Retro Spectacles launches its first-ever franchise deep dive with the animated classic that started it all: Pixar's 1995 "Toy Story," directed by John Lasseter, starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Jim Varney, John Ratzenberger, and Annie Potts.

Mitcz & Teddy break down how Steve Jobs bought Pixar from George Lucas for pennies, the infamous Black Friday screening that nearly killed the project, Joss Whedon's uncredited script rescue, Randy Newman's iconic soundtrack, why plastic toys were a tech limitation turned creative masterstroke, and John Lasseter's complicated legacy from Pixar's golden age through his #MeToo departure.

Plus: the 1995 box office, the rise of PlayStation alongside the decline of physical toys, a deep character study on Sid, and why this G-rated film is darker than you remember. All building toward Toy Story 5 this June. Get your spectacles on and join us!

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Retro Spectacles continues the palate cleanser with Part 2 of the albums that shaped Mitcz & Teddy's adolescence. Teddy's pick: Rage Against the Machine's 1999 album "The Battle of Los Angeles."

After his father died suddenly of a heart attack when Teddy was 11, nothing at home sounded like what he was feeling until Bulls on Parade came on TV. From there, Teddy traces how Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, At the Drive-In, and Tool became the secret soundtrack to grief, anger, and identity in a household where listening to Trent Reznor could get you accused of betraying everything your father believed in.

A track-by-track breakdown of Testify, Guerrilla Radio, Maria, Calm Like a Bomb, Sleep Now in the Fire, Born of a Broken Man, and War Within a Breath, exploring Zack de la Rocha's underappreciated lyricism, Tom Morello's otherworldly guitar work, and how the album's themes shaped Teddy's comedy, politics, and worldview.

Plus: Hidden Gems rankings and the Toy Story franchise deep dive teaser. Get your spectacles on and join us!

Links to Teddy's playlist (including full "Battle of Los Angeles" album) can be found at : https://retrospecspod.com/episode/palate-cleanser-rage-against-the-machine-grief-and-angst

Have thoughts on this episode? Let us know directly by checking the post for this episode on Our Official Website. Comments are not shown publicly, but noteworthy comments may be selected for on-air reading!

For all relevant episode links, our social media accounts, and contact info, please visit retrospecspod.com

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Retro Spectacles hits pause on the deep dives for a palate cleanser. Before the next series kicks off, Mitcz & Teddy each picked an album and related songs that had a huge impact on their adolescence.

In Part 1, Mitcz tells the story of the summer before 7th grade when his best friend Kevin handed him Dead Kennedys' 1981 EP "In God We Trust, Inc." with a punk mixtape on side B: Subhumans, TSOL, Operation Ivy, pre-Dookie Green Day, Crimp Shrine, and Dead Milkmen. That same summer, a break-in at an empty apartment, a snitch note gone wrong, and a pair of handcuffs in the principal's office pushed him straight into the arms of punk rock.

Mitcz and Teddy also rank each other's Hidden Gems picks, connect Jello Biafra's anti-Reagan lyrics to 2025 politics, talk first concerts (Social Distortion opening for the Ramones), the Gwar-to-Dead Kennedys pipeline, and why punk never really leaves your system.

Teddy's album drops in Part 2. Get your spectacles on and join us!

If you want to listen to the album and Mitcz's Playlist for this episode, visit : https://retrospecspod.com/episode/palette-cleanser-dead-kennedys-punk-awakening/

Have thoughts on this episode? Let us know directly by checking the post for this episode on Our Official Website. Comments are not shown publicly, but noteworthy comments may be selected for on-air reading!

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If you'd like to support us directly, please visit patreon.com/retrospecs

If you dig this, a review on your podcast app of choice is GREATLY appreciated and helps us rise to the top, where all the pretty people like yourself can slip on their Retro Spectacles!

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In the final episode of our inaugural series about Hidden Gems (movies Mitcz & Teddy feel deserve more credit), we both picked comedy films from a year packed with hits : 1999. First up, Mitcz picked the Matthew Broderick & Reese Witherspoon MTV Film "Election" about an exceedingly ambitious high schooler trying to win it all and a teacher - played by Broderick - who has one chance to serve her a little humble pie. Teddy picked the criminally underrated "Life", starring the dynamic comedy duo of Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence as two down on their luck wrongly convicted lifers in the deep American south, serving out a life sentence together.

Have thoughts on this episode? Let us know directly by checking the post for this episode on Our Official Website. Comments are not shown publicly, but noteworthy comments may be selected for on-air reading!

For all relevant episode links, our social media accounts, and contact info, please visit retrospecspod.com

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If you dig this, a review on your podcast app of choice is GREATLY appreciated and helps us rise to the top, where all the pretty people like yourself can slip on their Retro Spectacles!

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The penultimate Retro Spectacles series opener "Hidden Gems" episode is here with a bang! But what's a hidden gem? We think you'll agree with our picks today, but we define them as art (in this case movies) that we think got lost in the shuffle but are much better than the lackluster fanfare they received at the time and continue to have today.

First up is the last film Peter Jackson made before he became THE Peter Jackson, household name and still-current keeper of the Lord of the Rings big screen adaptations : the dark horror-comedy "The Frighteners". Starring Michael J Fox in an out of character grifter jerk who wrangles his ghost buddies to help him pull easy scores on residents until Death Itself comes to town to wreak havoc.

Then, we close out with a wild ride in the form of 1998's "is it a kid's movie?" Joe Dante helmed "Small Soldiers". When a small town (probably criminal, let's be honest) kid gets his hands on the latest prototypes of toys equipped with military grade microprocessors and a directive for destruction, all hell breaks loose and it's mayhem in the streets as the titular small soldiers bring all the Ruckus with a capital UCKUS.

Keep up with Retro Spectacles

• Retro Spectacles Official Website
• Retro Spectacles Patreon
• Retro Spectacles on YouTube

Episode Links

• Retro Spectacles Official Website
• Retro Spectacles on Patreon
• Where to watch The Frighteners
• Where to watch Small Soldiers
• 1998 LA Times article about New Line striking LOTR deal with Peter Jackson
• "That Guy! Dick Miller" Documentary
• Burger King puts contingency plan into action over Small Soldiers push back (Variety)
• Small Solders and the Burger King last-minute overhaul (WSJ)

Have thoughts on this episode? Let us know directly by checking the post for this episode on Our Official Website. Comments are not shown publicly, but noteworthy comments may be selected for on-air reading!

For all relevant episode links, our social media accounts, and contact info, please visit retrospecspod.com

If you'd like to support us directly, please visit patreon.com/retrospecs

If you dig this, a review on your podcast app of choice is GREATLY appreciated and helps us rise to the top, where all the pretty people like yourself can slip on their Retro Spectacles!

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The Retro Spectacles inaugural series "Hidden Gems" reaches its 3rd installment today. What's a hidden gem to Mitcz & Teddy? Simply put : art (in this case movies) Mitcz & Teddy have determined are much better than the size of the audiences they originally captured.

In this episode, we go back to a pre-Transformers Michael Bay hidden classic THE ISLAND about a pair of escaped research facility members out on the run for their freedom who, along the way, learn the awful truth of their existence and the facility they escaped. Then, we roll it all the way back to 1985 to a movie that had no chance of success but studios let Terry Gilliam try it in anyway in BRAZIL - a movie about a bored man in a dystopian land who finally has a dream to pursue, and now the weight of the deep state is after him for it.

We explore the characters, the actors, the themes, the time around these movies, their lack of box office success, their enduring legacy, controversies, where the directors went from here, and some of our pet theories and so much more in between and all around. Get your spectacles on and join us!

Keep up with Retro Spectacles

• Retro Spectacles Official Website
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• Retro Spectacles on YouTube

Episode Links

• Where to watch The Island
• Where to watch Brazil
• The story of the 3 cuts of Brazil
• Retro Spectacles on Patreon

Have thoughts on this episode? Let us know directly by checking the post for this episode on Our Official Website. Comments are not shown publicly, but noteworthy comments may be selected for on-air reading!

For all relevant episode links, our social media accounts, and contact info, please visit retrospecspod.com

If you'd like to support us directly, please visit patreon.com/retrospecs

If you dig this, a review on your podcast app of choice is GREATLY appreciated and helps us rise to the top, where all the pretty people like yourself can slip on their Retro Spectacles!

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Retro Spectacles continues the deep dive into "hidden gems" - the movies Mitcz & Teddy have determined are much better than the size of the audiences they originally captured.

In this episode, we dive into the 1999 action revenge (dark comedy?) Mel Gibson film "Payback", about a man who will stop at seemingly nothing to get back what was stolen from him. We also go deep into the world of the 2006 action thriller (part mystery) Josh Hartnett film "Lucky Number Slevin", about warring factions of the city's two largest gangs and the lead character who's mistaken identity gets him wrapped up in more than it looks like he can handle.

In between, and all throughout, Mitcz & Teddy explore how these movies got on their radar, their enduring legacies, and Teddy goes deep on practically every actor's background and projects. Get your spectacles on and join us!

Keep up with Retro Spectacles

• Retro Spectacles Official Website
• Retro Spectacles Patreon
• Retro Spectacles on YouTube

Episode Links

• South Park clip about Mel Gisbon
• The Divine Teachings of "The Text Man"
• Where to watch Payback
• Where to watch Lucky Number Slevin
• (wikipedia) Payback movie
• (wikipedia) Lucky Number Slevin
• Retro Spectacles on Patreon

Have thoughts on this episode? Let us know directly by checking the post for this episode on Our Official Website. Comments are not shown publicly, but noteworthy comments may be selected for on-air reading!

For all relevant episode links, our social media accounts, and contact info, please visit retrospecspod.com

If you'd like to support us directly, please visit patreon.com/retrospecs

If you dig this, a review on your podcast app of choice is GREATLY appreciated and helps us rise to the top, where all the pretty people like yourself can slip on their Retro Spectacles!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this first episode of Retro Spectacles : Mitcz & Teddy decided to kick things off by each picking 5 movies they consider "hidden gems" - movies that we feel like didn't get their due, and/or have gone under the radar despite being every bit worth their runtime.

Starting off, we paired up two all-time classic psychological horror films. Teddy's pick was the 2002 Richard Gere film "The Mothman Prophecies", about a WaPo reporter investigating a small-town mystery. Mitcz's pick was the 2007 John Cusack film "1408", about a grifter author who investigates haunted hotels and he finally meets his match.

In between, and all throughout, Mitcz & Teddy cover their first experiences with these films, ghost stories, how they'd react in each setting, and so much more. Get your spectacles on and join us!

Keep up with Retro Spectacles

• Retro Spectacles Official Website
• Retro Spectacles Patreon
• Retro Spectacles on YouTube

Episode Links

• Where to watch The Mothman Prophecies
• Where to watch 1408
• Buzzfeed Unsolved on The Mothman
• Matt Damon explains DVD golden era
• (wikipedia) The Mothman Prophecies book
• (wikipedia) The Mothman Prophecies movie
• Mothman Prophecies TV show project
• The 1408 scene Mitcz references that's better than a trailer
• (wikipedia) 1408 movie
• (wikipedia) 1408 short story by Stephen King

Have thoughts on this episode? Let us know directly by checking the post for this episode on Our Official Website. Comments are not shown publicly, but noteworthy comments may be selected for on-air reading!

For all relevant episode links, our social media accounts, and contact info, please visit retrospecspod.com

If you'd like to support us directly, please visit patreon.com/retrospecs

If you dig this, a review on your podcast app of choice is GREATLY appreciated and helps us rise to the top, where all the pretty people like yourself can slip on their Retro Spectacles!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.