Chasing Childhood

We’re going undercover this week to check out another beloved franchise film: Spy Kids (2001). What started as a peek into the secret agent world from a child’s perspective, this movie ended up jump starting an entire series and reboots. It’s a heartwarming tale of love, family, and having faith in oneself, also a ton of cool gadgets that are worth being jealous over. Should we get ourselves recru...

We’re really leaning into our mojo this week as we tackle our Father’s Day episode! And, of course, our dads chose the not at all kid friendly Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). As the third installment of Mike Myers’ famous James Bond spoof franchise, Goldmember is definitely not a children’s series, but it’s something we watched heavily growing up and it shaped a lot of our humor to this day. L...

As it turns out, we haven’t gone extinct just yet! Continuing our June watchlist, we’re metaphorically turning the clocks way back to visit Ice Age (2002). Well known as a heroic and heartwarming film about unlikely friends who become a found family during a major climate shift, this tale pretty much covers the full spectrum of emotion and earned itself a ton of sequels. It was also easily one of...

Look out for that new episode! We’re swinging into our June watchlist with another live action Disney film: George of The Jungle (1997). This spoof flick’s humor is peak for the late 90s, which undoubtedly crowned it as one of the most quotable flicks from that era. Not to mention the crazy tension between its main leads that made us all do a big heart eyes emoji before that was even a thing. But...

Holy Cow! We’re in the final week of May! This week we’ve decided to freeze time with a fairly infamous superhero movie of the late 90s called Batman & Robin (1997). As the final installment in a 4 part Batman series, this movie was often dubbed a career killer for most of its leading actors despite the star studded cast who made up its impressive roster. While definitely colorful and cartooni...

April showers bring May flowers and they are definitely in bloom this week as we review the semi-known animated film Ferngully (1992). Released in the midst of high competition with Disney’s Renaissance era, this original tale about the effects of humanity’s greed and consumption on nature still managed to leave a pretty significant mark of its own. Featuring one of the scariest villains witnessed...

It's possible that we've peaked with today's episode. No, really! This week we are reviewing one of our absolute favorite tales both in animated (1992) and live action (2019) formats: Aladdin. Originally released in the heart of Disney's Renaissance era, this story of what it means to be honest and true to yourself has captivated children for ages. Don't believe us? We have a special guest to prov...

Happy (early) Mother's Day! This week we are reviewing a pick by our moms from their childhoods, a little known film entitled The Sound of Music (1965). Obviously it's one of the most iconic movies of all time and yet another Julie Andrews classic that we absolutely adored growing up, especially for its musical numbers. As a notoriously heartwarming story of family, love, resilience, and bravery,...

Shut up! We beg your pardon, but for this week's installment of childhood nostalgia, we're taking it all the way back to tiaras and sitting lessons with The Princess Diaries (2001). This is the film that both put Anne Hathaway on the Hollywood map and potentially solidified her character as one of the most important royals of our time. At least to those who know and love the fictional country of G...

Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! This week we're turning the clocks way back to the golden era of classic Hollywood to review The Wizard of Oz (1939). Not only has this film come to shape cinema and cultural staples for literal generations, it's also a frequently viewed film for children since its debut over 80 years ago. Including us! As we venture back into the magical land of Oz, we have to...

Spring is fully in bloom which means it's time to jump into a film that's all flowers and, you guessed it, bees! This week we're bringing special guest Tyler along as the three of us re-watch Bee Movie (2007). While pretty forgetful on first landing, this movie has been the subject of old and new internet memes almost since its release. As we jump back into the strange world of bugs invented by Je...

Calling all adventurers at heart! We're heading into the month of April with "a game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind". That's right, this week we're re-watching Jumanji (1995). Not to be confused with its two hilarious successors from 2017 and 2019, we focus specifically on the Robin Williams classic and cultural icon that is the original film. As Lex revisits all of t...

Happy early Easter fellow nostalgia seekers! This week at Chasing Childhood, we have a Scrumdiddlyumptious episode for you. We are traveling back to 1971 and the mysterious, musical, and magical world of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” In the past, this cult classic has proven itself to be one of the best “rags to riches” tales in cinematic history. However, does the story still stand the...

It's our first video game review! Twenty-seven episodes into our podcast isn't too late to try one of these, is it? We don't think so! This week, we are reviewing two classics from 1996: Crash Bandicoot and Space Jam. One was our after-school Playstation obsession and the other is a beloved staple of 90s culture that is rarely outdone in pop culture. As we revisit both of these familiar sights fro...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! After many listener suggestions, we have finally decided to tackle our first DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie)! To celebrate the greenest of holidays, this week we are reviewing The Luck of The Irish (2001). At one point in history, this film was a reigning champion on Disney Channel in the earliest part of the DCOM era, only beaten by High School Musical's inception a...

TW: This week's episode contains brief discussions of homophobia and transphobia in the title film. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome back to Chasing Childhood for our milestone 25th episode! This week we are reviewing a movie that may not necessarily be considered kid friendly, but we definitely watched growing up regardless. We are, of course, talking about Bring It On (2000). Considering...

We are embracing pure chaotic Nickelodeon energy this month and kicking off March with the tried and true classic of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001). Jimmy is a genius inventor, scientist, and resident know-it-all who somehow manages to get himself in the most convoluted situations alongside his two best friends and wacky parents. This movie and its subsequent TV series really defined the height...

Rounding out the season of romance here at Chasing Childhood, we're ending with one of the most well-known love stories of all time: Grease (1978). A typical good girl meets a bad boy trope that plenty of other series have riffed off of, this musical film is often considered to be a prime example of how far a person is willing to change for true love. While that concept may have been considered ro...

It's the season of love here at Chasing Childhood and we're continuing to review some classic love stories from our childhoods! This week, we're swan diving back into one of our most beloved treasures that was definitely Break The VHS status: The Swan Princess (1994). As children, we idolized Odette for her fierce determination, independence, and of course, romantic love story with Prince Derek. N...

Welcome to another episode of Chasing Childhood during the season of love while we review some classic love stories from our childhoods! This week, we're going way back to discuss one of the greatest films of all time: The Princess Bride (1987). As inconceivable as it might be, this cult classic is responsible for many people's definition of true love overcoming the odds and friendships forged in...

It's officially February and with the season of love in full swing this month, we're checking out some classic love stories from our childhoods! Naturally, we're starting with Shrek (2001). What eventually became the groundwork for millennial memes and has been nationally recognized as both a cultural reset and one of Eddie Murphy's greatest works, Shrek defined humor for us as kids. But does this...

Moving away from our recent winter themes, this week at Chasing Childhood we're sleeping with the fishes while watching Shark Tale (2004). Often regarded as one of the forgotten DreamWorks films, it came as no surprise that Steph had watched this mafia inspired children's cartoon about forty-five times growing up and Lex had never seen it at all. Does this clever story of acceptance, gratitude, an...

January continues to bring us freezing temps and wintery movies over here at Chasing Childhood! To continue our weird and completely unintentional theme of reviewing true stories turned into children's cartoons, this week we're discussing Balto (1995). It's an adventure driven animation that, shockingly, neither of us remember a single thing about and haven't viewed since we were under the age of...

Welcome back to another episode of Chasing Childhood! This week, we're tackling perhaps one of our most mature and compelling childhood films yet: The Prince of Egypt (1998). It's a harrowing, albeit thought provoking, story of discovering one's true identity and using that knowledge for good which we absolutely adored growing up. Most people remember this film for its imaginative artistic style,...

New year, same podcast! We're kicking off 2021 on an excited note with our most beloved animated classic, and recently inducted Disney Princess, Anastasia (1997). Of course we can't review a true staple of our childhoods without a special guest who was there through it all. This week Jackie returns to bring us a game that would be simple if anyone else were playing and let's just say it takes ever...