How's It Hold Up?

(Spoiler Section Length - 16min 5sec) After around a decade of creating musicals, Disney started to branch out in the early 2000's, creating several films that weren't as financially successful as the 'Renaissance Era' movies, but many of which ended up being cult favorites over time. Atlantis is one such film - eschewing the musical format for a straight-up adventure film inspired...

In 1937 Donald Duck broke out from the Mickey Mouse shorts into his own animated shorts series... but he wasn't the only one! Pluto also finally got his own series, though this would be the only entry in it for a few years. The character of Fifi and the concept of Pluto shepherding a group of rambunctious young animals returns in this first outing, as Pluto tries to take care of his kids while...

(Spoiler Section Length - 11min 3sec) Rankin-Bass' Rudolph continues his adventures, and this time he's saving New Years! Along for the ride are a colorful cast of characters, in search of a baby with big ears. They hunt for the child across an archipelago with islands that represent years past. But the wicked giant bird Eon also searches for the kid, to prevent his own demise. Does this a...

In this Popeye short, Swee'Pea gets into a dangerous factory and nearly dies many times! When people say things like 'you couldn't make this today' they usually seem to be referring to provocative content like Blazing Saddles, but the phrase could also be used for something like this: a cartoon where the central crux of most of the jokes is a baby in life-threatening danger. Modern...

(Spoiler Section Length - 9min 7sec) While Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer might have a tough time being labelled anyone's 'favorite' Christmas song, it certainly is one of the most well-known, and that's in part because of this iconic holiday special that virtually every generation since its creation is at least aware of, even if they haven't actually seen it. It's Rankin-B...

When people consider all-time classic Christmas stories, Dr. Seuss' tale of the Grinch tends to be one of the most fondly remembered. While the original book has had multiple adaptations over the years, the first one had the biggest influence, if for no other reason than it cemented the idea that the Grinch should be colored green. But all these years later, does this Chuck Jones television sp...

This time we take a look at Gabby's final two (of three) appearances in the original Looney Tunes shorts, each one increasingly directed by Bob Clampett (with Chuck Jones as assistant director!). Does Gabby's character improve over his first appearance? Does Bob Clampett's direction win out against Ub Iwerks in quality? Are either of these cartoons worth watching today? Listen to find...

(Spoiler Section Length - 12min 24sec) Making the sequel to your cult classic anthology film NOT an anthology is a strange choice out the gate, but not inherently a bad one, if the story and characters prove worth the time investment. Taking a few notes from the original film's Tarna segment, this sequel focuses on a butt-kicking woman taking on a great evil in order to avenge slaughtered inno...

Mickey's putting on a show - a magic show! Donald is also here, though unlike Orphan's Benefit he isn't part of the show - instead HE is the heckler! Though when Mickey easily puts him in his place, Donald is eager to charge onstage to fight about it. Throw in a little bit of Goofy, working behind the scenes, and you have an explosive mix with some wild results. But are they enjoyable...

(Spoiler Section Length - 18min 51sec) We've got another Mamoru Hosoda film on our hands, and just like all his other movies, we definitely never cried while watching or discussing it. This one touches on some very modern concerns, such as identity and perception in the digital age, while also using trappings from an older tale, Beauty and the Beast. The film also uses multiple animation style...

Ub Iwerks is a man who's come up multiple times already on this podcast, from his essential work on the earliest Mickey Mouse cartoons to his solo career after he left Disney. But he also had a very brief stint at Warner Bros, during a period of time where he was contracting out to various studios, including Columbia Pictures. So here we compare two of his 1937 cartoon, made at two different s...

(Spoiler Section Length - 15min 38sec) This is one of the most well-known and beloved of all stop-motion animated films, all Halloween films, and it's even pretty high up on many people's favorite Christmas films. Also it has a lot of merchandise at Hot Topic! Add multiple video-game cameos via Kingdom Hearts (and even its own game or two), and some other multimedia experiences like books...

Donald Duck has finally been unshackled from Mickey's side, free to get into his own mouse-free shenanigans. Pluto's not even here! In fact, Donald's all on his own this time, at least when it comes to living creatures. There are a handful of robots, though! How does this early Donald solo outing hold up so many years later? Listen to find out! The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompet...

(Spoiler Section Length - 10min 27sec) We finally arrive at the loose quadrilogy of Scooby-Doo movies that began with Zombie Island! With this film, Scooby-Doo enters the era of digital colorization, as well, making the film's aesthetic decidedly different from the previous three. Plot-wise, in this one the gang fights against a digital monster, both in and out of the digital world, along with...

As we've watched the two Warner Bros cartoon series (Merrie Melodies & Looney Tunes), we've gradually seen Porky Pig become the studio's main character, the closest thing they had to a Mickey Mouse. But by this point, Mickey Mouse was arguably not even the most popular character in Disney's cartoons anymore - Donald Duck was fast taking that position. And thus, maybe it was abo...

Many animated films tried to compete with Disney during the 90s, and virtually all of them failed, at least financially. But how about critical reception, cult following, or even general quality? Well there weren't many contenders in those arenas, but one that can put up a fight in all three just so happens to be today's film. The iconography of the Iron Giant character himself is perhaps...

We end our 1936 cartoon short journey with a double-length, color, musical Popeye short! Our hero Popeye comes up against villain Sindbad and his island of incredible and dangerous beasts! But none are as dangerous as Sindbad himself! Throw in Olive Oyl and Wimpy and several instances of 3D hand-crafted backgrounds and you have all the ingredients for a grand ol' time! But... is it? Listen to...

Between Disney's much beloved Golden and Silver eras is the 'Wartime' era, which is significantly less beloved and talked about. Virtually all of the movies in this period were collections of animated shorts, be they many in number such as Melody Time or only two not-quite-feature-length shorts, like Ichabod and Mr. Toad. But Saludos Amigos and Three Caballeros, while similar, are a bi...

In this classic Mickey Mouse cartoon, Donald Duck tries to fix some pipes while Pluto gets harassed by a magnet! Eventually the two collide and chaos ensues. Are you wondering why that description didn't involve the character of Mickey? Well that would be because he isn't in this cartoon! Made before Disney started breaking characters out into their own separate series, this cartoon is in...

(Spoiler Section Length - 5min 40sec) Today we have another anthology film, this one based on the titular magazine. It's a film of sex, violence and rock 'n' roll, and it certainly won't be to everyone's tastes. It's also from the 80s, so the era of 'Heavy Metal'—both the magazine and music genre—that it harkens to is one long past at this point. All of this doesn&#...

There are many Looney Tunes director that are well known and spoken of today, be they Chuck Jones, Tex Avery or even Bob Clampett. But there are also less-discussed directors whose work was no less interesting and important in pushing the series into the force it would become. Enter Frank Tashlin, a man whose appreciation of live-action cinematic techniques was brought with him into his cartoons,...

We've covered films by Studio Ghibli's second-most famous director twice before, though one of those times it we were discussing a pre-Ghibli work of his. But today we have Isao Takahata's swan song, the last movie he ever made, and one of the most eye-catching, to boot. It's a new take on an old tale, and it's quite unlike the more quirky and off-beat films of his that we'...

The series of Mickey, Donald and Goofy cartoons started out featuring Peg-Leg Pete as an antagonist, and in this cartoon that antagonism continues in color! ...Sort of! Pete is here, at least, but notably missing is his peg leg! From here on out Peg-Leg Pete just becomes Pete, at least as far as the classic era is concerned. The peg-leg aside... how's the cartoon? Listen to find out! The Curta...

(Spoiler Section Length - 5min 59sec) It's time for more sequels to Don Bluth movies that have no involvement from Bluth himself or any of the other original creators for that matter! Except unlike most such sequels, this one ended up spawning a long-running franchise with well over 10 films and even a tv series under its belt as of 2024. The Land Before Time franchise is a bit infamous for it...

Oswald is a character originally created by Walt Disney, but who has long since been run by other directors, still creating shorts right alongside the much more popular Mickey Mouse series. Like Mickey, Oswald's design has changed with the times, but unlike Mickey that change at this point is so drastic that Oswald is hardly identifiable as the Mickey precursor that he started out as. All that...