The ThawedCast: Conversations About Animation

Philip, Dawson, and Hannah discuss the 1992 animated feature, 'FernGully: The Last Rainforest,' an independently produced major motion picture from director/producer team Bill Kroyer and Wayne Young. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, this Disney competitor was praised for its vibrant animation and pro-environmental message. It follows the fairy kingdom of FernGully in the Australian rainforest. The...

Dawson, Philip, Jodi, and Hannah review and discuss 'Over the Garden Wall,' a 2014 musical limited series from Cartoon Network. Created by Pat McHale and Katie Krentz, the story originated as an idea McHale conceived in 2004. A veteran of animated shows like 'The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack' and 'Adventure Time,' McHale's concept of a pair of brothers on a journey through 19th-Century Goth...

The ThawedCast returns to Arendelle as Hannah, Jodi, and Philip discuss the new short film now available on Disney+, "Once Upon a Snowman." Set during the events of 'Frozen' (2013), this 7-minute short from Walt Disney Animation Studios depicts the moment the snowman Olaf comes to life, chronicling the events between the song "Let It Go" and his encounter with Anna and Kristoff the next morning. A...

Jodi, Dawson, and Philip review one of the darkest entries from Walt Disney Animation, 'The Black Cauldron' (1985), a film that had a troubled journey to the big screen. In order to avoid a PG-13 rating, the film was delayed and a substantial amount of completed animation was cut from the film. Despite its dissonant tone and truncated runtime, 'The Black Cauldron' is a spectacular tale of heroism...

Dawson and Philip discuss one of the first animated features ever made in Canada, 'Rock & Rule' (1983) from Nelvana. Plagued by its weighty ambitions and difficulty finding a target audience, this high-voltage musical barely saw a theatrical release. It now lives on as a curious relic of the 1980s, filled with nostalgic callbacks to the music of artists as such Lou Reed, Blondie, and Cheap Trick,...

Jodi, Hannah, and Philip discuss 'The Secret of Nimh,' (1982) the gritty, fantastical adventure film about a mother protecting her young. Director Don Bluth's first feature, this landmark animated film adapts the mind-bending 1971 novel from Robert C. O'Brien about enhanced laboratory rodents. Mrs. Brisby is the widow of one of the escaped test subjects and enjoys simple farm life until her home i...

Philip and Jodi discuss the direct-to-video prequel to 'Anastasia' (1997), 'Bartok the Magnificent' (1999), directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The film establishes the enigmatic Bartok as a mystical creature whose history dates back well before the rise of the USSR. In a world where talking, street-performing bats (and bears) are nothing too out-of-the-ordinary, the task of rescuing a beloved...

Animation legend Don Bluth released his 9th film, 'Anastasia,' in 1997. Co-directed by longtime collaborator Gary Goldman, this historical fantasy was the first feature produced by Fox Animation Studios and represents a high point for hand-drawn animated musicals. The film follows the amnesiac Anya a.k.a. Anastasia, a Russian princess who embarks on a journey to reunite with her sole-surviving fam...

Christopher Nolan's latest film, 'Tenet' (2020) is a surreal, sci-fi epic resting on the frame of a traditional espionage thriller. Philip and Dawson review this globetrotting, heist-pulling actioner and attempt to make some sense of the unique time-travel physics that this film introduces. Never one to disappoint on a concept, Nolan once again teams with expert physicists to weave scientific phen...

Dawson, Jodi and Philip discuss 'Mulan' from Walt Disney Pictures, a Disney+ exclusive in the US. This film comes in a long line of live-action adaptations of popular Disney animated musicals, and this film revisits the events of the 1998 wartime fantasy, albeit with a more serious tone, having shed its "musical" label. Follow The ThawedCast: Conversations About Animation: twitter.com/thawedcast a...

Philip, Jodi and Hannah review and discuss 'Quest for Camelot' (1998) from Warner Bros. Pictures. This animated action-adventure spotlights Kayley, enthusiastic daughter of Sir Lionel, Knight of the Round Table, who is sent on a mission to find Excalibur and protect Camelot from the treacherous Lord Ruber. With the help of the blind warrior Garrett, and two-headed dragon Devon and Cornwall, she ho...

The ThawedCast: Conversations About Animation welcomes Jodi and Hannah back to the podcast as they join Dawson and Philip to discuss Disney's 'Mulan' from 1998. This musical retelling of the famous Chinese poem, "The Ballad of Mulan," spotlights the eponymous heroine's struggle against an aggressive patriarchy, provoking her to secretly join the army while posing as a man. With the help of her anc...

Dawson and Philip discuss a longtime favorite show of theirs in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' which ran from 2005-08 on Nickelodeon. The show imagines a vibrant world of mysticism and warfare, in where the four elements of water, earth, fire, and air represent the various cultures that populate it. The central character, Aang, who can "bend" the element air, must realize his destiny as the Avatar w...

Dawson and Philip review and discuss 'Onward' (2020) from Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. Directed and conceived by Dan Scanlon ('Monsters University'), 'Onward' imagines a world where magic and technology coexist, populated by an assortment of magical creatures. The film follows elf brothers Ian and Barley on their quest to complete a magical incantation with the power to bring...

Dawson and Philip bring you their discussion and review of 'Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker', touted as the "End of the Skywalker Saga," from Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios, directed by JJ Abrams and co-written by Abrams and Chris Terrio. The brothers bring somewhat conflicting opinions about the film, having gone in with low expectations due to the Sequel Trilogy's seeming lack of...

Part 2 of the ThawedCast's discussion on 'Frozen II,' the 58th film from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Jodi, Hannah and Philip dive into the magic of the hit sequel to 2013's 'Frozen.' After a resounding first two weekends in theaters, 'Frozen 2' is on its way to becoming the most successful animated film of all time, and the "Thawed Squad" further elaborates on their feelings toward the film. El...

'Frozen 2' has arrived! Philip, Dawson, Jodi and Hannah share their first impressions in what will be a multi-part excursion into the unknown on the ThawedCast. Beware spoilers as the cast dives into the mystery and intrigue of this more grown-up sequel to 2013's 'Frozen,' directed once again by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The cast share their favorit...

Philip and Jodi discuss the pivotal 50th film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, 'Tangled' (2010) directed by Byron Howard and Nathan Greno. This modern classic provides an update on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, "Rapunzel". Kidnapped at birth, the enchanted Princess Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is locked in a tower while her hair's healing powers are used to keep the wicked Mother Gothel (Donna Murph...

Episode 43 of the ThawedCast brings you Philip and Cara's review and discussion of Pixar Animation's 'Coco' (2017), directed by Lee Unkrich and co-directed by Adrian Molina. Disney/Pixar's 19th feature film, 'Coco' stars a young boy who refuses the family tradition of becoming a shoemaker in favor of a career in music. Forbidden from playing music by his family, Miguel is cursed while attempting t...

Philip Ehlke and Cara Deptula discuss one of the most creative films ever put to screen in their review of 'Spirited Away,' the 2001 Oscar-winning film from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. This film transports its audience into a world of magic, spirits, and some of the surprisingly mundane--but nonetheless vividly imaginative--undertakings of the spirit realm's residents. Ten-year-old Chihiro i...

Dawson and Philip review Todd Phillips' 'Joker' from Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Comics. This dark take on the infamous Batman villain, brilliantly portrayed here by Joaquin Phoenix, provides an unseen facet of the Joker in its focus on poverty and mental illness. Arthur Fleck is a bumbling clown-for-hire with a traumatic childhood and a miserable home life. Fleck finds agency in embracing his da...

The ThawedCast: Conversations About Animation ventures back into the magical world of Jim Henson as Philip Ehlke and Cara Deptula review 'Labyrinth' from 1986. The film stars Jennifer Connelly, David Bowie and Brian Henson and is Jim Henson's feature directorial follow-up to 'The Dark Crystal' (1982). This musical fable combines a brilliant soundtrack, puppetry, and animatronics with breakthrough...

Philip, Jodi and Hannah talk the latest film from DreamWorks Animation, 'Abominable.' Written and directed by Jill Culton and co-directed by Todd Wilderman, the film follows Yi, a girl who finds a yeti hiding on her apartment rooftop. With the help of her friends Peng and Jin, Yi attempts to guide "Everest" back home to the Himalayas, fulfilling a lifelong dream of journeying across China in the p...

The ThawedCast returns to explore the latest trailer for Disney Animation's 'Frozen II.' Arendelle faces a massive threat from a mysterious force. How do our heroes hope to face down the terror that awaits in the forbidden lands to the north? Will Elsa's power consume her? Will Anna gain powers to help in the fight? Listen as Philip, Dawson, Jodi, and Hannah share their thoughts on the new trailer...

Episode 37 of the ThawedCast journeys to the mystical world of 'The Dark Crystal' (1982) as Philip Ehlke and Cara Deptula discuss this passion-fueled fantasy epic from Jim Henson. While not as commercially successful as Henson's endeavors concerning Muppets, 'The Dark Crystal' is an intriguing attempt at using the skills and technology of the Muppeteers to tell a story purely through lifelike, int...