The summer is coming to an end, and we hope you had a good time with us over the last three months of podcasts, because we sure did. And as we reach Labor Day weekend, it's time to let all of you know the cool stuff we have planned for the coming month on What A Cartoon podcast, cuz it's a doozy. We've got the worst animated thing we've ever covered, a silly relic of a bygone sitcom age, and our firs...
2021-08-30 15:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The Talking Simpsons Network ends its summer of Disney Renaissance films in stirring fashion with the biggest film of that era, The Lion King. In this extended preview, we dig into how this film came to be over a veeeerry complicated development, how it is entwined with the career of Jeffrey Katzenberg, and much more. Listen now to this free extended preview, and then subscribe at the $10 level (or up your current pled...
2021-08-30 04:01:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hakuna matata, it means no worries about this podcast on the history of the biggest film of the Disney Renaissance era! We close out this summer of What A Cartoon Movie with our deep dive into the difficult creation of this film, its unprecedented success, its very long legacy, its impact on Jeffrey Katzenberg's career, its allegations of plagiarism, and much much more in this lion-sized podcast. So complete the Circle of Life and listen now!
2021-08-30 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
This week we welcome back comedy writer extraordinaire Mike Drucker for an episode all about making television shows! Krusty is set to retire and Sideshow Bob is back to kill him in this ep filled with late '90s references to wanting to be a millionaire and early Dave Chappelle, along with so much more. Listen now before you get hypnotized by a bullseye!
2021-08-25 04:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
This week we welcome back Lindsay Katai, writer for Infinity Train and cohost of the podcast Teen Creeps! She helps us navigate the scary worlds of childhood religious beliefs AND early cable television in this landmark episode of Lisa's battle ...
2021-08-18 04:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
The results are in and our patrons have spoken: this fall, our Patreon-exclusive podcast miniseries will cover 10 selected episodes from the legendary Batman: The Animated series! While we usually go in chronological order with our limited series, this time we thought we'd try something different. Since we only have so muc...
2021-08-16 19:15:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Adam Reed and Matt Thompson have been living large thanks to 11 seasons of Archer, but it all started nearly a decade before that with their inaugural Adult Swim show, Sealab 2021. With its absurdist, Gen X remix of a "classic" Hanna-Barbera series, Sealab fit perfectly into the original lineup of Adult Swim, entertaining both stoned and non-stoned college students alike for 52 episodes. On this installment of What A Cartoon, we examine one of the most popular and self-indulgent episodes of S...
2021-08-16 04:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
We're joined once again by Chris Cabin from the podcast We Hate Movies as we discuss one of the weirdest episodes of the show ever! Not only is it full of hostile first acts, aging digital animation, and an ending that's a giant shrug, we also get some Oedipal complex thrown in for...
2021-08-11 04:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
We've got a very Critic-style Talking Futurama this month (written by a former Critic writer, no less) that takes down those Hollywood phonies and stars Hank Azaria as Zoidberg's long-lost actor uncle, Harold Zoid! Listen in and learn the secret of how Fox films plane crashes, the value of the qualifier "practically," and why Marisa Tomei deserved her 1993 Oscar. So sit back and enjoy an episode that deserves to win the Emmy of podcast awards!
2021-08-09 04:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The results are in (and WOW was it close)! Thanks to your votes, next month's episode of the What A Cartoon Movie podcast will be 2000's The Road to El Dorado, the underrated 2D Dreamworks buddy comedy. Folks on the $5 level of our Patreon can hear the extended free preview of this podcast when it goes live on...
2021-08-07 16:15:49 +0000 UTC View PostWelcome patrons as we once more ask you to help us choose our next round of Patreon-exclusive podcasts! If you're a new subscriber here, you should know that your Talking Simpsons Network subscription offers you so much, including multiple Patreon-exclusive podcast miniseries each year! And we want to start recording our next miniseries for our $5+ subscribers ASAP!
Early this year we did the first half of King of the Hill's second season, as well as making Talking Futu...
2021-08-07 14:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
As we head back to the 1970s to hear about Homer and Marge falling in love, we're joined by our third member from the band & podcast The Sloppy Boys, writer/director/musician Jeff Dutton! Jeff joins us for an important chapter in Simpsons history, as the family is left with no choice but to do their first flashback episode after their TV set b...
2021-08-04 04:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Chosen by premium Patreon subscriber Phil, we're breaking format to talk about a show that we love that may as well have been animated, The Muppet Show! We reflect on a childhood love of Muppets, the career of Jim Henson that led to the creation of the biggest show in the world (for the time), and then look at the now-eerie Star Wars tie-in episode with special guest star, Mr. Mark Hamill, yaaaay!!!
2021-08-02 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
The summer is nearing the end, but we hosts of the Talking Simpsons Network are just getting warmed up! Not only are more great episodes of Talking Simpsons and What A Cartoon headed your way, but we're also due for another of our monthly $10 premium podcasts, so we'll need your help to decide what we'll be covering in September.
As regular subscribers should know, we're often so far ahead in p...
2021-07-31 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Summer is in its final, hottest weeks once again, and we've got plenty of podcasts to help keep you cool as you try to escape the remorseless rays of the blazing sun. This August, join us as we go back 20 years in time to explore the roots of an Adult Swim classic, discuss some cartoon-adjacent puppet pals at their height of their international fame, and finally, bring our Summer of the Disney Renais...
2021-07-30 19:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
We're in the dog days of summer 2021, which surprisingly means a whole lot of Simpsons news, including Loki, Comic-Con, and tons more! Plus we talk about some fun new events going on in our lives, what we've been watching for fun, and even reply to some of our favorite Patreon comments. So grab Thor's hammer and listen now!
2021-07-28 04:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
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 1996's The Hunchback of Notre Dame! 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 Cartoon...
2021-07-26 04:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
When Jeffrey Katzenberg phoned Beauty and the Beast directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and told them "you're making The Hunchback of Notre Dame," the two men—and the moviegoing public at large—had no idea how they could possibly adapt Victor Hugo's dark novel into a family friendly movie. Three years and some minor compromises later, Disney's adaptation of Hunchback entered the world, and amounted to one of the most experimental and mature films the company would ever make in its life...
2021-07-26 04:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
For this season 12 episode we're joined by the returning Nick Prueher from Found Footage Festival/VCR Party Live, and this story is eerily similar to Prueher's career. After Bart and Milhouse save Comic Book Guy's life, they run the comic store and start ...
2021-07-21 05:38:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Thanks to the generous patronage of James Eldred, we're taking a look at the cartoon that defined stop-motion animation on TV: Gumby! Art Clokey's animated chunk of clay delighted Baby Boomers during the earliest decades of TV, and returned in the late '80s to entertain their children before completely dropping off the face of the earth. This week, listen in as we explore the truly interesting life of Gumby's creator, and dig into one of his earliest, trippiest shorts. Why should you care? He...
2021-07-19 04:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
We return to this season 2 classic with the fantastic artist Nina Matsumoto joining us to discuss this episode covering Japanese culture AND bucket lists! Homer eats potentially fatal fish and has to make plans for his final day, as we reflect on this 1991 portrayal of a Japanese restaurant and mortality. Listen now to this fan-fugu-tastic podcast!
2021-07-14 04:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
The results are in! Thanks to your votes, next month's episode of the What A Cartoon Movie podcast will be 1994's The Lion King, the final movie in our summer of the Disney Renaissance. Folks on the $5 level of our Patreon can hear the extended free preview of this podcast when it goes live on Monday, August 30, but $10 su...
2021-07-12 21:59:37 +0000 UTC View Post
This month, we're covering an episode of Futurama full of big reveals and a plot that's epic enough to be a movie! When the Brain Spawn invade earth, Nibbler reveals his true form as a Nibblonian, and takes Leela back with him to his incredibly cute home planet. But with Fry as the sole person on Earth who isn't affected by the Brain Spawn's intelligence-draining power, can he save the day? Listen in as we discuss this action-packed episode, and the first appearance of Hypnotoad, all in one p...
2021-07-12 04:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
The awesome first-time guest Griffin Newman from the podcast Blank Check joins us for a Simpsons featuring the great Michael Keaton! Marge befriends an artistic prisoner, and we talk about how people in prison are portrayed, the show's fun comments on their lack of reality, and chiropractors all in one jam-packed episode. Listen now before there...
2021-07-07 04:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
This week we've got two huge guests: Returning favorite (and creator of OK K.O.) Ian Jones-Quartey along with newcomer (and creator of Steven Universe) Rebecca Sugar! And they're joining us to talk about one of their all-time favorite cartoons, Future Boy Conan! How did Hayao Miyazaki get to direct his first series? How many artists did it influence global...
2021-07-05 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
We're halfway through 2021 and we hope everyone is enjoying our podcasts as much as we've enjoyed making them! We've got more big guests coming soon, some really cool podcast subjects are heading your way, and we're due for another of our monthly $10 premium podcasts, so we'll need your help to decide what we'll be covering in August.
As you might know by now, we're staying so far ahead in podc...
2021-07-01 13:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
We hope everyone is doing their best to stay cool as the summer months warm up and we enter July. Your pals at the Talking Simpsons Network are beating the heat by recording multiple podcasts a week, and we're super ahead of schedule. And speaking of schedules, this is the first month of the updated What A Cartoon release lineup, with a standard WAC podcast out on the first and third Monday of the mo...
2021-06-30 17:18:46 +0000 UTC View Post
It's the end of another month on the Talking Simpsons Network, which means it's time once again for our community podcast! Listen in as we discuss the debut of new Simpsons shoes, the return of the classic 1991 Simpsons arcade game, James L. Brooks' tortured relationship with the Los Angeles Clippers, the end of Conan O'Brien's talk show, and more. And, as always, we respond to your questions and comments from our most recent episodes. So remove the crayon of boredom from your brain and get r...
2021-06-30 04:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
We're starting our summer of Disney Renaissance films with 1997's Hercules! And this is your sample of June's premium podcast for the Talking Simpsons Network! Meanwhile, our $10+ Patreon subscribers get to go the distance and hear the full thing! After you hear this free extended preview of the tale of Zeus' famous son, consider subscribing at the $10 level (or up your current pledge to $10) to hear the whole thi...
2021-06-28 04:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
It's too cliche, we won't say it... Well, ok, fine, it's time again for our premium monthly podcast! By 1997 things we're as stable in Disney Feature Animation as before, but directors John Musker and Ron Clements were going to go the distance with this Greek tale of commercialism and insider Hollywood references. Can it all come together with an underrated soundtrack, a bland lead character, and a villain played by a guy who belongs in hell? Listen to our lengthy discussion to find out!
2021-06-28 04:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post