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What A Cartoon! - The February 2021 Schedule
🕑 Added 2021-01-29 20:00:03 +0000 UTC
Ah, February: the shortest month—and thankfully, we're not living in a cruel leap year like 2020. This page on the calendar might only span 28 days, but it's just as packed with podcasts as any month on What a Cartoon. This time around, we kick things off by examining the very artful origins of a glorified toy commercial, then move on to discuss a two-parter of a recently canceled Adult Swim series, and finally, wrap up our February TV series coverage with an in-depth look at the very first Disney Afternoon cartoon. And we'll bring February to a close with an extended podcast about a Ghibli movie that often goes overlooked.
And if you're not a subscriber, signing up at the $5 level will get you each episode a week ahead of time and ad-free, along with our collection of exclusive miniseries (like the now-unlocked monthly episodes of Talking Futurama) and over 100 bonus podcasts on top of that!
Here's what's on the schedule for January:
Digimon Adventure (The 1999 Movie) [Patreon: 2/1/21 - Free Feed: 2/8/21]
Digimon always played second fiddle to Pokemon, even though the series remains a worthwhile exploration of monster collecting that still persists to this day. For this podcast, we turn back the clock all the way to 1999 to look at the mini-movie known as Digimon Adventure, directed by the now-famous anime auteur Mamoru Hosoda. It's a very different interpretation of the property that explores what further adaptations could have been if they weren't forced to be so commercial.
The original Japanese release version we're focusing on is unfortunately hard to find without some deep Googling or some less than savory streaming sites, but the unique US version of the movie is on YouTube currently.
The Venture Bros. - "What Color is Your Cleansuit?" [Patreon: 2/8/21 - Free Feed: 2/15/21]
With the recent cancellation of the series on our minds, we revisit the world of The Venture Bros. once again to chat about their ambitious two-parter that acts as a soft reboot of the series. Our super-size podcast covers this lengthy and important installment of Venture Bros. history, so clear your schedules and get ready for a long listen!
The Venture Bros. can currently be streamed via Hulu.
TaleSpin - "Vowel Play" [Patreon: 2/15/21 - Free Feed: 2/22/21]
As we near the end of the third year of What a Cartoon, we've managed to talk about quite a few Disney Afternoon cartoons—yet somehow, we've avoided covering the very first one. TaleSpin is nobody's favorite cartoon from this programming block, but it's still a solid and ambitious adventure series that happened to strike just as cartoons were leaning away from sincerity and towards irony. You'll want to listen in to hear how Disney created a mix of Casablanca and Cheers for latchkey kids!
TaleSpin can currently be streamed via Disney+.
An Extended Preview of What A Cartoon Movie for Whisper of the Heart [Patreon: 2/22/21 - Free Feed: 3/1/21]
For our regular exploration of animated movies, we head back into the realm of Ghibli to explore one of its lesser-known works. The only feature directed by the late legendary animator Yoshifumi Kondo, Whisper of the Heart stands as one of the studio's hidden gems. And thanks to some new research and our trademark in-depth discussion, you'll definitely understand how special this film is by the time our podcast is over.
Whisper of the Heart can currently be streamed via HBO Max.
And remember: $5 patrons and folks on the free feed will hear an extended preview of the podcast, but if you want the whole thing (and access to all other episodes of What A Cartoon Movie) you'll have to bump your subscription up to the $10 level.
We're steadily moving through 2021 as we patiently wait for things to return to normal, and hopefully our podcasts are providing you with plenty of nice distractions. And remember, if you're a patron, you'll get to hear monthly episodes of Talking Futurama, and TalKing of the Hill Season 2 Part 1 when it debuts on March 26. Hang in there, and look forward to another month of great podcasts!
Comments
Tyler the Destroyer
Oh man I can’t wait for ugly Americans!
nina matsumoto
I think it also helped that I was into Sam and Rebecca on Cheers
KaiserBeamz
Globetrotting adventures can really can be spiced up with Baloo/Becky's zany get-rich-quick scheme of the week.
nina matsumoto
I liked it a lot as a kid -- more than DuckTales. I enjoyed the sitcom-y nature of it.
KaiserBeamz
Three of my favorite cartoon franchises all in one month! Yes, I'm one of those weirdos who really digs TaleSpin. It's a good comfort show and one I've always kept the DVDs of handy. Which is good because it's one of the few Disney Afternoon shows that's all on DVD.
Angel
The Tail Spin theme song still snaps after all these years!
DrKarate
Y'all are doing a venture brother episode on my birthday? Hell yeah!
Toushin
recommendations Shows I actually enjoy *Ugly Americans *Jeff and Some Aliens Just being cruel Allen Gregory
Also, Digimon was always a better show than pokemon and i will die on that hill.
Ohhhhhhhhh i'm a massive digimon fan, and it's so great to see you do the OVA, any plans to do Our War Game? It's basically what Hosoda based Summer Wars on. Also, while Digimon is a massive commercial entity, i'd recommend Digimon Tamers, the third series, which was written by the guy who made "Serial Experiments Lain" and is pretty dark for a kids show.
For me, this is probably the best what a cartoon lineup you guys have ever had. Im excited for all of these!
Thad Komorowski
A lot of things... good just isn't one of them.
Bob Mackey
It's a lot of things but it's DEFINITELY Cheers.
Bob Mackey
Secrets will be revealed!
Alex Irish
Unless I am mistaken, wasn’t Talespin also inspired by the Studio Ghibli manga that became Porco Rosso? I ashoome we’ll find out in the episode. Also a huge coincidence that another major Disney Afternoon series is being covered almost a year to the day after the podcast tackled Goof Troop (one of my Patron picks btw), excluding the revisit of Gargoyles. I await your Rescue Rangers podcast and all its clompy and sploshy sound effects library.
Paul
I just played through Capcom's Talespin game on the Disney Afternoon Collection a month ago. It was a fun little shooter! I was pleasantly surprised.
Neil L
What color is your clean suit is a great pick
Thad Komorowski
Talespin is more Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings with Cary Grant, Jean Arthur and Rita Hayworth than anything. I join a colleague’s 30+ year boycott and hatred because Phil Harris actively wanted to reprise Baloo but casting refused his offers. Imagine being so fucking delusional you’d refuse one of the biggest recording artists of all time’s services for scale. My contempt for the Disney Afternoon lineup runs deep.
