Tis the Podcast

Happy last-day-of-Chanukah! In this very special episode, join Julia, Thom, and Anthony as they are joined by longtime listener - and frequent guest - April Ryley to cover the classic children's Chanukah special, A Rugrats Chanukah! Along with Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica, the elves learn all about this Jewish holiday not only from Grandpa Boris and Grandpa Shlomo, but also from April herself who discusses many of her family's personal traditions and just how historically accurate this cartoon episode is. As always when April guest hosts the pod, this is one fun, informative episode you do not want to miss! So light that menorah, bundle up with a blanket near the fire with a cup of hot chocolate, enjoy this episode and the final night of Chanukah, and get excited about the fact that we are only one week away from Christmas! 

*Special Note: This episode was originally intended for Patreon, when we were hoping to record another episode with April for our main feed to mark the first night of Hanukkah. As always happens during the most wonderful time of the year, however, time got away from us, and we were never able to record that episode. Wanting to celebrate the Jewish holiday with all of our listeners, however, we decided to share this on our main feed. But this is why you'll hear references in the recording to this being a Patreon episode and references to another Hanukkah episode that was supposed to drop before this. Thanks for understanding!*

Happy Monday, Christmas Fanatics! Can you believe that next week is Christmas? Where did the time go?

This week, Julia, Thom, and Anthony cover Hulu's brand-new, 2020, Holiday original movie, Happiest Season! Join them as they take a deep dive into this beautiful, hilarious, heartwarming, and heart-wrenching love story focusing on a lesbian couple going home to spend the holidays with one of their conservative families. Listen as they celebrate the long overdo representation this movie provides for the LGBTQ+ community - something that should absolutely be normalized and happen far more often, both in and out of holiday movies - in addition to discussing the amazing cast that makes up this wonderfully dysfunctional family, talk about their favorite scenes and quotes, and defend Kristen Stewart as an actress while talking about a film they all really enjoyed which more than earns the place it ends up falling on their Christmas canon list.

This a jam-packed episode that covers a lot of ground outside of our movie of the week as well, including: 

• Julia and her family landing themselves into quarantine just before Christmas

So settle in beside your Christmas tree with your favorite holiday beverage, sit back, and enjoy this fun episode which is one of Anthony's personal favorites of the show so far! Also, if you want to hear the elves of Tis the Podcast elsewhere this week, check out the following places:

• Today, Monday December 14th, you can hear Julia cover the Disney + Original Movie, Godmothered on NetfliXmas, with Holli and Scarlett!

Enjoy, everyone!

*Note: This episode was recorded before Disney's Investor call on December 12th, in which they revealed tons of amazing Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars news that would have definitely been touched on in this episode had we recorded after this call. Keep your eyes on your Patreon feeds, however, because we have an episode centered on all of this news dropping sometime this week as well!*

This week, Thom gets a partner in his efforts to troll Anthony, while Julia gets another woman to balance out the gender dynamics on the podcast, when April Ryley returns to join the elves in covering Netflix's 2020, original holiday musical film, Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square! While all four are huge Dolly Parton fans, and three of the four really enjoyed Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, does this overly cheesy and overly stuffed riff on It's a Wonderful Life live up to the standards that they expect of Queen Dolly? Or are Dolly and Christine Baranski not even enough to save this musical full of questionable tunes? Also discussed this episode, the time Anthony and April met in New York, Julia's upcoming Disney vacation, and Thom's Thanksgiving! We also learn more about Jewish culture thanks to April! This is one fun, laugh-a-minute episode you want to be sure not to miss, so settle in beside the Christmas tree with your favorite holiday beverage and enjoy!

Happy Monday, Christmas fanatics! Can you believe we've already reached our last episode of November 2020? Where has the time gone? To celebrate the occasion, join Julia, Thom, and Anthony as they discuss the brand new, 2020, Netflix Original Holiday film, The Christmas Chronicles 2! As you'll remember, when the elves covered the original Christmas Chronicles back in 2018, Julia and Thom loved the film, the world it created, and the characters it introduced us to, while Anthony thought it was overrated. How does the follow-up stack up? Will the elves be just as divided, or has Belsnickel made these three True Believers cynical? Find out in an episode that, while sure to be somewhat controversial, is full of lots of laughs and a very lively discussion as the hosts break down this movie beat-by-beat! So settle in with your favorite holiday drink beside your lit Christmas tree, relax, enjoy, and get excited! Because, as of tomorrow, we are in the official home stretch of Christmas 2020 and will be breaking open those Advent Calendars! 

Happy Thanksgiving, Christmas fanatics! We hope you have as amazing and blessed a day as possible during these strange times. As a special holiday treat for y'all, join Julia, Thom, and Anthony as they travel back to the world of The Peanuts to cover the iconic 1973 holiday special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving! Enjoy! 

We have a jam-packed, fun-filled episode for y'all this week! Kicking off the episode, the elves interview Columbia Jones and Mark Ricks from Burro Burracho Records who join this week's show to promote the Burro Burracho Records' Christmas EP "Is There Even Christmas This Year?" featuring Columbia Jones and Sean Ramos.

From there, Anthony talks a bit about his latest television show binges (FX on Hulu's A Teacher and Netflix's cute holiday rom-com series, Dash & Lily, in addition to Netflix's The Crown), Julia and Anthony compare notes on the Hallmark movies they've been watching every night (and realize they have very different tastes when it comes to the plots and actresses that star in them), and Thom talks about the slate of original, Hallmark-esque Netflix Christmas films that he and Christine have been indulging in.

Only then do the hosts get to the meat and potatoes of this episode - a long, in-depth discussion on Netflix's absolutely fantastic, brand-new, 2020 Holiday film, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. While Julia, Thom, and Anthony are all in agreement regarding how phenomenal the movie is on every level, how much joy it's filled with, and how nice it is to see such representation in a mainstream Hollywood production, there is some dissent and debate when it comes to the question of whether or not this film is actually a Christmas movie or just a movie set at Christmas. Regardless of where the elves fall on this question, after walking through the plot beat-by-beat, will they upend their own ranking system in order to give Jingle Jangle the score that they believe something so perfect and entertaining deserves?

This is one extra-festive episode that you want to be sure not to miss! So settle in with your favorite holiday-flavored beverage, bask in the lights of your Christmas tree, and enjoy! And also - from all of us to all of you, have a Happy Thanksgiving! As we are every day of the year, we are thankful for each and every one of you.

Happy Monday, Christmas fanatics! This week, join Julia, Thom, and Anthony as they discuss the 1998-dark-family-drama-Comedy(?) film, Jack Frost, starring everyone's favorite Batman, Michael Keaton! While all three elves have extensive histories with this movie, does it hold up to critical scrutiny 22-years after its release? And - more importantly - is it even a Christmas movie? Settle in with your favorite holiday drink from Starbucks to find out, in addition to getting their hot-takes on the trailer for the brand new, LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, which drops this week on Disney Plus! And quick side-note, if you don't want to hear the hosts talk politics/the result of the 2020 election, make sure to skip the first five-and-a-half minutes of the episode!

This week, Julia, Thom, and Anthony cover the 2020, Netflix original holiday film, Holidate! The opinions on this movie range all over the spectrum between the three elves with this one, as users speculated they would on social media in advance of this recording, and debate rages about whether the main relationship in this movie feels real, whether this qualifies as a Christmas movie, whether or not any film set in the present should be set at malls anymore, and whether or not this is merely a Hallmark Holiday movie dressed up with a dash of raunch and a plethora of vulgarity. Plus, Anthony once again finds himself on the opposite side of wide divide from Thom and Julia as it pertains to the the idea of infidelity in movies and television shows. In addition to all of this, the elves discuss how they spent their Halloweens, Thom teases a new podcast he's launching with another host within the Christmas Podcast Network, Anthony talks briefly about The Dresden Files short story "Christmas Eve", and Julia expresses her excitement for next week's scheduled film! All of this and much, much more takes place within this festive, laugh-a-plenty episode that you want to be sure not to miss. So settle in beside your Christmas tree with your favorite Starbucks Holiday-Flavored drink in this year's beautifully designed Red Cup, relax, and enjoy! 

Surprise! We know Election Day can be stressful for many people, both in America and abroad - especially when the president himself/herself is being chosen - so we decided to record this very non-political, fun episode to drop today for those of y'all who want to tune out the news, distract themselves from real world events, and relax for an hour. Join Julia, Thom, and Anthony as they are joined by Todd Killian of Christmas Clatter Podcast to discuss the 1972 television special, You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown! This one's a special one because, despite the fact that they all have history with the Peanuts, Anthony is the only one who's ever seen this election day special in the past, so the other two hosts and their special guest are going in blind. Will they enjoy it? How does it hold up against other Peanuts holiday' fare? And is it a nice introduction to the cynical world of politics for young children while still entertaining them with the cartoonish hijinks of Snoopy, Woodstock, and Charlie Brown? Spoiler Alert - this is a very fun episode, filled with laughs and quotes, that you do not want to miss. And don't worry - no real life politics are discussed within, so if you're looking for full escapism today, you'll find it here in an episode that is also full of the pre-requisite amount of Christmas cheer! So grab your favorite holiday drink from Starbucks, get in line to Vote if you haven't already, put those earbuds in, and enjoy this special bonus episode. 

Happy November, y'all! Another milestone in the Ber Month calendar has been hit, which means we are all that much closer to Christmas! To celebrate, Julia, Thom, and Anthony journey to the land of Far, Far, Away to spend the holidays with Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots, and all of their fairytale friends as they ring in Christmas in this 2007, made-for-TV special, Shrek the Halls! What do the elves think of the Shrek franchise in general, and all of the actors involved with it? Does this television special give them all of the holiday feels? Find out in this fun, laugh-a-minute, and very quotable episode! So settle back in your favorite armchair beside your Christmas tree with your favorite holiday drink, relax, and enjoy!