The ThawedCast: Conversations About Animation

Philip is joined by Hannah, Dawson and Jillian to discuss the 1995 Disney Toon feature 'A Goofy Movie.' This quintessential piece of 90s Disney nostalgia was somewhat buried by other priorities from Disney surrounding its release but managed to find a place in the hearts of millions of fans who admire the film for its heartfelt story and its classic iconography. Goofy and his teenage son Max live...

Dawson and Jillian join Philip to discuss the new animated film from Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix, 'The Mitchells vs. the Machines.' Originally announced as a theatrical feature under the title 'Connected,' the film examines the pitfalls of modern technology and its impact on a typical Michigan family who embark on a cross-country road trip. Katie Mitchell is an aspiring filmmaker on her wa...

Jodi, Hannah and Philip discuss 'Zootopia' from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released in February 2016, this film is a resounding allegory for human sociology whist providing an intriguing criminal caper plot in the tradition of action films like 48 Hrs. and Lethal Weapon. Judy Hopps is the first rabbit police officer to graduate into the Zootopia Police Department. Despite being the top of her...

Dawson and Philip review and discuss 'Mortal Kombat' from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, a new release in theaters and on HBO Max based on the long-running 'Mortal Kombat' video game series. MMA fighter Cole Young is recruited by Jax, a mercenary with the same mysterious tattoo. Soon after the two meet, however, they are hunted by a warrior from the netherworld. Other heroes bearing the Dragon...

Jodi and Philip discuss the eighth feature film from Aardman, an animation studio based in Bristol, England. Famous for their signature claymation style, 'Farmageddon' is their latest stop-motion photography project having spent almost two years in front of cameras and is a sequel to 2015's 'Shaun the Sheep Movie.' Shaun the Sheep has enjoyed a healthy career in commercials, TV series and animated...

Godzilla vs. Kong is the fourth entry in the Warner Bros./Legendary Entertainment "MonsterVerse" and features the highly anticipated showdown between Godzilla and King Kong. Directed by Adam Wingard, the film balances its titanic conflict with a human story of mystery and hubris. ThawedCasters Dawson and Philip dive into the fantastical inner-world of monsters as Kong attempts to find a new home,...

Philip, Hannah, Jodi, and Lara review and discuss the 2020 Netflix/Pearl Studios feature 'Over the Moon,' directed by Glen Keane and co-directed by John Kahrs. Fei Fei is a young Chinese girl who experiences dramatic loss at an early age. Her interests in science and mythology intertwine when a sudden wave of grief overcomes her, and she builds a rocket to carry her away from her rapidly changing...

Hannah and Philip usher in spring with a retrospective on the 2015 short film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, 'Frozen Fever.' A little over a year after 'Frozen' was released, directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, along with many of the 'Frozen' team including Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, delivered a short follow-up depicting the sisters Elsa and Anna going about their lives as be...

Dawson, Hannah, and Philip welcome Courtny Schultz onto the podcast to discuss the new release from Walt Disney Animation Studios, 'Raya and the Last Dragon.' Available via purchase on Disney+ and in theaters, 'Raya' is the first Disney animated feature of the 2020s and was directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, with Disney story veterans Paul Briggs and John Ripa credited as co-directors....

The Ehlke siblings Philip, Dawson, and Samara talk Studio Ghibli and their latest release 'Earwig and the Witch' (2020) from director Goro Miyazaki, son of acclaimed animator Hayao Miyazaki. This is the first CGI animated film from Studio Ghibli, and it features the young Erica Wigg, a.k.a "Earwig," who becomes the foster child of a witch and her demonic companion. The enterprising Earwig is chall...

Philip discusses the 1989 film from writer/director/producer Hayao Miyazaki, 'Kiki's Delivery Service,' based on the 'Mary Poppins'-esque children's novel by Eiko Kadono. Kiki is a witch-in-training who, according to tradition, must go off and prove herself upon turning 13. She takes her trusty cat Jiji, her radio, and her mother's broom to find a city in this fictionalized European setting where...

Jodi, Hannah and Philip discuss the 2019 epic romance film from Makoto Shinkai and CoMix Wave Films 'Weathering with You.' The film involves two teenagers struggling to survive in Tokyo who experience a streak of good luck once they meet up and start a business. After a chance meeting at McDonald's and later outside a nightclub, Hina, a recently orphaned girl raising her younger brother, and Hodak...

Dawson and Philip take a trip back to 2016 with Japanese animated film 'Your Name' from writer/director Makoto Shinkai and CoMix Wave Films. Two high-schoolers from different worlds find themselves mysteriously intertwined as they each experience episodes of missing time, quickly learning that they've been periodically switching bodies for a day at a time. Taki is an artist living in busy Tokyo an...

Jodi and Philip review and discuss 2019 animated action film 'Spies in Disguise' from Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox. Inspired by the animated short film "Pigeon: Impossible," this team-up film presents an unlikely duo in super-spy Lance Sterling and quirky inventor Walter Beckett. Walter's genius is matched only by his oddness, which results in Lance being inadvertently transformed into a...

Philip and Dawson revisit an ambitious attempt by Disney Animation to release a non-musical, action-adventure film aimed at older kids and fans of genre fiction. Patterned after classic historical adventure serials, which in turn spawned films like 'Indiana Jones' and 'The Mummy,' 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire' seeks to immerse the viewer in a wondrous, fully-realized ancient world. Milo Thatch is a...

Hannah, Dawson and Philip review and discuss 'The Emperor's New Groove' from Disney Animation. This fan favorite celebrated its 20th anniversary in December 2020, and its troubled production signaled the end to the heyday of classic Disney animation that experienced a major revival in the 1990s. This wacky fable takes advantage of David Spade's sarcastic brand of humor, which contrasts nicely with...

On Christmas Day, Pixar released their 2nd film of 2020, 'Soul,' on Disney Plus. Written and directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers, 'Soul' follows jazz pianist Joe Gardner through a fateful day in which he fulfills his dream of booking a jazz gig with a popular band. Joe then seemingly dies in a fall, but manages to reunite with his comatose body after narrowly escaping the afterlife thanks to s...

Dawson and Philip discuss and review seasons one and two of 'The Mandalorian' on Disney Plus, the first live-action television series set in the 'Star Wars' universe, created by Jon Favreau. The show premiered November 12, 2019 and follows a Mandalorian bounty hunter named Din Djarin, a.k.a. "Mando," who wears the familiar type of armor worn by Boba and Jango Fett from the 'Star Wars' films. After...

Jodi and Philip discuss the new fantasy feature film from Kilkenny, Ireland-based Cartoon Saloon, 'WolfWalkers' (2020). Set in 1650 Kilkenny, this gorgeous animated feature is a tale of two young girls who become fast friends. One was raised in civilized society and the other was raised alongside wolves. Their worlds clash when the Lord Protector of Kilkenny determines the wolves that inhabit the...

Philip and Jodi review and discuss the 38th feature film from Dreamworks Animation, released in April 2020 directly to streaming rental in the wake of mandatory theater closures across the US and throughout the world. Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick return as troll-duo Branch and Poppy as the Trolls' world is threatened by the Rock Trolls led by Queen Barb and her Barbarians. 'Trolls World Tou...

The ThawedCast: Conversations about Animation welcomes Lara Akal and her tremendous knowledge of the hugely popular 1989 Disney animated film, 'The Little Mermaid.' Hannah, Dawson, and Philip also share their thoughts on this film that marked a significant turning point in animated musicals. Ariel is a mermaid princess disillusioned with undersea life, and the only thing she wants is to experience...

Released 42 years after the original airdate of 'The Star Wars Holiday Special' on CBS, Disney's 'Lego Star Wars Holiday Special' is a whimsical take on the Star Wars saga that imagines the characters Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewie, and their friends celebrating the Wookiee holiday Life Day. Philip, Jodi, and Dawson discuss this 40-minute TV special and whether it holds up as a true Christmas classic. Fol...

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...