What A Cartoon!

DuckTales has come up SO often during our discussion of animation history, it's about time we podcasted about it! Disney's televised treatment of one of their B-list characters ended up being an A-list series, and one that forever raised the bar for children's entertainment. On this installment, we (alongside duck expert Matthew Jay from [the deep end] podcast) dig into the history of Uncle Scrooge and his creator, Carl Barks, the character's rich life in decades upon decades of comics, and, of course, the behind-the-scenes details behind the ambitious and expensive production known as DuckTales. And for our up-close exploration of the show, we focus on "Back to the Klondike," an episode loosely based on a Barks comic that dives into Scrooge's past and also explores a bit of his softer side. Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more!

Every month at Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons, we release a new, premium podcast for our $10+ subscribers! If you still haven't heard, Bob and Henry do a different podcast each month for a different animated feature film, and April's has radioactive blood! Yes, we swing from a thread for over THREE HOURS to chat about the recent Oscar Winner, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Check out this preview of how the film came to be, and then become a $10+ Patreon supporter to hear the full thing! Folks at the $10 level also get to listen to all the previous What A Cartoon Movie! podcasts as well!! That's over 18 hours of content, so sign up NOW!!

The wall-crawler makes his return to our podcast, as does Matt McMuscles (check out his YouTube channel and his new Patreon!), this time for an early '80s installment!! Yes, we check out Spider-Man's campiest Saturday morning series, we discuss the interesting corporate culture that birthed it, explore how the series gave birth to Firestar, and how Spidey even got a pet named Ms. Lion! All that, plus a trip through the early years of video games as the trio battles Electro and living game boss Video-Man! Listen now, true believer!   Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!

Narf! Out of all the characters spawned by 1993's Animaniacs, one rodent duo rose far above the rest—even higher in stature than the Warner brothers and their sister, Dot. That would be Pinky and the Brain, a pair of diminutive lab mice with spliced genes and big ambitions. So only makes sense that the two would eventually get their own series for 66 glorious episodes on The WB, another misguided creation that couldn't quite conquer the world, either. This week, we prove our mousey worth by looking at Pinky and the Brain's second season premiere, "It's Only a Paper World." Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!  

April Fools! We interrupt this week's regularly scheduled animation for a special podcast that breaks the format with some live action!! To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Strangers With Candy, Bob and Henry gab about one of their all-time favorite satires! Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, and Paul Dinello created one hilarious masterpiece parodying the after-school specials of the 1970s, and we dive deep into the second season premiere, Yes You Can't! So stop working at the artificial flower plant plant and listen now! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! You'll get to hear our newest miniseries about King of the Hill!! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!

Another month has passed at Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons, and that means we've got another awesome podcast about an animated feature film! This month our $10+ Patreon subscribers get to hear Bob and Henry talk about Don Bluth's directorial debut for THREE HOURS! Listen now to this free preview of our Secret of NIMH podcast, and then subscribe at the $10 level to hear the whole thing and all the previous What A Cartoon Movie! podcasts!! Sign up NOW!!

We dive into Aaron McGruder's smash hit for Adult Swim, and we're joined by Struggle Session host Leslie Lee III to discuss the show's debut episode! Chosen by premium patron Royce, your hosts dive into how McGruder got his start, how he transformed a newspaper comic strip into an anime-infused political satire, and how the series feels 14 years later! Listen now and remember: Ronald Reagan is The Devil. Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! You'll get to hear our newest miniseries about King of the Hill!! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!

Back in 2004, comedy legend Bob Odenkirk teamed up with newcomers Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim to create Tom Goes to the Mayor: a surreal and polarizing satire of strip-mall America that launched the now-famous comedy duo's prolific careers. In this 30-episode series, a wimpy entrepreneur with more persistence than intelligence teams up with an unhinged mayor to execute his impractical plans, which often (if not always) end up ruining his life. And thanks to the generous contributions of patron Philip Jacobi, we'll be giving two of its hilarious episodes our What A Cartoon! treatment. So grab some big cups and your Gulliver's Lunch-Flavored Trough-Style Trough Lunch and get ready to explore the twisted city of Jefferton! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a lit

It's our biggest What A Cartoon! podcast ever, which is only fitting! We're showcasing OK K.O.! one of our favorite cartoons ever, and we're chatting with the show's Creator/Executive Producer Ian Jones-Quartey and Co-Executive Producer Toby Jones! They tell us how the show came to be, how Ian and Toby's loves of animation, comedy, and video games are expressed in the show, and how the biggest crossover in Cartoon Network history happen! Listen now to learn it all, so let's start the show! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!

We've covered two of the original three Nicktoons in our first year of What A Cartoon!, but what of Doug, the gentle, be-vested boy who has problems much like our own? Though his 52 episodes didn't cause the same stir on Nickelodeon as Rugrats or The Ren & Stimpy Show, Jim Jinkins' laid-back cartoon stands as an early pioneer in the slice-of-life genre of children's entertainment. This week, Greg of the amazing YouTube channel Pop Arena joins us to explore the animated adventures of a not-so-animated kid. Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!  

Chosen by premium Patreon subscriber Devin, this week's podcast travels back the innocent days of the early '00s, when Flash animation ruled the internet, chief among them the website Homestar Runner! We go back to two of Strong Bad and the gang's best toons from the era, and see just how they've aged in the sober light of modern times (spoiler: they hold up pretty well). Listen along for fun songs, silly emails, and a bunch of amusing idiots in this week's What A Cartoon! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!

Garsh, can you believe that Bob and Henry talked about A Goofy Movie for three and a half hours? It's true, and you can only hear the full thing if you're a $10 a month subscriber at Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons -- but if you'd like a short preview, listen to this free sample! Hear Bob and Henry chat about the film's history and why it really strikes a chord with millennial fans in this preview!

Thanks to Talking Simpsons Network patron Alex Irish, this week we're bringing you an exploration of a secretly amazing cartoon you might have ignored thanks to its ultra cute and colorful appearance: The Amazing World of Gumball. Now in its sixth season, this Cartoon Network Studios Europe creation has quietly been one of the most inventive cartoons on television for most of this decade, both in visuals and writing. And our look at one of Alex's favorite cartoons from the series--which takes the form of a pitch-perfect Final Fantasy VII parody--proves that Gumball isn't just for the grade school set. Listen in and get ready to escape to the wonderfully weird world of Gumball! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Si

Our artist friend Maddie is back, and this time she's taking us on a journey to the late '90s with Hey Arnold! This classic Nicktoon was more emotional and empathetic than most kids shows, and it has a surprisingly long history (with several interesting connections to The Simpsons). Learn all about it, as well as our personal histories with spelling bees and city pigeons in this week's podcast! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!  

Chosen by premium Patreon supporter Nick, we're doing the 1979 classic Gundam series, and we're again joined by Gundam expert/USG Editor-In-Chief/our good friend Kat Bailey! We dig deep into Mobile Suit Gundam, series mastermind Yoshiyuki Tomino, the show's shaky launch to merchandisable success, and so much more. Plus we chat about one of the greatest anime betrayals of all-time and cover a pivotal episode of the first Gundam series! Listen now, Newtypes! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!

Thanks to the generous contributions of Patron David Whittington, we're finally taking a look at Archer, FX's surprising spy hit that's quickly coming up on its tenth birthday. The folks who brought you Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo basically took everything that made those shows great and turned them up to 11, while adding more sex, drugs, violence, and H. Jon Benjamin. And for this podcast, we'll be looking at the season one episode "Skytanic," featuring a fake bomb threat, a real bomb threat, education on flammable gases, and a lesson on the importance of using the NATO phonetic alphabet. Grab a martini and watch your phrasing, because we're about to dig into one of the funniest animated series of the past decade! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little mone

Chosen by our special guest (and premium Patreon supporter) Mick Circo, this week's podcast is all done in the name of the moon! We dig into the history of one of the most influential animated series ever, Sailor Moon. We talk about how it was made and how it was localized multiple times into North America. Then we chat about this specific episode as The Hell Tree arc begins. Listen now or else we'll punish you! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! (That includes Sailor Moon!) Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!

Bob and Henry recorded perhaps their longest podcast ever to Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons as they spend nearly THREE HOURS discussing the iconic animated film Akira. Patreon subscribers who pledge $10 or more can hear it right now, and if you'd like a taste of it, here's a good chunk about the film's release in the United States and how it changed the culture forever. If you'd like to hear more, consider upping your pledge to hear this and the previous What A Cartoon Movie! podcasts like Kiki's Delivery Service and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm!

This week's podcast subject was chosen by premium Patreon supporter ShyRanger, and it's a comic book adaptation too many overlooked when it was new. Bob and Henry take a deep dive into Batmania as we look at the retro postmodern vibes of Batman: The Brave And The Bold. Not only will we discuss the outrageous writing, animation, and voice acting, we also explore the comic book roots that the show brings to life. Listen and enjoy, chum! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!

Aw yea-yeah! It's time for the ultimate slacker animation, Regular Show, to get its due on What A Cartoon! And we have two special guests, Regular Show storyboarders Toby Jones and Owen Dennis to talk about the third episode in the Baby Ducks Trilogy. Toby and Owen will tell us how they joined Regular Show, what it was like day to day, and how their tribute to anime grew into a double-length special about bird robot battles on the moon! Listen now for a jolly good show! Support this podcast and get dozens of bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! This podcast is brought to you by the streaming network VRV: home to cartoons, anime, and so much more! Visit VRV.co/WAC to sign up for your FREE 30-day trial and kick a little money back to your friends at the Talking Simpsons Network!