Into the Wardrobe

In this episode of Into the Wardrobe, Shaun Duke and Jen Zink talk about the dark and somewhat terrifying — but also whimsical and often hilarious — first major production of Don Bluth films, The Secret of NIMH, released in 1982 and based on Robert C. O’Brien’s book, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Our intrepid duo discuss the film’s garage-style production, the history of Don Bluth Productions and his love of classical animation, the film’s tone and artistic style, the role of motherhood in the narrative, and so much more. Plus, they tackle the standards:  their personal relationship to the film (childhood, y’all) and what impact the film might have on audiences today! They seriously couldn’t shut up about this movie because it is just that good.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Show Notes:

* The Secret of NIMH (1971)(IMDB)

* The Wiki Page (Film)

* Rotten Tomatoes

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In this episode of Into the Wardrobe, Shaun and Jen talk about the utterly delightful, but definitely problematic, 1971 Disney production, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, directed by Robert Stevenson and featuring a heavy production overlap with Mary Poppins. The duo discuss everything from why they loved this film, the amount of nuance that they didn’t pick up on as children, the heavy influence of British Empire and Nationalism, the wonderful relationships and character arcs, and honestly a lot more that you’ll just have to discover yourself by listening to the episode!

Enjoy!

Show Notes:

* Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)(IMDB)

* The Wiki Page (Film)

* Rotten Tomatoes

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In this episode of Into the Wardrobe, Shaun and Jen are joined by the lovely Becca to talk about the movie that defined Jen’s childhood, terrified Shaun, and has now inspired Becca to find a luck dragon. That move is 1984’s The Neverending Story directed by Wolfgang Peterson. Our intrepid crew discuss their own childhood traumas that made them connect so strongly with Bastian, the problems with Atreyu’s coding as Native, the movie’s approach to the tyranny of adulthood under capitalism, the good and the bad of the film’s ending, and so much more that we lost track about half-way through and can’t continue telling you. Basically, listen to the podcast.

Enjoy!

Show Notes:

* The Neverending Story (1984)(IMDB)

* The Wiki Page (Film)

* Rotten Tomatoes

* Jen’s Review of The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

In this third episode of Into the Wardrobe (though the first to most of our listeners), Shaun and Jen discuss the 1993 Disney film, Hocus Pocus, directed by Kenny Ortega. They discuss the film’s pros and cons, from its treatment of people of color and anti-feminist portrayals of witches to how it deals with toxic masculinity and bullying and more. The deeper they dig into the film, the more apparent it becomes that what should be a simple Halloween romp is perhaps a bit more complicated than they originally expected. Finally, the show ends in characteristic ItW fashion:  with a conversation about whether Hocus Pocus will connect with young audiences today.

Enjoy!

Show Notes:

* Hocus Pocus (1993)(IMDB)

* The Wiki Page (Film)

* Rotten Tomatoes

Feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes from “Dimension” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

The Last Unicorn and the fairytales of the natural world!

In our second edition of Into the Wardrobe, Jen and Shaun discuss the adaptation of Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn, directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr.  We discuss the film’s major themes, including the underlying meaning of its emotional narrative, the nature of good and evil and bravery, and much more!

Enjoy!

Download Episode 016 (The Last Unicorn)(MP3)

Show Notes:

* The Last Unicorn (1982)(IMDB)

* The Wiki Page (Film)

* The Wiki Page (Book)

* Rotten Tomatoes

* Our next film is Succubus (1968).  Here’s how you can watch them:

* Succubus:

* YouTube (Free)

* iTunes ($13.99 to buy)

* Amazon ($2.00 to $4.99 to rent)

* Our intro/outro music comes from “Sundancer” by Wild Shores. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0

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The Goonies and the 80s Child (or, How I Learned to Find a Pirate Ship on a Weekend)

In our first ever Into the Wardrobe subcast, Jen Zink joins the Totally Pretentious crew to discuss the 1985 class, The Goonies.  We discuss how the film represents the child, both in the acting and the direction, how the film connects to our pasts, whether the film translates to “now,” and much more!

Enjoy!

Download Episode 010 (The Goonies)(MP3)

Show Notes:

* The Goonies  (1985)(IMDB)

* Wiki Page

* Our next movie is The People Under the Stairs.  Here’s how you can watch it:

* Google Play ($9.99 to buy / $2.99 to rent)

* YouTube ($2.99 to rent)

* iTunes ($14.99 to buy)

* Amazon ($12.99 to buy / $3.99 to rent)