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PODCAST

How"s It Hold Up?

A podcast where a lesbian trans woman who"s an animation enthusiast, her mother who"s a teacher and has written a thesis on her love of videogames, and her Scooby-Doo-loving wife watch (mostly) animated movies and ask the eternal question: "how"s it hold up?"

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

01:27:20

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/06/04

The last time all three co-hosts watched an Adult animated film, Eight Crazy Nights, none of them enjoyed it. But does that mean no such films have merit? Releasing in the late 90's, the South Park film released during the series' early years when they were considered especially controversial. It's a musical, just like ECN, and it's certainly no slouch in the crassness department. But is it still worthwhile, over two decades later? Listen to find out!

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00:23:19

Shorts! Looney Tunes: Rover's Rival

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/05/29

With Ub Iwerks gone, Bob Clampett was left to take over the cartooning unit, and his own sensibilities started to quickly become apparent, even if they weren't allowed completely free reign with Chuck Jones still there. In this short, we see some Clampett start to stretch his wings with evil cute characters while Jones has fun giving detailed animation to an ancient dog. Is the cartoon any good? Listen to find out!

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02:04:45

The Lion King Remake & Mufasa: The Lion King

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/05/21

(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 39sec)This podcast has made no secret of the fact that it's not exactly on board with the Disney remake trend, and perhaps no remake has been more dreaded by at least one of these co-hosts than The Lion King. Though it's often referred to as live action, this movie is basically entirely animated just like the original, just in a hyper-realistic style whose purpose seems to be giving the story more gravitas. It doesn't. But just how bad (or maybe good?) is

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00:18:06

Shorts! Popeye: Hospitaliky

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/05/19

Many Popeye cartoons return to the well of Popeye vs Bluto, and that well typically involves trying to best one another at something until it comes to fisticuffs. But what if the thing they were trying to best each other at was... getting injured??

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01:23:17

The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride & The Lion King 1½

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/05/07

(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 41sec)The reputation of Disney sequels is generally not great, but among them the Lion King sequel and... interquel(?) tend to be favored. They're pretty wildly different in tone, with Simba's Pride maintaining a similar tone to the first movie, going for a Romeo and Juliet thing rather than Macbeth. Lion King 1½, meanwhile, is a purposeful farce, with a MST3K style 4th-wall-breaking setup and a story that takes place in the margins of the original film. Are

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00:36:11

Shorts! Merrie Melodies: Egghead Rides Again & Little...

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/05/05

Tex Avery was the Warner Bros director that really shook up what it meant to be a WB cartoon short, and one of the ways in which he did that was an increasing focus on subverting expectations and breaking the 4th wall. He also introduced several characters to the Looney Tunes lineup, such as Egghead and Elmer Fudd. These two characters in particular have a strange history, one that's become so intertwined that modern depictions of Egghead reference Elmer Fudd's original design rather than

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01:33:13

The Lion King (1994) [feat. Ryan]

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/04/23

(Spoiler Section Length - 8min 58sec)Generally speaking, people consider the Disney Renaissance of the (mostly) 90s to be the height of the studio's output, thanks in no small part to critical and commercial titans like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. But there is one film above all others that gripped the cultural zeitgeist and never fully let go, one film that could be considered the champion of the era, its unofficial ruler. Its... king. Today we discuss that film, and

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00:23:59

Shorts! Silly Symphonies: The Old Mill (feat. Ryan)

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/04/21

There are only a handful of shorts whose fame at least partially comes from their technical achievements. Steamboat Willie and its sychronized sound is one, while The Old Mill's claim to fame is the multiplane camera. While we take what it does for granted now in the digital age, back then it was a big step-up in cinematography for animated shorts. But does it really add that much to this short? Listen to find out!

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01:10:35

The Illusionist (2010)

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/04/09

(Spoiler Section Length - 14min 41sec)From the creator of The Triplets of Bellville comes a film about an old magician living in a time where his talents are valued less and less by the day. While Triplets had sparse dialogue, this film goes even further than that while maintaining a less exaggerated style, both visually and in what few vocalizations do occur. This lends it even more of an 'artsy' flair, making it unsurprising that it was nominated for an academy award but also equally

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00:28:26

Shorts! Merrie Melodies: The Lyin' Mouse

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/04/07

While Warner Bros' output has been increasing in quality in the late 30s, largely thanks to new blood like Tex Avery and newly-impowered blood like Bob Clampett, one member of the old guard in particular is still around and has been a lot slower to change: Fritz Freleng. Much of his output has largely been echoing the stylings of the Harman-Ising era, a style that's more and more at odds with the rest of the studio. But Freleng DOES change, even if slowly, so how does this cartoon of his

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00:57:54

Voices of a Distant Star & The Place Promised in Our...

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/03/26

(Spoiler Section Length - 6min 20sec)It's time to go back to the past of Makoto Shinkai - the creator of Your Name - to see the man's directorial debut. Except... we're actually checking out two films, one a short film and the other a full-length one. What similarites lie between these two works, and how do they relate to his later films? And more importantly... how do they hold up? Listen to find out!The Curtain Rises Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By

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00:37:23

Shorts! Color Rhapsodies: The Air Hostess & The...

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/03/22

Color Rhapsodies is a series that, at least up to this point, has mostly been a Silly Symphonies ripoff tonally, with overly cutesy aesthetics and little substance. There's been exceptions, but for the most part they've stayed away from more gag-focused fare or more dramatic storytelling. So today, we're going to look at two cartoons, one that's very gag-focused and one that's very dramatic! Do either of these cartoons succeed in what they attempt, and more importantly, do they

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00:45:32

Ferngully: The Magical Rescue

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/03/12

(Spoiler Section Length - 5min 22sec)When it comes to direct-to-video sequels of animated films, though Disney's efforts are often derided, due to their budgets they tend to be better than what other studios manage to do. We've seen various efforts already, such as with sequels to Don Bluth films, and they've run the gamut from 'okay' to 'very bad'. Does Ferngully's sequel fall in that range, or does it manage to break the mold? Listen to find out!

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00:27:30

Shorts! Mickey Mouse: Clock Cleaners

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/03/10

Mickey, Donald and Goofy are taking on a new job this time: cleaning a clock. And not just any clock, but a clock tower! But with a sleepy stork, a sassy coil and Goofy's poor level of awareness to contend with, they're going to have a heck of a time getting the job done. So many years later, does the short still hold up? Listen to find out!

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01:17:15

Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/02/26

(Spoiler Section Length - 7min 45sec)There are a lot of movies and shows aimed toward children that have a goal, primary or not, of advocating for protecting the natural environment from pollution. But if you're a 90s kid, chances are there's one in particular that comes to mind when the subject is brought up - Ferngully. Many pro-environment, anti-pollution pieces of media have a less-than-stellar reputation, often accused of being overly preachy... does Ferngully fall into that trap? And

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00:18:25

Shorts! Betty Boop: Service with a Smile

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/02/24

Betty Boop's back, and running a hotel! But when things go wrong, since it's late-era Betty Boop, there's only one man who can save the day: Grampy. Though he's no one's favorite character, Grampy being in a Betty Boop cartoon doesn't necessarily mean it will be terrible! So... is this one? Listen to find out!

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00:52:31

Atlantis: Milo's Return

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/02/12

(Spoiler Section Length - 3min 14sec)This time we cover yet another direct-to-dvd Disney sequel, and this one ALSO has the misfortune of being one of those 'three episode of a cancelled series'-type affairs. The series in question would have been titled Team Atlantis, but since the movie didn't do as well as Disney wanted, well... we got this. But as a final hurrah for a lovable cast of characters, is this thing worth a watch? Listen to find out!

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00:38:33

Shorts! Looney Tunes: The Case of the Stuttering Pig...

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/02/10

In 1937 Looney Tunes continued to evolve more and more into what they're thought of today, and a big reason for that is the way the individual directors evolved, getting more and more leeway to find their own styles. In this episode we meet up with Frank Tashlin again and see how his style has changed and what aspects he's leaned into. Is either short worth watching today? Listen to find out!

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01:40:59

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/01/29

(Spoiler Section Length - 16min 5sec)After around a decade of creating musicals, Disney started to branch out in the early 2000's, creating several films that weren't as financially successful as the 'Renaissance Era' movies, but many of which ended up being cult favorites over time. Atlantis is one such film - eschewing the musical format for a straight-up adventure film inspired by the like of Indiana Jones. Disney hoped the movie would be the next big thing, and planned to make

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00:32:33

Shorts! Pluto's Quin-Puplets

How"s It Hold Up? ·

2025/01/22

In 1937 Donald Duck broke out from the Mickey Mouse shorts into his own animated shorts series... but he wasn't the only one! Pluto also finally got his own series, though this would be the only entry in it for a few years. The character of Fifi and the concept of Pluto shepherding a group of rambunctious young animals returns in this first outing, as Pluto tries to take care of his kids while Fifi is out stealing food. He does a pretty lousy job, and things only get worse when Pluto and the

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296 results

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