The Earn This Podcast, Episode 21: Reviewing Zootopia

Download link (you may have to right click and “Save As”) Dan and Kevin of Taestful Reviews check in on the latest animated hit, Zootopia, praising its themes and evaluating its place in recent animated canon. Notes/corrections: We couldn’t remember the name of the studio behind the upcoming The Secret Life of Pets — it’s Illumination…

Top Ten Animated Girlfriends: Disney’s Leading Women

I don’t wanna hear it–animated characters are hot. Let’s talk about the ones I’d like to date. Oh, here’s some clarifying rules for the list. 1. Disney does not equal Pixar 2. Only 2D-animated characters allowed 3. No animals or otherwise non-human characters allowed 4. Must be of at least teenager age 5. Must star in…

Dan’s Top 100 Everything: #8 Pixar

I like Pixar movies. Shocking, right? Pixar falls in the same category as John Green, elevating to a higher plane a genre that I adore but that is often dismissed as immature fun (animated films and YA lit, respectively). Simply, if you’re interested in well-told, mature, compelling stories and you’re interested in animation, then Pixar…

Five for Five: Kevin’s Picks

To celebrate our fifth birthday, each Earn This contributor is selecting his five favorite things from the past five years. Here are Kevin’s picks (all related to trends in animated movies). 5. Charming Comic-Relief Characters My list will be all things animated, and something that has impressed me over the past five years is all the…

Animation Evaluation: DreamWorks 1998-2006

Antz (1998) Kevin: Is it even possible to talk about DreamWorks’ first animated film without also talking about A Bug’s Life which was released that same year? Some part of me wants to say Antz is overrated, considering it got a fresh 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience reviews were not nearly as favorable, though,…

Animation Evaluation: Pixar 1995-2006

Toy Story (1995) Kevin: Whenever one great civilization falls, another one rises up in its place. It’s no different in cinema history. The Disney studio released their 33rd animated feature, Pocahontas, in 1995. Pixar released their 1st. Toy Story was heralded at the time for innovation and novelty. It is remembered today for giving us…

Animation Evaluation: Introduction

Dan: While I was searching for images for a post I was writing for this site, I stumbled upon a blog called Taestful Reviews. I read through several of the reviews on the site, which focuses on animation, and really liked the voice of the writer, Kevin Tae. I reached out to him to see…

Animation Evaluation: Disney 1989-1999

The Little Mermaid (1989) Kevin: Frozen is largely credited for creatively twisting Disney princess tropes, but for me, The Little Mermaid did it better. Although it returned to the animation Disney was known for in the golden days, The Little Mermaid should be known for innovating the Disney fairytale formula. Eric and Ariel fall in…

Dan’s Top 100 Everything: #26 A Goofy Movie

I could have included this in my Disney Renaissance post, but I chose to give A Goofy Movie it’s own post — ranked directly ahead of the other Disney Renaissance movies. It’s not because A Goofy Movie is BETTER than the other Disney movies. I can objectively accept that Beauty and the Beast has more…