Ramble: The Horrors of Low Budget 80s/90s Fantasy for Kids
Added 2025-04-30 15:43:55 +0000 UTCYoutube mirror: link
NOTE: I've had to remove about 6 minutes from the youtube mirror to unblock the video from a copyright claim. I do strongly urge patrons to resolve any technical issues they may have with the built-in patreon player.
The youtube mirrors mostly became routine because in early iterations of the patreon player they didn't have auto-captioning, which was important for accessibility. That and other features have since been added to patreon, and there are a lot of reasons it's impractical and sometimes even impossible to cross-post this content to youtube. I feel like it's been years of trying to find new loopholes to imperfectly resolve UI problems, only to have new problems appear. Copyright blocks, issues keeping private content private, youtube filling unmonetized videos with their own unskippable ads.
If there truly is just a strong preference for the youtube player over patreon, while it won't fix all problems, I can make an effort not to make content that integrates copyrighted clips anymore. Early rambles used to always be talking-only, but there's been kind of an effort creep over the years. (It's a decision that's generally made when I'm recording because I don't bother describing when I know I can show!) But I could re-structure my approach to eliminate clips again.
Comments
A good older example of off putting human faces instead of cute animal mascots is Alice in Wonderland 1985
Emily Durkee
2026-03-01 05:06:30 +0000 UTCI think it could be fun to have a living microwave oven puppet.
Doctor Woe
2026-02-24 21:29:14 +0000 UTCGenuinely shocked that Jenny Nicholson doesn't have the name "Billy Barty" immediately ready-to-hand
Erica Dreisbach
2026-02-10 14:59:25 +0000 UTCI love the weird and unsettling fantasies, but I am also 42 and I think a lot of the childhood movies in my most formative years had that unsettling feel in some way. The last unicorn, Return to oz, The Neverending story, labyrinth. Maybe its just what I ended being exposed to, but I enjoy those type of movies more then something like the original wizard of oz.
Elizabeth Putansu
2026-01-22 22:59:42 +0000 UTCI wonder if anyone was thinking about Laird Barron's the Crowning when Jenny was talking about Rumpelstiltskin?
Mahan
2026-01-08 20:49:43 +0000 UTC"Don't you know that in only three months the curse would have been broken?!" "Well, I would have if you had mentioned it maybe."
WJ ZAV
2025-12-10 11:30:35 +0000 UTC“Just imagine seeing an empty human suit hanging from a hook on the wall” Why imagine it when I can just go to my secret room?
Jem Swagbird
2025-11-30 12:17:09 +0000 UTCYou should check out Phelan Porteous' stuff on obscure kids media
Anthony McKay
2025-10-31 06:31:13 +0000 UTCReminds me of Hans hedgehog from the storyteller
seahorse advisor
2025-10-30 13:08:56 +0000 UTCI was inspired by Jenny bopping to the Basil Hears a Noise theme. I finally got around to making it a karaoke track. Enjoy. https://youtu.be/5IB9xGQBMXg?si=2jiLvJcVkK5go3m-
Someone in a tree
2025-10-12 21:29:09 +0000 UTCFWIW I had the same reaction as the people in that Reddit thread when I looked it up and saw Magic in the Mirror was a Full Moon movie directed by Ted Nicolaou, both well known names in the world of low budget 90s genre schlock. It would be the equivalent of hearing about some wildly ambitious entertainment space concept that only delivered 5% of what was promised before slowly going bankrupt and then learning it was created by Ken Bretschneider. Like…well, yeah, that tracks.
Kevin Morris
2025-09-16 20:26:29 +0000 UTCthis aesthetic reminds me of the 90s journey to the west tv show
kelly m
2025-09-12 03:28:40 +0000 UTCI would rather have the nicer, higher effort videos on Patreon than the YouTube mirror if it causes problems. But I enjoy your work either way and would still watch.
Zeyphr J
2025-09-01 19:44:02 +0000 UTCI’m fine with patreon as a back up but prefer YouTube.
Ron Buckman III
2025-08-31 16:03:34 +0000 UTCI do think that Labyrinth's ending could be interpreted more positively? Once Sarah is alone in her room, putting some items which remind her of her adventure in a drawer, all her friends from her adventure show up in the mirror to speak to her, telling her that if she ever needs them, they'll always be there for her. And she says she does need them - right now, in fact. Every now and again, she still needs them, and always will. And then they all show up and have a dance party in her room! The point being that while Sarah needed to mature, that doesn't mean she's stopped needing the comfort of childhood; both can co-exist. Her room is actually still full of cute toys (I checked), and I think she's mainly putting away a few things like the Goblin King book and some photos of her mother. Given that missing her mother contributed to her resenting her stepmother, even though she's a perfectly nice woman who's making an effort with Sarah, was an issue for her, this represents her letting go of the past and being ready for a new start. I think it's a really lovely coming of age story for a teenage protagonist, learning to balance the nostalgia for childhood with coming adulthood, and that's not to mention all the sexual awakening metaphors! With Jareth serving as a sort of sexual fantasy: an older man a girl finds attractive and a bit frightening, but in a completely safe environment where all she has to do is say the magic words (you have no power over me), and then it will all end. ...Oh dear, now I am thinking that it's a bit like a G-rated version of a sexual fantasy with a safe word! My mind always takes these odd turns.
Kamlin
2025-08-27 04:59:53 +0000 UTCMy animated puppet would be my dishrag. I hate doing dishes, but he would love it, so he'd be a perfect foil for me. And anytime I was losing an argument with him, I could just plunge him into the dishwater and whatever he was saying would get cut off with a goofy burbling noise. Overall, our relationship would be a little chillier than the cordial relations of the sheepdog and wolf in Warner Bros. And I could secretly bring him along in my pocket if I was going on a date but didn't know how to act.
Tom
2025-08-23 01:05:29 +0000 UTCP.S. The 1939 film isn't even the first Oz movie. Some of the first films EVER were Oz movies.
Ham
2025-08-22 22:42:39 +0000 UTCSo here's the thing that burns my buns about Wizard of Oz adaptations, and that is how every modern version treats the 1939 musical as the original text. I know I'm in the minority in having been brought up on the books, but OZ IS A REAL PLACE IN THE BOOKS and there's none of that analog-character and-you-were-there-too it-was-all-a-dream business. That's what makes the whole electro-shock prologue in Return so disappointing, because so much of the rest of that film is a loving and accurate translation of the later books.
Ham
2025-08-22 22:41:14 +0000 UTCoh. my god. I remember that museum exhibit with the plague doctor mannequin. VIVID memories of being terrified by that thing. It must've been a touring exhibit.
Thomas Hartwell
2025-08-22 06:47:01 +0000 UTCI actually love the Patreon player
Francesca Phillips
2025-08-20 14:21:15 +0000 UTCSo nostalgic and hilarious! One (big-budget) film that left me with nightmares—but like, the weird, abstract kind—was The NeverEnding Story. I haven't watched it since I was a kid, and I don't know if I want to.
Brittany Veenhuysen
2025-08-18 19:50:49 +0000 UTCI think the main reason I use YouTube instead of patreon to watch videos is that I can cast them to my television; am I silly? is there an easy way to do that that I have overlooked?
Sara Gates
2025-08-10 20:30:13 +0000 UTCthe noise i made at 'never go full tansy' lmaoo
Lee Mulkins
2025-08-08 18:51:14 +0000 UTCAh I watched magic in the mirror as a kid and it scared me so bad I had nightmares. truly even into adulthood I would think sometimes about a movie where ducks tried to kill a kid and make them tea but I could never find it. So validating to hear you say you think this would’ve haunted you because it definitely haunted me lol
Tessa ODonnell
2025-08-02 17:24:00 +0000 UTCI tried to watch "Magic in the Mirror." Especially the scene you described about steeping the tea with living creatures. And the duck queen. I have no words. It's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" if CS Lewis was fighting a losing battle against methamphetamines, a parasitic brain worm and late-stage rabies.
Joseph Charles
2025-08-01 03:52:34 +0000 UTCi watched this video and then i went to work at my theme park and i saw a guy with that same worm and i said wiggly worm!!! he said thanks
Olivia Louise
2025-07-09 18:14:58 +0000 UTChttps://oldshowbiz.tumblr.com/post/186452587479/billy-barty-ran-a-roller-rink-in-fullerton
LKB
2025-07-09 01:15:30 +0000 UTCWHOA! I did not know that Billy Barty was the voice for figment! He was a popular entertainer when I was growing up (1970s) and he used to run a roller rink in a local town that had regular roller skating during the week and punk, metal, and rock bands playing on the weekends during the 80s. Loved going there!
LKB
2025-07-09 01:15:03 +0000 UTCI adore Jenny but we were clearly very different children. 😂😂 I don’t think I watched any of these as a kid but the only one I would have liked is Magic in the Mirror. I actually would have LOVED it around the time it came out. (I was about 4?) It’s a shame I didn’t know about it at the time. I was also obsessed with the Dinosaurs sitcom. I always had a VHS tape from the series checked out from my local Blockbuster. Still frequently reference that show to my mom… because she’s the only one who ever gets the references… Firmly believe it was underrated as a satire.
Josh & Kim Preston
2025-07-03 20:32:24 +0000 UTCWhen I was a kid I watched Magic In The Mirror at a friend's house and she was insistent this was the Narnia movie (The one with Tilda Swinton had recently come out) and could not be convinced otherwise. It drove me crazy and I wonder if she's ever seen a Narnia movie to this day
Soren
2025-06-20 07:25:28 +0000 UTCRead this comment and went straight to the washing machine to switch my laundry 😂
Elisabeth Earley
2025-06-12 19:41:44 +0000 UTCi didn't even know you could watch these on youtube lol :-D while the patreon player is mildly annoying at times, i'd much prefer this over restrictions you'd have making these videos :-)
v
2025-06-11 10:42:48 +0000 UTCI think that if I could have an inanimate object played by a puppet following me around I think I'd have to go with an alarm clock. Instead of beeping annoyingly it could be like "Hey friend! Don't forget, you still need to finish your laundry!" This is also part of my pitch for a children's show about a character with ADHD lol
Rae Abigail
2025-06-09 01:32:45 +0000 UTCI don't think I've ever actually seen Magic in the Mirror, but the trailer on the Harriet the Spy VHS is etched in my mind forever
Rylee Jeffers
2025-06-08 06:22:54 +0000 UTCThe part with the well maintained grass in the Duck section reminded me of when we filmed a movie for uni. It was a post apocalyptic stoy so in early spring we scouted this awesome shut down industy plant/steel manufactury in germany that was converted to a public park. It was rusty and dusty and brown. But when we came back to film in summer everything was green and blooming because of course the city was maintaining the public park so we filmed our dead planet sory im front of all the lush hedges and bushes 😭
Livonata
2025-06-06 13:41:20 +0000 UTCIn Canada we actually say basil like baysil too. I think it was just a choice for his name
Elle
2025-05-31 21:07:19 +0000 UTCI like the youtube links because I prefer to watch via my Roku box. I much prefer watching on a TV screen to a monitor. Plus, with my phone and Roku setup, I can;t cast from my phone without buying additional hardware.
pizmeyre
2025-05-30 14:13:52 +0000 UTCMy preference is YouTube because I’ve had a lot of issues with getting the Patreon player to cast to my Roku tv vs using the YouTube app which always works.
Alice Corrigan
2025-05-30 02:09:47 +0000 UTCI started using the Patreon player over YouTube since last year, because I was getting ads. I use it on my phone and it works swell!
Maria Gomez
2025-05-29 08:17:08 +0000 UTCI don’t mind the Patreon player, especially if it’s causing issues to use a youtube mirror. I like the clips, but I also sometimes re-listen to these as podcasts, so I don’t mind a talking-only video. Thank you Jenny
Zoe Kim
2025-05-29 04:30:19 +0000 UTCIf any object in my life were replaced with a puppet version of itself, I think it might have to be my 3D printer. It's got such a personality already, failing in spectacularly messy ways (just Google 3d printer spaghetti) and making wonderous and fantastical creations in equal measure. Plus, it sets me up for living in a bob the builder esque universe, where anything can be solved through a combination of DIY crafts and teamwork - basically my version of heaven.
Tinker
2025-05-28 19:51:32 +0000 UTCHoly crap, Jenny was not kidding about Magic in the Mirror. I loved her breakdown of the movie here, I probably listen to this video every day since she posted it, and I just had to see just how bad Magic in the Mirror was. It's very boring and drab, the ducks are absolutely hideous and the whole tea is so damn disturbing. I don't find Tansy as annoying, I mean he is annoying, but I actually find his boss insufferable with his terrible accent. I haven't finished the movie yet, but I understand why she wouldn't want to watch the sequel. I would've given up in the first ten minutes, I'm about an hour in, I'm only following through because I love her summary of this movie. I was hoping it'd be a funny bad movie watch, but it's just boring and ugly.
Richard R.
2025-05-28 06:36:10 +0000 UTCThis reminds me of how I watched all of the Swan Princess films to death as a kid. In hindsight they had a big impact on me but I kinda wish I'd watched something better lol
Derek Stotz
2025-05-27 08:15:31 +0000 UTCApologies if someone has already mentioned this, but The Hugga Bunch movie has a number of weird similarities to Magic in the Mirror—a young girl transported into a magical world via a mirror, an antagonist queen, a mission to get magical berries. Though Hugga Bunch features puppet children (and a couple other puppet characters iirc).
Madeleine G
2025-05-27 06:04:35 +0000 UTCI love the clips!!! The patreon video player is totally fine!
Bryce
2025-05-26 06:49:59 +0000 UTCHave you ever seen the made for TV movie Hugga Bunch? It had a toy tie in, but the puppets are pretty unsettling lol
Kimmer
2025-05-25 15:53:28 +0000 UTCTubi is the best streaming service fr if you’re a fan of horror pls do yourself a favor
Paige Powers
2025-05-21 16:18:17 +0000 UTCnow i have to marry the witch :/
Neosaneo
2025-05-21 01:44:06 +0000 UTCThere's a shot of a Rumplestiltskin animatronic, like at a fairy tale park! With Jenny's voiceover! WHERE IS THAT?!
Benjamin Zagorski
2025-05-20 18:03:29 +0000 UTCWhen I was doing children's theatre we did a production of rumplestiltskin where I was the bird you talked about, who essentially had the story you proposed. I also played rumplestiltskins shadow who didn't really do anything but was important enough to have a duet with rumplestiltskin
rocktopodes
2025-05-19 19:25:39 +0000 UTCI didn't even know they made a movie of the fairytale of the White Bear King Valemon in the 90's, and I'm Norwegian, so it's not very famous here. This is despite the main character being played by Maria Bonnevie, who's a very famous actress here. I guess that would explain why it's so difficult to find nowadays.
Nina Røste
2025-05-19 00:34:39 +0000 UTCPlease keep posting YouTube versions. I work outside in an area with no internet access and I use YouTube premium to download the Patreon videos so I can listen to them at work. AFAIK there is currently no way to download Patreon videos directly from Patreon (though if there is I’d love to know), so I wouldn’t be able to listen to your videos when working!
Albert Bolter
2025-05-18 15:02:00 +0000 UTCIf Youtube is causing problems, I say skip it. People pay for Patreon so they can see your uncensored content. Would you ever consider switching to Nebula instead? Also your asking what part of my home I would want to turn into a puppet? Literally nothing! If my wardrobe started talking and "held me" I would scream.
ana
2025-05-18 00:15:38 +0000 UTC
