favored. They're pretty wildly different in tone, with Simba's Pride maintaining a similar tone to the first movie, going for a Romeo and Juliet thing rather than Macbeth. Lion King 1½, meanwhile, is a purposeful farce, with a MST3
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Egghead Rides Again & Little Red Walking Hood
Tex Avery was the Warner Bros director that really shook up what it meant to be a WB cartoon short, and one of the ways in which he did that was an increasing focus on subverting expectations and breaking the 4th wall. He also introduced several characters to the Looney Tunes lineup, such as Egghead and Elmer Fudd. These two characters in particular have a strange history, one that's become so
![The Lion King (1994) [feat. Ryan]](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_episode/2272975/2272975-1745357857252-73ad692881186.jpg)
The Lion King (1994) [feat. Ryan]
(Spoiler Section Length - 8min 58sec)Generally speaking, people consider the Disney Renaissance of the (mostly) 90s to be the height of the studio's output, thanks in no small part to critical and commercial titans like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. But there is one film above all others that gripped the cultural zeitgeist and never fully let go, one film that could be
Shorts! Silly Symphonies: The Old Mill (feat. Ryan)
There are only a handful of shorts whose fame at least partially comes from their technical achievements. Steamboat Willie and its sychronized sound is one, while The Old Mill's claim to fame is the multiplane camera. While we take what it does for granted now in the digital age, back then it was a big step-up in cinematography for animated shorts. But does it really add that much to this shor
The Illusionist (2010)
(Spoiler Section Length - 14min 41sec)From the creator of The Triplets of Bellville comes a film about an old magician living in a time where his talents are valued less and less by the day. While Triplets had sparse dialogue, this film goes even further than that while maintaining a less exaggerated style, both visually and in what few vocalizations do occur. This lends it even more of an 'ar
Shorts! Merrie Melodies: The Lyin' Mouse
While Warner Bros' output has been increasing in quality in the late 30s, largely thanks to new blood like Tex Avery and newly-impowered blood like Bob Clampett, one member of the old guard in particular is still around and has been a lot slower to change: Fritz Freleng. Much of his output has largely been echoing the stylings of the Harman-Ising era, a style that's more and more at odds w
Voices of a Distant Star & The Place Promised in Our Early Days
(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 20sec)It's time to go back to the past of Makoto Shinkai - the creator of Your Name - to see the man's directorial debut. Except... we're actually checking out two films, one a short film and the other a full-length one. What similarites lie between these two works, and how do they relate to his later films? And more importantly... how do they hold up? Li
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