Disniversity Podcast

The years keep coming, and they don’t stop coming. Film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers return to the London Podcast Festival for a sold-out show that leaves Disney’s Magic Kingdom behind for the swirling swamp of 2001’s Shrek. For our 50th episode, it’s finally time to tackle the big green guy in the room – a figure who not only changed the trajectory of Walt Disney Anima...

Leaving Dinosaur (Plus Lemurs) in the past where it belongs, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers head further into the Disney wilderness on a trip to Peru, with 2000’s The Emperor’s New Groove. It’s not only a film with an important role in Disniversity history (to be explained), but marked a new groove for the studio itself – plunging Disney further into irreverence, abs...

As the sun rises on a new era of Disney – the Wilderness Years – film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers go back millions of years (while the studio looks to the future) in 2000’s Dinosaur. Strap in for Disney animation’s first CGI-centric film – with Ben and Sam exploring how the filmmakers blended prehistoric creatures into footage of live-action environments, with mixed re...

It’s not time for class to return quite yet – but for now, here’s a bonus talk! Join film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers live at the BFI in London, where they were invited on stage as part of Once Upon A Time: A Disney Day, during the Making Magic: 100 Years Of Disney season. In ‘From Magic Mirrors To Madrigals: A History Of Magic In Disney Animation’, they discuss one of...

The end of term is here – and before we go on a brief summer break, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers are here to deliver one final statement on the Renaissance Era. In our latest Study Group episode, we look back over what makes this seismic decade for the studio such a creatively fertile time, and explore how the era changed Disney for good. Expect discussions of the...

As the Renaissance Era draws to a close, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers head back to the orchestra pit for another blast of absolute music in Fantasia 2000. Not always considered part of the Renaissance, we discuss why it belongs firmly at the end of this era – and discuss its celebrity guest hosts, the studio’s first fully-3D short, and how the film differs thematic...

Leaving China behind them, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers head back to the African jungle for a vine-swinging adventure in 1999’s Tarzan. And they’re joined by Tarzan-stan (Tar-stan?) journalist Emily Murray, bringing her deep love of Phil Collins dad-rock bangers. There’s much discussion of that drum-heavy soft-rock soundtrack, explorations of the Deep Canvas techno...

With their friendship mercifully intact, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers get down to business with 1998’s Mulan – bringing with them all the force of a great typhoon, the strength of a ranging fire, and very special guest Rhianna Dhillon! Get ready for deconstructions of masculinity, much praise for nearly-axed hero Cri-Kee, discussions of the original Chinese folkson...

After ascending the heights of Notre Dame, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers are blasting back to Ancient Greece for an anachronism-heavy superhero-deity mash-up: 1997’s Hercules. And – ding ding ding! – it’s the first film in Disniversity history that finds our duo with wildly differing opinions… Strap in for a spicy trip to Mount Olympus and back, exploring the way Di...

Sailing away from The New World, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers are drawn in by the sound of clanging Parisian bells for a gothic twisted tale of monsters and men in 1996’s The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. Joining them to discuss one of the darkest films of the Disney Renaissance is master of the macabre (and all-round lovely guy) Mike Muncer, of The Evolution Of Horror...

Fresh from experiencing the circle of life in the savanna, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers head just around the river bend to Disney’s next renaissance movie: 1995’s Pocahontas. Since they can only speak to the film itself – and not its important, and oft-mistold, historical context – they’re joined early in the show in a guest slot by historian, lecturer, and Pocahon...

After soaring over Agrabah and beyond, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers make the pilgrimage to Pride Rock to pay tribute to Disney’s regal Shakespeare spin: 1994’s The Lion King. And they’re joined by Simba super-fan Amon Warmann, for a bumper-sized discussion of the biggest Disney film yet. Together, they explore how the film accidentally stumbled into its Hamlet homa...

A whole new year, a whole new pod – film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers are back in the heat of the Disney Renaissance, getting a new fantastic point of view on 1992’s Aladdin. And they’re joined by esteemed podcaster-actor-comedian (and more) Paul Scheer! The How Did This Get Made? and Unspooled legend hops aboard the magic carpet for a deep-dive into Disney’s Agrabah ad...

’Tis the season to be happy and joyous, fa-la-la! In a very merry Muppet Christmas episode, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers present a festive bonus class – tackling the ultimate Dickens adaptation, 1992’s The Muppet Christmas Carol. Except, neither of them know very much about puppetry. Enter super-special guest Brian Herring – a professional puppeteer whose credits i...

After a brief wedding-induced hiatus, we’re once again back! But before returning to the Disney Renaissance, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers are taking another stop on the long, winding Disniversity road trip – picking up hitchhiker Griffin Newman to talk 1995 cult favourite, A Goofy Movie! Film podcast aficionados will know Griffin from the Blank Check podcast – but...

With Toontown (and the London Podcast Festival) in the rear-view mirror, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers get back to the main curriculum to tackle a tale as old as time, and songs as old as rhyme in 1991’s Beauty And The Beast. In another bumper-sized episode befitting the might of the Disney Renaissance era, we discuss the film’s credentials as a true Gothic Romance,...

“Is this thing on?” Taking a brief pause in the Renaissance Era, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers come to you LIVE from the London Podcast Festival 2022 to present a special live-action (in more ways than one) class on 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Not only did it give Ben an excuse to finally watch the film for the first time, but it brought us face-to-face with Dis...

Following their deep-dive under the sea, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers are back on dry land to explore the very first canonical Walt Disney Animation Studios sequel: 1990’s The Rescuers Down Under. In this episode, we’re joined by Empire Magazine’s news editor – and huge Down Under fan – Beth Webb as we dig into Bianca and Bernard’s long-awaited second adventure, ta...

After a longer break than anticipated, Disniversity is back with the Renaissance era – bigger, better, and in this episode, wetter. Film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers are here to take you under the sea in 1989’s The Little Mermaid. In a bumper-sized episode, we explain where we’ve been for the last few months, before getting stuck into a Walt Disney Animation Studios cla...

Okie dokie, Artichokies! There’s not long to go until Disniversity returns for more regular classes – but first, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers have a little extra treat for you. Having just discussed Chip ’N Dale: Rescue Rangers in The Rescuers and The Great Mouse Detective episodes of this very pod, the good folk at Disney saw fit to drop brand new original meta-re...

Class is back in session! But in true nearly-the-summer-holidays style, you’re not expected to do any work this week. Film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers are back to banish The Dark Age once and for all with another Study Group episode, capping off the era of Walt Disney Animation Studios films we most recently explored. Rankings are updated, the best characters, songs an...

With the smell of hotdogs and sound of honking horns in the air, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers are ending the Dark Age era on a high – and they’re absitively posolutely thrilled to be delving into 1988’s Oliver & Company. Prepare for Billy Joel bangers and Dickensian delights aplenty in a (very) loose adaptation of Oliver Twist, relocated to contemporary NYC – a fil...

What’s that? You wanted more Disney mice adventures? Then you’re in luck! Film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers return with a discussion of 1986’s The Great Mouse Detective (hold the Basil) – and they’ve recruited Empire magazine editor and Wild And Crazy Guys author Nick de Semlyen to help crack the case of why Baker Street’s greatest detective never got his own franchise....

With their friendship still mercifully intact (unlike Tod and Copper’s), film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic Sam Summers team up to tackle Disney’s darkest work of horror-fantasy – 1985’s The Black Cauldron. With its devilish horned villain, spooky sequences, and array of freakish figures, this episode delves into the land of Prydain to talk swords, sorcery, and seriously cute psychi...

Seeing as we’re in the bleak midwinter, film journalist Ben Travis and animation academic are back to take on Walt Disney Animation Studios’ most deeply upsetting Dark Age movie yet: 1981’s The Fox And The Hound. This time, we’re delving into the devastating story of friends-turned-enemies Tod and Copper – exploring why the narrative cuts so deep, how it compares to Bambi, and discovering what hap...