Shorts! Walter Lantz: The Sleeping Princess

(Spoiler Section Length: 5min 12sec)When the Rugrats movies proved to be financially successful, Nickelodeon looked to try again with the Hey Arnold series! Originally intended for tv, this movie got blown up on the big screen, but none of us hosting the podcast saw it back then. So many years later, does this thing hold up, especially for someone who isn't very familiar with the show it's based on? Let's find out!

As the 1930s came to a close, virtually every animation studio had at least started dabbling in color, even if some still mostly put out black and white shorts. Unfortunately, a lot of lesser-known shorts from this time period haven't been preserved well, surviving only via tv prints with washed-out color. Fortunately for us, this particular short has been restored, so we're able to see how bright and colorful it was always intended to be! Does that make a difference, and is the short any good anyway? Let's find out!

(Spoiler Section Length: 4min 49sec)There are regular spooky kids movies, and then there are spooky kids movies that adults claim traumatized them in their youth. Perhaps none is as indicative of this latter type than Coraline, a movie that's pretty darn scary even by adult standards. But reputation aside, how's this thing hold up as a film, especially a stop-motion animated one? Let's discuss!

Mickey's been the main star of Disney cartoons for the 30s, but as the decade waned his friends started to become more and more popular and spin off into their own series of shorts. Donald and Pluto have both already done so, yet Goofy, for some reason, waited until the decade was almost over to finally get his own. This short perhaps illustrates why - they weren't sure how to give him a solo short, so they didn't, they paired him with a grasshopper. While the resulting cartoon might not be as well remembered as the eventual "How To" Goofy shorts, is it good in its own right? Let's find out!

(Spoiler Section Length: 2min 59sec)Starting off our 2026 Spookaboo, we have a fairly obscure movie that seems to be a Japanese take on a modern (for the 60s) fairytale. It's an odd little film with demon children, talking animals and lots of bone architecture. It's also from the 60s so expect a few trippy moments. Is it any good, and does it hold up for the modern (2020s) viewer? Let's find out!

The end of the 30s was, obviously, a stressful time for global politics, and this definitely had an effect on cartoons of the time, though this effect would become much more pronounced in the 40s. These two cartoons represent the American stance on the boiling tensions of the time, to varying degrees of artistry and bluntness. Are either of them good, especially so long after the time period they reflected? Let's find out!

(Spoiler Section Length: 8min 50sec)It's finally happened - the 2nd shelved Looney Tunes movie has been released, and we went and saw it in theaters! Besides The Day the Earth Blew Up, all Looney Tunes films have been live-action/animation hybrids, so that begs the question... how does this hold up compared to the Space Jams and Back in Action? And how is it as a movie, overall? Was it worth the wait and all the effort to finally get it released? Let's find out!

The Looney Tunes (and Merrie Melodies) series are typically thought of as funny, or at the very least trying to be. But what happens when they try to step out of the comedy lane, into something more... prestigious? And very patriotic. Is the resulting cartoon worth watching? Let's find out!

(Spoiler Section Length: 6min 36sec)In Disney's long history of filmmaking, there are some movies the company would prefer you forget. Of these, perhaps none is more infamous than Song of the South. Frequently derided for being racist and boring, today we finally tackle it to find out, is it really as bad as everyone says? Should it be included on Disney+? Does this thing hold up, even a little bit? Let's find out!

The end of the 30s marks the fall of Mickey Mouse and the rise of Donald Duck, who would be Disney's predominant cartoon star throughout the 40s and 50s. In these two shorts we see increasing refinement of the Donald vs. the Nephews formula, and the first instance of Mickey's villain Pete showing up in a solo Donald effort. Do these cartoons show why Donald ended up becoming such a huge success? Let's discuss!