We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe for the first Frosty sequel, Frosty’s Winter Wonderland. Essentially just a riff on Bride of Frankenstein, the special has next to no plot. Jack Frost makes his first Rankin/Bass appearance, decidedly at odds with his next two appearances in Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July and Jack Frost, but when has Rankin/Bass ever cared about continuity? Ian tries to make sense of the chaos.

This will be our final holiday episode for 2025! Be sure to check out all our other holiday episodes. Happy Holidays everyone!

We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe with the Cricket on the Hearth. One of the earliest specials in their canon, Cricket is a bit of a mess. The animation is somewhat solid, but the characters are a bunch of morons and the music is awful. What else is new?

This special is pretty awful and should be avoided by everyone other than Rankin/Bass completionists. No wonder it’s taken us this long to cover it! Watch at your own risk. 

We’re back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe. Ian covers the classic Frosty the Snowman, the most normal of the hand-drawn animated holiday specials. Ian unpacks Professor Hinkle’s villainy, and the beauty of Frosty’s existential musings. Hinkle’s tracking abilities don’t make a lot of sense, but at least we have a Santa Claus who isn’t completely worthless for once.

Ever wonder what a St. Patrick’s Day special would look like if it suddenly became a Christmas show?

The Leprechaun’s Christmas Gold is easily the worst stop-motion Rankin/Bass Christmas special, twenty-four minutes of nonsense with practically no redeeming qualities. Ian does not recommend this show at all, but we at Estradiol Illusions are nothing if not Rankin/Bass completionists.

Watch this garbage at your own risk! We tried to do it justice on the pod. We’re sorry that any of this exists.

Our Christmas coverage begins! Ian revisits the 1964 special Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer for an episode that’s more stylistically in line with our Rankin/Bass episodes than the first one we did in 2020.

Ian still has a lot of complex feelings about this special, namely it’s Axis of Awful (Santa, Donner, and Coach Comet). It’s definitely problematic, but there’s a reason people love this one so much.

Be sure to check out all of EI’s Rankin/Bass holiday episodes. 

EI’s original Rudolph episode: https://ianthomasmalone.podbean.com/e/rudolph-a-transgender-perspective/

Ian’s original Rudolph article: https://ianthomasmalone.com/2017/12/a-transgender-perspective-on-rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer/

Our holiday coverage continues with an ITM personal favorite, and not just because she bore a resemblance to the boy as a young child. The Snowman is a beautifully animated special that tugs at all the right heartstrings. Ian unpacks her relationship to the special and its themes.

Note: Ian spends the first five minutes talking about EI’s 200th episode milestone. Listeners looking just for Snowman are recommended to skip the first few minutes. Happy holidays everyone! 

We are back in the Rankin/Bass cinematic universe! Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July is in many ways a prototype to the Avengers-style team-up modern audiences are used to, a convergence of beloved heroes such as Rudolph, Frosty, Big Ben, Jack Frost, and Mickey Rooney’s Santa. It is also a terrible movie, the only feature-length Christmas release in the Rankin/Bass catalogue.

ITM’s sister Barbara returns to the show to unpack this trainwreck. Where are Milton’s laughs? What’s up with the Caves of Lost Rejections? Find out as we take one of our last adventures into this bizarre world.

It’s time for holiday coverage! ITM takes a look at the 1947 classic Miracle on 34th Street and its 1994 remake. While the remake boasts an impressive cast, it’s hard to top the magic of the original. ITM examines the peculiarities of the beloved film, particularly its preoccupation with ethical consumption under capitalism and the trial that soaks up much of the narrative.

It’s that time again! ITM makes her appeal for you to fill out a ballot. The stakes are too high, something we’re used to hearing, but the threat of another four years of Trump is simply unfathomable for our country. Too many people’s rights are on the line. The Senate map is very tough for Democrats, and every vote counts.

Please take a moment to check your voter registration status, and be sure to make plans to vote in this election. Thank you.

ITM has a bunch of updates, including a lip implant removal procedure that kept her away from the microphone during Pride Month. It’s been a stressful time for many LGBTQ people. Ian shares her own struggles with stress, and talks about her new relationship. It’s a weird time to be LGBTQ in the world. It’s okay to not be okay 100% of the time (or any of the time). Be good to yourselves, fam.