Episodes
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Toy Story 5
“They’re doing a fifth one?!” Derek and Doug are joined by Tommy from Distant Echoes: A Star Wars Podcast and Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge to talk about yet another sequel no one was expecting: Toy Story 5. This time it’s about Jessie, but does it do the rootin’ tootin’ cowgirl justice? Or is...
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Hoppers
THIS EPISODE IS A FULL-SPOILERS DISCUSSION OF 'HOPPERS' Strap in, because Derek and Doug are talking about Pixar’s latest, a zany and unpredictable scifi comedy from We Bare Bears creator, Daniel Chong. We get into what makes Mabel Tanaka a unique protagonist for Pixar, the ways in which Hoppers...
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Birthday Spectacular: Kung Fu Panda
Happy Birthday, Derek! As a special totally surprise gift, we've prepared a huge bowl full of bao and we're watching another DreamWorks Animation movie that Derek has never seen -- 2008's Kung Fu Panda! We talk about rhino nipples, the extremely Jack Blackian panda protagonist Po, the criminally...
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More Queer Erasure from Pixar
About a week after we dropped our episode on Pixar's latest, Elio, The Hollywood Reporter posted a piece shedding more light on Adrian Molina's original vision for the film. We were not surprised to learn that the extensive rework of Elio included explicit instructions to make the main character...
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Elio
Refill your glorp and set your translator to podcast, because Derek and Doug are talking about Pixar’s brand new intergalactic adventure featuring a kid who dreams of being abducted by aliens (relatable). We talk all about yet another stunning Pixar world in the Communiverse, how we see ourselves...
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Special Presentation: Flee (with Hamish Steele)
“I think I always had a tendency to be a little different.” Hamish Steele brings us Flee, an animated documentary about the journey of Amin, a gay man and refugee to Denmark from Afghanistan. We talk about how animation can uniquely serve documentary films, how Amin’s identity as a gay man...
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Special Presentation: Wendell & Wild (with Marquis The Honey Bear)
“They want you to be like them. I tried to be, but…” Marquis The Honey Bear joins us for this stop-motion horror collab between Jordan Peele and Henry Selick, which features a diverse cast that includes Raul, a trans boy whose art saves the day. We get into the film’s complex anti-capitalist plot…
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Special Presentation: Power Rangers Dino Fury & Cosmic Fury
“My girlfriend’s superhero team are Earth’s only hope. Pretty cool!” We’re morphing into the only live-action TV show on this miniseries to talk lesbian power couple Izzy and Fern from the final seasons of Power Rangers! We chart their journey from rivals to girlfriends who defy gender norms and...
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Special Presentation: Tokyo Godfathers (with Cass Proffitt)
“I know in my heart, I’m more woman than anyone!” Cass from Distant Echoes joins us for this joyful Christmas masterpiece, led by a heroic and unapologetic trans woman in a cast of complex unhoused characters. We explore filmmaker Satoshi Kon’s unparalleled filmography–including the deep empathy...
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Special Presentation: Nimona (with Katie)
“Then I shape-shift, and I’m free.” We’re talking with Katie from Novel Gaming about Nimona, the fantastic queer movie from Annapurna Animation that almost wasn’t. We dig into the origins of Nimona’s initial studio home, Blue Sky Studios, and how even when we’re not covering Pixar movies, we…
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Special Presentation: Introduction
"So… is Falling With Style gonna cover Win Or Lose?" Nope! Instead, for the next couple months, Doug & Derek—and some guests!—will be doing a biweekly Special Presentation miniseries featuring a selection of non-Pixar movies & TV aimed at younger audiences and families featuring clear, unafraid,...
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Ask Us Anything: Pixar Edition
We're answering your questions about Pixar and animation! First, we talk about the recent exposé from former Pixar employees about the state of the studio -- including corporate mandates, anti-queer sentiment, layoffs, and lots of other unpleasant news. Then, we discuss our favorite animated...
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Got questions for us?
We're recording an Ask Us Anything episode across all the podcasts Doug and Derek do together (Falling With Style, Walloping Websnappers, and Skreeonk) and we'd love to get your questions! Send them however you'd prefer -- email, discord, social media, etc. -- by the evening of Tuesday, September...
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Inside Out 2
It's been a year since we've talked about a Pixar movie, but Derek & Doug are back! And so are the emotions in the mind of Riley Andersen as she navigates being thirteen years old. With four new emotions to manage and the legacy of one of Pixar's best to live up to, how does this sequel nine…
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Elemental
We’re doing something we’ve never done before—we’re recording an episode about a movie that’s still in theaters! Elemental is an immigrant story and romcom, and the odds seemed stacked against it long before it was released. But why? With just one viewing under our belts, we attempt to sort…
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End-of-Marathon Retrospective
Well, we did it. Derek and Doug watched every movie currently in the Pixar Animation Studios canon and don’t have any other movies to talk about until Elemental comes out. So what better time to look back on the entirety of the canon, reflect on Pixar’s nearly-thirty years of feature films, and...
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Lightyear
Grab a meat-bread-meat sandwich and strap in, because it’s a space epic, it’s a time-travel sci-fi flick, it’s a hero’s origin story, and… it’s a film within a film? That’s right, Derek and Doug are talking about Lightyear, the Pixar movie that tackles the question, “What inspired the Buzz...
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Turning Red
U Know What’s Up! Derek and Doug are joined by Theresa Berry to talk about what instantly became on of their favorite Pixar movies: Turning Red! It’s the movie that took us back to the early 00s when boy bands ruled the world and one that celebrates tween cringe instead of condemning it. An...
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Luca
Silenzio Bruno! It’s time for Derek and Doug to enjoy a perfect summer in the Italian Riviera. That’s right, we’re talking about Luca, a truly lovely film about three kids who find friendship in a small coastal village and one that resonated instantly and powerfully with the queer community. What...
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Soul
Get in the zone, because we’re about to get existential. Derek and Doug are joined by Melissa Mowry to discuss a movie about living, dying, inspiration, and disappointment. We’re talking about Soul, Pixar’s first film to feature a Black protagonist and Black co-director, Pixar's first and a very...
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Onward
We’ve made it to the year 2020, which means we’ve made it to a very unique era of Pixar movies for a number of reasons, some intentional and exciting, some certainly incidental and unfortunate. Derek and Doug are talking about Onward, the suburban fantasy about two brothers reconnecting through…
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Toy Story 4
“They’re doing another one?!” Derek and Doug are joined again by Tommy from Distant Echoes: A Star Wars Podcast to talk about the sequel no one was expecting: Toy Story 4. Previously, Tommy hadn’t watched it and wasn’t sure he ever would. What’d he think? Where do we ultimately fall on whether a...
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Incredibles 2
Fans waited fourteen years for this sequel! Derek and Doug are talking about Incredibles 2, Pixar's follow-up to the family-focused superhero smash hit from 2004. It picks up moments after the first one left off, but how are things different both on and behind the screen? Does this installment…
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Pixar Says Gay
On March 9, 2022, amidst national discussion over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation, the LGBTQIA+ Employees of Pixar and their allies released a statement to Disney leadership challenging several claims that Disney is a company with a history of supporting LGBTQIA+ people. Among those claims...
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Coco
Derek and Doug are joined this month by Stephania to talk about Coco, Pixar’s critically-adored love letter to Mexico. Look, Coco’s really good. Like really, really good. But what about Pixar’s not-quite-a-musical made it such a beloved story and massive success? How’d Lee Unkrich end up making a...
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Cars 3
It’s a… sports movie? Derek and Doug discuss the one movie that neither of them had seen prior to starting the podcast and the third entry in Pixar’s most polarizing series, Cars 3! It ignores the second film pretty much entirely, deals with themes more akin to Toy Story or Up, and passes the...
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Finding Dory
Derek and Doug are joined by Katie from Novel Gaming for a return to the ocean and Pixar’s beloved cast of aquatic characters. We’re talking about Finding Dory, a wildly successful sequel released thirteen years after its wildly successful predecessor, explores the diverse experiences of folks…
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The Good Dinosaur
Derek and Doug tackle a strange entry in Pixar’s canon and the only movie that neither of them particular cared for: The Good Dinosaur. But why? There are certainly good ideas and things that Pixar did right in its alternate reality dino film, but what is it about The Good Dinosaur that fails…
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Inside Out
Derek and Doug are joined this month by Emily, a behavioral analyst and applied improvisation practitioner, to take a dive deep into the mind. That’s right! We’ve made it to Inside Out! From the absolutely perfect casting and stunning visual effects to the perfectly balanced story of Riley and…
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Monsters University
Hope you’ve had your coffee and studied up, because Doug and Derek are visiting one of the monster world’s most prestigious institutions of learning: Monsters University! And despite Derek thinking he wouldn’t have much to say about this flick (ha!), we actually dive pretty dang deep into…
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Brave
If you could change your fate... would you? We're talking about Brave, Pixar's Academy Award-winning fairy tale and a production full of firsts: Pixar's first historical film, first film to feature a female lead character, and first film to be directed by a woman (until it wasn't). We talk all...
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One Year Retrospective
We've covered the first twelve movies in the Pixar Animation Studios canon, which means we've been doing this for a year now! What better time to stop down and look at the bigger picture to this point! Which movies are our favorites? What overall themes and trends are we noticing? What's on the...
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Cars 2
It’s a spy movie!? Derek and Doug are talking about Cars 2, a film derided by many as Pixar’s worst and a low-point for the studio. But is Cars 2 actually a bad movie? Stunning destinations across the globe, a star-studded cast, a plot involving Big Oil, and… more machine guns than you’d expect?...
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Toy Story 3
Derek and Doug are joined by friend of the podcast Tommy to talk about Toy Story 3, the movie that, at the time, we all thought was the end of the Toy Story saga. We get into growing up and letting go, contemplating existence after relationships fade, the significance of garbage throughout the...
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Up
Derek and Doug are joined by friend of the podcast Cassie to talk about the Pixar film that can make you cry in eight minutes flat: Up. How did Pixar manage to make a movie starring an old man flying his house to South America work so incredibly well? How does Up prepare us for future Peter…
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WALL-E
Derek and Doug are joined by friend of the podcast Josh to talk about the final lunch meeting movie released nearly 15 years after it was conceived: WALL-E. Why did it take so long, and how did the final product benefit from the wait? What can we take away from Pixar’s ambitious post-apocalyptic...
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Ratatouille
Derek and Doug are joined by Kevin from The 3028 podcast to talk about Pixar’s critically acclaimed, commercially successful, but often overlooked culinary masterpiece Ratatouille. How does a film with a strange-but-perfect recipe for success—a recipe that garnished, er, garnered it plenty of...
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Cars
It’s the Cars episode! Derek and Doug are joined by Dallin and Amanda from the Lost in the Vault Podcast to try to determine: does Cars cross the finish line strong, or is it Pixar’s first wreck? Where does it speed ahead of its Pixar predecessors, and where should it have stopped in the pit for…
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The Incredibles
Derek and Doug leave their capes at home and suit up for a very important mission: dissect The Incredibles, Pixar’s iconic superhero movie and first film to feature an entirely human cast. For the first time ever, Pixar tapped an outside director and gave them more creative control than ever...
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Finding Nemo
Derek and Doug are joined by special guest Mara from the Toku Ladies Podcast (@TokuLadies_Pod) to embark on an epic journey through all things Finding Nemo! What will they find? Stunning visuals! A delightful cast of characters! Thematic depth rivaling the Mariana Trench! Mind-blowing clownfish...
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Monsters, Inc.
Derek and Doug visit the world of monsters in Pixar’s fourth feature film, Monsters, Inc. Pixar’s “fur movie,” Monsters, Inc. is a wildly ambitious movie technically, but do its characters, relationships, and narrative stack up to the strides it clearly makes in animation? How does the world of...
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Toy Story 2
Derek and Doug are joined by special guest Vicki from the Novel Gaming Podcast (@NovelGamingPod) to discuss Pixar’s first—and for many years, only—sequel. How does it compare narratively to the first? In what ways did Pixar up the ante for their third feature film? And why is it such a miracle…
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A Bug's Life
Derek and Doug are back to burrow into A Bug’s Life, Pixar’s insect-centric sophomore showing. In some ways, it’s a perfect follow-up to the smash hit Toy Story, in others it’s a bit perplexing, and oddly, this story of ants finding their collective strength against an oppressive gang of...
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Toy Story
In the inaugural episode of Falling With Style, Derek and Doug talk about the movie that launched one of the most acclaimed animation studios in history, permanently changed the animated film landscape, and introduced an unforgettable world where our toys come alive and love us as much as we love...
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Introduction
Doug loves Pixar. Derek does too...but hasn’t seen a bunch of them and barely remembers the ones he has. In this preview episode of Falling With Style, get to know our history with this monumental animation studio before we begin our monthly dive into every film. Check out our debut episode on...