Discussed in these episodes
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613 Kaiju Panda
Put on your toque and be sure you’ve got your 4*Town tickets—we’re here to discuss Pixar’s “Turning Red,” a delightful coming-of-age movie about a Chinese-Canadian girl whose body is undergoing some telltale adolescent changes—you know, becoming interested in boys, rebelling against her parents, and transforming into a giant fuzzy red panda. The usual.
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548 Conveyor Belt to Heaven
This week we’re discussing Pixar’s “Soul,” a film about the meaning of life, but also occasionally a wacky comedy about a talking cat or a dream pirate! But mostly the meaning of life. Watch out for the great Bug Zapper in the sky!
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519 Relics and Garbage
Put on your Sunday clothes and get ready to patrol the trash heap that is Earth, because it’s time to discuss Pixar’s “Wall-E.” We cover the nearly dialogueless first act, whether the broader comedy on the B&L ship Axiom works, Fred Willard (RIP), and the greatness of Ben Burtt. Watch out for rogue robots!
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456 Where's the Raccoon?
Pop on your mind-control goggles, unpunch your nemesis, and prepare to board the world’s largest hydrofoil—it’s time for us to discuss 2018’s much-awaited Pixar sequel “Incredibles 2”. Brad Bird’s original film tops the list of favorite animated films for many of us. This film… doesn’t. In this episode we detail all the ways that both story and an unfortunate change in Pixar’s release schedule let this movie down, while trying our best to also highlight the many reasons we still find it worthy of revisiting.
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396 A Lifeboat Made of Mom
Put on your super suit, but be sure to take off the cape! We discuss Pixar’s “The Incredibles”, a spectacular story of superheroes, being your best self, family, mid-life crises, and the dangers of machine-learning AIs.
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321 Purgatoy Box
Our review of Pixar movies reaches 2010’s “Toy Story 3”, the first film in more than a decade for a bunch of classic characters. Are the toys traveling from purgatory to hell to heaven, Divine Comedy-style? Who’s working on that garbage truck? Does the climactic slide to death go too far? And yes, our panel of parents gets a bit weepy as Andy prepares to go off to college.
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305 Mint in Box
Ride like the wind, Bullseye! Our survey of Pixar films continues with “Toy Story 2,” the movie that introduced us to that Pixar Moment. You know the one. (Bring tissues.) We also discuss the philosophy of the Toy Story movies, a bunch of amazing gags, the state of the art of computer animation in 1999, and a whole lot more.
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254 You've Ruined Pizza
Pixar’s latest film, “Inside Out,” tells the unlikely story of the conflict of emotions inside the head of a young girl. Join us as we draw a circle around our own parental sadness and instead focus on the joy of an instant Pixar classic.
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212 A MacGyver in the Making
Wind the frog and acquire more monkeys! It’s time for us to discuss the very first computer-animated feature film, 1995’s “Toy Story.” We ponder the rules of when toys can reveal themselves to people, question the physics of the Pizza Planet claw, and speak in defense of Sid (but not of Randy Newman). Also: Is this the end of Slinky Dog?
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197 Fail Fast
We love Pixar, and we’re a bunch of creative professional types. So as you can imagine, we devoured “Creativity Inc.”, by Pixar president Ed Catmull. Is it a business book or an anti-business book? How do you foster creativity? Is Pixar’s formula one that provides safety while preventing works of staggering genius? How much is a director or writer the author of a Pixar movie, and how much is the studio itself? And is the wild success of “Frozen” proof of anything?
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102 Princess Indiana Jones
Pixar takes on princesses with the new film “Brave.” We discuss Pixar’s mother/bear-daughter story, but also the larger issues of female characters in animation and film in general. What’s wrong with the Disney Princesses? Why can’t girls play Belle or Ariel as if they were an action hero, anyway? How does Merida compare with the female protagonists in Miyazaki’s work? Did Pixar change its own fate?
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50 We Apologize for the Extinction of the Clownfish
Talking “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story 2,” and “Wall-E.” Plus, we discuss what Pixar should do next to challenge itself, try to understand why “Cars 2” was made, and pick out our least favorite thing Pixar has ever done. Hint: Jason has a problem with rats. (Part 2 of 2.)
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49 It's Like "Working Girl" With Monsters
Old men with balloons! Wisecracking monsters! Superheroes with mid-life crises! The films of Pixar are in our sights this week. Join us as we pick our favorite films and explore why Pixar’s movies are better than those from other animation studios. (Part 1 of 2.)