Writers Get Animated

Chris and Mackenzie brush up on their Shakespeare! Art thou ready for this? Writers Get Animated looks at how Gargoyles and The Simpsons play with the works of the Bard! How do the works of Shakespeare find their way into cartoons? Is Bottom from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” a precursor to BoJack Horseman? How much trouble can one wish-granting fairy cause? How powerful is the theme to Ghostbusters? Links About Shakespeare http://bit.ly/2cHWbhz About the episode “The Mirror” http://bit.ly/2cHXihc About Gargoyles http://bit.ly/2cHVAMP About “A Midsummer Night’s Dream http://bit.ly/2cHWVmu More about Gargoyles http://movies.disney.com/gargoyles Buy Gargoyles on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Gargoyles-Season-Two-Vol-1/dp/B000ATQYVA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1473940972&sr=8-4&keywords=Gargoyles Histeria’s Shakespeare http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9pyNbtwImQ Gnomeo and Juliet https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gnomeo-and-juliet/ Listen to Gnomeo and Juliet (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) by Various Ar

Chris and Mackenzie travel back to the early 90’s to unearth one of their favorite forgotten gems of Animation Past: The Critic! Jay Sherman is a movie critic who only seems to review bad movies. Are we living in his dystopian Hollywood future? What does a cartoon from the 90’s have to do with the 2016 Presidential election? Why do we love characters voiced by Jon Lovitz so much? Links About The Critic http://bit.ly/2cFY0c5 The Critic on IMDB http://imdb.to/2cH0MRw About the episode “Miserable” http://avc.lu/2cH14aI About Jon Lovitz http://bit.ly/2cFYC1r Jon Lovitz as the Master Thespian on SNL http://bit.ly/2chd8OX Jon Lovitz as Tommy Flanagan (Pathological Liar) on SNL http://bit.ly/2chdeGg About Al Jean http://bit.ly/2cFXTgM About Mike Reiss http://bit.ly/2cFYRd0 “Penguins Can’t Fly!!” http://bit.ly/2chdTri Jay Sherman on The Simpsons http://bit.ly/2cFYQpk The Critic Theme http://bit.ly/2chcC3s Buy The Critic on DVD http://amzn.to/2cH1DBn Ten Frighteningly Prophetic Parodies from ‘The Critic’ http://uproxx

Grab your shamisen and paper as Chris and Mackenzie enter the world of Kubo and the Two Strings and see what unfolds! (It’s an origami joke!) How did they make Kubo? What’s going on with eyes in this film? What can Kubo control with music? How bad is Mackenzie’s Regina Spektor impression? How emotionally scarred is Chris’ almost 4-year-old son by the witches? Links Explore Laika! http://bit.ly/2bO1x8o Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast Interview with Travis Knight http://apple.co/2bGri8C ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ Director Travis Knight: “That love of fantasy was something that was bestowed upon me at an early age” http://bit.ly/2bXwkmr Crafting the Epic World of Kubo: A Conversation with Laika’s Animation Supervisor Brad Schiff http://bit.ly/2bNodE7 Laika Chief Travis Knight Reveals Future Plans at Studio http://bit.ly/2cuC6N0 http://on.mtv.com/2bI7JQA LAIKA Founder and CEO Travis Knight makes his directorial debut with Kubo and the Two Strings http://bit.ly/2bO1z07 Kubo and the Two Strings Inside Laika’s S

Chris and Mackenzie jump after a zebra and plummet down the waterfall into the world of Leo the Lion on Netflix! Having lost his mother in a zebra-hunting-waterfall accident, Leo the Lion has to face his fears and find the Heart of the Jungle. And that’s just the first two minutes! What is in the Heart of the Jungle? Are there better vegetarian movies on Netflix? How do the English subtitles help save a film? How can we fix this movie? How does a chameleon work? What makes something universally bad? Links The Nightmare World of Leo the Lion, Netflix’s Worst Movie http://slct.al/2bjeSDT Common Sense Media Review http://bit.ly/2bjfhG4 Listen to It Came from the Depths of Netflix http://apple.co/2bjfdWY The Room http://bit.ly/2bjflpt Popeye the Movie http://bit.ly/2blyqvN Futurama Vegetarian Lion http://bit.ly/2bS6D2L White Elephant Gift Exchange http://bit.ly/2bm7aZi Leo the Lion “I’m a Vegetarian” http://bit.ly/2brAejX Leo the Lion Villain Song http://bit.ly/2bjjFur  

Grab a flock of birds (seagulls?) and travel with Writers Get Animated to Asteroid B-612 as Chris and Mackenzie explore the world of Netflix’s “The Little Prince!” How do you adapt a story into a film? Where is our wall-sized life plan? Can a kid’s movie be meant for adults? How many eight year olds get to stay home alone? How is the plot of “The Little Prince” film like a boa constrictor? Links The Little Prince Review http://bit.ly/2bpyVoU Little Prince Adaptations Aren’t Easy, Just Ask Orson Welles http://n.pr/2b7cOAo Director Mark Osborne Explains Why His Version of The Little Prince Shouldn’t Exist http://bit.ly/2b7cn8X Sketches from The Little Prince Movie http://bzfd.it/2b7ccL3 Listen to The Little Prince (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Hans Zimmer & Richard Harvey on Apple Music http://bit.ly/2b7edXk Paramount drops The Little Prince http://bit.ly/2b7bSff Review of “The Little Prince” http://bit.ly/2b7d5Da About the original novella “The Little Prince” http://bit.ly/2b7d4P

Chris and Mackenzie get real about their emotions. How do storytellers manipulate our emotions? How does a story operate on our feels? Get ready to let loose as they unpack the emotional baggage of Adventure Time’s “I Remember You” and Futurama’s “The Luck of the Fryrish.” What is the “Perception Shift?” When is a good time for an Apocalypse? How much information do you have to have about the world to make someone feel sad? Links About Futurama: Luck of the Fryrish http://bit.ly/2b1LSm6 About Futurama: Lethal Inspection http://bit.ly/2b99OFw About Futurama: The Late Philip J. Fry http://bit.ly/2b1LKmz About Adventure Time: I Remember You http://avc.lu/2b9aafv Buy Adventure Time: I Remember You on iTunes http://apple.co/2b9a6wd How Adventure Time Revitalized Post-Apocalyptic Storytelling http://bit.ly/2b1M1pF Looking for Structure (Has a word about the Perception Shift) http://bit.ly/2b9afzI Old Blog Post with a little Perception Shift Action http://bit.ly/2b1M199 More Blog Posts about struc

We’re back with Season 2 of Writers Get Animated! Chris and Mackenzie do their best to not go full “Fanboy” as they discuss Mark Hamill as the Joker. What makes the Joker the best villain? What makes Mark Hamill’s performance so great? Does Batman truly smell? And if so, how badly? What makes the Joker sad? How can we make our own cardboard cutout audience of citizens of Gotham? Links Batman the Animated Series on Amazon Prime http://amzn.to/2axCtD3 Mark Hamill on the Joker at Star Wars Celebration 2016 http://uproxx.it/2aRRKQo The full Mark Hamill interview. Worth it! http://bit.ly/2axCgQp LEGO Batman Trailer http://bit.ly/2aEPRDz Under the Red Hood http://bit.ly/2aEQzkf The Killing Joke Trailer http://bit.ly/2azYMZh

You’ve heard the old adage: “Steal from the best?” What about stealing from YOURSELF?! Chris and Mackenzie power through some serious Disney déjà vu and glitches in The Matrix as they review episodes of DuckTales and TaleSpin that share the same plot! Is it a formula for a better DuckTales episode or does TaleSpin do it better? How many punchlines does “Joke-Bot 38” have? Do Duckburg and Cape Suzette share the same newspaper? How many astronomical events happen on single, specific days? Can you really use a snow plow to get rid of clouds? If Scrooge wanted to save money, why would he have meetings on Saturday mornings? How creepy can a character’s actions be and still be sympathetic? What do the citizens of Thembria listen to on the radio? What do robotic gargoyles have to do with it? Links Get DuckTales “Allowance Day” on iTunes http://apple.co/29EJUof Get Tale Spin “The Time Bandit” on iTunes http://apple.co/29EJSwV About DuckTales http://bit.ly/29ELwhG About TaleSpin http://bit.ly/29EJj64 About th

With the release of Finding Dory and the announcement of Wreck-It Ralph 2, we decide to look at the direct to video sequels from Disney’s past: Cinderella III: A Twist in Time and Lion King II: Simba’s Pride. How do you portray animal “romance” in a way that's not awkward? Does Everyone, in fact, Need an Elton John Song? How did Simba “mark” the path for his daughter? Why doesn’t Cinderella’s Prince have a name? What other things can the magic words “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” do? How many women in the kingdom have a size 4 shoe? Can there ever be enough Aladdin? Links About Cinderella III: http://bit.ly/29urnyu About The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride: http://bit.ly/29Aj6ew Cinderella III on iTunes: http://apple.co/29xD32j Lion King II on Amazon: http://amzn.to/29oSqIC Cinderella III on Rotten Tomatoes: http://bit.ly/29AjmKy Lion King II on Rotten Tomatoes: http://bit.ly/29Cs1Jx About the Disney Renaissance: http://bit.ly/29Csbk8 The list of Disney direct to video sequels: http://bit.ly/29AiOUU About

Chris and Mackenzie navigate the complicated world of "Adult Animation," focusing on the turning point of the 70's and 80's when animation drew a line in the sand between stuff for kids and stuff for adults. What is it that classifies something as "Adult Animation?" Is it themes? The content? Who is "Adult Animation" for anyway? Adults? Kids that sneak into the movies? What kind of awkward, food-based metaphors can we make to explain this? Links About Fritz the Cat the film: http://bit.ly/299kDs4_(film) About Fritz the Cat the comic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_the_Cat About the censored Disney film “Alice Solves the Puzzle:” http://bit.ly/299kB3u "A Not So Brief History of Adult Animation:" http://bit.ly/29k0htl "Seth Rogen's Sausage Party and a Short History of Adult Animation:" http://bit.ly/299kmFA "Best Adult Animated Films:" http://bit.ly/29k0FYq "Adult Animation of Ralph Bakshi:" http://bit.ly/29k0eh5 "The Simpsons and the Birth of the Modern Animated TV Comedy:" http://bit.ly/29k

Episode 30: Megabytes and TP Forts How does art influence story? Chris and Mackenzie venture into the worlds of ReBoot and Pickle and Peanut to see how artistic/visual choices can influence a show's characters and story! How many puns can a show about life inside of a computer upload before it crashes? How dangerous is Microsoft Paint exactly? Does anyone know what the deal is with "the cloud?" What does a cucumber and olive oil have to do with a pickle? Where is the toilet paper fort? What does a bear in a Disney show have in common with BoJack Horseman? Links About the episode “Painted Windows:” http://bit.ly/28QOLTz Watch a preview of “90’s Adventure Bear:” http://bit.ly/28QORdy About Microsoft Paint: http://bit.ly/28QOTCb About the reboot of ReBoot: http://bit.ly/28QOSy8 Sneak Peek of Disney's Pickle and Peanut: http://bit.ly/28RoXHC About Homestar Runner: http://bit.ly/28QNWyj About TaleSpin: http://bit.ly/28QNFvx About the Brecht Alienation (or Distancing) Effect: http://bit.ly/28RoV2v

Who saves Superman when Superman is in trouble? Have no fear, Writers Get Animated is here! Producer Bruce Timm called "Superman's Pal" one of the worst of episodes of Superman: The Animated Series and of the entire DC Animated Universe, so Chris and Mackenzie dig into their storytelling utility belts (we know that's a Batman reference) and rush to the rescue! Through the use of the Writer Emergency Pack (created by screenwriter John August), can they save Superman? What makes Jimmy Olsen America's Favorite Intern? What is Metallo's plan exactly? Are there kisses between humans and cyborgs that aren't awkward? What does Indiana Jones have to do with any of this? Links About Writer Emergency Pack: http://bit.ly/28HwW3D About John August and the Scriptnotes Podcast: http://bit.ly/28HxaYB About Superman the Animated Series: http://bit.ly/1rs6Rnj Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen (the comic): http://bit.ly/1rs7NYO About Bruce Timm: http://bit.ly/28Hx7vU Watch “Superman’s Pal” on Amazon Prime: http://amzn.to/1r

Plot, plot? Who's got the plot? Genre does! Chris and Mackenzie go where no podcast has gone before: Into genre animation! And if they have gone there before, then we're certainly using the style of this in safe-but-surprising ways to stay in the same vein but be unique! Exclamation points!!! Why do people look down on genre fiction? What's Neil Gaiman got to do with it? What exactly is Jonny Quest studying for? Why did the adventure genre go away (hint: racism)? Interview with Neil Gaiman and Kazuo Ishiguro about Genre: http://bit.ly/1U9kZMv "Brad Bird: Animation is Not a Genre:" http://bit.ly/1U9kLVO Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee: http://amzn.to/1U9llTf About Limited Animation: http://bit.ly/1U9m8Uc "Indiana Jones and the Migration to Science Fiction:" http://bit.ly/1UEst7f About Jonny Quest: http://bit.ly/1YgDUYM About the episode "The Robot Spy:" http://imdb.to/1UEsCb0 Buy "The Robot Spy" on iTunes: http://apple.co/1UEtnRa About Duc

"Chris and Mackenzie take Writers Get Animated LIVE! In terms of our subject matter, not our production style. Is The Jungle Book (open-parentheses-2016-closed-parentheses) an animated movie? Some of the people behind it seem to think so. It is technically animated. What is the line between live action and animation? Is it animated if you can see a live preview during shooting? Why is Disney reviving old animated features as live action movies? Is Shere Khan scary? Does anyone really want to hear Christopher Walken sing? Does realism matter for what type of talking ape we're trying to portray as a New York mobster? Go behind the scenes of The Jungle Book: https://youtu.be/zTebgHNSe_4 Academy Conversations: The Jungle Book: https://youtu.be/PVvRlrKUq7o"  

What is the golden age of animation? Besides the 30s–50s. We mean of the ages of animation since the golden age, which one is the shiniest? Is is the 1960s, when animation came to television? The 1970s, which we have very little to say about? The 1980s, which for some reason still won't go away? The 1990s, so full of grit and darkness? Maybe the 2000s, when things got weird? Or what about Now That's What I Call Animation: The 2010s?

Have you ever had to pause a show because it gets so preposterous? Believing in monsters that live in New York and fight crime with a cute sidekick is one thing, but do they not understand how floppy disks work? You can't take over the world with that! In this episode, Chris and Mackenzie talk about what makes animation "believable". Is Gizmo Duck really Robert Downey Jr. in disguise? What do the incandescent lightbulbs on a robot do? Why does a robot want money? Is the Uncanny Valley just a 30 Rock thing or like what? (It's not.) Learn more about suspension of disbelief and Samuel Taylor Coleridge: http://bit.ly/1TK3I9H See Armstrong the Robot's Incandescent light bulb prison during the DuckTales theme song at 00:12 - http://bit.ly/1TK41kS Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within: http://bit.ly/1TK4403 Speedy Gonzales the movie is coming: http://bit.ly/1qxydrC  

Chris and Mackenzie tiptoe around and/or stomp through animated television where the main characters experience some kind of gender bending adventure. After the necessary Futurama references, they get around to talking about Kim Possible and Steven Universe. Can they make it through this episode without one awakward silence? Is Futurama the best example of gender anything? How can a manbot become a fembot? Why would children want to go to a teenage rave? How many skirt jokes are needed? How do they keep all of these characters away from mirrors? Watch Kim Possible - Mind Games: http://video.disney.com/watch/mind-games-4c7c001649ab1432e7909ea5 Learn More about Steven Universe - Alone Together: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/steven-universe/fusion-training-clip.html Futurama - The Prisoner of Benda: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner_of_Benda Futurama - Bend Her: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bend_Her Futurama - The Farnsworth Parabox: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farnsworth_Par

SPOILERS DETECTED! In honor of May the Fourth, Chris and Mackenzie discuss one of the most-loved Star Wars characters of all-time: Ahsoka Tano! They infiltrate Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Jedi jump into the season two finale of Star Wars: Rebels - Twilight of the Apprentice. Is Ahsoka to blame for Darth Vader? Who caused the end of the Jedi? Have we seen the end of Ahsoka's story?

In this episode, Chris and Mackenzie board the train to Zootopia and talk about the story creation process (and dramaturgy!) at Walt Disney Animation Studios! How are Disney stories made? What is the Disney Story Trust? How badly do you want to live in Zootopia? What happens when you change your main character of your film halfway through production? Are fish friends or are they food? How infectious is a Shakira song? Should Nick and Judy be romantically involved and, if so, what would their kids be called? And what the heck is "dramaturgy" anyway? You can watch the documentary "Imagining Zootopia" here: http://bit.ly/26lAzev

Remember that animated show you loved as a kid? Are you brave enough to watch it again as an adult? Chris and Mackenzie boldly venture with the Ghost of Cartoons Past and revisit shows from their childhoods! Join them as they enter the fray with Captain Bucky O'Hare and unlock the mysteries of Jim Henson's Muppet Babies to answer the question: Does it hold up? How can Firefly fix Bucky O'Hare? How many schools are there in San Francisco? Is Nanny's house a daycare or are all the Muppets adopted and, therefore, related? Is Officer Caruthers real or is Nanny just a bad nanny? Special thanks to Chris Nee, creator of Doc McStuffins, for giving us our first, official answer to a question no one is asking!