Hating on CGI has become a national pastime for the cartoon-watching world, and we’re certainly no strangers. But is a good concept enough to rescue some fairly uncanny animation and flat characters? This episode features superfan Alex as he walks us through a oft-forgotten movie of the aughts. Remember to bring your walkie-talkies and bikes - you don’t want to be a dead person, do you?
In some ways, Studio trigger provides a countermelody to the anime of the 90’s. Instead of saying a lot using fairly basic animation, Promare says very little - but it says it really, really loudly. The plot construction is shallow, the characters poorly motivated, and the sense of space is almost nonexistent - and yet, this is an anime powerhouse at the very top of their game, and we found it enjoyable as hell. Let your mind wander as the regular geometries wash over you, and you’ll have a real good time too.
Space Jam is one of those properties that you’ve seen, even if you haven’t seen it. And if you have seen it, see it again now that you’re older. Because it's legendary status is part truth, part myth, and part confusing. This oft-cited box office bombshell has its share of faults that your kid brain might have passed over - as well as a few ‘blink and you miss it’ gags that had us rolling.
Thanks for James for coming on the show and lending us some much needed basketball insights!
It’s always satisfying to fill in a blind spot here at the Cartoncast, and this one was a mile wide. Akira establishes the cyberpunk genre, opened the doors for anime in the west - and the anime industry in Japan - and commented upon the timely (and timeless) themes of institutional power in a time of rapid evolution. No need to be psychic to judge how we felt about this work; it’s remarkable, and stands proudly as a pillar of the industry.
The Prince of Egypt has been lauded as one of the best told animated biblical stories - and rightly so. Heavy subject matter has to be sensitively portrayed, which can be a big ask in a medium primarily geared toward children. It takes a rare movie to balance biblical accuracy with enough gentleness not to stress younger viewers, all while still managing to be entertaining. With all that and a surprise appearance of Jeff Goldblum, this film delivered us to the promised land of holiday-related animation.
The era of Adam Sandler is firmly in the past, and looking back on his popularity is a dizzying experience. He used his notoriety as “The Hannukah guy” to create an animated movie about the meaning of Hannukah. At least, that’s the concept. In execution, it’s just a whole lot of Adam Sandler without any physics or logical consistency slowing him down. If you actually enjoyed this movie, that’s a technical foul.
The Hannukah Song
Adam Sandler’s “Cock and Balls” skit
Hannukah is unimportant, trust me on this
Rat in a Hot Tin Can
”I wanna Kiss you all ovah” - last Adam Sandler reference I swear
Tim Heideker’s Rogan imitation is spot on
Big Brother is more than a 1984 dystopia
Klaus graphic novel
Jon Lovitz in the Simpsons
Pooping deer in Castle Crashers
Patton Oswalt’s immortal heckler takedown
Horror has a fairly narrow relationship with cartoons. Scooby doo paved the way for others to tip their toes in, and Courage the Cowardly Dog angled toward an absurdist bent where horror and comedy meet. Unfortunately, not even these two titans of the genre can withstand the Curse of the Direct to Video Movie.
Thanks to Dan Caves of The Cocktail Party Congress and Nic Robes of What’s With You Scooby Doo for coming on the show!
Links of note:
Welcome to Frank, the horrifying existential crisis/feel-good buddy story/personal fitness list of don’ts. Osmosis Jones is two movies of different tones and levels of quality stapled together to take advantage of late-90’s-era stars and tropes in a way that actually kind of works. Join the Cartoncast as we watch the movie and immediately sign up for a gym membership and brush our teeth.
Damn Graves comes by the Cartoncast once again to look at one of the most over-the-top adaptations of the classic Divine Comedy. Is it fun? Hell yes! Is it sinful? Heavens no! Does it stay true to the source material? Eh, kinda. This movie based on a game based on a poem based on theology goes down smooth if you just want a cool action flick, and holds up to actual analysis for you brainy types. Just don’t ask too many questions - questions are the Devil’s spices!
Generally our Bootlegg’d segments look at the great, the awful, the sensational and the weird. But what if a movie was… blander? Balto is the very model of a standard kid’s feel-good movie from the mid-90’s with a gimmick of being based on a real story. But what it provides in spectacle and good-will toward dogs (dogwill), it lacks in pacing, message, and character development. Listen in as we talk about where it came up short, and how we would have changed this from an okay movie into a very good boy.
Put on your best tux and shine those shoes, because today we have a special guest on the Cartoncast for our Bootlegg'd segment. Jeff Ryan, author of 'A Mouse Divided', has agreed to talk to us about the creators of the immortal Mickey Mouse, and how their falling out propelled one to greatness - and the other to obscurity. Today we tackle "Fiddlesticks", an Ub Iwerks production shortly after he left Walt Disney to strike out on his own, starring 'Flip the Frog'. Listen in to find out what we think of this solo venture, and how it stacks up to the Mouse himself.
Welcome again to our Bootlegg'd segment, where we tune in this time to watch "Sita Sings the Blues", an animated adaptation of The Ramayana, a famous and hugely influential Indian epic. This incarnation of the story focuses on a woman's struggle to be worthy of her husband's love, but the movie is about a whole lot more, including thinly veiled domestic abuse parallels, the author's own personal struggles, and anachronistic media presentations from across the ages that somehow form a more perfect whole. And our discussion is about even more than that, so get ready for a record-breaking number of disclaimers at the top of the episode, the eternal struggle of separating content from creator, and an unreasonable number of Jojo's references. That's all!
Welcome to a world in disarray, and a story of humanity hanging on to supremacy by its fingernails. Nausicaa of the Valley of the wind can be recommended for many things - its storytelling, an effective and independent female protagonist, being the effective start of the famous Studio Ghibli - but at its core is much more than that. The excellent art design and worldbuilding allow Miyazaki to breathe his ideal of pacifism into a compelling fantasy tale that's brimming with imagination and message. So jump on your radical airgliders and make sure you have your full complement of insect repellent - it's gonna be a wild ride.
In the adolescence of animated features, Little Foot and his motley band of dinosaurs captured the hearts of children everywhere. Drawing inspiration from titans like Fantasia and Bambi, as well as that indefinable natural allure of the titans that once ruled the earth, The Land Before Time has endured the eons. Join us - as well as special guest J.T. Andrews of the Cocktail Party Congress - to rediscover a story about loss, community, and love.
Wendell Jones of Sideshow Sound Theatre (That's "r-e") joined us to talk about this unique and emotion-driven classic. Some pieces have stood the test of time and look as good now as they did in 1940, while others are Toccata and Fugue. While it may not have lived up to Disney's dreams during his lifetime, Fantasia remains an important piece of culture. In that, it is not unlike the Cartoncast.
From Darkwing Duck to Cybersix to Lupin III, we've been dealing with Noir-like properties for some time. But, in a bizarre twist, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the clearest Noir example we've seen yet. Add to it one of the best examples of blending live-action and animation mediums, glaze it with classic cartoon references, and generously sprinkle Bob Hoskins' legendary performance, and what you get it a sublimely entertaining movie that stands in a class all its own. So put on your four-fingered gloves, establish some mood lighting, and have some chips and Dip handy - you're in for a good time.
You will often hear Ben and Zane relentlessly make fun of shows we don't like, or get excited and rave about shows we do like, but we're starting a new hundred episodes with an oddity: relentlessly making fun of a movie we genuinely enjoyed, and which less cynical people find emotionally resonant. It's beautiful, it's meaningful, it's short, and it's just so, so full of its own message. Enjoy the cherry blossoms.
The bizarrely-memetic Bee Movie was an odd spike in the twilight of Jerry Seinfeld's career, and one he oddly but in a lot of effort to make happen. What is it that's so memeworthy? Why did Jerry Seinfeld do it? Do the tenets of Bee Law inherently favor yellowjackets or bumblebees? These questions, and many, many more are asked in this Bootlegg'd segment.
Ferngully: The Last Rainforest has long been a blind spot in the Cartoncast catalog, but one we took pleasure in rectifying. This was the clearest expression of a single idea we've encountered yet, and is fondly remembered. As a piece of environmentalist literature, it falls somewhat short of a full message, but as a piece of entertainment it passes with flying colors. We found the "romantic subplot" to be especially compelling, if a little queasy. However, as Zane wisely said, our children, and our children's children, are 'the next great elder to be in the future'.
Come to life and join Ben, Zane, and Dan for the adventure of a lifetime, or at least until our warranty is up. The Brave Little Toaster is a classic film made by proto-Pixar-people that gets a bad reputation for its honest take on serious themes (with a few...gratuities). Great for children, adults, and anyone willing to confront their own mortality. Plus toast!
