Now We Know

Kevin and Chris are joined by friend of the show Rachel Fisher (Hollywood Crime Scene) to revisit, in honor of the passing of the late, great Shelley Duvall, her classic 80's children's passion project: Faerie Tale Theatre. Specifically, the merry trio look back at Hansel and Gretel, starring Paul Dooley, Joan Collins, and young Ricky Schroder and Bridgette Andersen as the titular children.

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Although Chris is technically the host of this episode, both he and Kevin are about as diehard fans of this flick as one can be — it's Disney's Robin Hood, released in 1973 to muted/mostly negative reaction, now an oft-cited source of sexual awakening for fans of roguelike foxes. With excellent voice acting, charming set pieces, fantastic tunes, and yes, some admittedly corner-cutting animation, could this be the definitive Robin Hood adaptation?

From the annals of long-forgotten animation, Kevin presents, for your consideration: Bionic Six, a 1987 cartoon starring a family of cyborg heros taking on the nefarious Dr. Scarab. Directed by Osaka Dezaki—the man behind such animes as Space Adventure Cobra, Takarajima (Treasure Island), and the Golgo 13 movies—this show looms large in Kevin's memories, despite being largely forgotten.

Evan Tognotti joins the show to dig into 2002's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, an infamous big budget flop (or "disappointment," if you prefer Chris' classification) which had huge ramifications not just for the superhero genre and Hollywood icon Sean Connery's career, but for the Tognotti family's own personal fortunes.

Here he comes to save the day! Kevin, that is, bringing with him six entries (three episodes' worth combined) of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, the 1987 Mighty Mouse reboot (not to be confused with 1980's The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle). Listen as Kevin gingerly guides Chris through a slate of first season episodes, produced by Bakshi studios under the eye of (now exposed and reviled) Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, whose off-kilter influence is abundantly evident.

Nowadays, America's Culkinheads are all Kieran this, Kieran that. But back in 1994, we were still living in the Macaulay Epoch—though not for much longer, with that year's film adaptation of Richie Rich serving as the final childhood role for the darling young movie star. Nowadays you've probably only heard of this for the scene where Richie has a private McDonalds in his mansion, but fear not, as we're here to go long and deep on this "what if a kid had money" genre picture.

Once agIan, we're called to the mat by that most predictable and ignoble of occasions—the modern remake. The new 2024 version of this movie dropped back in April, so Kevin decided the time was ripe to revisit the 1991 original: Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead.

They're finally gettin' married! Following the conclusion of the Aladdin animated series—which itself was kicked off by an earlier straight-to-video sequel—Disney rolled out a final VHS installment headlined by the return of Robin Williams as the Genie. Also featuring Jonathan Rhys-Davies and Jerry Orbach, this movie bravely asks: am I really better than The Return of Jafar?

Throwing back to the classic (if slightly underheralded) animation of our youths, Kevin brings forth Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, yet another Hasbro-backed vehicle reverse-engineered to sell toys. And, like the far more popular G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, this show was made by Sunbow Productions. Has lightning struck twice?

The gauntlet has been laid down: Patreon.com/nowweknow