Tooning In: Three Animated Movies (and One TV Show) That Sold Us Toys

What the Kids Were Watching

Get your air horn ready, because Season 2 of What the Kids Were Watching is finally here! Sarah and Raf are back on the couch, ready to discuss the films they watched ad nauseam as kids -- and, as usual, they have a lot to say about them.

But the inaugural episode of the second season is more animated than usual, as the hosts find themselves drawn to talking about cartoons for the first time in the podcast. They tackle three animated features that were created to sell lines of toys: "The Care Bears Movie" (1985), "Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer" (1985), and "My Little Pony: The Movie" (1986). The Care Bears -- who Sarah dubs "the NSA of goodness" -- use tricks like great Carole King songs and a genuinely creepy villain to win the hosts over. Raf remembers the Rainbow Brite film fondly, but Sarah can't get over how the titular character is "pretty, but kind of useless." Then there's the My Little Pony movie, which -- according to our hosts -- made "The Care Bears Movie" look like "Citizen Kane."

However, in an extra-special bonus, the hosts also talk about a half-hour TV special that's better and more fascinating than any of the three feature-length films: "My Little Pony: Rescue at Midnight Castle." "It's like My Little Pony meets Dungeons and Dragons," says Raf, while Sarah adds, "It's like a Rush song come to life." It's a weird, wild little cartoon that's more Dethklok than dainty -- and the hosts are here for it.