Dads Who Love Kids Movies - Analysis, Reviews, and Nerding-out over the films of Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, and more.

Ethan Perkins and Matt Robison talk about the 2008 Pixar film Wall-E. We cover a large number of topics, including: whether or not this is the most Pixar of Pixar, the deep Christian themes and how counter subversive it is to the typical environmentalist agenda, the themes of love, purpose, and stewardship, Wall-E's infectious humanity, Auto as a pharisee and the spirit of the Law, the significance of the Hello, Dolly song, longing for a return of the magic Pixar touch, and how it flips certain sci-fi tropes on its head.

Adrian Young and Matt Robison discuss the 2015 animated comedy, Hotel Transylvania 2. During this episode, we talk about: the classic monster movies of old and the throw-backs in the movie, the relation between "monster" movies and the "slasher" movie, the history of physical comedy in animation, superimposing relatable archetypes on top of these recognizable monsters, adding a personality to a mummy, some of the potentially serious subject matter like cross-cultural marriages, the overall lack of focus, favorite B movies, why Mavis even likes Johnny, the genius of Mel Brooks, how jammed-packed the voice talent is overall, and the final fight sequence that gets the high praise of "better than tenuous."

Steve Akers joins the show again to talk about the Disney movie Big Hero 6. Some of the things we talk about: comparisons to other movies like The Iron Giant and How to Train Your Dragon, the portrayal of depression and loneliness, the diversity checkbox, the meta-comments of Fred, the question of a robot being offended, the privacy issues that would come up with technology like Baymax, what might be explored in a sequel, the technology in this movie that might as well be "magic," how unbelievably dangerous Wasabi's plasma blades are, Callaghan's convoluted plan, and our biggest pet peeves.

Tharon Hall and Matt Robison talk about the 1984 Miyazaki classic, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, the movie that kicked off Studio Ghibli and helped inspire animators around the world. During this episode, we talk about: the post-apocalyptic setting, Disney movies that were released around the same time, the influence the movie (and Miyazaki) has had all the way to Wall-E, the strength of the movie's heroine, the animation and some of our favorite scenes, our first introductions to foreign films when young, the villains of the movie, the relationship of mankind with the earth, comparisons to the manga/comic, and the appropriateness of scaring children.

In the course of the discussion, we cover several topics, including: the sudden transformation of Hans, Frozen's relation to the Disney renaissance that kicked off in 1989, the subversion of fairy tale tropes, romantic comedies going all the way back to Pride and Prejudice, the questionable decisions of Anna and Elsa's parents, the many voices of Alan Tudyk, the similarities to Wicked, and the how the songs bring out and foreshadow the main themes of the movie. There are also some dad jokes sprinkled throughout this episode. We apologize.

Ryan Szrama and Matt Robison talk about the 2000 Disney movie, The Emperor's New Groove. Some of the topics discussed: the strange history of the film and its connection to The Lion King, what kids laugh at versus what adults laugh at, llama's, the strange yet wonderful character of Kronk, that mysterious extra lever, awkward calls with Sting, and comparisons to more recent Disney films.

Darren Peterson and Matt Robison talk about the 2004 Pixar movie, The Incredibles. Some of the topics discussed: the timelessness of the movie versus other superhero movies, the mundane stuff of everyday life that is seamlessly mixed with the fantastic, the movie's relationship to James Bond, the body count for the heroes, what the upcoming sequel might be about, and the theme of identity and how we are not the autonomous individuals we like to think.

Cory Byrd and Matt Robison talk about the 2015 movie Inside Out. Some of the topics discussed: imaginary friends, the narcissism of Joy, the malleability of memories, the visual language of the film and its potential to help explain mental illness, the lack of a concrete antagonist, the "Chekhov's gun" principle, and the changes our emotions go through as we mature.

Dan Lankford and Matt Robison talk about the 2006 Pixar movie, Cars. Some of the topics we discuss are old-school American cars, NASCAR (the good and the bad), the need for mattresses in this weird universe, the parallel character arcs of Lightning McQueen and Doc Hudson, respect for earlier generations, merchandising, the tenuous likability of Owen Wilson, what does a truck of recycled batteries actually represent in a universe of sentient automobiles, the laziness of Cars 2, and whether Cars 3 will be the Rocky 5 of Pixar.

A discussion of The Iron Giant with Steve Akers. Some of the topics covered are the Superman motif and the archetypal makeup of the Justice League, Brad Bird’s understanding of boyhood, comparisons to ET and other films, self-important bureaucrats and their place as villains, favorite individual scenes, and one of the main questions of the movie: what if a gun had a soul?