Ghost in the Shell

(Spoiler Section Length - 9min 3sec)Like Akira, Ghost in the Shell is one of those anime movies that is often brought up to represent the value and 'adult' appeal that anime has, as compared to western animated movies which are often following in Disney's footsteps. Like Akira, it's also very influential, both in its home country and overseas. But is it worthy of this reputation? Does a 1995 film focused on the idea of near-future technology still hold up so many decades later? Listen to find out!

Ending our look at 1937, we come to Lonesome Ghosts, a short where Mickey, Donald and Goofy are ghostbusters, decades before the 80s film. But the twist is that they ones asking for their help are... the ghosts themselves!! Since the ghosts are so lonesome they want to terrorize our main trio, and they do so in many weird and wacky ways. Is it a good cartoon? Listen to find out!

(Spoiler Section Length - 7min 16sec)The last time all three co-hosts watched an Adult animated film, Eight Crazy Nights, none of them enjoyed it. But does that mean no such films have merit? Releasing in the late 90's, the South Park film released during the series' early years when they were considered especially controversial. It's a musical, just like ECN, and it's certainly no slouch in the crassness department. But is it still worthwhile, over two decades later? Listen to find out!

With Ub Iwerks gone, Bob Clampett was left to take over the cartooning unit, and his own sensibilities started to quickly become apparent, even if they weren't allowed completely free reign with Chuck Jones still there. In this short, we see some Clampett start to stretch his wings with evil cute characters while Jones has fun giving detailed animation to an ancient dog. Is the cartoon any good? Listen to find out!

(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 39sec)This podcast has made no secret of the fact that it's not exactly on board with the Disney remake trend, and perhaps no remake has been more dreaded by at least one of these co-hosts than The Lion King. Though it's often referred to as live action, this movie is basically entirely animated just like the original, just in a hyper-realistic style whose purpose seems to be giving the story more gravitas. It doesn't. But just how bad (or maybe good?) is the remake? And more interestingly, how is the sequel, that evolves the art style and tells a brand-new story with new songs? Listen to find out!

Many Popeye cartoons return to the well of Popeye vs Bluto, and that well typically involves trying to best one another at something until it comes to fisticuffs. But what if the thing they were trying to best each other at was... getting injured??

(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 41sec)The reputation of Disney sequels is generally not great, but among them the Lion King sequel and... interquel(?) tend to be favored. They're pretty wildly different in tone, with Simba's Pride maintaining a similar tone to the first movie, going for a Romeo and Juliet thing rather than Macbeth. Lion King 1½, meanwhile, is a purposeful farce, with a MST3K style 4th-wall-breaking setup and a story that takes place in the margins of the original film. Are these two films really the best that the direct-to-DVD era of Disney sequels has to offer, and more than that, are they still worth watching today? Listen to find out!

Tex Avery was the Warner Bros director that really shook up what it meant to be a WB cartoon short, and one of the ways in which he did that was an increasing focus on subverting expectations and breaking the 4th wall. He also introduced several characters to the Looney Tunes lineup, such as Egghead and Elmer Fudd. These two characters in particular have a strange history, one that's become so intertwined that modern depictions of Egghead reference Elmer Fudd's original design rather than his own. All that is fascinating, but the question remains... do the debut cartoons for these two characters still hold up so many decades later? Listen to find out!

(Spoiler Section Length - 8min 58sec)Generally speaking, people consider the Disney Renaissance of the (mostly) 90s to be the height of the studio's output, thanks in no small part to critical and commercial titans like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. But there is one film above all others that gripped the cultural zeitgeist and never fully let go, one film that could be considered the champion of the era, its unofficial ruler. Its... king. Today we discuss that film, and whether its quality warrants that majestic reputation.

There are only a handful of shorts whose fame at least partially comes from their technical achievements. Steamboat Willie and its sychronized sound is one, while The Old Mill's claim to fame is the multiplane camera. While we take what it does for granted now in the digital age, back then it was a big step-up in cinematography for animated shorts. But does it really add that much to this short? Listen to find out!