GateCrashers

WondLa's grand finale to the trilogy is out now on Apple TV! We were lucky enough to sit down with two of the show's leads, Jeanine Mason and Alan Tudyk, to discuss the final season. We chat with both of them about their approach to voice acting and more in these interviews. Make sure to listen before starting the final season of Wondla! About the show: This groundbreaking third and final installment features a star-studded voice cast, including Jeanine Mason ("Roswell, New Mexico") as Eva, Emmy Award winner Brad Garrett ("Everybody Loves Raymond") as Otto, Gary Anthony Williams ("Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows") as Rovender, Alan Tudyk ("Resident Alien") as Cadmus Pryde, John Ratzenberger ("Toy Story") as Caruncle, John Harlan Kim ("The Librarians") as Hailey, Ana Villafañe ("Castro's Daughter") as Eva 8, Peter Gallagher ("The O.C") as Antiquus, and many more. New cast members include Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated Shohreh Aghdashloo ("House of Sand and Fog") as Darius and Arius, and Maz Jobrani  ("The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour") as Zin.  In the epic final season of "WondLa," war erupts between humans and aliens. With Orbona's fate hanging in the balance, Eva must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: recapturing the stolen Heart of the Forest. Along the way, she gathers old friends and unlikely allies for one last stand.  But to save Orbona, Eva must do more than find the Heart; she must bridge two divided worlds and prove the ultimate truth: "There is no 'them.' There is only us."  The epic trilogy's final season continues with six thrilling half-hour episodes executive produced by Tony DiTerlizzi and Bobs Gannaway alongside Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, Julie Kane-Ritsch, and Skydance Animation's John Lasseter, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg. The series is also produced by Tony Cosanella.  

One of my favorite aspects of doing all this is stepping out of my comfort zone. GateCrashers' mission has always been to help people find new things and engage with them without the fear of embarrassment. So I would not be living by my own mission if I didn't push myself to do new things! The topic for this interview was Formula 1 racing! I got the chance to interview one of the biggest names in the industry, Guenther Steiner. What I learned about Mr. Steiner in my research was that he was, as the title of his book suggests, Unfiltered. I watched many interviews where censors barely caught expletives coming from his mouth or things he put so plainly that many just assume he is blunt. I admire this quality in someone to be themselves at all times, regardless of what others think. It's a power not many possess, and I hope many can emulate this bravado to fully be themselves. While the other interviewers at the WONDERFUL F1 Arcade were in the know about F1, I was not. I stood watching them interview Guenther Steiner with insight into the industry and happenings. I stood, sipping the only beer in the room, admiring people who were good at their craft. I was a bit worried my book-centric interview would be a bit off, but it went wonderfully. Guenther was an incredible interview. I could listen to this man speak for hours. Luckily, you can! For the book, he is doing a speaking tour called "Guenther Steiner: Unfiltered" which is in Philly tonight, November 13th. You can find more dates on his Instagram here. I suggest checking it out to anyone who loves F1 or big personalities. It will give you such new insight into the industry, his life, and what it means to live an unfiltered life.  

The day has finally come. The final season (for now) of Solar Opposites is now on Hulu. When the show started in 2020, I was instantly hooked and have been a Solar ever since. The show is the best Hulu original and will live on. This very special episode is jam-packed with Solar Opposites energy. Chach and Adam join me to talk about the show, the final season, and The Duke's biggest secret at length. I also share my recent interviews with Sean Giambrone, Mary Mack, Josh Bycel, and Mike "The Big Hog" McMahan to talk about the series as a whole. This is a big one, so get your novelty motto t-shirt on and get ready to hear the word mount A LOT. The Solar Opposites final season perfectly encapsulates why this show was a perfect blend of comedy, family, and sci-fi hijinks. It's a worthy send-off for one of the best adult animated shows since The Simpsons. There are episodes that will bring you to tears with their touching moments surrounding the family and what it means to be a finale. The Wall saga comes to a shocking finale that will leave you with your mouth wide open for bugs to crawl in and stuff. Synopsis: Once their alien diamond-making machine gets destroyed, the Solar Opposites must face their greatest challenge yet: living their expensive lives on a budget! When their consumerist habits and expensive hobbies are gone, only their true selves will remain... but will they like who they find? ALSO: The epic story of the people of The Wall has all built to this thrilling and shocking conclusion…  

On this interview special, Dan chats with Yvette Nicole Brown, Scott Adsit, Mac Barnett, and Jon Klassen about their show Shape Island on Apple TV+! They discuss how they carry the life lessons of childhood TV into their own lives, the important elements of storytelling, and much more. Yvette and Scott discuss their approach to voice acting while the show's creators talk about what it was like to let others become involved with something they created. Each interview brings a unique light to the show and what everyone brings to the project. Dan was excited to have such insightful conversations revolving around the show. The show is now available to stream anywhere you watch Apple TV+, so make sure you are checking it out with your family! ABOUT "SHAPE ISLAND" SEASON TWO: The Children's and Family Emmy Award-winning series from Apple TV+ takes place on a charming island and invites viewers to join serious Square, intrepid Circle and tricky Triangle as they dig up some fun, search for answers and build on their friendship — all while learning how to navigate each other's differences. "Shape Island" shows kids that friendship can take many shapes. Season two features the familiar voices of Yvette Nicole Brown ("Frog and Toad") as the narrator, Harvey Guillén ("Puss In Boots: The Last Wish") as Square, Scott Adsit ("Big Hero 6") as Triangle and Gideon Adlon ("Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earth") as Circle. "Shape Island" was co-created by book authors Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, who serve as executive producers. Barnett was recently appointed the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress. Kelli Bixler and Drew Hodges ("Tumble Leaf") from the Emmy Award-winning studio Bix Pix Entertainment also serve as executive producers. Ryan Pequin serves as co-executive producer and head writer.  

It's the final day of Anime August Week and Amanda and Patrick have saved the best for last: today, they're treating you all to Hayao Miyazaki's award-winning, record-breaking 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film, Spirited Away! Often considered Ghibli Studios's breakout project—and a usual suspect on "best of" lists throughout the industry—Spirited Away is the company's (and Miyazaki's) first Academy Award-winning film, having been only the second movie to win Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards (following Shrek, the award's inaugural winner, lol). As with all Miyazaki films, Spirited Away tackles themes of community building, environmentalism, and greed, conveyed across a simultaneously tender and exciting coming-of-age adventure set against a backdrop of cultural Japanese folklore. Mythical deities, acerbic witches, and whimsical magical entities (looking at you, Soot Sprites!) are just a few things that the 10-year-old protagonist, Chihiro, encounters during her employment at a bathhouse for spirits, where she's forced to earn her keep if she doesn't want to run afoul of powerful witch Yubaba, the bathhouse's austere owner. If Chihiro hopes to make it back to the mortal realm, she'll have to rely on the help of her coworkers and Yubaba's mysterious right-hand man, dragon-shifter Haku. Join Amanda and Patrick as they engage in some all-too-familiar antics, including (but not limited to): Amanda forgetting how to read, Patrick going on a tangent about music, Amanda literally crying about how much she loves this movie, and Patrick Googling things in real time. We at GateCrashers are so excited to bring you the final episode of one of our favorite annual segments. Thank you for joining us. See you next year. Long live Anime August! 

Amanda and Patrick are back for day 3 of Anime August Week, and this time they're diving into the world of revered director Hayao Miyazaki, starting with his 1984 film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind! Believe it or not this is the first episode in GateCrashers history talking about Studio Ghibli or Miyazaki! Amanda and Patrick are huge fans of Miyazaki's films, so they are very excited to talk about this movie. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is often considered the beginning of the Studio Ghibli era, even though Miyazaki made it before founding the studio. As such, Amanda and Patrick talk about how it feels so classically Miyazaki, fully formed and fledged right from the start, even though it was only his second ever full-length film. There are plenty of classic themes in this film we've come to appreciate in Miyazaki's canon, including environmentalism, Marxism, and our favorite, some funky little airplanes! To that end, this Amanda and Patrick episode has all the classic Amanda and Patrick themes too: yelling about the English dub, learning things in real time about the manga that they absolutely did not read before recording the episode, and going on tangents so deeply unrelated from the topic of the episode that they have to hard segue back to talking about the movie. Ya know, a classic Amanda and Patrick episode! Amanda and Patrick do genuinely believe that this is one of the Miyazaki's best films. They talk about how important and relevant Miyazaki's message in this film is, even 41 years later, as we continue to live in a world affected by ecological disaster, war, and hatred. But importantly, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind has a message of hope for a humanity that chooses to coexists with nature and the Earth instead of dominate it. Come and join us as we continue our annual dive into the world of Japanese animation! And keep an eye (or ear) out for tomorrow's episode about another Hayao Miyazaki movie!

It's another Anime August episode with Patrick and Amanda! This time, we are discussing the anime Delicious in Dungeon (or as it is known in Japanese and on some corners of the internet Dungeon Meshi). This episode covers the first season of the anime series on Netflix (and in theory the corresponding manga - we didn't read it, sorry!), so be sure to watch the whole season to avoid spoilers. (Although Patrick definitely spoiled something he saw online that happens after the first season's story! He's really sorry he promises!) Amanda and Patrick talk about some of their favorite bits of the season of Delicious in Dungeon, including Senshi crotch shots, Marcille's semi-canon lesbianism, and the spectacular English dub. They also discuss autistic representation, perceived or otherwise, in Laios's character (which might be partially influenced by the performance from Damien Haas, his English language voice actor). The food is talked about, of course, but more importantly Amanda yells about how weird it is that people think it's so strange that Laios and party eat the monsters in the dungeon. Naturally, they also get very passionate about side characters like Kabru and Shuro. There is also a good deal of discussion around the influence that Dungeons & Dragons has on Delicious in Dungeon, including how the mangaka read Dungeons & Dragons player and dungeon master books for research. They also discuss the need (or lack thereof) of racism in the fantasy genre (spoiler: they come out hard against racism). And Amanda and Patrick only briefly get sidetracked into talking about Smosh like twice and whether or not Damien Haas's participation in Smosh videos means that we are getting season 2 anytime soon… So come and join us as we continue our annual dive into anime. Be sure to check out our other episodes this month while you're at it!

ANIME AUGUST IS BACK BABY! We're kicking off with a bang, featuring demons, aliens, and GILFs. This is the big time now because we are talking Dandadan. Amanda and Pat are the hosts of this year's Anime August! This episode, they are joined by Dan because no way he was missing a chance to talk about this wild show. So kick back, get your conspiracy theories or demonology books ready, and hit play. Because if you know it, the theme song is already playing in your head. Dandadan is a manga and anime series about two high schoolers, Momo Ayase, a girl from a family of spirit mediums, and Okarun, an occult enthusiast. After Okarun denies ghosts and Momo dismisses aliens, they make a bet to prove each other wrong by visiting legendary paranormal hot spots, which results in both of them gaining supernatural powers after encountering overwhelming entities. They are then forced to join forces, fighting terrifying aliens, yokai, and other threats while also navigating their own burgeoning relationship and the chaotic paranormal events that engulf their lives. You can find Dandadan on Crunchyroll and Netflix, with both dubs and subs available currently, with season 2 wrapping up. The team talks about how they feel about certain voices in subs and dubs with their attachments to some or the other as well in this episode! They also talk about many other things. We are not sorry to any goblins who were hurt during the making of this episode or in the past or future. Dan also gets the chance to talk about a bit of the score that hit him personally that made the show click that it was going to become a personal favorite. It's about a piece everyone knows but not many know the name of but the show and the composer got to play with for the show in a very fun way.

Ben Folds has been an influential artist on me for as long as I have had my own musical identity. I have been able to follow his work to see his growth as a musician, changing and evolving over time. There was never a moment when I thought I would be sitting in a virtual room with him, having a conversation about his current lane of music and how he doesn't really have anyone else like him. We discussed how he approached another outing with Snoopy and the gang with Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical. Listen below or anywhere you get your podcasts!   About Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical This summer, celebrate the joy and magic of summer camp and the importance of preserving what you love. Charlie Brown loves camp and is determined to make his final year special, but Sally – a first-time camper – is nervous and skeptical of the new and unfamiliar place. While everyone settles into camp, Snoopy and Woodstock discover a treasure map that takes them on a wild adventure nearby.  One morning, the Peanuts gang learns that their beloved camp is shutting down because there are fewer campers joining each summer. The news especially saddens Charlie Brown, who feels hopeless about losing a place that has meant so much to him and his friends. Meanwhile, on their adventure, Snoopy and Woodstock find the sought-after treasure chest, but are quickly disappointed when they discover it's not riches, but instruments and photos from past summer concerts held at the camp. Newly inspired, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang use the treasure to host their own concert to save the camp. Featuring original music by Emmy Award-nominated composer Jeff Morrow and Emmy-nominated singer, songwriter, composer, and New York Times bestselling author Ben Folds, the latest special under the acclaimed "Snoopy Presents" banner by Peanuts and WildBrain for Apple TV+ marks the first Peanuts musical in 35 years. Produced for Apple TV+ by Peanuts and WildBrain, "Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical" is directed by Erik Wiese and is written by Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano. Executive producers are C. Schulz, B. Schulz, Uliano, Paige Braddock, Josh Scherba, Stephanie Betts, and Logan McPherson. 

Before Chip Zdarsky, Valerio Schiti and Frank Martin's Captain America shield slashes into stores this Wednesday, I had a chance to converse with Chip about the title, as well as his (and Rachael Stott, Tamra Bonvillain and Ariana Maher's) White House Robot Romance from DSTLRY – going into how it feels to write books with these storylines during this political climate, as well as a wealth of other stuff primarily about Captain America and how he views the character and the mythos. I've been a big fan of Chip Zdarsky since his Spectacular Spider-Man book way back in 2017, and he was the first comics creator I ever met in person, so getting to interview him was a dream come true. The conversation we had about these books, especially Captain America, was a real eye opener in a lot of ways. I even got to talk about one of my criticisms of Avengers: Twilight's ending with him and how that might influence how he writes Captain America, which certainly left me very inquisitive about how this book is going to turn out. I also asked about Gundam (obviously), which he covered with his friends over at his manga podcast Mangasplaining, so be sure to check that out. Captain America #1 hits stores this Wednesday, July 2nd. Check out Chip Zdarsky over at his substack! Synopsis for Captain America #1 While Captain America slumbered in ice, the world changed — for better and for worse. Steve Rogers awakens to a reality where battles are fought in the shadows through secrets and subterfuge, and villains aren't so easy to identify. When a fledgling dictator named Victor Von Doom conquers Latveria, Steve faces a critical decision: adapt to a new kind of warfare, or forge his own path? And what will the choice he makes in the past mean for his future? Experience the untold tale of Captain America's first encounter with Doctor Doom as Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti team up for a game-changing new era of CAPTAIN AMERICA! Synopsis for White House Robot Romance When Chef-9 learns that Service-1 is scheduled for immediate decommissioning, he makes an unprecedented choice: abandon his station, break protocol, and flee with Service-1 into the streets of Washington, D.C. But what starts as a desperate act of defiance quickly spirals into an international crisis. Service-1's memory banks hold highly classified state secrets—ones that could tilt the balance of power between America and Canada. As paranoia mounts and the military mobilizes, the runaway robots find themselves hunted by government agents. Be sure to check out our previous interview with Chip here, where he discusses his other work, Public Domain. We delve into the comics industry, its history, and what it's like working in it today. Be sure to rate and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts! Every rating helps us get fantastic interv