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PODCAST

Verbal Diorama

The award-winning podcast celebrating the history and legacy of movies you know, and movies you don"t. Have you ever wondered how your favourite movies were made? Hosted by Em, Verbal Diorama takes you behind the scenes to discover the extraordinary stories of cast and crew who bring movies to life. Movies are tough to make, and this podcast proves how amazing it is that they actually exist. From Hollywood classics to hidden gems, each episode explores the history, legacy, and untold stories that

tv & film film history

All Episodes

43:02

All Dogs Go To Heaven

Verbal Diorama ·

2026/02/19

Even naughty dogs can have a huge impact on animation.In 1989, animator Don Bluth dared to go it alone, without the might of George Lucas and/or Steven Spielberg, and pushed the boundaries of what animated movies could explore in All Dogs Go To Heaven; the third and final movie to celebrate this podcast's seventh birthday.Released on the exact same day as Disney's The Little Mermaid, this darker, grittier tale of redemption featured a con-artist dog literally escaping heaven to seek revenge on his

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39:34

The Land Before Time

Verbal Diorama ·

2026/02/16

Even baby dinosaurs can have a huge impact on animation.In 1988, three Hollywood titans, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Don Bluth, came together to create what would become one of the most emotionally devastating animated films ever made, and it is the second movie to celebrate this podcast's seventh birthday.The Land Before Time wasn't just another dinosaur movie: it was an ambitious attempt to recapture the magic of Bambi for a new generation, complete with a mother's death scene that

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44:17

An American Tail

Verbal Diorama ·

2026/02/12

Even a little Jewish mouse can have a huge impact on animation.The 1986 Don Bluth animated classic An American Tail, a film that became the highest-grossing non-Disney animated feature of its time and helped reshape the animation industry, is the first movie to celebrate this podcast's seventh birthday.The project began with a concept by David Kirschner that was first pitched to Jeffrey Katzenberg at Disney, but when it reached Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, the legendary director saw its

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53:53

The Princess and the Frog

Verbal Diorama ·

2026/02/05

In 2009, Disney released The Princess and the Frog, introducing Tiana as their first African-American Disney princess, paving the way for more diverse representation in animation.The CGI animation boom and the disappointing box office returns of the early 2000s had left a scar at Disney, and behind the scenes, there was huge change in the animation department. By 2004, then-CEO Michael Eisner had closed Disney's traditional 2D animation department, convinced that hand-drawn animation was dead.What

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52:34

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Verbal Diorama ·

2026/01/29

From Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman's creation of mutated turtles wielding nunchucks, the history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles starts with humble, and slightly dark origins, but they would evolve from comic book characters to beloved animated icons and become their own pop culture phenomenon.The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie franchise in total has accumulated $1.15 billion across six movies from three studios since 1990, and so when Paramount were looking to reboot existing IP, it made

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47:57

Paprika

Verbal Diorama ·

2026/01/22

Animation is often dismissed as children's entertainment, but Paprika proves it's a sophisticated art form, capable of exploring complex adult themes with stunning visuals. It represents the culmination of Satoshi Kon's obsession with the boundaries between reality and illusion.Throughout his short career, Kon consistently explored how modern life makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish the real from the imagined. Paprika takes this to its logical extreme, literalizing the collapse of these

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01:00:41

KPop Demon Hunters

Verbal Diorama ·

2026/01/15

Verbal Diorama is a podcast all about How It's Done. It being movies, and to be honest, this one is as Golden as they come. I'm Free to Takedown the history and legacy of KPop Demon Hunters, with the outcome of me becoming Your Idol. This is What It Sounds Like... my little Soda Pop.When director Maggie Kang set out to create an animated musical combining K-pop, Korean mythology, and a demon-slaying girl group, she had a clear vision: to make a film authentically rooted in Korean culture. After more

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54:22

Monsters, Inc.

Verbal Diorama ·

2026/01/08

They scare, because they care. But do they? Do they really?Animation Season 2026 kicks off with Pixar's fourth feature, turning 25 years old this year, the incomparable Monsters, Inc.In the world of Monsters, Inc., fear is a power source, and children's screams fuel the world of Monstropolis, which is both clever and a bit dark. This is a bright colourful movie, that cleverly hides its darkness from kids, but adults will see it everywhere.James P. Sullivan, as Monsters Incorporated's number one

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49:37

(From the Archive) The Emperor's New Groove

Verbal Diorama ·

2026/01/01

The Emperor's New Groove, unfortunately lumbered as part of the blame for the beginning of the end of Disney's Renaissance period, is actually three movies in one:The original movie that was never made, Kingdom of the SunThe movie we gotAnd the documentary that Disney does not want you to see, The SweatboxIn this episode, I'm going to be telling you about all three; plus the alleged DreamWorks plan by ex-Disney chief Jeffrey Katzenberg to beat Disney to release with The Road to El Dorado, the fact

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49:43

Santa Claus: The Movie

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/12/24

Santa Claus: The Movie was an ambitious holiday spectacular that was supposed to save the Salkinds' crumbling film empire. Fresh off the disappointing performances of Superman III and Supergirl, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind bet $50 million on creating the definitive cinematic Santa Claus origin story, complete with backstory, a North Pole workshop brought to life, and a modern-day New York adventure featuring Dudley Moore as a renegade elf.The Salkinds' signature approach to filmmaking,

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46:43

Scrooged

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/12/18

Scrooged, a modern 80s retelling of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" stars Bill Murray as a cynical, mean-spirited TV executive who finally learns the true meaning of Christmas, but its production was marred with difficulties.After a four-year hiatus following the overwhelming success of Ghostbusters, Bill Murray returned to acting for this passion project. But before signing on, Murray literally tore apart the original script with screenwriters Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue to completely

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41:55

Jingle All the Way

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/12/11

In his chaotic quest for a Turbo Man doll, Howard Langston goes to extremes to find the toy on Christmas Eve. It's the stuff of Christmas slapstick comedy, right? In reality, society has always been obsessed with 'the must-have' gifts during the holiday season and parents have gone to even more extreme lengths for their kids, with both the Cabbage Patch riots of 1983 and the Power Rangers craze of 1993 proving beleaguered mums and dads will do anything to get the latest toy for their children,

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55:49

Men in Black

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/12/04

The Men in Black phenomenon started as rumours of a government agency, where strange men wearing black suits would visit witnesses of UFO sightings, and coerce and threaten them into silence. Real-life Men in Black sightings inspired countless conspiracy theories, making them a staple of UFO folklore since their first appearance in the late 1940s. It was only a matter of time before these sinister men were turned into a comic book, and then adapted into a movie, but how did a dark, obscure comic get

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01:01:10

(From the Archive) The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/11/27

To celebrate the release of Wicked: For Good, we're off to see the wizard, the 200th episode of this podcast.The Wizard of Ozis still as relevant, vibrant and perfect as ever. It was a beloved children’s book, that manifested into a cultural cinematic icon. And despite the colours, the textures, the joyous wonder of the wonderful world of Oz, there’s such a darkness to the story.The state-of-the-art, beautiful Technicolor world belies the pain, abuse, injuries and illnesses on set. Whoever said "art

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42:47

(500) Days of Summer

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/11/20

(500) Days of Summer arrived at a pivotal moment for romantic comedies. While the genre had dominated the box office throughout the early 2000s with reliable hits like The Proposal and 27 Dresses, audiences were growing weary of predictable formulas. Marc Webb's directorial debut, based on screenwriter Scott Neustadter's painful real-life breakup, offered something different: a relationship movie that openly declared itself "not a love story."What made the film revolutionary wasn't just its

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47:06

I Am Legend (2007)

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/11/13

From a doomed Arnold Schwarzenegger/Ridley Scott collaboration to Will Smith's blockbuster hit, the journey of I Am Legend to the screen is as dramatic as the apocalypse it depicts. Three wildly different film adaptations, a legendary unmade version; this story of humanity's end keeps haunting Hollywood.This is not the first adaptation of Richard Matheson's book I Am Legend. Vincent Price battled zombie-vampires in 1964's stark black-and-white thriller The Last Man on Earth. Charlton Heston faced

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45:28

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/11/06

Yeah, baby, yeah! We've been cryogenically frozen and thawed out in 1997 to explore the groovy phenomenon that was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Mike Myers brought his vision of a swinging '60s spy to life on a modest budget of just $16.5 million, creating a comedy with a vibrant retro aesthetic, pulling inspiration from James Bond, Our Man Flint, and classic '60s films like A Hard Day's Night. It's a clever mix of satire and slapstick, poking fun at spy movies while also creating its

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39:28

Evil Dead II

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/10/31

Happy Halloween!Evil Dead II was not the sequel to The Evil Dead that Sam Raimi intended. With a bigger budget, and more experience, he essentially remade the first film with a comedic twist. Released in 1987, Evil Dead II became the perfect bridge between horror and comedy.Ash Williams transforms from every man survivor to wisecracking action hero. Campbell's physical comedy is next-level; the guy gets beaten up by his own possessed hand. His performance became so iconic, it launched an entire

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47:06

The Evil Dead (1981)

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/10/23

Before 20-year-old Sam Raimi could make The Evil Dead, he had to convince investors that three friends from Michigan could pull off a horror masterpiece. Enter "Within the Woods," a short film that became the ultimate pitch; screened across Detroit until enough people bought in. The result? An initial $85,000 and a one-way ticket to a freezing, abandoned cabin in Tennessee with no heat, no plumbing, and 12 weeks of pure filmmaking chaos.Bruce Campbell's on-screen suffering was real—those bruises,

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48:21

Hocus Pocus

Verbal Diorama ·

2025/10/16

Hocus Pocus represents something special in cinema: proof that a film's legacy isn't written on opening weekend. It's a testament to how the right movie can find its audience, even if it takes decades to get there, to become one of the most beloved family Halloween classics of all time.Virgins! Get ready to light the black flame candle, and summon the iconic Sanderson Sisters, played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, who brought the sistahhhs to life with their unforgettable

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107 results

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