In this new episode we dive into the connection between carols and Christmas itself! We go into the history of the word itself, where the traditions started, how the carol has evolved, and how carols might very well have saved Christmas as a day of celebration! We also kick off a new story from the […]
In this episode we kick off the Christmas season (the -ber months) first with a new feature! I’m giving a Christmas movie recommendation, a TV episode/special recommendation and a Christmas book recommendation at the start of each episode, please commend and email us with how you think the recommendation went! Next, we take a look […]
“Rudolph, with your nose so bright, will you guide my sleigh tonight?” We get to the point where Arthur Rankin Jr. and songwriter Johnny Marks meet to discuss turning the classic song into an animated TV special. Time to learn how General Electric paid for the entire budget, which meant the elves were now selling […]
“Whats the matter with misfits, thats where we fit in!” Time to dive into the stop motion world of Rankin/Bass! Before we get into the special itself, it’s important to go into the history of the story and song…which explains why we never see Rudolph in Santa’s gang even though he’s famous Learn how the […]
Apologies about the sound quality on this episode, my voice sounds canned almost. I wasn’t able to fix it in this episode but will for Part 3 of this series! In today’s episode we explore the history of snowmen in art, politics, and expression. We also briefly touch on the Yeti, shallowly diving in to […]
“Hey! The only one who yells is me!” Film Producer Jerry Bruckhiemer was about to come on because of…NASCAR. Denis Leary wanted to go from a risqué standup comic to actor and MTV commercial director Ted Demme was ready to break into movies Learn how all these people got together, how the film’s ending would […]
In this episode (the first full episode of season 2!) we explore the history behind Christmas in July, the traditions that have helped it explode, and some global mentions and applications of Christmas in July. Finally, we conclude the episode with part 1 of a new story from The Lost Years of Santa Claus. Please […]
“You know what this family needs? A mute” Writer Richard Lagravenense, who was raised in New York, wanted to be a playwright like Neil Simon or Eugune O’ Neil. It just so happened that he also loved movies with sharp dialogue and great jokes. Learn how he scored his first hit with The Fisher King […]
“One hundred gold pieces, and not a penny more!” Burny not only gathered his best crew, he assigned people to whichever character they wanted. So why did Disney not want them to hire back the original voice of Donald Duck? Learn about how characters from Pinocchio and Sword in the Stone were replaced, how they […]
“If I give money to the poor, then they won’t be poor anymore” At a point when Disney was putting out fewer animated projects, a young animator Burny Mattinson pitched a retelling of a Christmas Carol with Mickey and the gang. It was the first new Mickey cartoon in over 30 years. Learn about why […]
Open Holidays Only! Irving Berlin was now ready to work with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire to bring his story of a hotel only open on holidays to life. But there was concern to see how well their personalities would work together. They still had to find their unknown to play Linda as well. Even […]
Don’t Ask Why. Just go and God Bless America. Irving Berlin went from being the youngest of eight children to an immediate hit songwriter whose song “Blue Skies” would be one of the first pieces of music on film. But he would end up away from his family a lot and yearned to be back […]
This is it! Don’t get scared now. At the start of production in Winnetka, Illinois, Home Alone seemed to have things ready to go with the entire production being done in a gym. But Daniel Stern would be fired early to be replaced by a Matlock actor. Also learn how Warners got mad that Home […]
Peter! We slept in! John Hughes was in a point in his career where he would exit directing to focus on writing and producing. Though Uncle Buck would provide some help, it was actually a vacation where John got the idea. Learn how he wrote his script…almost as close as the film would come out. […]
What’s up, dudes? Matt Eurich from TGI Podcast joins me to talk about the quirkiness that is Perfect Strangers. Cousin Larry and Balki are up to shenanigans! And of course, there’s couch cushion Santas and Christmas turtles! Check it out! Listen to this episode of Totally Rad Christmas Author: Gerry D / Matt Eurich Title: […]
In this episode, the first for Season 2!, we explore a small piece of some Christmas traditions of a few Native American tribes and how they have integrated, adapted, and influenced Christmas traditions in the Americas in their own special and unique way. There’s a lot to unpack and go through, so there will likely […]
