Once Upon A VHS - 80s and 90s Fantasy

"No, no, no Bigfoot here, Sergeant. I was just joking."Joining us on the trail of a very special sasquatch is a connoisseur of cult movies, Antonio Palacios from The Cultworthy Cinema Podcast and Back 2 The Balcony. It's time for a family comedy that became a real VHS staple - initially known in the UK as "Bigfoot and the Hendersons"!Rick Baker providing stunning makeup effects and having beef with Spielberg, a surprising connection to The Monkees, cryptid chat including Sam the Sandown Clown, and a wood-panelled station wagon await.We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.Is this our most "dad stuff" episode so far? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Miracles are made in the heart, papa."It's time for our double bill of peculiar Pinocchio movies - first up is this lavish live action international co-production with memorably uncanny puppet practical effects provided by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.We also dive deep into our relationship with Carlo Collodi's story and its legacy including the Disney adaptation(s), Guillermo del Toro's stunning stopmotion passion project, the Spielberg-Kubrick collaboration AI: Artificial Intelligence and the excellent, book-faithful 2019 film from Matteo Garrone. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, a nightmarish donkey transformation on a rollercoaster, opera pastiche, the fairytale charm of Prague, Bebe Neuwirth serving puss, a sea monster with human eyes and teeth, Sacro Bosco, a truly hideous CGI cricket and Dawn French's cream cakes await.We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.Which rock star provides Pinocchio's singing voice? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We want to hear from YOU about Labyrinth (1986)!To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this classic, we want to do something special this summer.We already covered Labyrinth in our first season, but to be honest we don’t think we did the film justice by squashing it into a double bill with The Princess and the Goblin. The pacing and sound quality of that old episode is a little crunchy too!After seeing the gorgeous 4k remaster in the cinema this year, we knew we needed to give it another go, reworking elements from our previous conversation into a new standalone episode - Labyrinth: Special Edition.Two of our best and most popular episodes - The Dark Crystal and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - are built around clips from listeners and friends of the pod sharing their thoughts. We love being able to react to these and incorporate them into our discussion.So we’re looking to do the same with mini-contributions to this new special episode about Labyrinth - submissions deadline is 31st May.If you’d like to take part, please make an audio recording (with the best quality audio you are able to) briefly introducing yourself and answering at least one of the following questions:1. Nostalgia Nook: what are the memories or feelings Labyrinth conjures up for you?2. Nightmare Nail: what are the frightening moments that most affected you?3. Treasures: what are the best bits?4. Just tell us what Labyrinth means to you!You can send your audio recording to onceuponavhs AT gmail DOT com, or just leave us a voice note on Instagram!Please note that we may make some edits to audio submissions for the sake of time or clarity. We look forward to hearing from you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"You mean, we don't have to fight with each other?"Our friend and resident Pokémon professor Duncan Lindsay pops by to chat all things Pocket Monsters with us - the franchise in general, the video games, the trading card game, the anime TV series and the many, many movies - focusing in on this hugely commercially successful theatrical release in which Mewtwo Strikes Back.Pondering why gays love Pokémon, existential crises, an iconic pop soundtrack album, Pikachu's expressive voice, Team Rocket's dubious disguises, Mewtwo giving us Frankenstein's Monster and Cher, Dragonite flopping and Chansey being a f** p*** wh** await.We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.Were 4Kids cooking with their adaptational choices for the dub? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Paranormal? Is that what they're calling your kind these days?"In honour of the late, great Catherine O'Hara and her brilliant turn as Delia Deetz, we're finally covering a Tim Burton film - and it's a goofy, ghoulish game changer that will rattle your funny bones. An outsider's found family, nods to B-movie horror, Michael Keaton's bonkers energy, some delightfully absurd special effects, the Usborne Book of Ghosts, queer film lighting, Winona Ryder as goth icon Lydia Deetz, spontaneous human combustion, Sammy Davis Jr, a sweet love story, the camp of Miss Argentina, the Cathouse rock club, Alec Baldwin's chinos, ghost photography, the many careers and gay supernatural talents of Otho, and a truly memorable lipsync extravaganza await.We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.What was the originally scripted ending that would have made this the perfect fit for our Size Matters season? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Don't call it violence, call it action. Kids love action! It sells!"Bustin' out of the box, we're prepared to defeat the Commando Elite in this sanded down but still bitingly satirical romp about AI toy warfare. Life in plastic? It's fantastic.Joe Dante giving us Susan Sontag camp sensibility, the Everything Is Terrible Jerry Maguire video pyramid, transmascs loving shark movies, Action Man vs G.I. Joe, corporate synergy, Aladdin's nipples, Martika's Kitchen, the Toy Story of it all, Spinal Tap turning it up to 11 as assorted Gorgonites, the Frankenstein throwback of the Gwendy doll conversion, Sarah Michelle Gellar being sued by Burger King, contraband Furbies, the pronunciation of Kirsten Dunst, the Barbie Liberation Organisation, surprise Spice Girls connections, the diva doll herself Dead Meat's James A Janisse, Phil Hartman's big TV, loving Archer loving Encarta, Gremlins comparisons, putting away childish things, Led Zeppelin, the Creatures life simulator PC games and Titanic references await.We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.Why did we decide to cover this when there's no magical or supernatural element involved? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're off on a fruity adventure with stop-motion animated insects in yet another dark delight discarded by Disney, an adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel helmed by Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas.The Stinky Cheese Man, a very c***y spider, Tim Burton drama, suprisingly sobering themes, Revolting Recipes, the power of Pete Postlethwaite, a mechanical shark, Andy Partridge from XTC vs Randy Newman, a fabric rhino puppet in a tank, Joanna Lumley, the New York City set looking like a pop-up book, Microsoap and Callum's Miriam Margolyes story await.We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.If we were bugs, what kind of bugs would we be? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Will you turn that bloody racket down?"Time for some Girl Power! Who said anything about Space Ghettos? We celebrate the British pop phenomenon with a great big episode about their smash hit turned cult classic feature film Spiceworld and the Lynchian video for their single Viva Forever in which two children are spirited away by Aardman animated tin-toy fairies resembling Scary, Sporty, Ginger, Baby and Posh Spice.Our renditions of notable ad libs, Michael's pitch for a biopic centred on Geri Halliwell, the presence of literal aliens, Spice Force 5, Trap Door, the socialist community in Liverpool, Rupert the Bear annuals, the Playstation game, Robb Stark getting his bum out, A Hard Day's Night vs The Monkees' Head, Chupa Chups lollipops, the clones of S Club Seeing Double, the coolness of Richard E. Grant and hot twink Alan Cumming, turbulent times on The Island of Doctor Moreau, deciding which Spice Girl would play various roles in Doctor Who, dreamfasting, the French and Saunders Mamma Mia sketch, high femme drag, toilet horror, the comedic timing of Victoria Beckham, buying the VHS tins in Woolworths, and a camera sticking out of a cow await.We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.Why the double bill with The Borrowers? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for a Christmas VHS classic - the first instalment of the BBC's adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.Thank you so much to all our guest contributors on this special episode: Richard, Daniel, Cullen, Sophie, Paul, Rob, and Daniel Boxyteeopatra.We share our thoughts on the series and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.Which weapons would Father Christmas hand out to us? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I've heard it said that podcasts come into our lives for a reason...SPOILER ALERT! This epic bonus episode features our extended and detailed discussion of the new movie Wicked: For Good, scene by scene. Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anything can happen on Halloween... Celebrating Once Upon A VHS icon Fairuza Balk, we have a special double-dunter!First up, an addendum to last year's episode about our beloved Return to Oz. We saw the 40th anniversary screening of Return to Oz at the DCA in Dundee as part of the Dundead horror and cult film festival lineup, and give our reactions to seeing on the big screen as well as expanding on our thoughts and theories about this gothic and gorgeous movie.Then we join Mildred Hubble for a whole lot of trouble in The Worst Witch, a TV movie adaptation of Jill Murphy's book series set at a magic boarding school with a wild cast including Charlotte Rae, Diana Rigg and Tim Curry. Oh, and some "remarkable" songs and visual effects. We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.Has anybody seen my tambourine? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Michael lost in the woods, Callum calls upon returning guest co-hosts Pete and Scott from the fabulous Movies That Made Us Gay podcast to dive into discussion, dissection and dissemination of the Cannon Films "package" of fairy tale films, focusing in on Hansel and Gretel - it is the season of the witch, after all!We also discuss a few other adaptations of Hansel and Gretel including Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre, Tim Burton's kung fu influenced 1983 short, the 2020 horror film Gretel and Hansel from Osgood Perkins and a nightmare-inducing episode of the 1987 anime Grimm's Fairytale Classics.The SurLaLune Fairytales website, the documentary Electric Boogaloo, being gauche at the Cannes Film Festival, briefly revisiting Masters of the Universe, the dinosaur puppets in the Super Mario Brothers Movie, Chuck Norris, Ninja III: The Domination, Cannon's bizarre expansion of Red Riding Hood, more than one Engelbert Humperdinck, mother giving us kitchen sink drama, Simon and the Witch, the hazards of leaving a trail of breadcrumbs, Ariana Grande in a donut shop, a notably awful bowl cut, David Warner's bag of meat, Griselda's disgusting carpet, red licorice wigs on the gingerbread child fence, Cloris Leachman being dunked in batter, the importance of a good magical staff, an Ibiza foam party explosion, Debbie Harry in Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, a pioneer woman in the woods, Gandalf taking out his pipe and popping in a crystal, Meg Mucklebones, spooky voices, aspic salads, and Michael's visceral reaction to styrofoam await.We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch.How many deep cut RuPaul's Drag Race references do we manage to squeeze in? Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are the weirdos, mister. Light as a feather, stiff as a board. I bind you, Nancy, from doing harm... It's October, it's an iconic performance from Fairuza Balk, it's time to celebrate Fairuzaween with THE millennial mall-goth high school witch horror, 1996's The Craft. Our special guest Juno Dawson, bestselling author of the bewitching Her Majesty's Royal Coven series, screenwriter, actress and cohost of So I Got To Thinking podcast, joins us to call the corners.Sarah's cement-front wig, invoking Manon from KATSEYE, comparisons between The Craft: Legacy and The L Word: Generation Q, a pearl of wisdom from Rita Ora, living in a "Spanish", music video DVDs, Rachel True appreciation, queerness radiating out no matter what, Sex and the City, girl group chemistry, inconsistent elemental coding, Kath & Kim, cyberpunk earrings, sleepover shenanigans, Doctor Who companions, Neve Campbell's hideous satin blouse, giving the gays more than they wanted, multiple Buffy the Vampire Slayer tangents, the Jezebel Etsy witch curse, gaslighting, Heidi Klum, finger-snakes, young Hollywood in the 90s, the pronunciation of athame, manifesting a Bratz dolls collaboration and the best outro we've ever recorded await.We share our thoughts on the movie and its themes, some behind the scenes gossip, delve into the nightmarish moments and dream up some ridiculous merch."Then why are you still bleeding?!" Listen and find out!Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio.https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhsJoin our Clamshell Club on Patreon to support the show and gain access to exclusive Once Upon A VHS bonus episodes updated monthly:Boxset - reviewing 80s and 90s fantasy TV (including Jim Henson's The Storyteller)Rewind - looking back at fantasy films from before 1980 (including Star Wars)Fast Forward - our thoughts on fantasy movies from 2000 onwards (including The Lord of the Rings)https://patreon.com/onceuponavhs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.