From the creators of Talking Simpsons comes What A Cartoon!, an audio exploration of every cartoon ever! Join hosts Henry Gilbert and Bob Mackey for a monthly in-depth look at a different cartoon, and an animated feature spotlight at the end of every month.
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In 1987, Ralph Bakshi assembled a ragtag crew of animation visionaries for the sake of rebooting Mighty Mouse: a C-tier cartoon hero mostly absorbed by Baby Boomers through ever-present reruns. Though the pitch seems lackluster, the execution certainly wasn't. Bakshi's team of animation rebels turned what could have been a corny concept into pure brilliance, and then went on to inspire and create…
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 2016's Zootopia! 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…
The Talking Simpsons Network is taking a week off, so to fill the content gap, we've decided to post a Patreon-exclusive interview from our archives! If you like this and want to hear more, head over to Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and sign up at the $5 level. Once you do, you'll have immediate access to all of our limited miniseries, covering animated shows like King of the Hill, Mission Hill, The…
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 2012's Wreck-It Ralph! 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…
In a move befitting The Joker himself, we're once again hijacking the What A Cartoon feed to bring you a brand-new episode of Blabbing 'Bout Batman: The Animated Series! This time, we're joined by Daniel Dockery, author of the upcoming book, I Am The Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series . And our focus on this installment is Bane: the fairly new (for the time)…
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 2011's Winnie the Pooh! 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…
Hanna-Barbera built an impossibly huge stable of characters over the passing decades, but—until recently—ironic usage on Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law was the last time this kooky cast saw the light of day. Fast-forward 20 years, and thanks to creator C.H. Greenblatt, we have Jellystone: a more affectionate reference pile full of deep cuts, crazy plots, great drawings, and slightly edgy humor.…
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 1991's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze! 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…
Years before The Simpsons made Fox a household institution, the network succeeded in its first era thanks to another cartoony family that just happened to be living, breathing human beings. In mid-1987, Fox kicked off its prime-time programming with Married... with Children, a bawdy domestic farce with characters far meaner and stories far cruder than your average sitcom. And over its healthy…
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 James and the Giant Peach! 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…
Adult Swim is typically known for cynical, vulgar, and gross shows about irredeemable sociopaths—shows that we absolutely love, mind you. But late last year, the programming block unveiled a wonderful new creation that's completely antithetical to their general philosophy. A sendup of TGIF sitcoms from the '90s, Haha, You Clowns centers around three large sons and their also large dad, and each…
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 2004's Shrek 2! 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…
In the mid-80s, the people who brought us cartoons like G.I. Joe and Transformers asked themselves an important question: Why don't we try selling toys to girls? And sell they did via the magic of Jem: a truly outrageous animated series about a glam-rocking girl group at odds with their bitter rivals, The Misfits. While the series burned fast and bright—and failed to make waves with a revival 30…
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 1959's Sleeping Beauty! 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…
The Talking Simpsons Network is taking a week off for the holiday season, so to fill the content gap, we've decided to post an episode of our Patreon-exclusive Talking Futurama podcast miniseries! If you like this episode and want to hear the rest (with more to come every month), head over to Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and sign up at the $5 level. Once you do, you'll have immediate access to all…
Happy New Year! In case you didn't know, every month we release the premium podcast, What A Cartoon Movie . And, as we take a week off to rest and recharge, we're giving all of our listeners a chance to hear a free sample of this Patreon-exclusive series. So please, enjoy our ultra-long look at Toy Story! And if you'd like to hear 85 more episodes of What A Cartoon Movie —with a new one to come…
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 1988's My Neighbor Totoro! 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…
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 1988's Christmas at Pee-Wee's Playhouse! 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…
Rats off to ya, What A Cartoon listeners! This month, we're returning to picturesque Jefferton to discuss an Adult Swim holiday classic that's filled our cups with yuletide brine for more than two decades. It's been over six years since we last checked in on Tom Goes to the Mayor, and this Christmas season is the perfect opportunity to look into yet another misguided entrepreneurial effort from…
In 1990, Fox aired a pilot that then went unseen for over 26 years. Its name? Hollywood Dog. And while it isn't very good, this live-action/animation hybrid—developed at the same time as The Simpsons—features some truly ambitious special effects for a network that had barely gotten off of the ground. We could only rely on fuzzy memories for the nearly three decades Hollywood Dog remained…
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 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox! 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…
The Halloween season is upon us once again, and this time around, we've stumbled into a big pile of doo—Scooby-Doo, that is! Five years after we first explored the Doo-niverse, we're back to cover the smart, self-aware late '80s reboot that fully exploited—and poked fun at—the accumulated tropes from 20 years of those meddling, mystery-solving kids and their somewhat helpful dog. So sit back,…
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 2014's The Lego Movie! 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…
The anime drought officially ends on this month's What A Cartoon podcast with a VERY long episode about that '90s VHS fantasy/comedy classic, Slayers! While this charming series tragically never found a home on American television, it still thrived in its own bubble; and if you were part of the anime subculture around Y2K, it's likely you were briefly involved in Slayers-mania. It's a series…
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 2002's Treasure Planet! 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…
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's another podcast about Superman! (Please have your eyes examined.) Yes, we last checked in on the Man of Steel's '90s adaptation during the dawn of COVID, but with Superman fever currently sweeping the nation, there's never been a better time to discuss one of this underappreciated series' finest episodes. So listen in as Superman goes…
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 2001's Atlantis: The Lost Empire! 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…
The Talking Simpsons Network is taking a week off, so to fill the content gap, we've decided to post an episode of our Patreon-exclusive Talking Futurama podcast miniseries! If you like this episode and want to hear the rest (with more to come every month), head over to Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and sign up at the $5 level. Once you do, you'll have immediate access to all of our limited…
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 2002's Lilo & Stitch! 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…
Hot on the heels of Fox Kids' Batman: The Animated Series and X-Men, Marvel brought us Fantastic Four, the first animated adaptation of the publisher's First Family in over 15 years. And, after a disastrous initial season, the series finally reached the coveted rank of "above average"—though it never went on to be remembered as fondly as its contemporaries. This month on What A Cartoon, join us…
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 2000's An Extremely Goofy Movie! 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's this? Your regular episode of What A Cartoon, being interrupted by something completely different? No, you're not the victim of a dastardly Joker scheme—though you'll at least hear us talk about one of those. As a little diversion from our regular programming schedule, this month we're swapping out the standard episode of WAC with a brand-new episode of our Blabbin 'Bout Batman miniseries.…
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 2003's Looney Tunes: Back in Action! 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…
A whole decade before Futurama wowed Fox viewers with its masterful mix of sci-fi and comedy, BBC Two launched Red Dwarf, an outer space version of The Odd Couple set three million years in the future. And, over the course of the last 30-plus years, this cult hit evolved beyond its simple sitcom premise and has seen plenty of planet-hopping adventures, alternate realities, doppelgangers, computer…
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 1986's An American Tail! 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…
Thanks to premium patron ToonJay, we're continuing our coverage of all things Craig McCracken with a look at his short-lived series, Wander Over Yonder. Listen in as we explore two distinctly different episodes of this colorful, snappy cartoon: one that sends up the worst period of TV animation, and another that depicts the possible rehabilitation of an evil robot via the power of friendship (and…
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 2015's How to Train Your Dragon! 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…
Our first regular What A Cartoon of 2025 showcases a huge part of US animation history: Craig McCracken's The Powerpuff Girls! On this episode, we chart the growth of Townsville's favorite kids from dorm room shorts to early Hanna-Barbera pilots to Cartoon Network's eternal cash cow. So listen in and help us celebrate two of our favorite episodes from the first season—both of which feature the…
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 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs! 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…
Happy New Year! In case you didn't know, every month we release the premium podcast, What A Cartoon Movie . And, as we take a week off to rest and recharge, we're giving all of our listeners a chance to hear a free sample of this Patreon-exclusive series. So please, enjoy our ultra-long look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)! And if you'd like to hear 70 more episodes of What A Cartoon Movie…
The Talking Simpsons Network is taking a week off for the holiday season, so to fill the content gap, we've decided to post an episode of our Patreon-exclusive TalKing of the Hill podcast miniseries! If you like this episode and want to hear the rest (with more to come every month), head over to Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and sign up at the $5 level. Once you do, you'll have immediate access to…
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 2013's Frozen! 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…
The holiday season is upon us once again, which means it's time to discuss a Christmas cartoon that doesn't suck. This year, we're looking at the second Beavis and Butt-Head yuletide episode—the first with actual animation—where the two troubled teens find themselves in delightful and at times disgusting parodies of A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life. So pause your favorite holiday porno,…
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 2002's Eight Crazy Nights! 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…
When the family-unfriendly Tim Burton horror/comedy Beetlejuice ended up being a big hit with kids, Warner Bros. made the strange decision to shove their undead deviant into the ever-changing landscape of children's programming. The result? A 94-episode animated series that depicts Lydia and Beetlejuice as best (platonic) buds whose adventures bring them to the depths of the Neitherworld and back.…
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 2012's Hotel Transylvania! 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…
Chosen by our premium patron Andrew, we're returning to our favorite Nicktoon, Rocko's Modern Life! This time we're straddling eras of the show. First, we're covering a season one trip to Heck as we learn about factory farming and codependence. Then, we start some "spring cleaning" in Autumn with a beloved musical tribute to sappy (but well-meaning) environmentalism. So listen now before Mother…
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 2007's Bee Movie! 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…
A little over 30 years after it premiered, Batman: The Animated Series is back! (Kind of.) Caped Crusader takes the form of a spiritual sequel to WB's hit '90s series, though one closer to Bruce Timm's original pitch. This time around, the cartoonish qualities are replaced with pure noir, making this a more subtle, moody, and adult series. On this episode of What A Cartoon, join us as we explore…
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 1999's Tarzan! 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…
