FAMILY — 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 135 - The Flintstones (William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, 1960-1966) (with Jared Bahir Browsh)

Chris and Alex are delighted to welcome Dr. Jared Bahir Browsh (Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Colorado Boulder) to the podcast to discuss William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s landmark animated sitcom The Flintstones (1960-1966), the first cartoon series to occupy a prime time slot on U.S. television.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantMarch 11, 2024AMERICA, TELEVISION, FAMILY, NARRATIVE, STYLEComment

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 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 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 94 - Encanto (Byron Howard & Jared Bush, 2021) (with Dolores Tierney)

Chris and Alex finally talk about Bruno (among other things) in this latest episode of the podcast, turning to the fantasy and family of Encanto (Byron Howard & Jared Bush, 2021), Disney Feature Animation’s computer-animated musical that tells the story of the magical Madrigal family via protagonist Mirabel, ably supported by lush visuals, colourful abstractions, and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s score inspired by the vallenato, cumbia, bambuco and rock en español genres. Joining them for Episode 94 is Dolores Tierney, Professor of Film at the University of Sussex and an expert in the aesthetics and politics of transnational imaging practices between Latin America, the U.S. and Spain.

Episode 72 - Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988) (with Alex Dudok de Wit)

Chris and Alex continue their discussions of Studio Ghibli for Episode 72 with a look at animated war feature Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988), a film that was initially released as a double bill with partner My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988). Telling the story of teenage boy Seita and his younger sister Setsuko who, after fleeing the city of Kobe, must navigate the public horrors and personal traumas of World War II, Grave of the Fireflies offers a graphic and emotional portrait of conflict and society through the isolation and struggle experienced by the siblings. Joining the podcast this week to discuss the film’s potent political message is Alex Dudok de Wit, Associate Editor at Cartoon Brew, freelance journalist (including work for the BFI/Sight and Sound) and author of the upcoming BFI Film Classic on Grave of the Fireflies (London: Bloomsbury, 2021).

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantApril 26, 2021JAPAN, STUDIO GHIBLI, ALLEGORY, STYLE, CEL-ANIMATION, FAMILYComment