LCJ Q&A Podcast

Peter Hastings is a six-time Emmy-winner who’s worked on the DreamWorks Animation Television Epic Tales of Captain Underpants and various Kung Fu Panda spin-offs. Now he’s the director of the studio’s new theatrical Dog Man movie, in theaters this Friday January 31st. Adapted from author Dav Pilkey’s popular books, this is an action and comedy packed adventure about a part-man, part-dog cop who fa...

Seth and Peter Scriver are half-brothers and the directors and subjects of the new animated documentary film "Endless Cookie", which premieres in-person Saturday January 25th at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and is available through the online platform during the fest. Seth, who is white, and Peter, who is mixed race (Indigenous and white), share this one-of-a-kind presentation of conversations...

A group of student government middle schoolers are on a one-of-a-kind island for the summer. New animated series StuGo premieres this Saturday Jan. 11 at 8pm on Disney Channel. Creator and EP Ryan Gillis and Co-EP Sunil Hall ring in the New Year with this adventurous show.

Jeffrey K. Howard, the two-time Emmy-winning "Vegas Film Critic", joins me to discuss 2024 at the movies — our favorite and least favorite films and performances, big surprises and disappointments, early awards season predictions and more!

Hot-off the success of Inside Out 2 (the biggest movie of 2024) comes a new show set in-between Pixar's two films about Riley and her emotions. Dream Productions explores the operations of the movie studio in Riley's mind that makes her cinematic dreams. The four-episode event series is available starting today on Disney+. Composer Nami Melumad shares what went into creating the plethora of music...

Wallace & Gromit are back in an outstanding new adventure. Directors Nick Park (four-time Oscar winner) and Merlin Crossingham (Annie winner) present "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl". It opens in select theaters Dec. 18 and debuts on Netflix Jan. 3. Park and Crossingham dive into what makes Aardman's latest W&G stop-motion action comedy fun and heartwarming, especially for longt...

New CG half-hour special "Mickey and the Very Many Christmases", from writers Tom Rogers and Rachel Ruderman ("The Chicken Squad"), puts a Mouse House holiday spin on a classic comedy movie. It premieres this Sunday Dec. 1 at 7pm on Disney Jr. and begins streaming Monday Dec. 2 on Disney+.

"How to Train Your Dragon" trilogy head of character animation Simon Otto makes his animated feature directorial debut with the comedy adventure "That Christmas". It debuts Wednesday Dec. 4 on Netflix. Otto returns to The LCJ Q&A to discuss adapting Richard Curtis' books, working with Brian Cox and crafting a unique holiday family film.

Five years after he made an animated feature by himself ("Away"), director Gints Zilbalodis is back with a new animated movie — "Flow". It's about a cat on the journey of a lifetime... or maybe nine. "Flow" opens in select theaters this Friday Nov. 22. Zilbalodis shares how he explored animals, nature, weather and the earth in cool and visually breathtaking ways.

On the new DC animated series "Creature Commandos", it's a unique task force — incarcerated monsters — on wild missions and adventures. Emmy nominated executive producer and showrunner Dean Lorey ("Arrested Development", "Big Shot") joins me to talk about the comedy and action-packed "CC" (premiering Thursday Dec. 5 on Max).

David Lowery is the director of the new animated holiday short film "An Almost Christmas Story", which premieres this Friday Nov. 15 on Disney+. It's about an owl named Moon who forms a unique friendship with a girl named Luna in The Big Apple. Lowery shares what the holidays and holiday movies mean to him, along with stories about collaborating with John C. Reilly and Alfonso Cuaron, making "Pete...

The new PBS Kids animated series "Carl the Collector" (premiering Thursday November 14th) is about a kid raccoon who has autism. He loves collecting things and sharing his enthusiasm for collections and activities with his friends and family. "CTC" is created by Zachariah OHora (of the Fuzzytown book universe). Lisa Whittick is the show's director.

Long-awaited, fully animated The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie will receive an awards-qualifying run before the end of 2024, ahead of its official theatrical release on February 28th, 2025. I’ve screened the film and spoke with director Peter Browngardt about this sci-fi action comedy starring beloved characters who are true to themselves and presented in ways you’ve never seen befor...

Adam Elliot won the Best Animated Short Film Academy Award 20 years ago for "Harvie Krumpet". He followed that up with acclaimed stop-motion feature "Mary & Max". His latest claymation movie is "Memoir of a Snail", which opens in theaters on Oct. 25.

David Feiss and Cinzia Angelini are the directors of the new animated action comedy "HITPIG!", starring Jason Sudeikis and Lilly Singh, which opens in theaters nationwide on November 1st.

Nickelodeon's new animated comedy Max & the Midknights (premiering Wednesday October 30th at 7pm) is adapted from Big Nate author Lincoln Peirce's popular book about a girl in medieval times who yearns to become a knight. Co-Executive Producers Sharon Flynn and David Skelly discuss the show's unique tone, visual perspectives and inspirations.

A new hand-drawn animated feature film adaptation of the classic novel "Kensuke's Kingdom" opens in theaters on Oct. 18. Directors Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry take me on an adventure, describing what went into the story, music, visual design and much more. Plus, find out what Oscar winner Cillian Murphy did to enhance his vocal performance.

DreamWorks "Mighty Monsterwheelies" morphs classic movie monsters and monster trucks, creating a fun group of characters and episodes for families as we approach Halloween. It premieres Monday October 14th on Netflix. Kyel White developed the series and serves as story editor. Stephanie Simpson is the four-time Emmy-winning executive producer and showrunner.

Lara Croft has been played by Oscar winners Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander in movies. She's also an iconic video game heroine. Now she's the focus of a new hand-drawn animated series, with the voice of Hayley Atwell, in "Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft". It premieres this Thursday October 10th on Netflix. Showrunner, writer and EP Tasha Huo joins me on this episode of The LCJ Q&A Pod...

DreamWorks Animation celebrates its 30th Anniversary with the release of "The Wild Robot" (now in theaters). Director Chris Sanders (of "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Croods") and producer Jeff Hermann ("The Boss Baby: Family Business") share details on how they brought specific scenes to life and what this movie has meant to them and audiences around the world.

Max's Gremlins animated series had a successful season one with Secrets of the Mogwai. Season two, Gremlins: The Wild Batch, premieres Thursday October 3rd. Executive Producer and showrunner Tze Chun and fellow EP Brendan Hay preview what fans, including those who love the iconic movies, can look forward to from this fun group of characters and some exciting new ones.

Annie and seven-time Emmy-winning "The Simpsons" co-showrunner, executive producer and writer Matt Selman joins me on this special 350th Episode of The LCJ Q&A Podcast. He shares as much as he can about Season 36 (which starts this Sunday Sept. 29 at 8pm on FOX) and the first-ever "Simpsons" panel presentation at New York Comic Con (Saturday Oct. 19 at 11:30am on the Main Stage).

Zack Snyder, director of "300", "Man of Steel" and 2010 animated feature "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole", is the creator and executive producer of new adult animated action series "Twilight of the Gods", now streaming on Netflix. He joins fellow EPs Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller on this LCJ Q&A Podcast episode to talk about the show and the power of animation.

Longtime friend Tomm Looney, co-host of "Benny vs. the Penny" (airing weekends on Peacock and NBC Sports channels nationwide), joins me to talk about Season 2 of the unique sports betting series. We also chat about Looney's childhood and career, Taylor & Travis, current movies, "The Simpsons" and more.

Adam and Craig Malamut's new animated comedy series "Universal Basic Guys" joins the iconic FOX Animation Domination lineup on Sunday Sept. 8 at 8pmET / 5pmPT (live to all timezones after an NFL doubleheader). They discuss the fun characters, storylines and South Jersey inspirations and what shows like "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" have meant to them.