CHILDREN — all episodes — Fantasy/Animation

Archive Episode - Peppa Pig (Neville Astley & Mark Baker, 2004-) (with Richard Dyer)

Chris and Alex kick off the first in a series of episodes that give listeners a chance to revisit and review some earlier podcasts, or perhaps hear one or two instalments they might have missed first time around. For this inaugural delve back into the Fantasy/Animation archive, they look back at their conversation with Professor Richard Dyer (Emeritus Professor of Film Studies, King's College London and Professorial Fellow in Film Studies, University of St Andrews) who discussed the popular British animated television series Peppa Pig (Neville Astley & Mark Baker, 2014-) way back in May 2019.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantJune 24, 2024CHILDREN, FAMILY, TELEVISION, BRITISH, ANIMALS, ANIMATIONComment

Episode 126 - ParaNorman (Sam Fell & Chris Butler, 2012) (with Stacey Abbott)

As Halloween rolls around once more, things take a positively spooky turn as Chris and Alex discuss the stop-motion animated horror film ParaNorman (Sam Fell & Chris Butler, 2012) with very special guest Professor Stacey Abbott, who is incoming Professor of Film at Northumbria University and an expert in histories of gothic and horror in film and television.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantOctober 23, 2023HALLOWEEN, STOP-MOTION, HORROR, CHILDREN, AESTHETICSComment

Episode 121 - Monster House (Gil Kenan, 2006) (with Jane Batkin)

Chris and Alex delve into motion-capture, murder mystery, and monster houses for this discussion of Gil Kenan’s 2006 computer-animated film Monster House, a digital feature produced by the ImageMovers company founded by renowned filmmaker Robert Zemeckis and a specialist in animation utilising mo-cap technologies. Joining them for Episode 121 of the podcast is Dr Jane Batkin, an animation film theorist and Associate Professor in the School of Film, Media and Journalism at the University of Lincoln.

Episode 117 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chris Columbus, 2002) (with Jyotsna Kapur)

Whomping willows, Ford Anglias, and so much more are covered in episode 117 of the podcast, which (better late than never!) returns to Hogwarts for the second instalment of the Harry Potter film franchise and an adaptation of the 1998 novel originally released back in November 2002. Joining Chris and Alex for a closer look at Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chris Columbus, 2002) is Jyotsna Kapur, who is a Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Southern Illinois University.

Episode 115 - Peppa Pig Revisited (with Sarah Ann Kennedy)

Episode 115 celebrates Chris and Alex’s return to Peppa Pig (Neville Astley & Mark Baker, 2004-) for a part-interview, part-reflection on this staple of contemporary British animation and culture, which (unofficially at least!) follows on from the earlier podcast instalment discussing the style and tone of the series. The guest for this special ‘revisited’ episode is voice artist Sarah Ann Kennedy, who voices both Miss Rabbit and Mummy Rabbit in the show, alongside performing as Nanny Plum in Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom (Neville Astley & Mark Baker, 2009-) and Dolly Pond in the Channel 4 adult animation series Pond Life (Candy Guard, 1996-2000).

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantMarch 6, 2023TELEVISION, CHILDREN, STYLE, VOICE ACTING, BRITISHComment

Episode 114 - The Mitchells vs. the Machines (Mike Rianda, 2021)

The Netflix feature The Mitchells vs. the Machines (Mike Rianda, 2021) gets the Fantasy/Animation treatment, as Chris and Alex offer up a discussion in this episode of the film’s dysfunctional family dynamics, road movie structure, and its spectacular sentient robots techno-narrative.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantFebruary 20, 2023COMPUTER-ANIMATED FILMS, NETFLIX, FAMILY, CHILDREN, VIOLENCE, COMEDYComment

Episode 107 - Inside Out (Pete Docter, 2015) (with Eric Herhuth)

The problematic pursuit of happiness is the focus of Episode 107 of the podcast, which looks at the pleasure of the mindscape in Pixar Animation Studios’ computer-animated film Inside Out (Pete Docter, 2015).

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantOctober 31, 2022CHILDREN, COMPUTER-ANIMATED FILMS, PIXAR, EMOTION, PHILOSOPHY, WORLDSComment

Episode 106 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982) (with Noel Brown)

Episode 106 marks Chris and Alex’s first foray into the filmmaking career of Steven Spielberg as they take on the director’s 1982 science-fiction fantasy E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. To help explore the film’s status as a landmark of popular U.S. cinema is special guest Dr Noel Brown, who is Senior Lecturer in Film and Programme Leader for Film and Visual Culture at Liverpool Hope University.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantOctober 17, 2022CHILDREN, FAMILY, GENRE, SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, PUPPETRYComment

Episode 100 - 100th Episodes

The Fantasy/Animation podcast reaches its centenary, so join Chris and Alex as they celebrate 100 episodes with a look back at some memorable televisual hundredths from the world of cartoon sitcoms.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantJune 27, 2022TELEVISION, HISTORY, CEL-ANIMATION, CARTOON, FAMILY, CHILDRENComment

Episode 99 - Your Name (Makoto Shinkai, 2016) (Live at the British Film Institute)

Episode 99 is a special instalment of the podcast recorded live at the British Film Institute in London back in May 2022, with Chris and Alex joined by an audience of anime fans to discuss Your Name (Makoto Shinkai, 2016) as part of the BFI’s Anime season.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantJune 13, 2022JAPAN, ANIME, FANTASY, GENDER, CHILDREN, MAGICComment

Episode 96 - The Secret of Moonacre (Gábor Csupó, 2008) (with Lucy Shuttleworth)

Based on Elizabeth Goudge’s 1992 children’s story Little White Horse, the 2008 fantasy The Secret of Moonacre (Gábor Csupó, 2008) is the subject of Episode 96 of the podcast, with Chris and Alex joined in their discussion of morality, class, and the power of the ego by the film’s screenwriter and Associate Producer Lucy Shuttleworth, who is also Senior Lecturer in the School of Film, Media and Communication at the University of Portsmouth.

Episode 88 - Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984) (with Catherine Lester)

Mogwai and monsters after midnight are the focus of Episode 88, as Chris and Alex take a closer look at the part-horror, part-Christmas feature Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984) with special guest Dr Catherine Lester, Lecturer in Film and Television in the Department of Film and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham. Catherine’s work focuses largely on the intersections between children’s culture and the horror genre, and she is the author of Horror Films for Children: Fear and Pleasure in American Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2021), and several articles on popular animation and children’s horror cinema.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantDecember 6, 2021CHILDREN, HORROR, GENRE, CHRISTMAS, SUBVERSION, AUDIENCEComment

Episode 81 - Sub-Saharan African Animation (1966-2013) (with Paula Callus)

Episode 81 of the podcast provides an introductory survey of Sub-Saharan African animation, as Chris and Alex plot a pathway through a cross-section of animated fantasies covering a multitude of forms, styles and modes from a number of African countries and territories. Joining them is Dr Paula Callus, Associate Professor in Computer Animation at Bournemouth University and an expert in Sub-Saharan African animation, who has also worked as a consultant and educator on the UNESCO Africa Animated projects in Kenya and South Africa, and who has been involved in projects looking at marginalization and the use of digital technologies (with a focus upon Arts, Activism and Marginalization in Nairobi).

Episode 47 - Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Robert Stevenson, 1971)

Episode 47 bobs along on the bottom of the beautiful briny sea, with Chris and Alex gliding far below the rolling tide and through the bubbly blue and green for this latest episode of the podcast, which this week looks at musical fantasy Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Robert Stevenson, 1971).

Episode 39 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Chris Columbus, 2001) (with Frances Pheasant-Kelly)

For episode 39, Chris and Alex venture for the first time to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as they take on another highly popular fantasy film franchise by discussing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Chris Columbus, 2001). They are joined by Dr Frances Pheasant-Kelly, who is a Reader in Screen Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, as well as the author of numerous publications on fantasy cinema including Fantasy Film Post-9/11 (London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) that traces fantasy’s cathartic potential as a vehicle to work through traumatic memories in a post-9/11 climate.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantFebruary 3, 2020FANTASY, MAGIC, HARRY POTTER, WITCHCRAFT, WIZARDRY, CHILDREN, FRANCHISEComment

Episode 36 - The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992) (with Meredith Braun)

The festive season has well and truly arrived, so join Chris and Alex as they get into the Christmas spirit by discussing Yuletide classic The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992). Helping to roast the fantasy chestnuts on the animated open fire is actress, singer and West End performer Meredith Braun, who starred alongside Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, The Great Gonzo, Rizzo the Rat and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Christmas Carol as Ebenezer Scrooge’s (Michael Caine) neglected fiancée Belle.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantDecember 16, 2019MUSICAL, PUPPETRY, LIVE-ACTION, CHRISTMAS, CHILDREN, PERFORMANCEComment

Episode 20 - Peppa Pig (Neville Astley & Mark Baker, 2004-) (with Richard Dyer)

Episode 20 welcomes Professor Richard Dyer (Emeritus Professor of Film Studies, King's College London and Professorial Fellow in Film Studies, University of St Andrews) to the podcast, joining Chris and Alex to discuss the popular British animated television series Peppa Pig (Neville Astley & Mark Baker, 2014-).