Not My Fantasy – Details, episodes & analysis

It is cold, and Scrooge likes that. This holiday season, we’re watching “A Muppet Christmas Carol,” the most faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas tale. We dive into some of Christmas’ spooky history and Dickens’ influence on the depictions of the holiday in media. Cullen outs himself as a Nephew Freddie, Hannah reveals why she’s not a fan of The Muppets, T shivers at the sight of the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Cait flexes their English teacher muscles with lots of great insights into the book.

Want to support a teacher this holiday season (or anytime)? You can support Cait’s high school English classroom by donating and/or sharing the link to their classroom fund profile on DonorsChoose. You can also follow Cait on Instagram at @caldadlorian.

Be sure to check out T’s podcast, Obscure Obsessions wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the podcast on Instagram at @ObscurePodcast. 

Research for this episode:

• How Ghost Stories Became a Christmas Tradition in Victorian England - History Channel

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Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

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Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

This week, Cullen and Hannah talk about the a-meh-zing Moana 2, emphasis on meh. We both try to articulate why this movie didn’t quite work, Cullen gives us a lesson on musical lyric writing, and Hannah brainstorms a plot for the Moana sequel we wanted to see. Oh, and there are so many references to the Bionicle movie, Wicked and D&D.

Research for this episode:

• Polynesian Mythology (book) - Wikipedia

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Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

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Research & Writing by Hannah Sylvester and Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Ask us what kind of tree it is, because it’s a Chris Pine (movie). We watched “Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves” and explored the world of the Forgotten Realms with our favorite dorky, dysfunctional adventuring party. Cullen references The Veggie Tales for the 100th time, Hannah shares her close call with a rogue gang of Minions, and Maiko reports live from Legolas’ back woods.

Check out our guest appearance on Shoot the Flick! We had a fun conversation dissecting the obliteration of history in “Night About the Museum.” You can find that episode of Shoot the Flick on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more!

Research for this episode:

• Dungeons & Dragons - Wikipedia
• Miniature wargaming - Wikipedia
• Chainmail (game) - Wikipedia
• Editions of Dungeons & Dragons - Wikipedia
• Forgotten Realms - Wikipedia 
• Harpers - Wikipedia 
• Emerald Enclave - Wikipedia 
• Neverwinter - Wikipedia 

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Watch Us on YouTube!

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan & Hannah Sylvester. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

The Famtasy Choice Awards (50 Episode Celebration)

Cullen and Hannah thank viewers like you and hand out Famtasy Choice Awards to the characters, songs and movies we’ve met on the Fantastical Adventure as voted by our listeners. We also read comments and reviews and celebrate the journey of our first 50 episodes. Thank you listeners for listening to 50 episodes of magic, mayhem, and movies!

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Watch Us on YouTube!

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Nimona (2023) (feat. Allyssa Swearingen and Brittany Spurlin)

This week, Cullen is joined by two grad school friends, Allyssa and Brittany, to talk about the shape-shifting queer tale of Netflix’s Nimona! We start with some queer book recommendations to finish your Pride Month with some more awesome tales. Then, Cullen gives us an overview of shapeshifter and trickster lore, Allyssa raves about the unique world of the movie and Brittany swooned at the love story between Boldheart and Goldenloin.

PSA: Support your local library!

Check out Brittany on Twitter (currently known as X): @BSInitials 

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Watch Us on YouTube!

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

For this week of Pride Month, we’re talking about the animated movie that invented gender-bending — Disney’s Mulan 1998. Cullen shares two of the oldest versions of the Chinese folktale, Hannah can’t stop talking about how good this movie is, and our guest Nick convinces us that he’s not saying Mulan is a trans story but he’s also not NOT saying that. Huge thanks to our friend Nick for sharing amazing insights and love for this great film!

Vote in the Famtasy Choice Awards

Research for this episode:

• Everything Culturally Right and Wrong With Mulan 1998 - Xiran Jay Zhao
• Synopsis of Mulan Play
• Mulan History 
• Chinese Dragons 
• The Ballad of Mulan 
• Fairytellers Episode on Mulan 

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Watch Us on YouTube!

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Happy Pride Month! We’re starting off with a heavy film that just barely counts as a fantasy film– “All of Us Strangers.” Cullen does a roll call of various queer deities (gay-ities, if you will), Hannah points out fantasy tropes and themes, and our guests Callum and Michael share insights about the first movie adaptation of “Strangers,” the novel this film is based on.

Trigger Warning: Briefs References to Self-Unal*ving

Check out Callum and Michael’s podcast Once Upon a VHS, and be sure to follow them on Instagram and Tiktok!

VOTE IN THE FAMTASY CHOICE AWARDS 

Research for this episode:

• History of Dog and the Sailor 
• Yurei 
• The Ghosts of Japan 

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Watch Us on YouTube!

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

We’re making Not My Fantasy history, folks. That’s right, we’re finally talking about the movie that comes before Cullen’s favorite song about a blue dragon. We’re reviewing “Eragon” with special guests, Kaley and Taylor of The Book Was Better Podcast! Cullen relives his disappointing experience seeing the movie in theaters, Hannah tries to wrap her brain around the movie’s confounding lore, while Kaley and Taylor help us make sense of the filmmakers’ crazy changes from the book.

Check out The Book Was Better Podcast anywhere you get your podcasts, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

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Watch Us on YouTube!

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) (feat. Allyssa Swearingen)

This week, we’re talking about dragons with the Dreamworks film, “How to Train Your Dragon.” Cullen refuses to forgive Stoic for being such a bad father, Hannah gets second-hand embarrassment about the big kiss at the end, and our guest Allyssa gives us great insights into the key changes between the book and the movie as well as filmmaking decisions from the directors’ commentary.

Research for this episode:

• Dragon Lore 
• A lot of Wikipedia I’m sorry

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Watch Us on YouTube!

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Bionicle: Mask of Light (2003) (feat. John Gossett)

Back in the early 2000s, Bionicles caused controversy with their cultural appropriation. Now, they’re wreaking havoc on Hannah’s sanity. This week, we’re lava-surfing into the 2003, direct-to-video movie “Bionicle: Mask of Light.” Cullen soapboxes about the strange, dense lore of the Bionicles toys and media franchise, Hannah desperately clings to reality at the mention of any character’s name, and our guest John is just here to enjoy the crab ride around the island of Mata Nui.

Research for this episode:

•  The Official Bionicle Guide 
• The Bionicle Encyclopedia 
• Maori Appropriation 
•  Creation of Bionicle 
• Bionicle Sector 01, A Bionicle Wiki
• Bionicle History Video Essay 
• More Bionicle History 
• The Mata Nui Online game  
• The Bionicle to Trans Pipeline

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Watch Us on YouTube!

Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:

@notmyfantasypod

Instagram

TikTok

Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan. 

This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.

Cover Art by William Callaghan

Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.