Writers Get Animated

Episode 30: Megabytes and TP Forts How does art influence story? Chris and Mackenzie venture into the worlds of ReBoot and Pickle and Peanut to see how artistic/visual choices can influence a show's characters and story! How many puns can a show about life inside of a computer upload before it crashes? How dangerous is Microsoft Paint exactly? Does anyone know what the deal is with "the cloud?" What does a cucumber and olive oil have to do with a pickle? Where is the toilet paper fort? What does a bear in a Disney show have in common with BoJack Horseman?

Links

• About the episode “Painted Windows:” http://bit.ly/28QOLTz

Who saves Superman when Superman is in trouble? Have no fear, Writers Get Animated is here! Producer Bruce Timm called "Superman's Pal" one of the worst of episodes of Superman: The Animated Series and of the entire DC Animated Universe, so Chris and Mackenzie dig into their storytelling utility belts (we know that's a Batman reference) and rush to the rescue! Through the use of the Writer Emergency Pack (created by screenwriter John August), can they save Superman? What makes Jimmy Olsen America's Favorite Intern? What is Metallo's plan exactly? Are there kisses between humans and cyborgs that aren't awkward? What does Indiana Jones have to do with any of this?

Links

• About Writer Emergency Pack: http://bit.ly/28HwW3D

Plot, plot? Who's got the plot? Genre does! Chris and Mackenzie go where no podcast has gone before: Into genre animation! And if they have gone there before, then we're certainly using the style of this in safe-but-surprising ways to stay in the same vein but be unique! Exclamation points!!! Why do people look down on genre fiction? What's Neil Gaiman got to do with it? What exactly is Jonny Quest studying for? Why did the adventure genre go away (hint: racism)?

• Interview with Neil Gaiman and Kazuo Ishiguro about Genre: http://bit.ly/1U9kZMv

"Chris and Mackenzie take Writers Get Animated LIVE! In terms of our subject matter, not our production style. Is The Jungle Book (open-parentheses-2016-closed-parentheses) an animated movie? Some of the people behind it seem to think so. It is technically animated. What is the line between live action and animation? Is it animated if you can see a live preview during shooting? Why is Disney reviving old animated features as live action movies? Is Shere Khan scary? Does anyone really want to hear Christopher Walken sing? Does realism matter for what type of talking ape we're trying to portray as a New York mobster?

• Go behind the scenes of The Jungle Book: https://youtu.be/zTebgHNSe_4

What is the golden age of animation? Besides the 30s–50s. We mean of the ages of animation since the golden age, which one is the shiniest? Is is the 1960s, when animation came to television? The 1970s, which we have very little to say about? The 1980s, which for some reason still won't go away? The 1990s, so full of grit and darkness? Maybe the 2000s, when things got weird? Or what about Now That's What I Call Animation: The 2010s?

Have you ever had to pause a show because it gets so preposterous? Believing in monsters that live in New York and fight crime with a cute sidekick is one thing, but do they not understand how floppy disks work? You can't take over the world with that! In this episode, Chris and Mackenzie talk about what makes animation "believable". Is Gizmo Duck really Robert Downey Jr. in disguise? What do the incandescent lightbulbs on a robot do? Why does a robot want money? Is the Uncanny Valley just a 30 Rock thing or like what? (It's not.)

• Learn more about suspension of disbelief and Samuel Taylor Coleridge: http://bit.ly/1TK3I9H

Chris and Mackenzie tiptoe around and/or stomp through animated television where the main characters experience some kind of gender bending adventure. After the necessary Futurama references, they get around to talking about Kim Possible and Steven Universe. Can they make it through this episode without one awakward silence? Is Futurama the best example of gender anything? How can a manbot become a fembot? Why would children want to go to a teenage rave? How many skirt jokes are needed? How do they keep all of these characters away from mirrors?

• Watch Kim Possible - Mind Games: http://video.disney.com/watch/mind-games-4c7c001649ab1432e7909ea5

SPOILERS DETECTED! In honor of May the Fourth, Chris and Mackenzie discuss one of the most-loved Star Wars characters of all-time: Ahsoka Tano! They infiltrate Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Jedi jump into the season two finale of Star Wars: Rebels - Twilight of the Apprentice. Is Ahsoka to blame for Darth Vader? Who caused the end of the Jedi? Have we seen the end of Ahsoka's story?

In this episode, Chris and Mackenzie board the train to Zootopia and talk about the story creation process (and dramaturgy!) at Walt Disney Animation Studios! How are Disney stories made? What is the Disney Story Trust? How badly do you want to live in Zootopia? What happens when you change your main character of your film halfway through production? Are fish friends or are they food? How infectious is a Shakira song? Should Nick and Judy be romantically involved and, if so, what would their kids be called? And what the heck is "dramaturgy" anyway? You can watch the documentary "Imagining Zootopia" here: http://bit.ly/26lAzev

Remember that animated show you loved as a kid? Are you brave enough to watch it again as an adult? Chris and Mackenzie boldly venture with the Ghost of Cartoons Past and revisit shows from their childhoods! Join them as they enter the fray with Captain Bucky O'Hare and unlock the mysteries of Jim Henson's Muppet Babies to answer the question: Does it hold up? How can Firefly fix Bucky O'Hare? How many schools are there in San Francisco? Is Nanny's house a daycare or are all the Muppets adopted and, therefore, related? Is Officer Caruthers real or is Nanny just a bad nanny? Special thanks to Chris Nee, creator of Doc McStuffins, for giving us our first, official answer to a question no one is asking!