Once Upon A VHS - 80s and 90s Fantasy

Once Upon A VHS
  • 5.0 (21)
  • FILM REVIEWS

On a queer and neverending quest through the fantasy films of the 80s & 90s, and all the memories and feelings they conjure up. From animated adventures and sword and sorcery epics to magical romcoms and fairytale horror, we will journey through the big blockbusters and cult classics. https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhs Join 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.

  1. 5D AGO

    FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)

    "We have too long forgotten the magic powers of nature. The time has come to call on them again." We're going down under to dance with some fairies who conspicuously lack Australian accents in this gorgeously green animated eco-fable. Tim Curry as a malevolent spirit singing about acid rain pouring down like egg chow mein, Crocodile Dundee, changing sociocultural perceptions of enviromentalism, Robin Williams improvising for 14 hours, Kath and Kim, a cyborg artist's antenna, Magi Lune serving so hard she crystallizes, a goanna voiced by Tone Loc, climate anxiety, Steve Irwin, a Walkman, romance, a Sheena Easton performance debacle, the influence of The Little Mermaid, the power of collective action and some wild deleted lyrics 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. Exactly how much of the Batty Rap do we feature? Listen and find out! Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio. https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhs Join 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.

    1h 11m

  2. FEB 6

    Small Soldiers (1998)

    "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/onceuponavhs Join 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.

    1h 20m

  3. JAN 30

    Alice - Něco z Alenky (1988)

    "Now you will see a film made for children... perhaps." An experimental little solo episode from Callum, exploring this Czech surrealist stop motion dark fantasy from Jan Švankmajer. It's an extra weird one, but that's what happens when you talk to yourself... Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio. https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhs Join 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.

    33 min

  4. JAN 9

    James and the Giant Peach (1996)

    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/onceuponavhs Join 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.

    1h 14m

  5. JAN 2

    The Gate (1987)

    A real horror show aimed at a younger audience, this very 80s Canadian kindertrauma classic opens a portal to Hell in the backyard - and demons both fun-size and massive are coming to disrupt the pizza party with disturbing visions of death! We're not "f***ing off"! The Satanic Panic, supernatural experiences, Stephen Dorff in his debut, swear words, spectacular stopmotion animation and special effects, and the Stranger Things of it all 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's tres uncool? Listen and find out! Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio. https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhs Join 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.

    1h 32m

  6. 12/26/2025

    Spice World (1997)

    "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/onceuponavhs Join 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.

    1h 34m

  7. 12/26/2025

    The Borrowers (1997)

    We're crashing into our new season with an action-packed adaptation of Mary Norton's classic children's books. Comparisons with the 1992 and 2011 TV versions and Studio Ghibli's 2010 anime The Secret World of Arrietty, the Trocadero Centre, post-war allegory, the incredible filmography of visual effects supervisor Peter Chiang, ice cream made of mashed potato, Penelope Wilton delivering an impassioned speech in Bob & Rose, product placement, a hat on a hat, Celia Imrie's enormous Chappell Roan wig, an officious Ruby Wax, a cheese-eating dog, John Goodman getting tied up by a ceiling fan, Smack the Pony, Jane Norman carrier bags, The 10th Kingdom, life in a dystopian steampunk Hovis advert, and a young Tom Felton's chinchilla named Stanley 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 Spice World? Listen and find out! Art by Ashleigh Jane Cosgrove. Music by Karl Casey at White Bat Audio. https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhs Join 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.

    1h 9m

  8. 12/11/2025

    The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988 BBC TV series)

    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/onceuponavhs Join 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.

    2h 23m
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5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

On a queer and neverending quest through the fantasy films of the 80s & 90s, and all the memories and feelings they conjure up. From animated adventures and sword and sorcery epics to magical romcoms and fairytale horror, we will journey through the big blockbusters and cult classics. https://linktr.ee/onceuponavhs Join 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.

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