Retro Spectacles

Retro Spectacles continues the Toy Story franchise deep dive with the 1999 sequel that almost never happened. Disney wanted a cheap direct-to-video sequel. Pixar said no. Then somebody accidentally deleted 90% of the film's files. Then John Lasseter scrapped the script and rewrote it in a weekend. And somehow, "Toy Story 2" emerged as one of the greatest animated sequels ever made.Toy Story 2 was in rarefied air as a full animated theatrical sequel, and that some consider it superior to the original puts it in a class of its own. Joan Cusack's Jessie is one of the best character additions in sequel history, Wayne Knight is pitch-perfect as the gloriously greedy Al McWhiggin, and Kelsey Grammer's Stinky Pete rounds out a new cast that gives the film an emotional depth the original only hinted at.Mitcz & Teddy dig into the Steve Jobs vs. Michael Eisner contract war, the fan theory connecting Jessie's original owner Emily to Andy's mom, and Mitcz's rant about why Andy owning a vintage Woody doll makes zero sense without a deeper family backstory. Plus: Pixar's technical flex from dust particles to crushed Cheetos, the Wayne Knight cinematic villain universe, the best animated sequels of all time, childhood toy nostalgia, the death of channel surfing, and the legendary blooper reel. Get your spectacles on and join us!

Retro Spectacles launches its first-ever franchise deep dive with the animated classic that started it all: Pixar's 1995 "Toy Story," directed by John Lasseter, starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Jim Varney, John Ratzenberger, and Annie Potts. Mitcz & Teddy break down how Steve Jobs bought Pixar from George Lucas for pennies, the infamous Black Friday screening that nearly killed the project, Joss Whedon's uncredited script rescue, Randy Newman's iconic soundtrack, why plastic toys were a tech limitation turned creative masterstroke, and John Lasseter's complicated legacy from Pixar's golden age through his #MeToo departure. Plus: the 1995 box office, the rise of PlayStation alongside the decline of physical toys, a deep character study on Sid, and why this G-rated film is darker than you remember. All building toward Toy Story 5 this June. Get your spectacles on and join us!

Retro Spectacles continues the palate cleanser with Part 2 of the albums that shaped Mitcz & Teddy's adolescence. Teddy's pick: Rage Against the Machine's 1999 album "The Battle of Los Angeles." After his father died suddenly of a heart attack when Teddy was 11, nothing at home sounded like what he was feeling until Bulls on Parade came on TV. From there, Teddy traces how Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, At the Drive-In, and Tool became the secret soundtrack to grief, anger, and identity in a household where listening to Trent Reznor could get you accused of betraying everything your father believed in. A track-by-track breakdown of Testify, Guerrilla Radio, Maria, Calm Like a Bomb, Sleep Now in the Fire, Born of a Broken Man, and War Within a Breath, exploring Zack de la Rocha's underappreciated lyricism, Tom Morello's otherworldly guitar work, and how the album's themes shaped Teddy's comedy, politics, and worldview. Plus: Hidden Gems rankings and the Toy Story franchise deep dive teaser. Get your spectacles on and join us!Links to Teddy's playlist (including full "Battle of Los Angeles" album) can be found at : https://retrospecspod.com/episode/palate-cleanser-rage-against-the-machine-grief-and-angst

Retro Spectacles hits pause on the deep dives for a palate cleanser. Before the next series kicks off, Mitcz & Teddy each picked an album and related songs that had a huge impact on their adolescence. In Part 1, Mitcz tells the story of the summer before 7th grade when his best friend Kevin handed him Dead Kennedys' 1981 EP "In God We Trust, Inc." with a punk mixtape on side B: Subhumans, TSOL, Operation Ivy, pre-Dookie Green Day, Crimp Shrine, and Dead Milkmen. That same summer, a break-in at an empty apartment, a snitch note gone wrong, and a pair of handcuffs in the principal's office pushed him straight into the arms of punk rock. Mitcz and Teddy also rank each other's Hidden Gems picks, connect Jello Biafra's anti-Reagan lyrics to 2025 politics, talk first concerts (Social Distortion opening for the Ramones), the Gwar-to-Dead Kennedys pipeline, and why punk never really leaves your system. Teddy's album drops in Part 2. Get your spectacles on and join us!If you want to listen to the album and Mitcz's Playlist for this episode, visit : https://retrospecspod.com/episode/palette-cleanser-dead-kennedys-punk-awakening/

In the final episode of our inaugural series about Hidden Gems (movies Mitcz & Teddy feel deserve more credit), we both picked comedy films from a year packed with hits : 1999. First up, Mitcz picked the Matthew Broderick & Reese Witherspoon MTV Film "Election" about an exceedingly ambitious high schooler trying to win it all and a teacher - played by Broderick - who has one chance to serve her a little humble pie. Teddy picked the criminally underrated "Life", starring the dynamic comedy duo of Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence as two down on their luck wrongly convicted lifers in the deep American south, serving out a life sentence together.

The penultimate Retro Spectacles series opener "Hidden Gems" episode is here with a bang! But what's a hidden gem? We think you'll agree with our picks today, but we define them as art (in this case movies) that we think got lost in the shuffle but are much better than the lackluster fanfare they received at the time and continue to have today.First up is the last film Peter Jackson made before he became THE Peter Jackson, household name and still-current keeper of the Lord of the Rings big screen adaptations : the dark horror-comedy "The Frighteners". Starring Michael J Fox in an out of character grifter jerk who wrangles his ghost buddies to help him pull easy scores on residents until Death Itself comes to town to wreak havoc.Then, we close out with a wild ride in the form of 1998's "is it a kid's movie?" Joe Dante helmed "Small Soldiers". When a small town (probably criminal, let's be honest) kid gets his hands on the latest prototypes of toys equipped with military grade microprocessors and a directive for destruction, all hell breaks loose and it's mayhem in the streets as the titular small soldiers bring all the Ruckus with a capital UCKUS.Keep up with Retro SpectaclesRetro Spectacles Official WebsiteRetro Spectacles PatreonRetro Spectacles on YouTubeEpisode LinksRetro Spectacles Official WebsiteRetro Spectacles on PatreonWhere to watch The FrightenersWhere to watch Small Soldiers1998 LA Times article about New Line striking LOTR deal with Peter Jackson"That Guy! Dick Miller" DocumentaryBurger King puts contingency plan into action over Small Soldiers push back (Variety)Small Solders and the Burger King last-minute overhaul (WSJ)