Not My Fantasy

We’re making Not My Fantasy history, folks. That’s right, we’re finally talking about the movie that comes before Cullen’s favorite song about a blue dragon. We’re reviewing “Eragon” with special guests, Kaley and Taylor of The Book Was Better Podcast! Cullen relives his disappointing experience seeing the movie in theaters, Hannah tries to wrap her brain around the movie’s confounding lore, while...

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) (feat. Allyssa Swearingen)   This week, we’re talking about dragons with the Dreamworks film, “How to Train Your Dragon.” Cullen refuses to forgive Stoic for being such a bad father, Hannah gets second-hand embarrassment about the big kiss at the end, and our guest Allyssa gives us great insights into the key changes between the book and the movie as well as filmmak...

Bionicle: Mask of Light (2003) (feat. John Gossett)   Back in the early 2000s, Bionicles caused controversy with their cultural appropriation. Now, they’re wreaking havoc on Hannah’s sanity. This week, we’re lava-surfing into the 2003, direct-to-video movie “Bionicle: Mask of Light.” Cullen soapboxes about the strange, dense lore of the Bionicles toys and media franchise, Hannah desperately clings...

We’re journeying to the island village of Motuni with Moana (2016). We explore just some of the vast lore of Polynesian cultures and talk about the film’s original takes on it as well as the completely original lore created for the film. Plus, Cullen asks the hard questions about using the facilities while searching for Te Fiti, Hannah discovers Moana is her patron Disney Princess saint, and our g...

This week, three Americans watch 2013’s “About Time” and can’t be convinced that the U.K. is a real country. Cullen shares lore about the British obsession with The Killers, Hannah accepts the lack of time travel logic in this delightful film, and our guest Neethi tries to figure out whether the main character is using time travel to tip the British legal system in his clients’ favor. Oh, and Cull...

For this week of time travel month, we’re talking about “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” the 2009 sci-fi romance film adaptation of the book of the same name. Cullen proudly comes out as a “free will stan,” Hannah takes off her rose-colored glasses to see this movie for the mess it really is, and Frankie of the Shoot the Flick podcast earns a purple heart for finishing the movie even though she wanted...

We’re traveling back in time to experience a romcom like no other: “Kate & Leopold” starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman. Hannah breaks our brains with more time travel philosophy and science, Cullen can’t stop comparing this move to “The Knight Before Christmas,” and our guest Alex tries to spot the OTHER time traveler at the beginning of the film. Oh, and we’re all seduced by Hugh Jackman in t...

We’re going to the past with Back to the Future (1985) in our first-ever episode about time travel. Hannah takes the lore reins this week and breaks Cullen’s brain with all sorts of time travel physics, philosophy and paradoxes. With our grad school professor, screenwriter Scott Thompson, we unravel the time travel rules of the Back to the Future universe,    Be sure to follow @freemartin.short on...

We’re traveling back in time to retraumatize Cinderella with the straight-to-DVD Disney animated sequel, Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time. Cullen celebrates a belated St. Paddy’s Day by retelling an Irish fairy tale, Hannah calls out the movie’s retconning the king, and our guest Elyza convinces us that this movie is actually just Cinderella 1½.   Check out Elyza Halpern on TikTok @PossumGirl and Ins...

Cinderella (2015) (feat. Katrina Reinert from The Fairy Tellers)   In this episode of our Cinderella series, we’re joined by Katrina from The Fairy Tellers to discuss Lily James Cinderella from 2015. We recount the Brothers Grimm story “​​Ashenputtel,” mourn the fairy tale parents we’ve lost to Victorian novel disease, and dissect the dangers of toxic positivity and kindness for kindness’s sake.  ...

Cinderella (2021) (feat. Gleek of the Week)   We’re continuing Cinderella month with the #girlboss version of the HBIC. It’s Amazon Prime’s Cinderella (2021) starring Camila Cabello, the wickedly talented Adele Dazeem and, of course, James Corden as a mouse. We’re joined by Andrew, host of Gleek of the Week, to talk about this very Glee-coded, jukebox musical fairytale film. We consider what the t...

In our second episode for Cinderella month, we’re covering the 1997 classic Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella starring Brandy…or as we all refer to it as: Brandy Cinderella! Cullen takes us through the hard-to-trace origins of the Cinderella tale, from Greco-Roman times to a Cinderella story from 8th century China–Ye Xian. With our guest, Brandy Cinderella stan Coltrane, we rave about the powe...

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (PART 2)   We’re wrapping up our discussion on the Disney+ show, Percy Jackson and the Olympians! We dive into the lore of the lotus eaters, bicon Hermes, and the realm of Hades. Plus, we praise Hades for setting boundaries with his toxic family, giggle over the show’s dry humor, and make our final comparisons between this show and the poorly adapted movie.   Resear...

Cinderella (1950) (feat. Bethanie Finger of Prince Kai Fan Pod)   We’re finally doing our first-ever Cinderella series, and we’re starting with the classic Walt Disney’s Cinderella from 1950. We dive into the Charles Perrault story, fangirl over how relatable Cinderella is, and dissect her very sinister situation as a woman in olden times. Thanks to author/podcaster Bethanie Finger for the TSwift...

  This movie warmed our cold hearts! Cullen and Hannah are joined by “Warm Bodies” (2013) stan Laurel to talk about this unique adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, the Haitian origins of zombies, and the corpses we didn’t fall in love with during Supernatural Romance Month. Oh, and Cullen hijacks this episode to platform about the DCOM series “Zombies,” driving everyone to the brink of madness. Huge...

Lisa Frankenstein (2024) (feat. Passages Pod)   We saw Lisa Frankenstein (2024), the brand-new cult-horror-teen-romance from writer Diablo Cody. Listen as Cullen, Hannah, and special guests Robbie and Amanda from Passages Podcast fall deep into madness over this terrifically terrible film. Our conversation is just as wild, twisted and confusing as the movie itself. A MUST-LISTEN!   HUGE THANKS to...

Cullen sits down with past/future guest of the pod, Bethanie Finger, to talk about her upcoming debut novel, “More Than Life.” Learn more about what inspired this fantasy-romance-adventure story, discover her writing process AND wrack your brain over her hints about the rest of the trilogy to keep you guessing about what’s next for Cordelia, Jaspar and the rest of the crew.   AVAILABLE NOW! Order...

Beautiful Creatures (feat. Cala Adair)    There’s nothing quite like a Southern Gothic story to spice up Supernatural Romance Month. That’s why we watched Beautiful Creatures (2013). Watch as Hannah loses her mind defending the Beautiful Creatures book that she didn’t like! This week, we cover everything from the history of witchcraft in the South to questionable perceptions about the Civil War to...

Hold on tight, spidermonkeys. We’re starting Supernatural Romance Month with THE supernatural romance of the millennial generation: Twilight! We traverse through a smattering of vampire lore from around the world and in literature, dissect the differences between real Quileute mythology and the white nonsense created by Stephanie Meyer, and explore the traditional Mormon messaging of this story. B...

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Part 1)   We’re heading back to Camp Half-Blood and watching the new Disney+ show Percy Jackson and the Olympians. We’re light on lore, but heavy on the hot takes about season one (so far), how it compares to the book and the ways in which it is superior to the motion picture.   Research for this episode: Perseus - Britannica The Myth of Perseus and Medusa Explaine...

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (feat. Overly Sarcastic Productions)   For part two of our mythology month, we’re watching the widely disappointing introduction to the movie franchise that never struck lightning: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. We venture through a very brief summary of the loose canon of the 12 Olympians, compare and contrast the STARK d...

Rankin/Bass - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town   For the second part of our 2023 holiday celebration, we’re talking about the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1964) and “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” (1970). Hannah and Cullen reminisce about holiday traditions, break down the unhinged-ness of these stop-motion animation films, and...

The Knight Before Christmas (feat. Tori Coyne)   For the second episode in a row, we’re talking about feudalism! To start off the holiday season, we dissect the second film in the Vanessa Hudgens Christmas Cinematic Universe (VHCCU for short), 2019’s The Knight Before Christmas on Netflix. Cullen tries ASMR hot chocolate-making, Hannah reveals the movie’s subliminal advertising for other Netflix c...

Wish (2023) (feat. Cait Callaghan)   When you wish upon a star…it may fall from the sky, help you free the wishes of your feudalist Mediterranean town, and overthrow the silver fox sorcerer that stole the wishes in the first place. That’s right, we’re talking the brand new Walt Disney Animation film, Wish, its music and the rancid internet discourse that surrounds it. Cullen starts a feud with ast...

Put on your imagination caps because it’s time to make Dungeons & Dragons characters! This episode, Cullen guides Hannah through the DND character creation process. We do lots of simple math, Cullen confesses that he’s a DBU alumnus, and Hannah revels in her love of high-fiber berries.   Research for this episode: Dungeons & Dragons: 5th Edition   ====================================   Wat...