What A Cartoon!

Our top-level patron David is back once more, and he asked us to check out DC Universe's breakout toon, Harley Quinn! This take on the animated character borrows from some of her best comics to craft a world of loser villains and white-faced fuckboys, all as Harley Quinn finds her independence. We cover the show's creation and how surprisingly funny the violent comedy is, so grab your favorite bas...

What the hell are YOU starin' at? Well, if you were watching the USA network in the mid-'90s, you might have been staring at Duckman, cable TV's answer to the Simpsons starring a cast of yellow characters much more twisted than anything Fox had to offer. Despite not being a ratings smash, Duckman's star power and status as a critical darling gave it an impressive 70-episode run, and it remains an...

We return to the Gundam franchise this week, and we're joined by Gundam expert/ USG Editor-In-Chief/our good friend Kat Bailey ! 20 years ago this year Gundam Wing premiered on Cartoon Network and had a huge impact on US anime fans, but how did this variation on the Gundam franchise happen? How did it get broadcast on TV? And what's its legacy? We discuss all that and the first episode in this gun...

Another month has passed at the Talking Simpsons Network , and that means we've got another awesome podcast about an animated feature film! This month, our $10+ Patreon subscribers get to hear us talk about 1999's Toy Story 2! Listen now to this free extended preview, and then subscribe at the $10 level (or up your current pledge to $10) to hear the whole thing and all of our previous What A Carto...

Chosen by our premium patron Jibbly, it's time to return to the DC Animated Universe with Justice League! The 2001 toon made the Superfriends cool for the first time ever, and set ratings records for Cartoon Network. How did Bruce Timm's team grow to handle a bigger series and expanded the DC stories they had already told? We talk about that and the second half of the season one classic, Injustice...

Chosen by our premium patron L, we're covering the original Dragon Ball anime with our expert friend Shivam Bhatt (co-host of the Commanderin' podcast)! We discuss how Akira Toriyama developed his action-comedy phenom, how Toei Animation adapted it, and how Goku's earlier adventures had a weird localization history in the US. Then we break down one of the first battles in the initial Budokai tourn...

This week, we're visiting one of the earliest What A Cartoon! subjects—and one of our favorites—the great MTV cartoon, Beavis and Butt-Head. But instead of jumping back to their heyday in the go-go '90s, we're heading back to the less-distant year of 2011, when MTV's crude cartoon got a fresh reboot and all seemed right with the world. This short-lived revival might have come and gone in three sho...

With the end of April, the Talking Simpsons Network has another awesome podcast about an animated feature film ready for you! This month, our $10+ Patreon subscribers get to hear us talk about 1979's Lupin III feature film, The Castle of Cagliostro! It's the first film directed solo by Hayao Miyazaki, and in this free extended preview, you'll learn all about the making of the film! And then subscr...

This week we are joined again by premium Patreon subscriber Casey to talk about a classic of '90s anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena! From many of the folks who adapted Sailor Moon, this challenging show pushed against gender roles and sexuality like few animated series did nearly 25 years ago. Learn how it was made, Utena's ongoing legacy, and listen to our discussion of the first two episodes of th...

Move over, The Avengers! There's a much worse version of you from 20 years earlier that absolutely no one likes! That's right, the most epic crossover in entertainment history took the form of Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, which saw animated superstars like ALF and Garfield put aside their differences to fight in the famously successful War on Drugs. And thanks to the generous support of patron...

Just as we did last year, to kick off April we're deviating from our standard subject matter a bit to dive into the world of live-action cartoons! In 2019, we covered the dark and subversive Strangers with Candy, so it's only fair that we follow that episode up with a look at its kid-friendly spiritual predecessor, The Adventures of Pete & Pete. It's a series born out of the same circumstances tha...

Another month has passed at the Talking Simpsons Network , and that means we've got another awesome podcast about an animated feature film! This month, our $10+ Patreon subscribers get to hear us talk about 2004's The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie! Listen now to this free extended preview, and then subscribe at the $10 level (or up your current pledge to $10) to hear the whole thing and all of our p...

This week we're joined again by Woolie (check out his many Let's Plays on YouTube ), all to talk about the iconically Canadian animation, ReBoot! Chosen by our premium subscriber Brian, we go into the earliest days of televised CGI to experience the virtual world and its deep history. Then, we take a deep dive into the season 3 Bond homage, "Firewall," so get ready for this week's alphanumeric pod...

We're heading back to the world of Acme Acres to explore a proper episode of the early '90s classic cartoon, Tiny Toon Adventures! And if you listened to our episode of What A Cartoon Movie! about the direct-to-video feature, you'll know that Plucky Duck is by far our favorite character. That seemed to be the opinion of both Warner Bros. and Fox, because in 1992 he got his own cynical Saturday mor...

We return to the ever-growing DC Animated Universe with a request from Royce, one of our top Patreon subscribers! Yes, more powerful than a locomotive, it's Superman: The Animated Series! We talk about the Krytonian's origins, how the show spun out of Batman, and how it paved the way for many DC toons to follow. Then we break down the season 2 episode Heavy Metal, which introduced the hero Steel t...

It's time to delve back into '90s toy cartoons, and Matt McMuscles returns to help us out with Street Sharks (check out his YouTube channel and his Patreon !). How did Mattel decide on sharks as their response to turtles? How many different animation studios made this monstrosity? And is there anything salvageable about the concept? We discuss all that and more on this Jawsome podcast! Support thi...

Another month has passed at the Talking Simpsons Network, and that means we've got another awesome podcast about an animated feature film! This month, our $10+ Patreon subscribers get to hear us talk about the 1986 Disney classic, The Great Mouse Detective! Listen now to this free preview, and then subscribe at the $10 level (or up your current pledge to $10) to hear the whole thing and all of our...

Thanks to the generous support of patron Alex Irish, this week we're exploring some uncharted Disney Afternoon territory via Goofy's very first TV show! Disney had done action and adventure with their afternoon cartoons before 1992, but with Goof Troop, they created their very first animated sitcom. And though this series went through quite a bit of development hell, it ended up redefining Goofy a...

This week we are joined by premium Patreon subscriber Casey to talk about the Netflix hit, Hilda. Based on the hit comic series of the same name, we talk about the books' amazing adaptation into animation! Then we dig deep into the third episode as we celebrate birds and festivals! Listen now, or you won't earn your next Sparrow Scout badge! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by...

This week we return to Yu-Gi-Oh! for another duel, this time in a cyberpunk future with special guest LittleKuriboh ! We chat about how YGO's arrived in a dystopian third series, try our best to understand the timeline and synchro summons, and we go deep into the show's debut episode, "On Your Mark, Get Set, Duel!" So let's rev it up and listen now! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus epi...

Every month we wrap things up with a What A Cartoon Movie! This January Talking Simpsons Network is heading back to 2003 for the pioneering anime anthology, The Animatrix! Exclusively for our $10+ Patreon subscribers, we chat about The Wachowski Sisters and how The Matrix became a cultural event worthy of a collection of nine anime shorts from some of Japan's best animators! This lengthy preview c...

Thanks to the generous support of our patron Jibbly, this week we're taking a look at a fairly obscure entry that still persists nearly 30 years later in the form of action figures: Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars! Developed by G.I. Joe legend Larry Hama, Bucky entered the world in the mid-80s as the perfect pitch for a toyetic kids' cartoon of the era—but had the misfortune to debut in the early '...

This week on the podcast, we start our new tradition of once a month returning to a cartoon we had previously covered, starting with this iconic episode of Batman: The Animated Series! All the coolest villains come together for a game of poker to tell their favorite stories of almost getting Batman, but there's more twists than it seems at first. So grab your favorite rock and throw it as you list...

This week our top-level patron David is back and he's got another new anime for us: Psycho-Pass! This scarily believable cyberpunk story is an exciting sci-fi series, and after going through the deep history of animation studio Production I.G., we detail our thoughts about the show's first episode, "Crime Coefficient." Listen now lest you endanger your hue... Support this podcast and get dozens of...

Voice actor , YouTuber , and anime expert SungWon Cho is back to assist us in exploring another off-the-beaten-path anime series! And this time, he's selected Mushishi, the much-beloved 2005 anime anthology series about a wandering expert on all things supernatural. Though some may view this anime as a little too low-key, if you're in the right mood, it can really grab you. Join us for this week's...