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    Retroscoping

    A retrospective podcast looking back at 80 years of Walt Disney Feature Animation! Each episode Alexa and Nathan discuss one Disney animated feature, its history and significance, what makes it unique, and how it's aged. Listeners are invited to watch along as they journey chronologically from Snow White to the present!
    en16 Episodes

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    Episodes (16)

    14. Peter Pan

    14. Peter Pan

    Second Star to the right and stream on til morning! Alexa and Nathan discuss Disney's 14th animated feature film and its pan-orama of problems. They talk pixies, pirates, and the boy who never grew up (and the surprising ways he hasn't aged well. Ladies, you deserve better!). 

     

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

    J.M. Barrie

    The Ormond Street Hospital Charity

    Ranger J Audobon Woodlore (aka. if Smee was a Park Ranger)

    Arthur Rackam's Peter Pan Illustrations

    Trina Schart Hyman's Peter Pan illustrations

    12. Cinderella

    12. Cinderella

    Bibbidi-bobbidi-be kind. Nathan and Alexa talk mice, magic, and the stroke of midnight. How casting the lead role was it's own Cinderella story! And which one of Cinderella's philosophies has turned into a pumpkin over time.

     

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    Charles Perrault

    Helene Stanley

    Songwriters Mack David, Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston

    June Foray

    Ilene Woods

    Mice Singing in Normal Voices

    Please do not clothe the birds. (Pigeons in hats)

    Eleanor Audley

    The Wicked Stepmother & Stepsisters at Disneyland 

    9. Fun and Fancy Free

    9. Fun and Fancy Free

    Jiminy Cricket is back... with a vengeance. Alexa and Nathan find out what is a Bongo and what is a Bergen while discussing outdated love rituals and other ghosts of pop culture eras past.

    CONTENT WARNING: Brief discussions of domestic violence behaviors. Parental discretion advised.

     

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    "Too Good to Be True" love song from Bongo

    Mickey and the Beanstalk

    Willy raises the roof

    Edgar Bergen

    Billy Gilbert

    9. Fun and Fancy Free

    9. Fun and Fancy Free

    Jiminy Cricket is back... with a vengeance. Alexa and Nathan find out what is a Bongo and what is a Bergen while discussing outdated love rituals and other ghosts of pop culture eras past.

    CONTENT WARNING: Brief discussions of domestic violence behaviors. Parental discretion advised.

     

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    "Too Good to Be True" love song from Bongo

    Mickey and the Beanstalk

    Willy raises the roof

    Edgar Bergen

    Billy Gilbert

    8. Make Mine Music

    8. Make Mine Music

    In this film you've surely never seen, Alexa and Nathan uncover a hidden connection to Disneyland, learn the word "boogie woogie," and give this film an award.

    Fun Fact: This episode was recorded before COVID19.  Time travel with us back to a simpler time.

     

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    Fred Moore

    The Martins and the Coys

    Blue Bayou

    All the Cats Join In

    Without You

    Casey at the Bat

    Two Silhouettes

    Peter and the Wolf narration and music

    After You've Gone

    Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet clip

    The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met

    7. The Three Caballeros

    7. The Three Caballeros

    Grab your snappy serapes for The Three Caballeros! Alexa and Nathan embark on Disney's original magic carpet ride across Mexico and into a whole new side of Donald Duck they wish they could unsee.

    CONTENT WARNING: Brief discussions of lewd behaviors. Parental discretion advised.

     

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    The Cold-Blooded Penguin clip

    The Flying Gauchito clip

    Baía clip

    Las Posadas clip

    You Belong to My Heart and Donald's Surreal Reverie clip

    Jesusita en Chihuahua dance clip

    Behind the scenes footage of Carmen Molina's "Jesusita" dance

    6. Saludos Amigos

    6. Saludos Amigos

    Saludos Amigos! And join us on the fastest international trip you'll ever take! Nathan and Alexa introduce the 1940's package film era and discuss the shortest Disney Feature film, the ultimate Photoshop brush, and how cartoons fought the Nazis.

     

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    Clip from the 1990 Sing Along VHS tapes

    "Donald Duck Visits Lake Titicaca" clip

    "Pedro" clip

    "El Gaucho Goofy" clip (in Swedish)

    "Aquarela do Brasil"

    Daffy Duck in "Duck Amuck" clip

    4. Dumbo

    4. Dumbo

    CONTENT WARNING: Discussions of alcohol and elements of racism. Parental discretion advised.

    Alexa and Nathan have officially seen everything because now they've seen an elephant fly (and a few pink elephants to boot)! They highly recommend Timothy Mouse as your agent. But whatever you do - look out for Mister Stork!

     

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    The 1941 Strike

    The Animation Guild

    Barnum Animal Crackers

    How Tim Burton's Dumbo addressed the original Dumbo's racism and other problematic issues.

    3. Fantasia

    3. Fantasia

    CONTENT WARNING: Brief discussions of racism and nudity. Parental discretion advised.

    Nathan and Alexa discuss Disney's 3rd animated feature film, Fantasia. A film that mixes high art with "cold hard science" and travels from abstract ASMR to whimsical pagan pastures.

     

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    A Colour Box by Len Lye

    Uncensored Pastoral Symphony Comparison {Warning: contains depictions of racism}

    2. Pinocchio

    2. Pinocchio

    Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee! A Disney life for me! Alexa and Nathan discuss the odds and ends of Pinocchio, Disney's 2nd feature film. They debate whether Jiminy is a good conscience and discover deceit is the solution to deforestation.

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    Disney's Oscar

    1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

    1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

    Heigh-ho! It's off through history we go! In the first episode of Retroscoping, Alexa and Nathan take a look at Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They discuss other contenders for "first animated film," the original fairy tale, and break down the delights this film still offers more than 80 years after it's premiere.

    So whether you're new school or old school -- navigate to Disney+, crack open your DVD collection, or cue up the VCR and get watching the classic masterpiece that changed the world of animation forever after.

    MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    "The Apostle" by Quirino Cristiani

    "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" by Lotte Reiniger

    "The Old Mill" Disney short

    "Walt Disney Introduces the Multiplane Camera"

    The Hobbit House in Culver City